Ranking Batman - #3 Kevin Conroy - Batman: The Animated Series - 1992 - 98

Ranking Batman

#3 Kevin Conroy - Batman: The Animated Series - 1992 - 98 

By Alex Burns

 
After Adam West last time round, Kevin Conroy takes the third spot on our list. Conroy may have never played the character in live-action, but when you consider that his take on the caped crusader has spanned over two decades and literally dozens of films and tv shows, there's no doubt that he is a worthy addition to this list.

The man behind the mask

Conroy first took on the Mantle of the Bat in the wildly successful cartoon, "Batman: The Animated Series". The television show was launched to capitalise on the success of the 1989 "Batman" film and took a more mature tone towards kids programming, allowing for quite possibly the most faithful take on Batman outside of the comic books. The show runners had initially struggled to find the right voice for The Dark Knight but when Conroy auditioned for the role in 1991, they knew their search was over and the rest is history. The producers were going for a level of sophistication not normally associated with cartoons and gave the actors a freedom to play the character as though interpreting for a live play or movie. Using this direction, Conroy came up with the distinctive Batman voice we all know and love.
 

A few of the many different looks to Conroy's Bat career.

  "We wanted Batman's voice to have a dark side as well as a kind of sexy side. There's something very appealing to women about the Batman character, different from the Superman character, which is a bit more proper. Batman is a rule breaker. We felt his voice shoule be inherently sexy, not something the actor was playing. A lot of the other actors would tend to read the part sort of Clint Eastwood-raspy. Kevin came in and did this voice that is really his own, just made a little more intimate. We all went, 'That's it. We're done. We found it.' It's a wonderful moment in casting when you can just go, 'This guys's got it,'" - Andrea Romano, Voice Director, Batman: The Animated Series


I've got to be honest, this was my first exposure to the Batman character, so for me it kind of trumps nearly all other things related to the Caped Crusader, and a lot of that can be attributed to Kevin Conroy's performance. When I was growing up, I'd watch the show every week and then read a whole bunch of Batman comics always hearing Conroy's voice in my head, giving life to the written word on the page. Conroy just encapsulated the character completely. I'm definitely not alone in this mind-set with many fans eager to name Conroy as the definitive version of the DC hereo. It's not altogether surprising then, that as the Batman films got a little way laid during the 90's, this animated version of The Dark Knight, voiced by Conroy, went from strength to strength.

The awesome theatrical poster for "Phantasm"

Conroy is the longest serving actor to have played Batman and his work covers a variety of different takes on the character. "Batman: The Animated Series" was a huge hit and even spawned a cinematic outing in the form of "Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm". This unique and compelling Batman story was a thrilling murder-mystery that explored Bruce Wayne's past before he took on the persona of the Batman, even showing that he may have wanted a life for himself with a woman he loved, more than avenging the death of his parents. If it sounds like pretty heavy stuff for a children's cartoon, don't be fooled, I watched that film at around 6 years old and pretty much destroyed the VHS tape by replaying it so much, in fact, I've only found more to love about the film as time has gone by. Conroy was able to sink his teeth into a seriously sophisticated script that didn't have to pander to studio needs, something that has hindered some of the live-action bat-films, in animation Conroy had a freedom to really explore the mind behind the mask and truly disappear into the role of the Batman, presenting him as powerful and terrifying whilst showing a more vulnerable and human Bruce Wayne. 


After the lengthy run of the animated series finished, Conory continued his work as Batman in a new and exciting way as he played an ageing and retired Bruce Wayne in "Batman Beyond". The show put a futuristic spin on the Batman mythos and saw Conroy's Wayne as a dogged mentor to a new hero, Terry Mcginnis, played by Will Friedle. It was great to watch as Conroy altered his performance to suit the age of his role and also make an old dude in a Saturday morning cartoon a cool character you care about.

The "Beyond" series showed Wayne mentor a new hi-tech Batman

The show was another success and spawned the spin-off movie "Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker" which provided Conroy a chance to reunite with his animated series co-star, Mark Hamill, as The Joker. This continued into the Arkham games and between these two actors you never question how Batman and The Joker should sound or act, these performances make a serious claim to being the definitive take on the The Dark Knight vs The Clown Prince of Crime dichotomy.

Mark Hamill's Joker was the perfect adversary to Conroy's Batman

Conroy continued to play Batman in a variety of projects and trust me when I say there's way too many to list here, most notable are The "Justice League" cartoon series where Conroy consistently stole the show from the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman and the current "Arkham" game series which takes a huge helping of tone from the original animated series. Through the "Arkham" games, Conroy has reached a new generation of Bat-fans and upped his game with a more modern and matured take on the character, showing critics that there is still plenty of room to explore with the character and whilst also achieving new heights as an actor.

"Justice League" ran for several successful seasons

Having recently wrapped on the final outing in Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Knight, fans are wondering what's next for Conroy after the credits roll on that game, we're hoping DC have got another Bat-project just waiting in the wings for him to take on.

Conroy is voicing Batman in the conclusive Arkham game

Overall Conroy tackled aspects of the Batman character that very few actors have been completely able to, presenting the complex mindset of the hero in a perfectly distilled performance to the harshest of critics, children. Those children are now adults like myself and there is no change in peception, if I go back and watch those shows or films I just have even more admiration for what was acheived. Although Conroy never got the chance to play the more physical side of the character, I'm willing to bet he'd have had no issues,  standing tall and strong with that trademark chiseled jaw-line, he'd have filled the Bat-Suit perfectly and we already know he's got the voice down! All I'm saying is watch out Affleck.

We'll have our next pick for the Best Batman up soon so make sure you keep it locked here at Cape and Cowl.