Gallery: Before Batfleck: A History of Batman's Best and Worst Incarnations
01Lewis Wilson
Last week, [Warner Bros. announced](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2013/08/ben-affleck-batman/) that Ben Affleck would be the next big-screen Batman, teaming up with Henry Cavill's Superman in the upcoming *Man of Steel* sequel, and *everyone* had an opinion — most of them snarky and rife with *Daredevil* jokes (see: [\#Batfleck](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/batfleck-backlash-on-the-web-does-batmans-studio-hear-you-scream/2013/08/23/5c7b1d62-0c21-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_blog.html)). In light of the announcement — and the [mixed reception](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2013/08/ben-affleck-batman-2/) it received from fans — we've decided to put Affleck in context, with a rundown of every actor to play the Caped Crusader in an ongoing serial or feature film, from radio, to television, to the movies. Affleck may not be everyone's top pick for Batman, but in the character's long tenure more than one less-likely choice has risen to the challenge — and more than one shoo-in has fallen flat. __Above:__ Lewis Wilson ------------ __Title:__ *Batman* __Era:__ Golden Age __Medium:__ Theatrical Serial Lewis Wilson was the first on-screen Batman. Wilson starred in *Batman*, a 15-part serial that made its debut in 1943 (with all the attendant patriotism and xenophobia de rigeur for a wartime release), and introduced some key elements of the Bat mythos, including the Bat Cave. Wilson remains the youngest actor to play Batman on screen—he was only 23 when he took on the role, which also marked his screen debut.
02Stacy Harris
Stacy Harris ------------ __Title:__ *The Adventures of Superman* __Era:__ Golden Age __Medium:__ Radio Batman has never had his own ongoing radio drama, but he was a regular character on the *Adventures of Superman* serial, teaming up or substituting for Superman in dozens of episodes. Stacy Harris, the first radio Batman, was an established radio performer, best known for playing lead agent Jim Taylor on CBS radio series *This Is Your FBI*. In the 1950s, Harris made a smooth transition to the small screen, where he appeared in a long string of westerns and crime dramas. *Photo: ABC*
03Matt Crowley
Matt Crowley ------------ __Title:__ *The Adventures of Superman* __Era:__ Golden Age __Medium:__ Radio Stacy Harris may have been the first actor to play Batman on the radio, but the man who defined the role was Matt Crowley, who took over after Harris left the show. Crowley came with impeccable action-hero chops — in addition to playing Batman for years in *The Adventures of Superman* radio serial, he also voiced Dick Tracy and Buck Rogers, among others — and his grim, clipped take on Batman set the stage for future versions of the character.
04Robert Lowery
Robert Lowery ------------- __Title:__ *Batman and Robin* __Era:__ Golden Age __Medium:__ Theatrical Serial Batman returned to the silver screen in 1949, this time played by veteran actor Robert Lowery. By the time he was cast as Batman, Lowery had established a solid reputation as an action star; unfortunately what would probably have been a decent performance in *Batman and Robin* was undercut by a production defined by cut corners and awkward takes.
05Adam West
Adam West --------- __Titles:__ *Batman*, *Batgirl*, *The New Adventures of Batman*, *Tarzan and the Super 7*, *Legends of the Superheroes*, *SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show*, *The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians*, *The Simpsons*, *Batman: New Times* __Era:__ Silver Age — Modern Age __Medium:__ Television (live-action and animated), Feature Film, Shorts Nearly fifty years after he first donned cape and cowl, Adam West remains the actor most closely and consistently associated with the role of Batman. He starred in the self-consciously campy *Batman* TV series from 1966-1968, as well as the '66 movie, and reprised the role in several animated series and live-action specials. Like those of his predecessors, West's pre-Batman career was dominated by action roles. He was also the first of two Batmans to be cast based on performances in commercials — in West's case, as the Bond-styled spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik ad.
06Olan Soule
Olan Soule ---------- __Titles:__ *The Batman/Superman Hour*, *The Adventures of Batman*, *The New Scooby-Doo Movies*, *Sesame Street*, *The All-New Super Friends Hour*, *Challenge of the SuperFriends*, *The World's Greatest Super Friends*, *Super Friends* __Era:__ Silver Age — Bronze Age __Medium:__ Television (animated) Olan Soule started his career in radio, then made his way to television as a prolific character actor and a regular on *The Andy Griffith Show* and *Dragnet*. Of the official Batmans, Soule is the one who falls furthest from the grim dark knight of the last few decades: his Batman is animated (literally and figuratively) and enthusiastic, with a bit of Don Adams twang.
07Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton -------------- __Titles:__ *Batman*, *Batman Returns* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Feature Films Don't let the internet spoil you: fans have been complaining about Batman casting since long before hashtags. When Tim Burton cast the then relatively obscure Michael Keaton as Batman for his 1989 film, Warner Bros. received thousands of angry letters insisting that the actor was the wrong choice for the part. Keaton, who had previously acted mostly in comedies, turned around and surprised the hell out of everyone by nailing Batman's obsessive intensity in the best big-screen version of the character until Christian Bale took up the cape and cowl in 2005. Keaton was slated to appear in a third Batman film but left when it turned out that Burton would no longer be directing, dodging the dual bullets of Joel Schumacher and bat-nipples.
