Michael Keaton in The Flash is making a huge splash as his Bruce Wayne — even though the film is wildly unfinished in every way — as one much-awaited trip down nostalgia lane as he is a favorite among fans who have been missing his Batman for years. But what it also does is remind everyone of another Batman who has been considered one of the most underrated performances in the fictional history of Gotham.
The list is long and extensive because Batman debuted in comic books in 1939 and from there to the screen in 1943 when the first Batman film ever came out with Lewis Wilson playing the starring role. It is currently streaming on Tubi for anyone who is curious. Since those beginnings, there have been many Batman projects from the television series starring Adam West from 1966 to 1968 to the film starring Michael Keaton in 1989 with Jack Nicholson as Joker and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale.
That was at a time when DC was rolling the dice and gambling on who comes up as the next Batman with little concern for continuity. So, after Keaton reprised his role in 1992’s Batman Returns, the role went to Val Kilmer who played the starring role in 1995’s Batman Forever before being replaced by George Clooney in 1997’s Batman & Robin.
Seeing that The Flash brings back Keaton’s Batman and restores his former glory, Batman fans can’t help lamenting how Kilmer’s performance was never valued by the critics as highly as they would have wanted it to be. In light of the heartbreaking diagnosis of throat cancer and the tracheotomy that has permanently damaged his voice, fans are reminiscing about the great work Kilmer did as Batman in the short amount of time he was able to own the character.
There are many fans out there who are ready to tell the world how underrated and underappreciated Kilmer was in the role.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is proof that tape that ends up on the editing room floor is often more magical than what makes it to the silver screen. And fans of Batman Forever harbor similar sentiments for the film.
This is called being ahead of its time…
Val Kilmer’s body of work includes many great stories from Top Gun to Tombstone with The Doors along the way. However, DC fans will always remember his performance as the caped savior of Gotham city who never received his due.
