Remembering Kevin Conroy: 13 Great Batman Performances

November 16, 2022 Chris Well

Some great examples from the actor who was one of the best Caped Crusaders.

With the death of actor Kevin Conroy (1955-2022), fans, friends, and family have lamented the loss. Conroy died Nov 10 after a brief fight with cancer, according to DC comics.

Best known as the voice behind superhero Batman in several media, Conroy was so good that he kept being asked to return to that world. As such, he appeared in several animated projects, a live action show, and even video games.

Conroy’s longtime co-star Mark Hamill, who often provided the voice of Batman supervillain the Joker, stated, “Kevin was perfection. He was one of my favorite people on the planet, and I loved him like a brother. He truly cared for the people around him—his decency shone through everything he did. Every time I saw him or spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.”

Conroy took on the voice role of Batman and Bruce Wayne in 1992 for Batman: The Animated Series—but returned to the role through dozens of different productions, including other TV shows, movies, and video games.

To honor his heritage, Monster Complex presents thirteen wonderful Kevin Conroy performances from the world of Batman. First, we have a video where Conroy himself goes through explaining that world. Below that video, we go through a list of some of his great work (also with more videos), including his work on the Batman and Batman Beyond series, guest shots on Superman, his work with the Justice League, and more…

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Meet the Voice of Batman | Great Big Story

Kevin Conroy: 13 Great Batman Performances

01) “I’m an equal opportunity crime fighter!”

Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995, 1997-1999)

Kevin Conroy first became Batman for the cartoon show Batman: The Animated Series, which conveyed the dark mood from a more mature era of the Batman comic books. Unlike the campy 1960s Batman show, this version of Gotham City’s Caped Crusader was moody.

The show was celebrated for its complexity when set next to previous superhero cartoons—not to mention its breakthroughs in artistic presentation, voice acting, and orchestrated score. Batman: The Animated Series led to more stories set in a shared DC animated universe, including more TV series, movies, comic books, and video games.

Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) was revived a couple years later as The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999). While there were some minor changes to the setup, it was a continuation of the previous series.

When launching Batman: The Animated Series, Conroy had the idea to use different voices to alternate between portraying Bruce Wayne and Batman. In 2017, he explained to The Hollywood Reporter how that process worked:

“Early on, I said, ‘This is the most famous and powerful guy in Gotham. Are you telling me he just puts on a mask and no one knows it’s him? Seriously? There’s got to be more to the disguise,’” recalls Conroy, who was a 30-something Juilliard-trained actor when cast. “My template for the two voices was the 1930s film The Scarlet Pimpernel. I played Bruce Wayne as sort of a humorous playboy to counteract the brooding nature of Batman.”

But after the first few episodes were produced, it became apparent Bruce Wayne’s humorous voice didn’t work with the dark artwork for the series. “It was too much. So Bruce had me re-record the first few episodes and tone it down. They liked my idea of two voices; they just wanted it to be more subtle,” says Conroy.

Buy episodes of Batman: The Animated Series from Amazon

This video shows Conroy portraying both Batman and Bruce Wayne in one scene…

Bruce Wayne vs. Batman’s Voice | Secret Assistant to the Regional Manager

02) “You’ll be rid of me...as soon as I find the Joker.”

Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000)

Although he wasn’t the star of the Superman’s animated series, Kevin Conroy made multiple guest appearances worth checking out…

The three-part episode “World’s Finest,” in the second season of Superman: The Animated Series (episodes 2.16, 2.17, and 2.18), introduced the idea of Kevin Conroy’s Batman existing beyond Batman: The Animated Series. It showed the first meeting of Batman and Superman in this continuity, as Batman shows up in Metropolis to catch the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime has promised Lex Luthor that he’ll kill Superman. As things go from bad to worse for both Batman and Superman, the two must overcome their differences to put a stop to the Joker and Luthor. The three episodes were also combined into an animated movie. Rent or buy the “World’s Finest” movie—or buy the episodes—from Amazon

The animated Superman episode “Knight Time” (episode 3.2) finds Superman in Gotham because Batman is missing. Superman disguises himself as Batman and teams up with Robin to save the day. In this episode, Conroy voiced the funny idea of Superman pretending to be Batman. Buy “Knight Time” or Superman volume 3 from Amazon

The animated Superman episode “The Demon Reborn” (episode 4.1) finds Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul coming to Metropolis. When Ra’s al Ghul steals a Native American Shaman’s staff and kidnaps Superman, Batman has to save the Man of Steel before Ra's Al Ghul manages to take all his powers for his own. Buy “The Demon Reborn” or Superman volume 3 from Amazon.

Superman meets Batman for the first time | The Night Beyond

03) “When I was younger, women used to throw themselves at my feet all the time. I stepped over them.”

Batman Beyond (1999-2001) / Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

In a brilliant spin-off from the traditional Batman series, Batman Beyond (AKA “Batman of the Future” outside the U.S.) was set decades in the future. An aged Bruce Wayne now mentors a teen, Terry McGinnis, who is now serving as the new Batman.

