Christian Bale voted best Batman

The poll conducted at MTV’s Splash Page gave readers the chance to vote for their favourite of all those who have portrayed the caped crusader in the Hollywood film versions, including Michael Keaton who played him in the 1989 and 1992 versions, Batman and Batman Returns respectively, Val Kilmer who donned the suit for Batman Forever in 1995, and Batman and Robin’s 1997 star George Clooney.

But it wasn’t just the silver-screen superheroes that were up for the honour, Adam West the star of the 60s TV series (curiously enough entitled Batman) and even Kevin Conroy, who has voiced the character in video-games such as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” for a decade, were also listed in the poll. But with a whopping 55 per cent of the total vote, the 2005 Batman Begins and 2008 The Dark Knight actor safely secured the top spot.

Here at Boxwish HQ we suspect that a fair number of voters in the poll were video-game fanatics, as Kevin Conroy claimed the second spot with 27 per cent of the vote, whilst Tim Burton’s Batman, the crazy-eyed but charming Keaton came in third with 11 per cent. The 60s star of the series, West, got a mere 3 per cent and so nabbed the fourth spot, whilst Kilmer and Clooney, didn’t even get a mention in the results page following their negligible number of votes.

We have to say, Bale made a big impression on us in the last two of the franchise, and with the volatile American (erm, Welsh) Psycho as well as the Batman video games’ voice-over star marking the top two places on the list, perhaps it is the gritty, mean and moody Batman that the viewers really crave. After all, he’s one of the only superheroes that relies on intellect, physical strength and wealth to fight crime instead of the larger-than-life comic-book gimmicks that might be seen on other heroes.

So, is Bale your top-dog (sorry – bat)? Or are you mourning the caped stars of old? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

[via MTV Splash Page]