Who was the Best Batman?

2008 was the year of the Bat for movies. With The Dark Knight breaking so many box-office records, Batman has not only returned to the big screen, but secured his franchise for another generation. Now, it's time to take a look back at the men who have played the Caped Crusader through the years. Some have been great, others we'd rather forget about. So who was the best Batman?

First, I'll start by setting the timeframe. I'm not going all the way back to the black-and-white serials. I'm only going back to the '60's. Not that there was anything wrong with the Batman from the older movies. Those are simply the ones I've had the least exposure to. So, for the sake of this article, I'm starting with Adam West.

Adam West

For many of us, this was the first Batman we ever saw. The television series debuted in the late '60's and became a part of American popular culture. The show was famous for its campy dialogue, bright, flashy costumes, and the ever-popular action words popping during fight sequences. SPLAT! POW! BOFF!

Compared to the Batmen we've seen since the late '80's, Adam West really stands apart. In fact, I'd be bold enough to call his portrayal of Batman ridiculous. But that was the '60's. That was the popular trend in those days. Even though I find the goofy, off-the-wall interpretation funny, cheesy, even dumb, it has its place if for nothing else but to secure television history.

In the end, Adam West is classic.

Michael Keaton

If you grew up in the late '80's, this is most likely the Batman you swear by. Tim Burton gave us two Batman films, 1989's Batman and its sequel Batman Returns. Truly spectacular, both of them. For the lead role, Burton cast Michael Keaton.

If you followed Keaton's career during the '80's, you may have never considered a good Batman. He kept mainly to family roles, comedies, and the like, such as Mr. Mom. But his performance in Beetlejuice, another Tim Burton film, demonstrated a versatility and a gift for playing the darker misfit.

All that aside, Keaton is spectacular. Batman can be very tricky to cast. Why? Well, he's actually two characters in one. You have the easy-going playboy, Bruce Wayne, whose ego at time exceeds his trust fund, and the darker, mysterious man hidden in shadow, the Batman. An actor can typically do one of these roles well, but both? That's a trick, but Keaton pulls it off.

Watch the way he handles the crowd as Bruce Wayne, then speaks to Vicki and Alex in private. He panhandles to Gotham's elite, says, "because I bought it in Japan," then assumes a more casual air. He's the rich pretty-boy, but there's another side to him from the start.

As Batman, Keaton delivers some of the most amazing lines in Hollywood. How many of us still have "I'm Batman" pressed into memory? His emotionless expression as the Bat exudes that mysterious quality so needed from the Dark Knight. This is where Keaton succeeds: playing two characters in one to uncanny perfection.

Val Kilmer

After Keaton, can anyone possibly take up the Batman's mantle? Well, many of us said no in the mid-90's. After two amazing movies from Tim Burton, Warner Bros. decided to take a different approach to the Batman franchise. Tim Burton stayed on as a producer, but Joel Schumacher replaced him as director. Michael Keaton left, to be replaced by Val Kilmer.

Just because he wasn't Keaton, Val wasn't received well from the get-go. But really, Val wasn't all that bad.

As Batman, the critics were right. Kilmer doesn't deliver the mystery, the intrigue, and certainly not the memorable lines. In Batman, Michael Keaton, as the titular character, appears and says "I'm Batman." In Batman Forever, Val Kilmer appears as Batman and says "I'll get drive-through." The magic is gone, replaced by a cheap shot at humor.

But as Bruce Wayne, Val becomes significantly more convincing. He still entertains the elite, wining and dining, well showing up wherever there's a big event. But his presence exudes a subtle mystery of its own. "Do you have a thing for bats?" he ask of a Rorshach. The more serious nature of the film comes out here.

Certainly, Kilmer is not the best Batman, but his performance as Bruce Wayne rescues him from being the worst. As fans complained, and still do, about the direction Joel Schumacher took the franchise in Batman Forever, another film made it to the screen. This film would shatter our hopes for a terrific Batman film and give us, as Batman. . .

George Clooney

Oh, boy. How do I score this one? Joel Schumacher's last Batman film devolved much further from expectations than any fan could have imagined. Tim Burton imagined a dark, gothic Gotham with a dark vigilante brooding over the underworld. Joel Schumacher softened the darkness in Forever, adding much more flash, and completely replaced it in Batman and Robin.

Batman and Robin is a straight comedy, a spoof of sorts on the superhero concept. More cheesy lines, more flashy sequences, more bright costumes. The Batman this time around is George Clooney. It's sad, really. George is a terrific actor with films like O Brother, Where Art Thou? to his credit. But as Batman, he's appalling.

He may be a stylish actor, but he's completely unconvincing in the Bat-suit. He delivers no mystery, no intrigue, as either Bruce Wayne or Batman. Instead we get "This is why Superman works alone," and "Just don't point it at my bedroom."

Kilmer was not the best, but Clooney is by far the worst. After the disappointment that was Batman and Robin, Warner Bros. put the franchise on the shelf for the rest of the decade. After the turn of the millennium, several bids were made to bring Batman back to the screen. Finally, director Christoper Nolan delivered with Batman Begins, giving us a new vision of Batman's world, and presenting as Batman. . .

Christian Bale

When I heard Christian Bale was playing Batman, I said "Who?" Being unfamiliar with his work, I approached Batman Begins hesitantly. I was nonetheless surprised and even more pleased.

In Begins, Bale doesn't really shine as Batman. His performance is great, but it's not the Batman that he does well here, it's his Wayne. Much like Val Kilmer, Bale pulls off the rich playboy by day quite well. He shows up with supermodels, buys up hotels, and that face seals the deal. He really does the part.

Since Begins is an origin story, I find myself less drawn to the Bat, and more to the man. That's why I don't give him high praise in the Bat-suit here. He does well, certainly a relief from George Clooney. But Begins is about how the character came to be, how Bruce Wayne came to make the decisions that turned him into Batman.

In Nolan's second Batman film, 2008's The Dark Knight, Christian delivers a great Bruce Wayne again, but this time the Batman comes out just as strong. Perhaps it's the atmosphere Christopher Nolan created, a return in a sense to the dark, gritty underworld of Gotham. Christian Bale just enters the room with that brooding terror that Michael Keaton created in Tim Burton's films. It's not only refreshing, it's exciting.

With all these Batmen through the ages, can a best Batman possibly be chosen? Well, there are several criteria to choose from, but at the end, I'm torn. Certainly, Keaton ranks up there, but I'm more and more impressed by Christian Bale. I can't possibly decide. For me, it's between the two of them. But all that aside, Batman's continued presence on screen, with such stark contrasts between the actors who have played him, testifies to the strength of the character in public consciousness. Will another Batman movie materialize? Who will play that Batman, and what will we think of him ten years from now?