Who do you believe is the "best" Batman?

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Who do you believe is the 'best' Batman?


  • Total voters
    316
  • Poll closed .
And just in case anyone asks who the best Joker is i'll let you know, it's not Ledger, Nicholson or Romero... It's Hamill

Tell that to all the "Who's the best Joker?" poll results on the Internet. :lol



If Bale, Ledger, Nolan or anything Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, or The Dark Knight Rises related is in a competition with other interpretations it'll usually always win. Strangely even against the source itself, comics. I think the only exception to this claim is the '89 Batmobile and Kevin Conroy's voice which are pretty much immune to criticism for the most part.

That's just how it is . . . until the next interpretation that is.
 
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I always wanted to see Hamil dressed up as Joker with makeup and hair and ____. Not now that he's turned sixty, but back in the day. I think he could have pulled off the total package really really well.
 
Christian Bale.. Hands down... Am I the only one who actually like his voice as Batman???

-Sorry guys, but I can't stand Adam West, to me that was a bad joke of Batman (the 60's Batman was awful in general).

- Michael Keaton, looked good as Batman, but a bit too old as Bruce Wayne.. He looked over 40. Anyway I liked more Val Kilmer as an old Bruce Wayne, than Keaton.

- Kevin Conroy is only voice, so IMO can't be in the same category with movie's Batman. But as someone said, he is batman in the animated world.

-

60's Batman, the 70's Batman was some of the greatest stuff in comicdom, Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil were just a few of the great things about Batman in the 70's, and the 60's Batman wasn't too shabby either.
 
Love Bale, but for me West is Batman much like Reeve is Superman. I grew up on those 2.
 
60's Batman, the 70's Batman was some of the greatest stuff in comicdom, Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil were just a few of the great things about Batman in the 70's, and the 60's Batman wasn't too shabby either.

Thanks I just fixed it :D . 60's Batman can't be taked serious, to me is some kind of parody, or maybe I am too young and watched that show in 1998, after watching, Burton's Batman, and Batman The Animated Series maybe that ruined the experience to me.

About Mark Hamill his movie theater career ended early because he was stigmatized as Luke. And besides he was a star on Broadway??.
 
While he is nowhere near the best (or even any better than a distant last) I do believe George Clooney gets a bad rap. Sure he played the role really horribly, but I am convinced that if he had been given a much better quality and darker script he could have made a decent batman.
 
kind of surprised but not by Kevin Conroy's low amount of votes. But as soon as I saw the thread title, I already new that Bale would be the lead
 
I think its kinda futile to include Kevin Conroy's voice talents against the othe live action renditioners. For me the voice of Batman will ALWAYS be Kevin Conroy. Same for Mark Hamill as The Joker.

But as live action guys, I couldnt stand the Keaton Bats simply because his Bruce Wayne persona rather his looks didnt match up with that in the comics I used to read (curly hair, balding patch?) he looked too old for Wayne.
Also as a kid when watching the Burton Batman I used to be appalled that Batman who was supposed to be a master fighter sometime used to be aced by common thugs etc etc and that instead of sending chaps to jail he'd invariably end up killing them. Also sadly as much as I loved the gotham city design and the character designs the stories I never really liked. First time I really liked the story of a Batman movie was in Nolan's Begins.
(when I got older I realised it was the Batsuit that was limiting and making Keaton's movements, fighting style all cramped up)

I though Val Kilmer looked good as a comic to live action Batman (NOT considering the script and the movie ONLY him in the suit) Also keep in mind Im talking about the Suit used in the first part of the movie, not that weird sonar one in the ending part.

IMO Bale's rendition (rather should say Nolan's rendition) captured the feel of the character I loved so much. Modern technology and imporvements have allowed Nolan to recreate what the Batman in comics would have translated into the real world...
 
This is why I'll never vote. Basically it's a biased choice (no matter who you vote for or who wins).



I like West and that whole goofy, do-gooder, badge wearing deputy of the law persona. I think it suits the show well. I think people that write off the show and the Batman character because of the camp are missing out. There's this wit to it.

I'm a young guy and didn't grow up with it, so I shouldn't even appreciate West or the show, but I do. West's deadpan Batman is enjoyable for what it is.

The campy Batman isn't my Batman but I can still appreciate it for what it is without writing it off as nonsense.

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Other than TDKReturns/Miller Batman, Keaton was basically the face of Batman in the 80s. That classic, dark and brooding Batman. You don't ____ with any of the Batmen (even Adam West) but the Keaton interpretation you especially didn't piss off. They gave it that whole psychological template that wasn't there previously for the live action character. There was an edginess to him, a force that gave Batman multiple layers instead of just the typical "superhero". The guy is basically ____ed up and uses this illness as an outlet to eradicate crime. Is this not what people wanted? It met and surpassed standards and even set a few for the superhero film genre and blockbuster films in general. Sure, it's glossed over now and taken for granted (film are a lot more complex now a days) but it was pretty heavy-duty stuff back in the day. People expected a silly, short, balding funny Batman and got the exact opposite. It could have been disastrous with camp (it almost was) and Keaton could have winged it, but he didn't. This Batman gave the character some much needed depth. It was pretty much the Ledger/Joker scenario back in 1988 but a lot of people seem to forget that.

