Ok, we've all started to use our adult words to express what we feel about the decision to cast Ben Affleck as Batman.

The news came out last week that Affleck will star as The Dark Knight along side Henry Cavill as Superman in the "Man of Steel" sequel that Zack Snyder will direct.

After some time to ponder, we've come up with a new Nerd Roundtable.

Who is the best Batman and who is worst Batman? Go.

Jason Powers: The thing about casting Batman, is that you're not really casting Batman, you're casting Bruce Wayne. Batman is essentially just a chin in a suit. This is why Michael Keaton was such an inspired choice back in 1989. Everybody balked that Keaton didn't have the physique or the intimidating presence needed to pull of the Dark Knight(much like the criticism we're hearing about Batfleck), but it turned out that he need it. Keaton's Bruce Wayne managed to hold its own against the likes of Jack Nicholson, Jack Palance, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Walken, while all Batman needed to do was punch the Joker and pretend to fly a plane. This is also why Christian Bale worked so well, because let's face it, the gravelly voice isn't doing Batman any favors. But Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne is spot on.

The best at both by far is Kevin Conroy. He's been the animated voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne with few interruptions for over 20 years, and helped launch the DC animated universe.



I was a senior in high school when "Batman: The Animated Series" premiered, but I was hooked after the first episode, and in those ancient days before whole networks dedicated to cartoons repeated the shows 6 times a day, I made sure to program my VCR to record it every Saturday morning. Saturday morning cartoons meant something back then, dag nabbit! Even to a high school senior. Get off my lawn! Conroy not only nails the Dark Knight, but is phenomenal as Bruce Wayne. Much like Bale's Bruce Wayne, Conroy does a great job at making Bruce sound aloof and disinterested while still hiding something up his sleeve. "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" came out right between "Batman Returns" and "Batman Forever," and really, this should have set the tone for the feature films from that point on. "Phantasm had a better origin story, and a better Joker battle, and was just a better movie than anything that came after it until 2005's "Batman Begins."



On that note, "Batman: Sub Zero" had a better Mr. Freeze story than that steamy pile of Austrian muscles from "Batman and Robin."

The worst Batman/Bruce Wayne was Val Kilmer, though that has way more to do with Joel Schumacher than Val. That first day of shooting had to be a big surprise when the actors showed up. I'm sure they were expecting a film closer to the spirit of the Tim Burton movies than something resembling visiting the toy isle at Wal-Mart on acid. There is a reason hardly anybody came back for "Batman and Robin," not the least of which was nipples on the Batsuit. There were just so many poor decisions made on that film(Clooney should have known better). Kilmer is a great actor when he wants to be, and it seemed like they just didn't give him anything to do. Also, they didn't bring back Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Bad move. You ALWAYS bring back Billy Dee. Always.


Micah Choquette IMDB.com says that there have been 15 or more people to bring Batman to life on both the silver and the small screens, including all the animated series and straight-to-video movies. That being the case, deciding who's the best and worst can be difficult, particularly if you haven't seen every instance of a Batman cartoon. So I'm going to base this only on the characters I've seen.

The worst Batman: Adam West. Don't judge. In all fairness, Adam West played the role extremely well, or at least as well as he could've, given the circumstances. As I understand it, Executive Producer William Dozier just flat out hated comics, and thought the show would only do well if they turned up the camp factor to eleven. So the real enemy behind every craptastic bam, pow and bap is not really the Dark Knight himself, but the evil Executive Producer overlord.

To be fair, the series itself had plenty of good along with the bad. Most notably, it's effect on the comics themselves proved it's influence in the industry. The 1966 series brought back Alfred (who had been killed off years earlier in the comics) and inspired the resurrection of The Riddler, who at the time was so unknown his character was on the verge of extinction from DC Comics. There's also a rumor that The Riddler switched from his skintight uniform to a more dapper business suit at the behest of Frank Gorshin, who played the original clue-dropping criminal in the series. That look has also continued in the comics to this day.

Despite it's successes, the series - which only lasted three seasons - managed to establish an attitude about Batman (and comics in general) that took literally decades to overcome. Holy misconceptions, Batman! (See? We still can't resist the urges.)

The best Batman: Kevin Conroy. The guy gave Batman the voice that we all read his comics in. While the man almost certainly wouldn't physically qualify for the role of the Dark Knight, it's hard to argue with the deep, gravelly voice he gave him. Batman: The Animated Series is the Batman that I grew up with, and so it's a more defining vision of the man than any other. I've seen the movies and each had his pros and cons (even George Clooney), but for me personally, Kevin Conroy is Batman.


