Share. With Justice League now out, here are our picks for the best Caped Crusaders in cinema. With Justice League now out, here are our picks for the best Caped Crusaders in cinema.

By Matt Fowler With Justice League now in theaters ( our review here ), it's time to light up the Bat-Signal, call all the Dark Knights to action, and figure out who the best movie Batman truly is.

Whether they appeared only once as the Caped Crusader or starred in a full-fledged trilogy, these stars all hold the honor of donning the cape and cowl of Gotham's one true protector. Whether it was an animated release, a colorful tongue-in-cheek romp, or a grounded and gritty take on the vengeful vigilante, the following actors breathed life, for better or worse, into Bruce Wayne and his cranky costumed alter ego. (And a note: We're not including the Batmen from the old movie serials here because movie serials aren't really movies.)

In Justice League, Ben Affleck's Batman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman call together a team of super-powered heroes to face off against Ciarán Hinds' Steppenwolf. This new iteration of Batman has yet to be featured in his own standalone film, and when that movie comes around there's a good chance Affleck won't be in it, but how does the Bat-fleck of now stack up against Batmen of the past? Check out our Best Movie Batman rankings below...

Actors Who Almost Played Batman  10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image ESC  01 13 Many have tried out, but few have earned the coveted role of Batman. Here are some of the more notable actors who almost donned the cape and cowl. Advertisement   01 13 Many have tried out, but few have earned the coveted role of Batman. Here are some of the more notable actors who almost donned the cape and cowl. Actors Who Almost Played Batman  Warner Bros.  Download Image Captions ESC 

8 George Clooney

Fans were excited when George Clooney was announced as Val Kilmer's replacement for Joel Schumacher's follow up to Batman Forever. Clooney was super hot from NBC's ER and had proven himself to be a capable action hero in From Dusk Till Dawn. Little did we know that Batman & Robin would wind up being the worst Batman installment of the '80/'90s run (and of any decade, really) and that Clooney himself would actually be bad as Batman in it. It's one thing to be the best part of an awful movie, but Clooney was no saving grace. Years later, he'll still readily apologize for "ruining Batman" - though he wasn't solely responsible. A lot of effort went into making Batman & Robin a cartoonish, nippled mess.

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7 Val Kilmer

Strong-jawed Val Kilmer was director Joel Schumacher's first Batman, for a mixed bag of a film, Batman Forever , that was a half dark and half over-the-top stab at making the franchise more kid-friendly. With Kilmer's stint came the (modern) franchise's first attempt at making Batman be more than just a side character/afterthought in his own movie. Unfortunately that meant that Kilmer's Bruce Wayne had to, essentially, forget why he was Batman. Yes, Batman's arc in the movie involved him being plagued by a dream that he'd eventually come to recognize as the buried memory of the night he decided to become a vigilante who dressed up like a bat.

6 Will Arnett

♪"Darkness! No Parents!"

As a breakout character from The LEGO Movie, Will Arnett's hilarious tragedy-obsessed action hero-bro eventually got his own spinoff movie. Cleverly expanding on some of the character's most famous themes, the film tackled both Bruce Wayne's deep-rooted desire to push away friends and family for their own protection and Batman's almost symbiotic relationship with arch-nemesis The Joker. Arnett's comedic delivery and a funny script combined to create a memorable character-focused animated adventure.

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5 Ben Affleck

The already-mega famous Ben Affleck came into the costume as part of DC and Warner Bros.' attempt to jump-start a huge cinematic universe with the second movie of a franchise. After the Tim Burton films and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, the feeling was that you could now easily skip over Batman's origins (though we did get that flashback to Crime Alley) and just have him exist as an already established character with little build up. And for the most part that worked, mostly thanks to Affleck's brooding, sarcastic take on Bruce and Batman's understandable resentment of Superman.

4 Michael Keaton

When established comedic actor Michael Keaton was cast as Batman for Tim Burton's seminally dark, gothic cinematic take on the character, fans were in an uproar. Well, as big of an uproar as there could be back before the internet. Later on though, after two films, fans could hardly imagine anyone else playing the character when the news came that Keaton was leaving the franchise. That says a lot for the actor on this list who probably did the most with the least. Keaton was able to create a vital and memorable Batman despite sometimes feeling like a supporting character in movies that shined huge spotlights on the villains and their respective origin stories.

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3 Adam West

Adam West was best known for playing Batman on TV, sure, but the 1966 Batman movie that sprang from the series, featuring West's Batman and Burt Ward's Robin (and some Bat-Shark Repellent spray) squaring off against all their major adversaries - Catwoman, Riddler, Joker, and Penguin - is an essential camp classic. For an entire generation, West, and the good-hearted, campy nature of the '60s show, was the quintessential take on Batman. This was the tone and style that Joel Schumacher tried, and failed, to evoke with his two films (particularly with Batman & Robin). Only the beloved West and his delightfully dry delivery could pull this off.

2 Christian Bale

The most complete Batman movie journey (even though you may have issues with the way the story ended or with Batman's "SWEAR TO ME! voice) can be found within Christopher Nolan's compelling and grounded Dark Knight trilogy, featuring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. In almost a direct response to the previous franchise's inability to properly focus on Batman himself, the Nolan films took a deep dive into Bruce's origins and motivations, even spending an entire movie on his transformation into the Caped Crusader. Bale himself may arguably have been a better Bruce Wayne than a Batman, but his tormented take on the character's self-loathing and guilt, along with a strong desire to actually stop being a hero once he felt like Gotham was in good hands, made for an iconic performance.

History of the Justice League on TV  10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image ESC  01 13 You’ve probably seen a Justice League television series or two, but have you seen them all? We doubt it, but let’s find out! Join us as we take you on a guided history of the Justice League on TV… Advertisement   01 13 You’ve probably seen a Justice League television series or two, but have you seen them all? We doubt it, but let’s find out! Join us as we take you on a guided history of the Justice League on TV… History of the Justice League on TV  Download Image Captions ESC 

1 Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy, through just his groovy and gravely voice acting alone, worked to create one of the most iconic and long-standing representations of Batman to date. Batman: The Animated Series ran for over 80 episodes in the mid-90s and stands, for many, as a near-perfect representation of the Dark Knight and his foes. The series gave us two movies, one of which, Mask of the Phantasm, got a theatrical release, and led to Conroy voicing the character on other shows within the DC animated universe - up through, even, 2010's Batman: The Brave and the Bold (in a guest capacity). Conroy also voiced Batman in three of the four Arkham games, once again proving the fact that for most fans he was, and still is, the definitive voice of the character.

Who is your favorite movie Batman? Let's discuss in the comments!