Christian Bale Beats Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton To Claim Best Batman Title

Batman is considered to be one of the most iconic characters in the history of comic books. The character has also garnered a huge fan following in the world of cinema and only eight actors have gotten the opportunity to play the larger-than-life role in movies while some of them have voiced the character in different films and animated series.

There has been a lot of debate as to which actor played the role of the legendary comic book character with precision and can be touted as the best Batman ever. Now, it seems we have an answer that would certainly put an end to this debate.

In a survey conducted by Radio Times, Christian Bale has been voted the best Batman ever, beating the likes of Adam West, Michael Keaton, and Ben Affleck. The Academy Award-winning actor received 42% of the total votes in the poll and won the contest by a huge margin.

West claimed the second spot with 14% of votes while Keaton received 13% of the total votes received. The Batfleck came in at fourth place while Kevin Conroy, who has voiced Batman in numerous animated series and video games, rounded off the top five.

Will Arnett, George Clooney, and Val Kilmer were at the bottom of the table.

Bale portrayed the Caped Crusader in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy. He was first introduced as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 2005 movie “Batman Begins.” He reprised the role in 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”

The “Fighter” star donned the iconic suit for the last time in 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” The movies earned more than $2.4 billion at the global box office.

Meanwhile, West has played the character in a movie as well as a TV series.

Apart from Bale, Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck are the only stars to play Batman in more than one movie. Keaton played Batman in Tim Burton’s “Batman” and came back to reprise the role in 1992’s “Batman Returns.”

On the other hand, Affleck has portrayed the character in “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” “Suicide Squad,” and “Justice League.”

Robert Pattinson has now taken the mantle from Affleck to play the world’s greatest detective in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film “The Batman.” The shooting of the movie has been put on hold after Pattinson tested “positive” for COVID-19.

“The Batman” is scheduled to hit the theaters in 2021.