/Flickr08Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy ------------ __Titles:__ *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm*, *Batman*, *The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest*, *SubZero*, *Batman Beyond: The Movie*, *The New Batman Adventures*, *Superman*, *Batman: Return of the Joker*, *Batman: Vengeance*, *Batman Beyond*, *Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu*, *Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman*, *Static Shock*, *The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence*, *Justice League*, *Justice League Unlimited*, *Batman: Gotham Knight*, *Batman: Arkham Asylum*, *Superman/Batman: Public Enemies*, *Superman/Batman: Apocalypse*, *DC Universe Online*, *Batman: Arkham City*, *Justice League: Doom*, *Harley Quinn's Revenge*, *Injustice: Gods Among Us*, *Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox*, *Tales of Metropolis* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Television (animated), Feature Films (animated), Video (animated), Video Games Bruce Timm may have created the distinctive look of the DC animated universe, but it was Kevin Conroy's gravelly voice that brought its Batman to life as the hands-down best small-screen iteration of the dark knight. Unlike Soule, who had prior experience in both radio and animation, Conroy's pre-Batman career was primarily on stage and in TV movies; *Batman: The Animated Series* was not only his first voice work, but the first voice role Conroy had ever auditioned for. In the last 20 years, Conroy's performance has defined the animated Batman to an unprecedented extent: He's the only actor to reprise the role more than once in that period, and his version of the voice has informed every subsequent portrayal.
09Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer ---------- __Title:__ *Batman Forever* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Feature Film Like Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer was something of a wild card when he was cast as Batman. Prior to taking up the cape and cowl both men had done turns in drama and action flicks, yet neither had really tackled being a superhero. However, where Keaton turned out to be a pleasant surprise, Kilmer fell short. He's OK in the Bat Suit, but someone clearly forgot that the actor who plays Batman also has to be able to pull off a passable Bruce Wayne — during an era when Kilmer still looked about nineteen years old in a tuxedo.
10George Clooney
George Clooney -------------- __Title:__ *Batman and Robin* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Feature Film In theory, George Clooney should have been a good Batman. He's a good actor. He *looks* like Batman. *It made sense.* Whether Clooney decided to phone it in once it became clear that *Batman and Robin* was a general mess or his lackluster performance contributed to the movie's downward slide is unclear, but Clooney — bat-nipples and all — has become the same cautionary tale to Batman as George Lazenby is to Bond. "It was a difficult film to be good in," [Clooney later said](http://www.totalfilm.com/news/george-clooney-talks-batman-robin). "With hindsight it’s easy to look back at this and go 'Woah, that was really shit and I was really bad in it.'"
11Bruce Thomas
__Bruce Thomas__ ---------------- __Titles:__ OnStar commercials, *Birds of Prey* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Commercials, TV Series Remember when Bruce Thomas was Batman? It's okay — neither does anyone else. Thomas played Batman in a series of OnStar commercials, then briefly reprised the role in a few flashback scenes in the pilot and premiere of the short-lived *Birds of Prey* series.
12Rino Romano
__Rino Romano__ --------------- __Title:__ *The Batman*, *The Batman vs. Dracula*p> __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__Television (animated), Video (animated) While he's taken live roles on and off, Rino Romano is primarily a voice actor, and an old hand at voicing superheroes — before taking up Batman's mantle, Romano played Spider-Man in the *Spider-Man Unlimited* cartoon. *The Batman* features a younger Bruce Wayne than usual — it starts in his third year as Batman — and while Romano's performance, like most modern animated Batmans, borrows a lot from Kevin Conroy's, Romano does a good job of establishing a recognizable but younger and less confident take on the Caped Crusader.
13Christian Bale
__Christian Bale__ ------------------ __Title:__ *Batman Begins*, *The Dark Knight*, *The Dark Knight Rises* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Feature Film The most recent live-action Batman comes with a counterintuitive list of credits: While in the last eight years, he's picked up a slew of action roles, his pre-Batman credits run from Jack Kelley in *Newsies*, to Laurie in *Little Women*, and even a spin as Jesus in a made-for-TV movie. Bale's experience playing classic aristocrats has clearly paid off: his Batman is unremarkable, but his brooding, arrogant Bruce Wayne is easily the best and most believable of the lot.
14Diedrich Bader
__Diedrich Bader__ ------------------ __Titles:__ *Batman: The Brave and the Bold*, *Mad*, *Cartoon Network 20th Anniversary* __Era:__ Modern __Medium:__ Television (animated) Like Olan Soule, Diedrich Bader is a seasoned voice actor and live character actor. However, while Soule came from a long history of crime dramas and westerns, Bader's forte is comedy. If that seems like a counterintuitive match for the Caped Crusader, you might be surprised: Bader hits a great midpoint between Adam West and Kevin Conroy, tempering the grim, gravelly Bat-voice with West's bombastic sincerity. The result is a Batman who fits well in a team-up focused kids show while remaining recognizable to viewers familiar with the larger DC Animated Universe.
