Batmen and Robins

This is where most of us were exposed to Batman, unless we were already reading comic books, or saw his newspaper strip. As you might expect, given Batman's 80-year history, a few actors have portrayed him in that time.

Adam West and Burt Ward "Batman" 1966-68

Oddly, even though Superman had his own radio show, and his own live-action tv show (the iconic one with George Reeves), Batman only guested on the radio show and had no appearances on the big or small screen after the second serial ended in the 40s. A decade and a half with only Batman comics, and then this show debuted and suddenly we were living in a bat-world. Finally largely true to the comics, with villains, henchmen, vehicles, the Batcave, and even screens that said "Splat!" or "Ka-Pow!" when someone got hit, it was like nothing that had been on television before, and it made Adam West and Burt Ward Batman and Robin for the rest of their lives.

As with the serials, some of the things featured in the tv show were so popular that they affected the comics. Certainly the top one is the introduction of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl in the third season, which led to a new Batgirl in the comics modelled after that character. There had been a Batwoman and Batgirl in Batman comics before the show, but they were entirely different characters, far less serious. Batgirl Barbara Gordon in the comics went on to play a pivotal role in one of the most popular Batman graphic novels, "The Killing Joke," which led to her becoming the heroine Oracle, key member of the group Birds of Prey. More recently she has had her own solo series.

Another high-profile change to the comics was the rise of The Riddler to star status. When he was introduced in the comics the Riddler was just another member of Batman's stable of villains, not a key player like the Joker or Catwoman. At the time of the show, he had not even been seen for a few years. But after his use on the show, Riddler became one of Batman's core villains, who was seen again in the films "Batman Forever" as well as "The Batman."

Olan Soule and Casey Kasem "The Batman/Superman Hour" (1968)

With the live action show a great success, an animated series based on the show was released, produced by Filmation, which had previously produced Superman's cartoons. This was the first time Batman appeared in a cartoon, and it had characters from the tv show, such as the new Batgirl, as well as villains such as Mr. Freeze and the Mad Hatter.

However, Adam West and Burt Ward did not provide the voices for Batman and Robin on the show, so for the first time Olan Soule and radio host Casey Kasem were used. In fact, none of the actors or actresses from the live show were used, as Filmation relied on many of the same voice actors to portray many characters in their many shows. Soule and Kasem would first reprise their roles in an episode of "The New Scooby Doo Movies" before coming back many other times, in:

"Super Friends" (1973)

"The All-New Super Friends Hour" (1977)

"Challenge of the Super Friends" (1978)

"The World's Greatest Super Friends" (1979)

The voices of these characters always bothered me as a kid. Alan Soule's voice was a bit too pinched. He didn't sound like a millionaire playboy, or as a hero driven to punish criminals after witnessing the death of his parents. He sounded more like a hot dog vendor at a ball game. And Kasem as Robin sounded as old as Batman, maybe older, not a teen sidekick.

Adam West and Burt Ward "The New Adventures of Batman" (1977-78)

With this series, the voices of Batman and Robin finally matched the voices of the live action series, plus the episodes were more like the comics. That would seem to be ideal, except for the introduction of Bat-Mite. Because what's an otherwise decent animated series without a crappy goofy comic relief character, like Scrappy Doo, the Great Gazoo, or Bat Mite, who had been a character in the comics used now and then, but not often much less regularly.

Adam West and Burt Ward "Legends of the Superheroes" (1979)

Yes, they came back. I only saw a bit of this show when it came on, but it was a dream come true. The Justice League, not the Super Friends, live and together on TV. It was only two hour-long specials, done as a variety show, so the whole concept was an abomination. However, it brought the first live-action versions of Flash, Hawkman, and others, as well as the return of Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin.

Kevin Conroy and Loren Lester "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992-1995)

Coming off the new Bat-mania generated by the Tim Burton films, this series created a new gold standard for what an animated Batman could be. Batman sounded like Batman. There were villains from the comics never seen before on TV or in films. But the Batmobile looked like the Burton films, the Penguin was like Burton's Penguin, and there was no campy awfulness.

With Kevin Conroy as Batman and Loren Lester as Robin, there were also serious stars voicing other characters, namely Mark Hamill. Also noteworthy - for the first time since tv's Batgirl was brought into the comics, a character appeared on the cartoon who became so popular, she also was made part of the comics canon - Harley Quinn.

Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, and Matthew Valencia "The New Batman Adventures" (1997-1999)

Continuing on from the previous series, this series does something else no film or series had done before - it introduced us to Dick Grayson, the orignal Robin, in his new role as Nightwing while bringing in new Robin Tim Drake.

Kevin Conroy would continue on as the voice of Batman through several specials and series, including:

"Justice League" (2001-2004)"

and

"Batman Beyond" (1999-2001)

In this series, set decades in the future, Bruce Wayne is too old to carry on as Batman from day to day, but Gotham still needs a guardian. So he enlists Terry McGuiness (voiced by Will Friedle) in his war on crime, outfitting him in a new high-tech costume and serving as the new Batman's mentor.

Rino Romano and Evan Sabaro "The Batman" (2004-2008)

Though he did return in some of the animated films, fan favorite Kevin Conroy decided to retire as the voice of Batman, so when a new, more lighthearted series began, Rino Romano was cast as Batman, with Evan Sabaro providing the voice of Robin, who once again was young Dick Grayson. While it was similar to the previous Batman cartoons since "Batman: The Animated Series," this series technically was not part of that continuity.

Diedrich Bader "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2008-2011)

No Robin this time, and not quite the Justice League either, this series is less dark and more Silver Age, with Batman teaming up with a rotating cast of other heroes, namely Green Arrow, Aquaman, Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, and Plastic Man. Diedrich Bader voiced Batman, with Batman Beyond actor Will Friedle voicing Blue Beetle.

Anthony Ruivivar "Beware the Batman" (2013-2014)

Taking another direction entirely, this series focused on Batman's early years, with Alfred as more his mentor than butler. No Robin, no Super Friends, just a young Batman with a new voice.

David Mazouz "Gotham" (2014-2019)

The first live-action Batman series since the Adam West series of the 60s, this series focused not on Batman, but on Detective James Gordon, who was working on the case of Bruce Wayne's murdered parents as well as other cases in the years immediately after the Waynes were killed. Bruce himself appears not yet Batman, but training to be, as well as several of his famous villains including Ra's al Ghul, Riddler, and Penguin. The series is all grit and reality, no camp, and went on to spawn two spinoff shows, "Pennyworth" and "Batwoman."

Kevin Conroy "Justice League Action" (2016-2018)

Returning as the voice of Batman for a generation, Kevin Conroy joined a list of other big names who provided voices of DC's greatest heroes in a new series of cartoons.

In 80 years, Batman has changed many times, in tone and appearance, and many actors have portrayed him. Now a world icon, with a new hit film, it is only more likely that there will be more Batmen and Robins for decades to come.