Following Superman and Joker, now our fans have chosen their top pick for Batman, with Christian Bale overtaking Ben Affleck.
With 7.4K votes cast, 55% of fans on the Cosmic Book News Facebook page chose Christian Bale over Ben Affleck, who received 45%.
Christian Bale starred in the Batman Dark Knight trilogy for Christopher Nolan, while Ben Affleck was Zack Snyder’s choice to play the Caped Crusader in the DCEU for Batman vs. Superman, Suicide Squad and Justice League.
Ben Affleck has since exited the role citing script issues, with director Matt Reeves now choosing Robert Pattinson for The Batman movie, which looks to start filming toward the end of the year or just after.
Fans choose the Christian Bale Batman
“I love Christian Bale as Batman, Ben Affleck is second best. So, those two are my favorite Batmen,” a fan commented.
“They played the character pretty much the same,” another said. “Affleck’s look was better except for the tiny ears, (prefer bales bat ears) but Bale was in FAR superior movie and was able to put more into the role. I’m gonna have to go with Bale.”
Another added, “Christian Bale Bruce Wayne once said anybody could be a hero even a man doing something as putting a coat on a young boy’s shoulders, well Mr. Bale put on the cape and cowl three times; he is the best.”
“After rewatching The Dark Knight trilogy, I gained a better appreciation for Bale,” said a fan.
“Bale is just the best batman period in my opinion,” another Cosmic Book News fan posted. “Affleck doesn’t play the role bad though. I like him too. I don’t know why he gets a bad wrap ever time he plays a superhero role, he is a damn good actor.”
“Bale had better movies, character development, and writing, Ben had 1 great fight scene that’s it,” said another in favor of Nolan’s choice to play Batman.
Fans happy with Ben Affleck as Batman
“Affleck but Bale was better utilized by the studios. Affleck had one good Batman appearance and then Justice League ruined it all,” a fan said in support of Ben Affleck.
Another agreed, “Affleck nailed the role unlike any of his predecessors. People need to separate the performance of the actor from the film they appeared in. He played the character exactly how he is portrayed in comics, even if the character did things his comic book version would never do (performance does not equal script). He looked the part, nailed the action, and completely embodied who Batman is.”
A second fan agrees that Affleck was closer to the comics as well: “Ben Affleck is the most comic book accurate. PERIOD.”
“I love Bale but in fairness, Affleck looked the part more and was more the right height,” said another fan.
“Real comic fans know that Ben Affleck is the best and most comic-accurate Batman ever portrayed in live action. Only people who don’t read comics would claim Christian Bale was better,” another fan remarked.
“Bale’s movies just had really good villains,” a fan said. “The Batman in them wasn’t that good. Wasn’t a detective at all. Affleck knew about the mother boxes, found Aquaman, found out who Wonder Woman is, knew how to hunt the creatures from Apocalypse. Affleck was way better Batman than Bale was. Bale just had better villains.”
“Ben would have been the best if he had a solo movie,” mentioned another fan.
Fans choose a different Batman including Michael Keaton
“Let’s not forget Michael Keaton, he was an awesome Batman, should have done more films,” a fan said about the Tim Burton version.
“After TDKR even Clooney is better than Bale,” said another fan. “So yeah I pick Affleck who was better and looked like the Dark Knight while Bale’s Batman became a crippled mess.”
“Ben Affleck over Bale but Keaton all day long,” added another.
Another agrees that the Keaton version is better than them all: “Micheal Keaton was the best …… Ben Affleck is the worst Batman ever.”
Still another fan thinks the ’66 Caped Crusader should take the top spot: “Adam west the best Batman; the Bright Knight rocks.”
“Bale was about as good as Clooney. You want live-action Batman, you watch Michael Keaton. He wasn’t perfect either, but his movies were better than that Nolan sh-t that’s only popular because Ledger died,” another fan mentioned.
Who is your top choice to play Batman? Let us know in the comments below!
Feel free to vote in our current poll: the Tobey Mcguire Spider-Man versus Tom Holland.