James Royal I want to pick someone else just to be different, but the best Batman by far is Kevin Conroy. Christian Bale was the best to play the character in a live-action film (sure, Bale's Batman growl is annoying, but otherwise he's solid), but Conroy's voice portrayals over the years have been perfect for the Dark Knight across several platforms and across several depictions, from a dark and brooding Batman to a more light-hearted Bruce Wayne. He doesn't have the face of Bruce Wayne, but he outshines other actors with just his voice alone.

The worst is an easy call, but don't take this as a condemnation of the actor. George Clooney was dealt a bad hand in "Batman & Robin," with a horrible script that made a mockery of the Batman mythos; stale performances from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman and Alicia Silverstone; over-the-top directing by Joel Schumacher; and a costume that is still the punch line for jokes among Batman geeks. Clooney is a good actor, but his Batman was a disaster.


Chris Moore
The best person to play Batman has got to be Kevin Conroy.

In the realm of animation, there are just voice talents that are solidified as their roles. David Hayter is Solid Snake. Michael Ironside is Sam Fisher (Coincidentally he ALSO played Batman) and Kevin Conroy is Batman. He has taken that role and just made it the one you want to hear. Even today when you are reading Batman comic books, tell me you aren’t hearing Conroy’s voice in your mind.

Conroy’s voice change between Bruce and Batman deal with the octaves and that’s all it really takes. When you watch Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Wayne and Batman are two completely different characters and that is something no other media has successfully done since then. Even with the New 52, Bruce Wayne and Batman still come off as being the same person, but with Conroy’s interpretation of the duality of the characters he gives a great distinction between them.

I will admit these past years have been perhaps the greatest resurgence for Batman in all facets of media. One of the benchmarks is definitely the Batman: Arkham games. Many many MANY games have been based on comic book characters, but the Arkham series was the first one to get critical acclaim and it deserves all the praise it has garnered. And perhaps the thing that made the story, gameplay and the feel of Batman so appealing is that they got Kevin Conroy to reprise his role as Batman.

If there is one Batman that I absolutely dread, it has got to be Val Kilmer. For me, Batman Forever will be the low-point of the Batman franchise. One of the things that just really irritated me with Batman Forever was with Bruce Wayne’s sessions with Dr. Chase Meridian. He is thinking back to his past and he just blurts out the line: “Two Face killed my parents.” I’m sorry WHAT?! With that line, Val just pretty much made Bruce forget why he became Batman in the first place. That is something he would never do. It was just a betrayal of the
fundamental character. (Not to mention that Two-Face killing them was downright impossible.) Since then, I would watch Batman
& Robin over Batman Forever any day of the week.

Anna Codutti I'm sure my fellow nerds will have some wise words regarding the best Batman. I'm less informed and therefore will share instead "my" Batman. And you will probably laugh. But Val Kilmer ("Batman Forever," 1995) was the first Batman to stamp himself in my memory. He was helped through a great ensemble cast (Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey) and a fair plotline that included a cute Drew Barrymore cameo and the Batmobile DRIVING UP A BUILDING. But most of all, I think (again, you will laugh), the song Seal wrote for the movie, "Kiss From a Rose," is what cemented Kilmer's Batman as my romantic favorite. Here's a video of "Batman Forever" music video (don't worry - it's all movie footage, no shirtless Seal):


Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott, "Parks & Recreation") is the worst Batman ever. Not only did he cry in the suit, but his only superpower is being able to fix the Internet at Andy and April's house.















Matt Clayton Batman is one of my favorite superhero characters. Why? Because he's real. He can't fly, he's not relying on a suit to get him around and he's not attempting to perform magic to subdue the bad guys. He's a character who watched his parents get killed as kid. There's a certain amount of darkness that you retain from something happening like that happening early in life.

That's why my choice of best Batman would have to be Christian Bale, for his performances in "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight," and the "The Dark Knight Rises." Even with the unnecessary growl of the character, the performance from Bale is superb.

In 2005, Bale began his three-film run as Batman and took his place in history as best the Bruce Wayne character we've seen. Obviously, these choices are made upon how good or bad the actual movies are. A lot of that has to do with screenplay, director and the other actors involved. That's why "Batman Begins" from 2005, "The Dark Knight" from 2008 and "The Dark Knight Rises" from 2012 are the best three adaptations of the Batman character that I've ever seen.

I'd also like to add Sheldon Cooper to the list of people I'd like to see play Batman.



For me, the award for the worst Batman portrayal has to go to Michael Keaton. Keaton could only work with what was given to him and thanks to the awful mind of Tim Burton, that wasn't very much.

I hate you Tim Burton. I hate you with the power of a 1,000 suns.


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