When the news broke that Ben Affleck had been cast as the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the response wasn't overly positive.
The actor and director would go on to star in five DC Extended Universe movies, and to call them a mixed bag would be an understatement. While Affleck proved his haters wrong, he was saddled with some pretty lousy material at times, some of which even ended up killing his love for Batman.
Since then, Robert Pattinson has taken over as Bruce Wayne in The Batman and DC Studios plans to cast a new Caped Crusader for The Brave and the Bold. Affleck's time as the hero has ended, but how do his DCEU appearances stack up according to Rotten Tomatoes?
In this feature, we're ranking the actor's big screen appearances as Batman according to the review aggregator, but trust us when we say you might be surprised by how these compare!
The Movies That Didn't Happen...
Before we delve into this ranking, it's worth bringing up the Batfleck movies which didn't become a reality.
For starters, after Justice League, the plan had been for Affleck to direct and star in The Batman. The plot was supposed to revolve around Batman being hunted down by Deathstroke, though a myriad of reasons led to the actor deciding he didn't want to make the movie.
A few years later, Warner Bros. tempted him back for a cameo role in The Flash. That was supposed to end with a stinger setting the stage for Crisis on Infinite Earths, only for the crossover - and Affleck's cameo in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - to be scrapped by DC Studios.
As a result, Affleck's time wearing the cape and cowl ended years sooner than originally intended. We'll never know whether those would have fared any better than these...
5. Suicide Squad
Score: 26%
Rotten Or Fresh: Rotten
Critics Consensus: Suicide Squad boasts a talented cast and a little more humor than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren't enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing.
When Suicide Squad set photos started doing the rounds online showing Batman seemingly battling The Joker and Harley Quinn, fans started losing their minds. This was, after all, like finally seeing the comics come to life.
That "fight" proved itself a disappointment, with the Dark Knight never actually sharing the screen with the Clown Prince of Crime (he did, however, lock lips with Harley in a bizarre exchange). And no, we don't believe David Ayer's "Ayer Cut" would improve this largely aimless cameo.
On the plus side, Bruce Wayne's heated confrontation with Amanda Waller in a mid-credits scene was relatively memorable. This was Affleck at his best.
4. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Score: 29%
Rotten Or Fresh: Rotten
Critics Consensus: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice smothers a potentially powerful story -- and some of America's most iconic superheroes -- in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice isn't as bad as some would have you believe. Zack Snyder undoubtedly makes some questionable creative decisions, and chief among them was the fact this Caped Crusader killed his enemies.
Putting that to one side for a moment, Affleck's Batman here was arguably more intimidating and formidable than any of his predecessors. A badass capable of going one-on-one with Superman, the actor undoubtedly proved all his detractors wrong with this mighty performance.
Ultimately, he did deserve a better movie, but this Batman was (mostly) hard not to love.
3. Justice League
Score: 40%
Rotten Or Fresh: Rotten
Critics Consensus: Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn't enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise.
Joss Whedon failed to "fix" Justice League, but he made some improvements. However, those did not extend to Batman. While there weren't too many changes, Bruce taunting Wonder Woman about Steve Trevor's death was a gross moment the filmmaker dropped the ball on.
Then, there's the fact Batman was a total goof, cracking jokes and dropping one-liners in a way which might have worked for Tony Stark, only to prove a poor fit for this DC Comics icon.
Affleck's work here lacked subtlety and it was working on Justice League which reportedly led to him walking away from the role and scrapping The Batman. Yes, he hated this experience that much.
2. The Flash
Score: 63%
Rotten Or Fresh: Fresh
Critics Consensus: The Flash is funny, fittingly fast-paced, and overall ranks as one of the best DC movies in recent years.
The Flash belonged more to Michael Keaton's Batman than Affleck's, but the actor still made a memorable cameo role here. It was just memorable for what would prove to be all the wrong reasons.
Somehow, Andy Muschietti convinced the actor to return for a goofy supporting turn in The Flash which saw the Dark Knight fighting crime in broad daylight and cracking the sort of jokes with The Flash and Wonder Woman which made us cringe in 2017.
We can only assume Affleck was gearing up for bigger and better things down the line with the now-scrapped Crisis on Infinite Earths movie.
The costume was terrible, the action scenes weren't much better, and the visual effects are among the genre's worst. This may be ranked among Affleck's "best" DCEU appearances, but make no mistake about it: it's almost certainly the worst.
1. Zack Snyder's Justice League
Score: 72%
Rotten Or Fresh: Fresh
Critics Consensus: Zack Snyder's Justice League lives up to its title with a sprawling cut that expands to fit the director's vision -- and should satisfy the fans who willed it into existence.
Zack Snyder's Justice League was an improvement over Whedon's version, and that was particularly the case when it came to Batman.
The cheesy jokes were gone, and Affleck's performance was considerably better. It still felt like a step back from what we'd seen in Batman v Superman; however, at least Batman felt like Batman again, not an MCU wannabe.
Even though the Batsuit he donned in the final battle wasn't good, Affleck did his best with the material he had to work with and Snyder's repeated hints of romance between Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince were welcomed, for the most part.
As for the extra content he shot for the Snyder Cut, it was awesome to see that Affleck was willing to set the stage for sequels which were at least somewhat possible at the time.