Bale wasn't being talked about that much because Batman Begins wasn't exactly a smash hit, for reasons I mentioned before. What saved it was its legs and DVD sales. People eventually realized BB was good movie.
You opened with "if mos was a better movie" and here we are with if Begins was a bigger movie.
Christolph Waltz didn't need a half a billion dollar movie to become as house hold as he is, and Bale didn't need that either. He just needed a great movie..by your logic anyways. Bale became house hold after the second film(with the big cameo player) and a few other films during that time.
My logic is that Cavill is in bales position, it's not easy to come from nowhere and become a house hold with just one solid genre picture. Often times, it takes at least two. I personally just don't think people asking why the new high profile batman casting taking away from superman, has all that much to do with how little you liked mos. I would argue the same exact thing would happen if Begins was a hit, than they cast Ben Affleck as the new superman(coming off a hit superman trilogy) in the begins sequel. I would argue that if this same thing happened in TDK or TDKR, which if you look a the casting process during those films, is clearly evident.
It also has a bit to do with batman vs superman popularity on a whole...
BB certainly did not have the same level of promo and hype behind it as MOS did. People were actually very excited for MOS, especially after that 3rd trailer. It was not the same for Begins.
Pretty sure people were excited for the 3rd Begins trailer, don't remember anyone suggesting it looked stupid. Though I gotta admit Snyder does have some great photography and a knack for visual movement, one talented fellow there.
As if MOS was coming off one of the most reviled movies of all time. SR didn't help MOS, but it sure as hell didn't hurt it as much as Superman fans would like to believe. Didn't MOS break records for June BO?
A testament to the brands appeal and MOS' quality evidently enough.
And what's more, Superman big grand return to the screen for the first time in 30 years would have been a much bigger event had it not already happened to the sound of a whimper. Returns hurt the film in more ways than one.
Except those aren't excuses. It isn't like today where RDJ can play Iron Man and still be considered as a "dramatic" actor. When you played a superhero, the risk of typecasting was much higher. And like I said, Reeve also foolishly turned down roles in movies that would become hits.
Technically that's an excuse. Though I would agree that type casting has often been a huge issue with superman. Ironically enough.
Christopher Reeve had to follow George Reeves, who was a hugely popular Superman that defined the role for a generation. Christopher Reeve redefined Superman not just for comic fans, but for the GA as well. Cavill didn't come close to doing that in MOS, even if some fans like him more than Reeve. And it has nothing to do with being the first to play the role in some big budget film. If that were actually the case, Daniel Craig wouldn't get the level of praise he does as James Bond.
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't George a TV actor? But sure, I assume Chris faced many a mal content but he definitely won over that audience with his big personality and character defining clark kent vs superman persona.
MoS was admittedly a far more subdued character piece that never went into the bigger character tropes of the property but rather set them up. It also didn't feature a fully formed superman that had been schooled for years by jor el to be then placed into a black and white world of good vs evil. If that's what you mean by if "mos had been better" than I guess.
However I think mos represents something different and in the end and like the tdk trilogy, will be remembered as a whole.
I don't think anyone would be passionately advocating for bales return had there only been Begins and nothing else(even if it made MoS money).
