Hi, not really the usual full fat video this week as I want to talk about someone who I
did not know personally of course but who touched my heart and I’m sure yours
as well… someone very special who is the undeniable answer to an oft asked question…
Who is the best batman?
Sure - there’s been a whole host of excellent Batmen over the years that have all brought
something meaningful to the table - the cinematic portrayals often being the most discussed.
Keaton gave us an on screen Batman that was darker and taken more seriously than ever before.
Bale gave us a grounded and beautifully realised batman in a near perfect cinematic trilogy.
Affleck gave us the best live action batman action sequences, and fought gods.
West was the first true adaptation of Batman, and his stories excited in the 60s. Whilst dated now,
they still hold a place as campy and unashamedly fun capers through today’s lens.
I even like the depictions of Kilmer and Clooney,
who both absolutely crushed it as the suave and sophisticated bruce wayne.
And whilst I love all of those depictions,
there is no denying the best Batman actor is surely the recently departed Kevin Conroy.
Conroy is the definitive Batman voice.
He voiced the character ever since the days of the 1992 Batman Animated series - Batman:
The Animated Series, and from there he cultivated a huge body of work that cemented
his status as THE voice of the Dark Knight. He appeared in countless shows, video games
and has even been included on the list of live action Batmen after his appearance on the CW.
As I’m sure you’re all aware, Conroy recently passed away aged 66, leaving behind a frankly
untouchable legacy as the Dark Knight. I don’t often get too teary over celebrities I have never
met, but this news touched me. Conroy breathed so much heart into a character who is arguably the
greatest superhero of all time - and brought joy to so many across the world by doing so.
His voice was authoritative, scary, cold, vengeful,
but also capable of conveying great kindness, sadness and empathy in his portrayal. You got
just about every permutation of Batman you could ever want, and his voice is
integral to a wealth of key Batman stories considered some of the greatest of all time.
99% of his appearances used only his voice, and yet he’s still the single most iconic batman
portrayal over every single one that has ever fully appeared. No disrespect to Bale, Keaton and
the others - but their Batmen work because they exist within their very specific cinematic worlds.
No one ever reads a Batman comic in Bale’s voice - but I’ve often seen fans say they read comics
with Conroy’s voice in mind. I’m the same - Conroy’s tones effortlessly spring into my head
whenever Batman graces the pages of a dc epic, the same goes for Mark Hamill as the Joker and
Tara Strong as Harley Quinn. The animated series was a perfect adaptation of Batman,
and so it’s no wonder that after several years of high quality storytelling these
voices would become the bible for how these characters sound and feel.
My favourite Batman scene on film, of all time - belongs to Conroy. In Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm, Bruce Wayne confronts the two people who have
ruled his entire life when he discovers the unthinkable.
It’s a heartbreaking window into just how messed up Bruce Wayne really is, and Conroy nailed it.
Mask of the Phantasm only got a small theatrical release across the world
but it still means that Conroy doesn’t just have the best animated series or
video game but one of the best theatrical Batman movies too. What a fucking flex.
It just felt right that Conroy’s journey with
Batman didn’t end with the animated universe. He starred in a bunch of
video games and other animated shows - across a variety of tones and stories.
I’m sure for many people the peak of Conroy Bat was the animated series - that’s
where it all began and still holds up tremendously well today - but for me,
my first true taste of the character was in 2009’s Batman Arkham Asylum. In fact,
that was the story and performance that made me go back to the animated material as a kid.
The Arkham Trilogy was like Conroy’s very own Batman movie trilogy. These games, in spite
of their masterful gameplay as perfect Batman simulators, would be nothing without Kevin Conroy.
In terms of the scope, the spectacle, the storytelling - other than the fact it was
in an interactive medium its a full batman movie trilogy on par with what Bale enjoyed.
Only him and bale have so far gotten a big budget polished trilogy of batman stories.
Which is funny… because conroy voiced batman in batman gotham knight a series of shorts
designed to bridge the gap between begins and the dark knight. Conroy even got involved in
the nolan verse - i just love that as the premier Batman voice he wasn’t just
boxed into one aspect of the dark knight, but ventured into every corner of his long history.
Mark Hamill was essential to it of course,
and it allowed the conroy bat to dig deep into his relationship with the clown prince of crime.
They even had the balls to kill off the joker and end the middle part on
the image of batman carrying him - cain and abel style.
Just when you thought it was done,
the third game brought back the joker - but only in batman’s twisted psyche.
I cant tell you what a masterstroke that was -
Before we heard of Conroy’s passing I was pretty certain that the Arkham Batman was
being hidden from the upcoming Rocksteady Suicide Squad game. I mean it would make
sense right? There is no Batman without the Justice League and its confirmed to
take place in the Arkhamverse. I understand leaving him out given he was the star of
three video games - but surely the players would go nuts if he cropped up to fight you?
Who knows if the Arkham Bat is a part of it and if so,
Conroy lent his voice one more time to it. It would be crazy awesome to see him one more time
Conroy is so integral to the Arkham series that, after years of wanting another one,
I’m not so sure I do now. It would be really hard to go back into that world without him.
In 2016, Conroy came out publicly as a gay man making him the first
openly gay actor to portray the dark knight.
Draw beautiful parallels between living his life as a gay man and voicing the batman - and it is
in reading these pages that you come to realise just why he is so good at embodying that role.
Conroy has left behind a staggering body of work - no one has committed
more of a performance to the dark knight than him
He wasn’t just the best voice, he got the best body of work from any batman actor
He starred in one of the best batman movies,
he starred in one of the best series, one of the best games - and any of those examples
you could cite as your all time favorite batman media and no one would bat an eye.
He got to do it
in live action, animation, video games and even in comic book form - what an incredible feat.
Not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed.
Nothing less than a knight, shining…
Rest in Peace Kevin Conroy, and thank you for all the wonderful memories you gave all of us.
Batman Forever.