As one of the most popular superheroes in the world, it only makes sense that Batman has been played by more actors on the big and small screens than any other comic book character in history. However, it is more surprising to discover is that most of these actors donned Batman's fabled suit and cowl just once.

From 1943 to the modern day, every generation has had an iconic actor who embodies the ideals that Batman stands for. From the early days of serialized storytelling to today's madcap world of extensive cinematic universes with decades of continuity to keep track of, Batman (and his actors) have evolved continuously, emerging from the shadows into the light of comedic farce, only to return to embracing the darker aspects yet again.

1 Lewis G. Wilson Introduced Batman to the Silver Screen

Lewis G. Wilson, the youngest actor to ever bring an adult Batman to life, had the honor of being the first live-action Batman. Hired at age 23, this unknown actor stepped into the Batsuit for the 15-part 1943 Columbia serial titled, Batman. Wilson's charming face was just right to bring the distinguished playboy Bruce Wayne to life. Unfortunately, the rest of his physique filled out the Batsuit a little too much, and one critic even described Wilson as "thick about the middle."

As the first man to ever don Batman's suit, it's only natural that Lewis G. Wilson was also the first actor to have his "bat voice" criticized thanks to his high-pitched Boston accent. Following this one-off appearance as Batman, Wilson's career fell off a cliff. By the early 50s, he was out of Hollywood altogether.

2 Robert Lowery Paved the Way for Batman's Friendship with Robin

Robert Lowery replaced Michael G. Wilson as Batman in Columbia's follow-up serial, Batman & Robin. Seemingly learning from their previous mistake, Columbia went with an established actor who was already well into his 30s and had appeared in his films such as The Mark of Zorror, The Mummy's Ghost, and Dangerous Passage.

Lowery only ever played Batman this one time, but his career continued for the next two decades in both movies and television. He also had the honor of becoming the first Batman actor to share screen-time with a Superman actor when he guest-starred on an episode of The Adventures of Superman in 1956 alongside George Reeves.

3 Adam West Emphasized the Comedic Elements of Batman

No actor has spent more time in the Batcave than Adam West, perhaps the most divisive Batman ever. The popularity of his 1960s Batman series was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Batman had never been more popular following his takeover of the television airwaves. On the other, the interpretation of the character was so over the top and cartoonish that it turned Batman into a walking joke for the next two decades.

Adam West's portrayal of Batman was so successful that by 1970, he was offered the part of James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. In what might have been one of the most misguided career moves of all time, West declined that opportunity and resigned himself to being typecast as a superhero, returning to voice the Caped Crusader for animated series like The New Adventures of Batman and Super Friends​.

4 Michael Keaton Became the First Actor to Reprise Their Role as Batman on the Silver Screen

For more than two decades, Adam West was the one and only Batman. Then, in the late 1980s, Director Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton in the role of 1989's Batman. The internet wasn't around back then, but had it been, fans would have flooded the message boards, losing their minds over the casting decision. At the time, Keaton was more well-known for his comedic roles, and after deciding not to cast other actors that were in contention for the role, like Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, and Pierce Brosnan, fans were afraid that what happened with Adam West was about to begin all over again.

Concerned individuals sent over 50,000 protest letters to Warner Brothers' offices, and to appease them, the studio hired Batman co-creator Bob Kane as a consultant. As it turned out, it was much ado about nothing. Michael Keaton did great as Bruce Wayne and Batman, earning favorable reviews and a boatload of box office gold. He was so successful that he became the first actor to reprise the role for the big screen, returning for 1992's Batman Returns. More than 30 years later, Keaton returned as a much older, retired Batman in The Flash. It was initially meant to serve as Michael Keaton's introduction to the DCEU but ultimately became his swan song when Warner Brothers decided to revamp their cinematic universe.

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  Batman (1989)

  PG-13

  Action

  Adventure

  9

  10

  The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.

  Director

  Tim Burton

  Release Date

  June 23, 1989

  Cast

  Michael Keaton , Jack Nicholson , Kim Basinger

  Writers

  Bob Kane , Sam Hamm , Warren Skaaren

  Runtime

  126 minutes

  Main Genre

  Superhero

  Production Company

  Warner Bros., The Guber-Peters Company, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

• 

  Batman Returns

  PG-13

  Crime

  Fantasy

  Superhero

  7

  10

  While Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.

  Director

  Tim Burton

  Release Date

  June 19, 1992

  Cast

  Michael Keaton , Danny DeVito , Michelle Pfeiffer , Christopher Walken

  Writers

  Bob Kane , Daniel Waters , Sam Hamm

  Runtime

  2 Hours 6 Minutes

  Main Genre

  Action

  Production Company

  Warner Bros., PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

5 Val Kilmer Starred in a Single Poorly-Received Film as Batman

When filmmaker Joel Schumacher was handed the keys to the Batman franchise, Keaton stepped away from the role. After an exhaustive search for a new Bruce Wayne that included Daniel Day-Lewis, Ralph Fiennes, William Baldwin, and Johnny Depp, Val Kilmer emerged victorious in the battle for the cowl. Schumacher reportedly hired Kilmer after seeing him in Tombstone, and legend has it that Kilmer accepted the role without ever reading the script or knowing who Joel Schumacher was.

Unfortunately, Schumacher and Kilmer clashed frequently on the set of Batman Forever, leading the director to later describe his star as "childish and impossible." As a result, both the film and Kilmer's performance debuted to mixed reviews. That said, Batman Forever performed better than Batman Returns at the box office, probably thanks to the cultural cache attached to Jim Carrey, who starred as The Riddler. Worried that the series' villains were shortchanging his version of Batman, Kilmer declined to return for the next film, and the search for a new Batman was on.

6 George Clooney Starred in an Abyssmal Batman Film

When cast as Batman in 1997's Batman and Robin, George Clooney's movie career was in its earliest infancy. He had already become one of television's hottest commodities thanks to his role in ER, and his appearance in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn suggested that even bigger things were on the horizon. That might have been true, but as it turned out, Batman and Robin was not one of those more significant things. The film was a complete and utter disaster, full of terrible puns, campy jokes, and rubberized nipples.

Batman and Robin became the lowest box office performer of the modern-day Batman series. Not that it hurt George Clooney's career. After this box office dud, Clooney went on a role, starring in Out of Sight, Three Kings, and O' Brother Where Art Thou?, quickly reclaiming his hard-earned popularity. It took the character of Batman a little longer than that to recover. As for Clooney, he finally returned as Bruce Wayne in, appropriately enough, a throw-away gag at the end of The Flash.

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