Plus he boffed a young Kim Basinger and owned the Batmobile. Keaton Batman was that dude.

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The Animated Series took what was great about the Burton films and comics and revitalized the character. The Conroy Batman is pretty much the perfect interpretation of the character in nearly any form. The character is dark and brooding, clever, calculating, a great detective and actually has this soul. The episodes won Emmy's. Nearly every episode had a tragic villain, that by the end, Batman could relate to be it Baby Doll or Mr. Freeze. It was rich and absolutely got what Batman was all about. I like Keaton's Batman voice, but for me, Conroy's voice takes the cake.

Not bad for a cartoon character.

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The Christian Bale Batman is special for the simple fact that we got to see the actual process of becoming a fully realized Batman. With the other interpretations like the '89 Batman and Animated Series Batman the character was always at his peek. Yeah we got glimpses of how or why he came to be, but we never had a story dedicated to it. We get to see him as a scared kid, an angry young man and then a mature hero.

Bruce Wayne is really the focal point for me, especially from Batman Begins.

They all have their flaws though. Sometimes the animation of the animated series isn't the greatest, Bale's voice is absolutely terrible and over the top most of the time and Keaton is hindered by dated effects (restrictive suit, time) but they're all pretty good to me. :huh

They're all of their time. What one lacks in qualities, the other makes up for. This is especially true with Keaton and Bale. If you could somehow combine them you'd pretty much have the perfect live action Batman. Basically what the Animated Series Batman would be if he wasn't animated.
 
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Thanks I just fixed it :D . 60's Batman can't be taked serious, to me is some kind of parody, or maybe I am too young and watched that show in 1998, after watching, Burton's Batman, and Batman The Animated Series maybe that ruined the experience to me.

About Mark Hamill his movie theater career ended early because he was stigmatized as Luke. And besides he was a star on Broadway??.

The 60's was a different time, that's all. Throughout the 50's and 60's, comics became goofier and more outlandish, almost to the point of, as you said, self-parody at times. The biggest factor in this was censorship. In the early 50's, Dr.Fredric Wertham attributed comics as a cause for delinquency, and an entire senate investigation. Long story short, the comics code authority was formed, and Batman and others were no longer free to beat the hell out of crooks and cons.
 
The 60's was a different time, that's all. Throughout the 50's and 60's, comics became goofier and more outlandish, almost to the point of, as you said, self-parody at times. The biggest factor in this was censorship. In the early 50's, Dr.Fredric Wertham attributed comics as a cause for delinquency, and an entire senate investigation. Long story short, the comics code authority was formed, and Batman and others were no longer free to beat the hell out of crooks and cons.


This was also the reason Batman didn't kill or carry guns anymore.
 
Honestly, I don't think any one actor has particularly nailed the Bruce/Batman character yet.

Conroy's voice is great, and the animated series is my favorite interpretation besides the source material, but at the end of the day its still a cartoon, and Conroy was just the voice.

Keaton had the 'feel' of the dark, brooding Batman, and was THE Batman throughout my childhood. Physically though, he doesn't match up to what the character should be.

Bale has his ups and downs, but most people gravitate towards the Nolan films because they're the 'new, edgier, darker' films right now. I think he was much better in Begins than he was in TDK as both Bruce and Batman. Bale wins by default because he physically is the best Bats and is pretty decent in both roles as an actor.

But the great thing about Batman is that there are many interpretations of the character, and all are viable. I enjoy the old B&W serials as 'Batman' as much as I do the current movies. They all have their place.
 
Kevin Conroy is my favorite Batman.

Michael Keaton is the best Batman on film.

Christian Bale just completely sucks.
 
lol at those that are adamant that their actor is the best version.

Besides, we all know the best Batman was Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy.

kickass-big-daddy-cage.jpg


Revenge!!!!
 
It really does come down to who you grew up with..doesn't it? When i was 5 in the 70's watching West i didn't know what 'camp' meant. In 89 i was in HS doing HS things (
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:banana
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)..thought Batman was pretty cool, didn't flip over it or anything. Like DiFabio said Keaton really was an odd choice back then, still i dug it. I thought Batman Returns was a train wreck when it came out.(love it now) Liked Kilmer in the suit and remember enjoying 'Forever' in theaters. Wasn't too fired up about Bale and 'Begins' but that all changed when i saw it and got me interested in Batman again..made me re-evaluate everything that came before. I can appreciate all of it now except for B@R, and that's whats funny considering i grew up on 'camp' Batman.
 
Interesting poll would be also:

What's your favorite Bat-suite ?

a) 89's Batman
b) Batman Returns
c) Batman Forever
d) Batman & Robin
e) Batman Begins
f) Batman Dark Knight
g) Other (name which)

My favorite, was Batman Returns I think. I am not sure, I like all of them, all have good and bad things.

Other poll:

Who's the best (most beautiful) bat-lady:

a) kim basinger
b) michelle pfeiffer
c) Cristi Conaway -- Ice princess Batman Returns (I love her)
d) Nicole Kidman
f) elle macpherson
g) Katie Holmes
h) maggie gyllenhaal
i) Other (name who)

Can't choose here.. I guess I am between, Ice princess, Kim, and Katie.
 
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