Top 10 Batmans to Hang Out With
The Batman is about to be released. The 2022 iteration of Detective Comics’ greatest creation will be portrayed by Robert Pattinson. He seems cool. But is he the actor that wore the cape and cowl you want to hang out with? What follows is the definitive list of the top 10 actors that have portrayed The Dark Knight that I want to possibly turn into a friend. The Batman in Dark Knight does not rank high.
10. Olan Soule
The voice of Batman in the animated series from 1968 to 1983, it would be great to hang out with Olan but Olan has been deceased since 1994.
9. Adam West
If he wasn’t dead, he might make the top 5. He gets it.
8. Christian Bale
Why so serious?
7. Robert Pattinson
I have nothing against Pattinson but the other six dark knights just have more going for them. This one just reminds me of My Chemical Romance, which is not a bad thing, it’s just, well, it’s not time for a parade everyday.
6. Will Arnett
We would not talk about Lego Batman. We would absolutely talk about his marriage and divorce and parenting style with Amy Poehler.
5. Kevin Conroy
Conroy may have the second most recognizable Batman voice (Bale wins, even if it’s not his voice) thanks to his role as the Batman in Batman: The Animated Series and seemingly every Batman related animated television show and video game since 1992. It’d be nice to hang out with the only Batman no one will recognize. It’d also be nice to hang out with the only openly gay Batman.
4. Ben Affleck
Batman might come up. Boston sports and Dunkin Donuts and bad tattoos and Daredevil would definitely come up. Affleck was a good Daredevil. He was!
3. George Clooney
I’m also surprised Clooney isn’t number one. Who doesn’t want to hang out with the campiest Batman, tequila company owner, Danny Ocean and human rights advocate? Maybe we could discuss his work in the underrated Out of Sight, which co-stars the current love interest of our number four pick.
2. Val Kilmer
I liked Val Kilmer. After seeing last year’s Val, I love Val Kilmer. We could discuss dating Cher, portraying Mark Twain, his role in the underrated Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Does Robert Downey Jr. become Iron Man in 2008 without 2005’s Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang?) and whatever was going on in Top Gun.
1. Michael Keaton
The best Batman is the one least likely to have ever been cast as Batman. He’s my favorite person that portrayed Batman because he worked for Fred Rogers. That’s it. The stand up career, not taking himself too seriously, current great work in stuff like Birdman and Dopesick, excellent Maron appearance, role in the MCU, all of that is just bonus. Keaton will always be the Batman for me because he understood the importance of play, a lesson he learned from Mister Rogers. And if a young Bruce Wayne had Mister Rogers in his life, maybe he would have avoided wasting millions of dollars ‘fighting’ crime and just went to therapy, donated millions to mental health and managed his trauma without glorifying vigilantes and billionaires that destroy the universe.
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