Batman. The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader of Gotham City. His story has been told dozens of times and has been remade twice in each decade. And these retellings show the best and, unfortunately, the worst of Batman’s storyline (does “The Killing Joke” or “Death in the Family” ring a bell anyone?).

But I want to talk about the men who have portrayed Batman. I want to discuss who was the best on-screen, and who among them should have jumped into the vat of chemicals and been wheeled off the set.

I personally say “Batman: The Animated Series” gave the world the best Batman of all time. I mean, he was voiced by the great Kevin Conroy. However, I could say the same for Adam West, the star of the ABC comedy TV series of the 1960s, “Batman.” Even the theme song is legendary. West brought a certain campiness and action to the Batman character, making him very likable while still managing to somehow still be an exciting character.

But then, we start talking about the more modern versions of Batman. Or rather, the different versions of Batman from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and now. So, if you want to know who was the best and, dare I say, the worst, then I’ll let you know truth once and for all.

Well, until another actor steps into the Batsuit, anyway.

First, I’ll start with Michael Keaton’s portrayal of the unhinged billionaire Bruce Wayne and whispering Batman. In 1989, director Tim Burton cast two great actors, Jack Nicholson and Keaton, to create the first live-action film adaptation of the Batman character. Keaton gave the character dark overtones, gave the audience a more film-noir type feeling to the character. A completely different Batman from our parents’ Batman.

Then, in 1992, Keaton went full force as the Dark Knight when he was in “Batman Returns.” Keaton knew how to play up the broken and sullen side of the character, and showed he knew how to play the two different personas.

Then you had Val Kilmer’s Batman in Joel Schumacher’s flamboyant and colorful 1995 film “Batman Forever.” Kilmer’s interpretation was…well, he was okay. In “Batman Forever,” things started to look bad and I could see it from a mile away, long before Schumacher’s atrocious 1997 “Batman & Robin” came out. As Batman, Kilmer was just simply more forgettable, and that’s just about all I remember from the film.

Then you have…him.

Joel Schumacher’s career never came back from its shallow grave of failure after directing “Batman & Robin.” However, it was not until the major casting of George Clooney as the Dark Knight that Schumacher really hit rock bottom. Clooney wasn’t even trying to portray the mysterious aura of the caped crusader. As a matter of fact, he was mostly phoning in the performance. This is the performance that almost killed the Batman film series and banished George Clooney from the superhero film genre, never to return.

Fortunately, the saving grace of all the actors who’ve ever played Batman on-screen was right around the corner; just eight years later. In 2005, the world bore witness to Christian Bale’s sophisticated and mysterious portrayal of the Dark Knight in “Batman Begins,” his performance aided by the realistic and serious vision that director Christopher Nolan had for the DC Comics crimefighter.

The Welsh method actor’s performance was overwhelmingly lauded by critics and fans alike. Then again, the last Batman we had before this was Clooney, so you can’t really blame us for losing our minds. Even still. Watching Bale as Batman was almost like having Keaton playing Batman all over again.

Now, I could put writer-director-actor Ben Affleck on this list as well, but I’m going to wait until after “Justice League” and “The Batman” films are released. Then, I’ll announce my verdict.
So there it is, ladies and gentleman, my view on who is the best of the best as Batman, and who is the worst of the worst.