All 13 Batman actors ranked from worst to best

5. Robert Pattinson

Appeared in: The Batman

Robert Pattinson found himself on the wrong end of the same kind of criticism that Michael Keaton did years before him. And like Keaton, he let his performance do the talking.

A tormented soul, his Bruce Wayne was more unfiltered than his predecessors, shunning the playboy façade to be little more than a recluse who simply lived to be Batman. Like many aspects of his role in The Batman, this was a characteristic of a Bruce early on in his crime-fighting days; one that hadn’t fully formed the duality of the Bruce Wayne / Batman persona.

That blurred line was the character’s most compelling quality, and it allowed for Pattinson to deliver a quietly stunning performance. As Bruce, he was intentionally uncomfortable and perpetually broody, but as Batman, he was calm, quiet, reserved and disturbingly at home in a city that shouldn’t feel like home to anybody. And that is what makes his Batman every bit as authentic as those that came before him.

Pattinson had the advantage of giving us a different type of Dark Knight than the ones we had seen before, but he didn’t let that stop him from producing one that has already etched itself among the greats. Truthfully, he could be the best Batman we’ve ever seen. The fact that we’re even having those conversations highlights how effectively he silenced any critic who wasn’t willing to give him a chance. And after The Batman, he’s definitely on his way to claiming that title.