Ask people who their favorite Batman is and you’ll get a few saying Christian Bale, maybe some saying Michael Keaton and few classier types naming Adam West. But for me, there will only ever be one true Batman: Kevin Conroy.
The actor’s been providing the voice of the Caped Crusader since the 1992 debut of Batman: The Animated Series, and has continued in the role throughout all the Diniverse series, multiple DC Animated films and Rocksteady’s smash hit Arkham video games.
Now, one of his biggest fans has paid him a touching tribute. Mark Hamill, who’s been voicing the Joker alongside Conroy ever since The Animated Series, took the time to tweet out congratulations to his friend, saying:
It's #BatmanDay2019 ?- Celebrating 80 years of everyone's favorite rodent-themed masked vigilante. For me, that means it's also @RealKevinConroy Day… my partner in crime, my one & only #CapedCrusader since 1992. #MadLove to you Batsy! #StillJokingAfterAllTheseYears? pic.twitter.com/HRssUyo8sd
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) September 21, 2019
This comes at a very interesting moment for Kevin Conroy as this December, he’ll finally be stepping out of the recording studio and onto set to play a live-action Bruce Wayne. Two months ago we heard that he was confirmed to have a part in The CW’s upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. The news caused much jubilation amongst fans and launched a raft of speculation as to which Bruce Wayne he’d be playing.
My immediate thinking, given that Brandon Routh was confirmed to be playing the Kingdom Come Superman, was that Conroy would be Kingdom Come Bruce Wayne. This version of Batman has retired from active crimefighting, but keeps the peace in Gotham through a small army of intimidating robots. That’s since been confirmed, too.
However, I’d still love to see him do a live-action take on his elderly Batman Beyond Bruce Wayne. That version of the character somehow managed to be even cooler than regular Bruce Wayne, settling into the grumpy old sensei role like he was born to play it.
In any case, the crossover kicks off on Sunday December 8th on Supergirl. In the meantime, let’s raise a glass to Kevin Conroy, who for me will always and forever be the voice of Batman.
