Michael Keaton is regarded as one of the very best Batman actors. With his return in The Flash, how do all of his Batman movies stack up to one another?
Michael Keaton made his triumphant return to his most iconic role in 2023’s The Flash. Yes, he brought Batman back for the first time in 30 years, teaming up with the Scarlet Speedster and Supergirl in a movie that introduced the concept of the multiverse to the DC Extended Universe.
Keaton, of course, first portrayed the role of the legendary DC Comics superhero in 1989’s Batman. Directed by Tim Burton, the film received positive reviews and it is widely regarded as the first modern day comic book movie, being a pivotal piece of history for the genre. Keaton then reprised the role in 1992’s Batman Returns, which was a much more Burton-esque movie.
He did not return for 1995’s Batman Forever, which saw the franchise pivot in a much lighter direction, but that didn’t stop comic book and movie fans from appreciating his iconic performance as the character and longing for the day that he might return to the role.
Batman returned, alright, in The Flash. It was supposed to be part of a larger presence in the DCEU before James Gunn and Peter Safran’s reset for their new DC Universe changed those plans. Nevertheless, seeing Keaton back as the Dark Knight was a great experience – one that made so many of us DC fans feel very reflective.
On that note, let’s look back at the legend’s Batman movies and rank them.
Honorable Mention: Batgirl
Remember how we mentioned that Michael Keaton was going to have a larger role in the DCEU going forward? Yeah, well that would have started with Batgirl, which spun out of his return as Batman in The Flash.
The movie, starring Leslie Grace, was made for the HBO Max streaming service and it was set to give us a glimpse of the new DC Universe after the changes that The Flash had made. One of those changes would have been the fact that Keaton’s Bruce Wayne, his Batmobile, and his Gotham City were all now a part of the DCEU, which would explain why he was crossing over with J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner James Gordon in Batgirl.
The film’s unjust cancellation after the Warner Bros./Discovery merger caused outrage among fans who were thrilled to see Batgirl finally getting a starring role, and it set a huge precedent going forward: The DCEU was dying. And after that came the reveal that more properties featuring Keaton’s Batman, including a possible Batman Beyond movie, were cancelled as James Gunn and Peter Safran attempted to relaunch the franchise as the DC Universe.
It does sound like Michael Keaton was shaping up to be the Nick Fury of the DCEU, and the fact that we were robbed of that is a darn shame.
Regardless of whether it ever sees the light of day or not, never forget that Batgirl existed.
3. The Flash
After 30 years, Michael Keaton returned to the role of Batman in The Flash movie. But that wasn’t the only long-awaited aspect of The Flash, as the DCEU movie took a whole decade to come to fruition. Thankfully, it finally premiered in movie theaters in summer 2023.
To say that Keaton’s return was worth the wait would be a major understatement. He was easily the best part about the whole film, and considering The Flash is a great movie we aren’t saying that lightly. His larger-than-life aura was present right from his first scene and that only grew the longer that the movie went on, with the scene in which he dons the Batsuit again being nothing short of jaw-dropping.
The Flash was admittedly weaker whenever he wasn’t on-screen, often playing into the silly humor far too much and relying far too heavily on really questionable CGI, but the whole middle act of the movie, which saw Barry Allen team up with Batman and Supergirl, was absolutely breathtaking.
Keaton hadn’t lost a step and once again proved why he was, without question, the best actor to ever don the cape and cowl. Batman was back, and it was glorious.
2. Batman Returns
After the success of Batman in 1989, Tim Burton had much more creative control over the 1992 sequel, and that made Batman Returns a very different movie. Much less of a superhero flick than it is a Gothic tale from Burton’s creative mind, it prioritizes the birth of its villains over its primary hero and, interestingly, that works like a dream.
Batman may never fully have his demons figured out, but he certainly has them in check in Returns, operating like a fully-functioning agent of the law in an almost dystopic Gotham City that houses the most unearthly of villains. And that’s where Burton’s outlandish tale thrives, as the darker origins for Catwoman and The Penguin (complete with resurrecting cats and apocalyptic zoos) never feel out of place. They are simply a mystery for Batman to solve; an evil for him to defeat, and it works like a dream.
Keaton is much more stoic in Batman Returns, portraying the Caped Crusader as the only calm in an eerie storm; the only sane option in an insane world. That leaves plenty of room for Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Walken to shine in their respective roles as Catwoman, the Penguin, and Max Shreck.
Batman Returns is an experience, and an unforgettable one at that.
1. Batman
It’s hard to imagine where the comic book movie landscape would be without the impact that Batman made. Released in movie theaters in 1989, it is considered the first real modern day comic book movie because it took an inherently more serious tone than most of its predecessors, showing audiences that superheroes can be a part of both larger-than-life and compelling stories.
Michael Keaton may have been an unlikely casting choice for the Caped Crusader, but he quickly proved why he was the perfect choice in the opening moments of Batman. Approaching the role with the healthy blend of broody, stoic, and seriousness, Keaton’s Dark Knight quickly became one of the most recognizable faces of cinema, and for good reason. He was nothing short of thrilling as Batman and this movie is the perfect example of why.
Like with Burton’s 1992 sequel, Batman‘s other greatest strength is also its villain, as Jack Nicholson’s over-the-top performance as The Joker was both unnerving and hilarious. It was the perfect contrast to Keaton’s restrained hero, and the pair’s war for the future of Gotham was all the more gripping as a result.
Batman is not just an important piece of movie history, it’s a cinematic masterpiece that introduced us to the greatest ever live-action version of the Dark Knight – a sentiment that still rings true to this day.
Which of Michael Keaton’s Batman movies is your favorite? Do you wish we got to see Batgirl?