Greatest On Screen Portrayals of Batman
Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman has become one of the most loved, respected and featured superheroes in entertainment history, earning his own movies, graphic novels, countless memorabilia and even video games. We’ve had the full spectrum of campy, action packed and dark gritty dramatic representations of Gotham’s favourite son, but which ones are the best? Let’s take a look at some of the greatest on-screen portrayals of the infamous Dark Knight.
Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton starred in both the 1989 Tim Burton epic Batman, and its sequel Batman Returns opposite Jack Nicholson’s Joker, and Danny DeVito’s Penguin. The films were a huge success despite the initial controversy of Keaton’s casting due to his type casting as a comedy actor. The film paved the way for Superhero films as we know them today, and the hugely successful animated series that followed.
Adam West
Adam West is one of the most famous actors to have portrayed Batman, starring in the infamous 1960’s family friendly TV series and its subsequent big screen adaptation Batman: The Movie. The series was known for its similarity to the comic books and it’s light hearted, almost cartoonish approach to the character, a far cry from the dramatic, gritty portrayal of the 21st century.
Kevin Conroy
The ultimate Batman voice, Kevin Conroy has played the voice of Batman for almost 25 years, spanning at least 9 different television series, 12 animated movies and 7 video games. No other actor has played Batman for so long or featured as many times. He first appeared in the 1992 animated series, and his first feature length appearance was the 1993 film Mask of the Phantasm.
Christian Bale
Christian Bale played a much grittier Batman in the 2005 Christopher Nolan reboot Batman Begins that also starred Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes and Michael Cain. The film was a huge success, and spawned a trilogy, with 2008’s The Dark Knight and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. The trilogy proved to be the most successful on-screen representation of Batman, grossing an incredible $2.464 billion dollars at the box office.
Lewis Wilson
Although not the most famous version of Gotham’s Knight, Lewis Wilson’s is without a doubt one of the most important, as he was the first actor ever to portray Batman on screen, all the way back in 1943. The story line follows the Batman attempting to defeat the sabotage schemes of Japanese agent Dr. Daka operating in Gotham City at the height of World War II. Serving Daka are his traitorous American henchmen.
In 1995 after Michael Keaton had dropped out due to creative differences, Val Kilmer signed on to play the caped crusader in Batman Forever without either reading the script, or finding out who the director was. Batman Forever's tone was significantly different from the previous instalments, becoming more family-friendly as Warner Bros. believed that the previous film, Batman Returns failed to out-gross its predecessor due to complaints about the film's violence and dark overtones. It also starred Jim Carrey as The Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Two Face.
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