Which version of Batman is the best?

This is a question that really can't be answered definitively.  I can't just say, "Michael Keaton's Batman was the best", and that's that; it doesn't work that way.  The answer is completely subjective, but it's fun to think about.  So, today, let's take a closer look at the various versions of Batman through the years.

It was announced earlier today that an animated movie based on the 1966 TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward will be coming out next year (2016).  Great!  I don't know about you, but when I watch reruns of that show on IFC, I'm hit with waves of nostalgia.  I'm instantly taken back to my Grandma's couch with my Uncle watching reruns when I was a little kid (some 20 plus years ago, ugh).

Adam West's Batman was fun and campy and a great show for kids to come home from school and tune in for.  Same Bat time, same Bat channel.  It also worked alongside the comic book version at the time, which was also cartoony.  As much fun as this show was it actually pushed Batman into a rut for some time.  By rut, I mean, the Caped Crusader's depiction in comic books and cartoons remained relatively the same.  He was drawn and shown in the same campy way he was in the 1966 TV show up until the 1980's when new writers joined the staff at DC comics. 

Frank Miller is the man responsible for bringing Batman into the modern era.  In 1986, Miller wrote and co-illustrated what has become known as arguably the greatest graphic novel ever written in The Dark Knight Returns.

This version introduced us to the Batman we know today.  In this miniseries we meet an older and retired Batman who leaves retirement to take back his city from the criminals that now rule.  Miller's Dark Knight faces the Joker for the last time, trains a new female Robin, defeats a younger and stronger gang leader, retrains former gang members for a new army he builds, AND goes toe to toe with Superman!  It is my person favorite Batman story and version of the character.

Because of the success of the Dark Knight Returns, movie studios took notice to the possibilities of the character on the big screen and brought us Tim Burton's 1989 BATMAN starring Michael Keaton.

When this movie premiered, non-comic book fans got a look at the new version of an already beloved character.  Fans went crazy when it was announced that Michael Keaton would take the role; believing that because he was mostly known for comedies, Keaton would be a terrible Batman.  They were wrong, as Michael Keaton is still widely regarded as the BEST LIVE ACTION BATMAN ever.  He would go on to return as Batman in Batman Returns, but that would be his last time in the cape and cowl.

Both Batman and Batman Returns were very successful and led to two more sequels.

Batman Forever starring Val Kilmer as Batman and Chris O'Donnell as Robin, kept the dark theme of the character, but also brought back a little bit of the 1966 TV show's campiness.  Bright neon colors, over the top villains, another redesigned Batmobile, and dumbed down writing was the new norm for Batman movies now.  Batman Forever was still very successful, so of course, another sequel needed to happen.  Since Batman Forever worked, Joel Schumacher (the director) moved forward with (in my opinion) the worst version of Batman we have ever seen and will ever see!  This:

2 words sum up George Clooney's Batman in 1997's Batman & Robin:  Bat Nipples.  If you thought Adam West's Batman was campy and silly, then check this one out.  Clooney's Batman showed no difference between the Bruce Wayne and Batman personalities (a major difference from previous movies and comic books).  This was the most poorly written, and poorly acted Batman movie yet and is the reason Batman would not return to the big screen until 2005.

Batman Begins starring Christian Bale as the Dark Knight and directed by Christopher Nolan has become arguably the best version of Batman yet.  I say arguably because it has become an argument of generations.  Older fans of the character say Keaton was the best, while younger fans born after 1989 say Bale is the best.

Meanwhile, in between 1989's Batman and 2005's Batman Begins, true fans found another version of Batman that many people say is the best. 

In 1992, Batman: The Animated Series debuted on Fox.  This version of Batman was dark and although it was an animated cartoon, it didn't feel like previous Batman cartoons.  Batman was a very serious character and the voice acting of Kevin Conroy really made the character come to life.  Conroy would go on to voice Batman in award winning video games as well as animated movies.  To this day, fans regard Conroy as the best Batman.

There is one other animated Batman worth mentioning that was not voiced by Conroy.  Diedrich Bader took over the character in yet another version of the Dark Knight in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Adult fans without kids probably aren't familiar with this series.  I have only recently watched it and I have to say, aside from the family friendly feel of the show, it is a solid representation of the character.  Watching episodes made me feel like a kid again.  By the end of the series, the writers made you feel that Batman would always be there to protect you; a feeling that didn't come with previous or future versions of the character.

While the animated Batman can be found in animated movies, or on Netflix these days, we've also been given a more violent version in the video game series.  All of these games are so much fun to play and offer a fantastic version of Batman.  We get the violence of facing the goons working for the big bad guys, the detective work in solving crimes, the ninja skills, and the incredible gritty writing and character protrayal.  Again, voiced by Kevin Conroy, the video games could also be argued for best version of the character.  The video games also offer fans an opportunity to act out their fantasy of being Batman.  With these games you get a level of interaction that is beyond the movies and TV shows.

I think I've covered nearly every popular version of Batman.  Keep in mind that while there were movies and TV shows being produced, the comic books kept coming.  While the overall character of Batman stayed the same, each writer or artist portrayed Batman differently.  A few story lines offered different versions of Batman as well.  For the hardcore fans reading this, I purposely didn't mention John Paul Valley (the guy who took over for Bruce Wayne after Bane broke his back in 1993) or Terry McGinnis (1999's Batman Beyond cartoon show) because they are specifically NOT Bruce Wayne.

There is one more version of Batman that I need to mention.  Since we have nothing to pull facts from yet, I'm going to offer my opinion on the most recent version of the live action Batman.  Ben Affleck.

