While the debate as to who portrayed the Bill Finger and Bob Kane created Batman best continues with each subsequent movie, when the conversation extends outside of live-action few can argue that the definitive interpretation of the character comes in the form of Kevin Conroy who voiced the detective in Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's Batman: The Animated Series.
For many, no other actor has perfectly performed or understood the character more than Conroy, which makes his opinion on former and subsequent inhabitants of the iconic role highly regarded. The consummate professional, Conroy never speaks ill of his fellow cowled thespians but that doesn't mean he won't also point out elements that didn't work for him.
Which is exactly what the actor did at MCM Comic Con when rather fittingly for Conroy, he revealed that he thought the voice adopted by Christian Bale in the Chris Nolan directed Dark Knight Trilogy was "weird" stating:
What can I say? It sounded like he had laryngitis. But he does Bruce Wayne, my god, he nails Bruce Wayne. He’s a terrific actor. Did you see American Psycho? I mean, he’s a wonderful actor. But his voice was weird as Batman.
This isn't an original critique of Bale's performance and one that has followed the actor since 2005's Batman Begins becoming the butt of a great many jokes in the years since. This was perhaps partly a reason why the following interpretation of Batman, played by Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman opted for a voice modulator built into the suit.
What do you think? Was Bale's voice too much as Batman? Were there other elements of his performance that didn't work for you? Leave your thoughts below.