After a two-movie stint (bar a cameo here and there), Ben Affleck is no longer Batman. The famous cape and cowl has been passed on to a younger, more sparkly actor.

Robert Pattinson will be playing The Batman in Matt Reeves, and unfortunately delayed, upcoming solo movie, a movie that’s set to bring the caped crusader back to his detective roots.

This got us thinking: who is the best Batman actor so far? There has been many an iteration of DC’s most iconic character, who was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger way back in 1939...

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8. George Clooney

Trying to separate Clooney from the mess that is Batman & Robin is a tough one. There’s actually nothing wrong with his portrayal. Yes, it veers into stupidity at times but compared to the rest of the movie, his performance is Oscar worthy. And if you like your Batman to have nipples, then this is the Batman for you.

7. Val Kilmer

Moving away from the beautiful oddness of Tim Burton’s bat-sploitation flicks, director Joel Schumacher decided to shift the dial closer to the garishness of the comic books. No Burton meant no Keaton, so Val Kilmer stepped up to Bat. He certainly looked the part and felt like the only sensible thing in a movie that saw Jim Carrey gurn his way through the role of The Riddler, next to a strangely miscast Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face.

6. Ben Affleck

Bat-fleck was a decent Batman. He was! He had the bulk and menace Batman should have and his warehouse scuffle in Batman Vs Superman is up there with some of Batman’s greatest fights. Also, his take on Bruce Wayne was essentially himself in a tux and that’s fine by us. We just wish the flabby movies around him were better, giving his portrayal the justice (League) it deserved.

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