Affleck will star as Batman in next years Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  I'll admit that when this was first announced I was not happy.  All I could hear was a Batman with a Boston accent and a Christian Bale growl.  Blech.  However, as time went by and new info was released, I thought harder about it and now believe that Affleck could possibly be the BEST BATMAN EVER!  Think about it, Ben Affleck is pretty much already Bruce Wayne (he's rich and actually built himself a batcave year's ago), he's got the physical build of Batman (look at pictures of him now), and he's a huge fan of the character.  The Dawn of Justice Batman is being based on Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns' Batman, so he's older and battle worn.  Everything that I've been reading about this movie lately has made me extremely excited for it and specifically for this new version of Batman.

So, after seeing a deeper look at past versions of Batman, who do you think is best?  There is a solid argument for most of them.  Who do you choose?  Why?  Let me know in the comments.

Batman vs. Darth Vader

So there is a group of youtubers known as Bat in the Sun who produce internet videos for fans of comics, TV, movies and sci fi.  They call these videos Super Power Beatdowns and they are awesome.  The production quality is so good that I wonder who funds them, the acting isn't great but works really well for the 10 minute video.  AND on top of it all, they put our favorite characters that we fans have always loved and put them up against other fan favorites in a live action fight!  For example, click on this link (it's the same as the last 2 links) and you will see videos for Wolverine vs. Predator, Casey Jones (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. Kickass (from comics and now 2 movies), The White Ranger (from the Power Rangers and actually played by the dude who played the Green and White Ranger on the show) vs. Scorpion (from Mortal Kombat the video game), and Captain America vs. Master Chief (from the Halo video games).

These videos are really awesome and are great conversation starters.  The one I want to talk about today is the best video on their site; Batman vs. Darth Vader Alternate Ending.  They actually released this fight some months ago, and were met with outrage over the ending.  You can see the original video here.  So let's get into it with a breakdown of each character.

Batman:  Well we all know and love the Dark Knight, and we are all familiar with him at this point.  Just to refresh everyone:  Batman is human.  He has no super powers, but has become one of the top 3 heroes within the DC universe.  He has faced and beaten the likes of Superman and Darkseid (no easy feat)!  He is the world's greatest detective, a master of all known martial arts, and a master strategist and tactician.  I believe that with enough time to prep, Batman could beat nearly anyone he faces.  Nearly anyone.

Darth Vader:  Who doesn't know of Vader?  He is considered one of the most evil characters in cinema history (#16 according to IMDB) and is in the top 3 most powerful Jedi or Sith lords in the Star Wars universe.  Vader is a master of the Force, is responsible for hunting down and destroying all known Jedi in the galaxy, and also a master swordsman.  He is extraordinarily powerful; to give an example, he once "Force Choked" a member of the Empirical leadership over a teleconference!  Which means, that he was light years away from this dude, and was still able to kill him via The Force!  He is also a cyborg.  After his fight with Obi Wan Kenobi in Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, Vader's body was so badly burned and injured that he had all his limbs replaced and a respirator connected to his chest to help him breathe.

Now back to the topic at hand; the video shows that the DC and Star Wars universes have crossed over and Darth Vader (using a kryptonite powered light saber) has taken Superman captive aboard the Death Star.  Batman, after interrogating Boba Fett for Superman's location, makes his way to the Death Star and finds Superman's location.  Since this is Batman we're talking about, he is already aware of Darth Vader and Vader's strengths and weaknesses.  So first Batman sticks one of his toys to a wall or electrical panel and then makes his way to the armory to steal a light saber.  On his way out, he meets Vader and the duel begins.

Right away we see how overpowered Batman is as Vader uses the force to immobilize him.  Batman attempts to retaliate using his grapnel gun, but Vader, again, uses the force to rip it out of Batman's hands.  Vader catches it, but Batman hits a button and the grapnel gun releases an Electric Magnetic Pulse that shuts down Vader's respirator.  This is a dead on representation of what Batman would do here... until Batman says something that made me wince, "I'll take my science over your magic any day."  Well, yeah, he would believe that, but I don't think he'd say that, nor would he downplay Vader's "magic" in any way.  Although, this could be a tactic Batman uses to make Vader underestimate Batman's intelligence or mask his main mission.

So, with Vader using the force to work his respirator, Batman is able to fight him man to man.  Ok, if you haven't watched the video yet, you need to stop reading this and go watch it because this part is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  Here's the link again  BATMAN VS. DARTH VADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Done?  Not yet? Alright.

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So how cool was that?!  Batman fighting Darth Vader with a light saber!!!! SO COOL!  Anyway, so THAT happens.  After a bit, Vader gets his respirator working again and sends Batman flying out the window.  Batman ends up in his BatWing and fires 2 missles at Vader that blow off his helmet.  Is that enough to stop him though?  NO WAY!  In the greatest display of his power, Vader "force grabs" the BatWing, shakes it a bit and then rips it in half, then grabs Batman by the throat in mid air.

Now, in the previous ending, Vader just breaks Batman's neck and that's it.  Game over.  If they hadn't changed this ending, I wouldn't have a problem.  So far this had been an incredibly accurate portrayal of both characters and how they would be if they were ever to interact.  However, the alternate ending changes everything and makes this even better?  OF COURSE BATMAN'S MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS REACHED BEFORE HE REVEALED HIMSELF AND FACED VADER!!!!!!  The whole reason Batman engages Darth Vader is to distract him from the little gadget he left on the wall!  As great a fighter as Batman is, he would know that he couldn't last long against someone as powerful as Darth Vader and wouldn't be able to get close enough to Superman's cell to release him directly.  And of course Batman would have a gadget that disabled the kryptonite that was keeping Superman imprisoned.

So what do you think?  Did this end the right way or was the original ending the way to go?  Either way, this was fantastic and so much fun.  Check out the other videos they have here's the link again.