Happy Batman Day – Which Actor Played The Caped Crusader Best

Happy Batman Day to you and yours. I'm sure you're celebrating with some cosplay antics or cake and ice cream or however the hell one celebrates Batman Day.  As for me, I celebrate by bringing up the age old question of: Which actor played the caped crusader the best?  Lets go old school to the latest. Up first:

Adam West (1966)

Very hard to do a comparison of this low budget campy TV series against the big budget dark themed cinematic movies but for most of us the Adam West version was our introduction to Batman on the silver screen.

Michael Keaton (1982 & 1992)

Most would agree Micheal Keaton brought it when it when it was time to give the character a dark tone with just enough snarky humor to make him plausible as both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Keaton's brooding charm complimented jack Nicholson's wildly animated Joker character.

Val Kilmer (1995)

Critics compared it closest to the campy 1960 TV series then any of the other films. Not sure I agree with that given I didn't see one "Za-BONK" or "Ka-PoW" on the screen. Plus Val never uttered "Holy" in front of any statement in the film. I thought it was the most fun one to watch.

George Clooney (1997)

No getting around that this version of Batman was the worst. Clooney even admits he stunk it up. Still, he wasn't given a lot to work with. Weak script, introduction of Robin and Arnold Schwarzenegger as his opposite. Yeah, this version was doomed form the beginning.

Christian Bale (2005, 2008, 2012)

Never overplaying his role, Bale kept his angst ridden Bruce Wayne tempered while his gruff voice cape crusader alter ego displayed a less flamboyant presentation then his heath ledger Joker counter-part.  Considered the best of the crop, Bale did three films before passing the baton the Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck (2016 & 2017)

Perhaps one of the most comfortable in the role. Affleck's smooth transitions between Bruce Wayne and Batman were flawless, handling the roles better than most who have donned the cape and the golden spoon. The fight scenes were among the best in the series and Affleck handled it like a pro.

A tough choice but who do you feel brought on the role of Batman the best ,on this the day of Bat in the year of our lord two thousand twenty?

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