Robin91939
Master Tim
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Christian is very good, for me it all that counts. But Batman is already known for having many different actors behind the mask and most of them have a lot to offer.
I tend to agree with this.
For me, Christian Bale is my Batman, because his films are the ones that depict the Batman that is closest to the one I see in my own head...
But Batman isn't a character in popular culture like Superman, as the thread's first post suggests.
Superman was played, quite definitively, by Chris Reeve in four Hollywood films. There were a few other actors to play him in serials/TV shows: George Reeves, Kirk Alyn, Dean Cain, and Tom Welling (strictly as Clark Kent). One other actor played Superman in a Hollywood film in the modern era, Brandon Routh. Christopher Reeve doesn't have a tremendous amount of competition....couple that with his great performance and he is the definitive Superman, until dethroned....which for most fans is an impossible thought.
Batman, in film, is more comparable to a character like James Bond.
To just about anyone you ask, there is a different man that they call "Bond".
To me, growing up, it was Pierce Brosnan. Now, I have to say that it's Daniel Craig. For others it's Roger Moore, most would say Sean Connery is their Bond. And one or two people would say Lazenby or Daulton.
That's how it is for Batman....and that's just fine.
Everyone has their interpretation of the perfect version of the Batman in their head. For me, that's Christian Bale's Batman.
Some would say Michael Keaton, and that's perfectly acceptable. Others can say Adam West, Val Kilmer, or even George Clooney.
And guess what...? In ten years or so, we'll have this debate again. And hopefully it will be about an actor who people think is the best Batman of all time, unseating Bale, Keaton, et al. That's just great for the genre and for the character to have amazing actors step in and offer great interpretations of a classic character.
Superman would be lucky to have Henry Cavill turn in a performance that stirs up a debate that makes fans wonder if he's better than Christopher Reeve.
That doesn't make Christopher Reeve's performance any less of an achievement than it was in the 1970's-1980's...it just means that Cavill's performance was great...and that's good for the character.
Just watch as the same thing happens with Spider-man in the coming year.
It's a good thing, and a healthy debate.
-R