One of the pluses to this series is that Kevin Conroy played the older Bruce Wayne. While the center of the show was the teen training to be the new Batman, Conroy’s ongoing presence provided an important anchor for the show. Having an old man Bruce Wayne onsite—voiced by someone we knew and loved as that character during his earlier heroic adventures—gave Batman Beyond a level of familiarity that’s difficult to ignore.

The series lasted three seasons, plus led to a movie that I love, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

Buy Batman Beyond from Amazon.

Batman Beyond even provided a convenient tie-in when other DC animated universe shows exhibited their futures as well. In fact, this clip from a time-travel episode of Justice League Unlimited shows Conroy playing present-day Batman and future Bruce Wayne in conversation…

Batman meets Batman Beyond and old Bruce Wayne | Blue Kryptonite

04) “Am I blue?”

Justice League (2001-2004) / Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006)

Following the continuity created in the 1990s Batman and Superman cartoon series, the animated show Justice League teamed up those two with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), The Flash (Wally West), Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. The group saved the world from lots of villains—including some carrying over stories from the previous series.

After two seasons of original episodes, Justice League was eventually upgraded to be Justice League Unlimited—which now included any DC superhero that the creators wanted. The new cast added (at various times) the likes of Huntress, Question, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Mister Terrific, Red Tornado, Captain Atom, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Big Barda, and many more.

Throughout this era of Justice League, Kevin Conroy continued as Batman. The character’s costume was redesigned, combining elements of previous versions of his costume.

Buy seasons or episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited from Amazon

In the first Justice League video below, this clip from the Justice League Unlimited episode “This Little Piggy” (episode 1.6). Batman and Wonder Woman encounter enchantress Circe, who transforms Wonder Woman into a pig. Coming to her rescue, Batman has to sing. (It’s a magic thing.)

In the second video below, we’re jumping right into the series finale. (Apologies if I’m ruining the experience for you.) As superhero stories go, the Justice League Unlimited finale is possibly the greatest superhero story ever done—as all the superheroes and all the supervillains team up to save the world from a global invasion from Apokolips.

Justice League Unlimited: Batman Singing | Super Scenes | DC

The Justice League and The Legion of Doom join forces against Darkseid | Justice League Unlimited

05) “I’m just gonna leave and pretend this never happened.”

Justice League Action (2016-2018) / Justice League Action Shorts (2017)

Another animated show featuring the Justice League, the show Justice League Action featured the heroes in shorter, faster, punchier—and often funnier—adventures. With Kevin Conroy again portraying Batman, his serious voice provided a great contrast that made the colorful adventures even more delightful.

In addition to Batman, the team’s lineup also included expected heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg, plus regular team-ups with Stargirl, Firestorm, Mister Terrific, Booster Gold, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, and John Constantine, among others. There were even several appearances of Space Cabbie.

Buy the whole season or individual episodes from Amazon.

In the video below, watch several clips featuring Batman appearances on Justice League Action. Also below is a video playlist featuring all the episodes of Justice League Action Shorts.

Justice League Action | Funniest Batman Moments! | DC Kids

Justice League Action Shorts! | DC Kids

06) “I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve killed over the years.”

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Arrowverse (2019)

For a time there, network The CW hosted multiple television shows based on DC Comics and its characters. Called the “Arrowverse” because the first show was Arrow, the different shows began to do occasional crossovers just like the original comics. The biggest crossover was 2019’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which was shown over episodes of the television series Arrow, Batwoman, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. The event also touched on the Black Lightning show.

What took the crossover to a whole other level was that it even brought in characters—and original actors—from so many related projects that had adapted DC Comics for the screen. This included cameos from the 1960s Batman series, the 1989 movie Batman, the 1990 Flash series, the 2002 series Birds of Prey, the 2006 movie Superman Returns, the 2016-2021 series Lucifer, and more.

In fact, this crossover included the only time Kevin Conroy got to play Bruce Wayne on camera. Fans were thrilled on hearing that the Batman voice actor was part of Crisis on Infinite Earths, although a bit surprised when this version of Bruce came from a very dark place. As he explained on the Inside of You podcast, when Conroy agreed to star in the crossover, he didn’t realize just how dark his Crisis on Infinite Earths Bruce Wayne would be.

“I didn’t know I was going to try and kill Supergirl,” he said. “A lot of fans were not happy about that. They didn’t like seeing that version of Bruce Wayne. For me it was fun though—it was a lot of fun to sort of stretch my acting chops a bit.”

Below are two videos where Conroy talks over his experience with Crisis on Infinite Earths. The first video was taken while he was on set for the crossover. The second video includes the interview with Michael Rosenbaum for the Inside of You podcast.

DCTV Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Behind the Scenes: Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne (HD)

BATMAN! KEVIN CONROY talks Anxeity, Traumatic Childhood, and Robin Williams

07) “Over my dead body.”

Batman in video games

Kevin Conroy voiced the Dark Knight in several video games, including:

The Adventures of Batman and Robin
Batman: Vengeance
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Batman: Arkham Asylum
DC Universe Online
Multiversus

Batman: Arkham Knight - “The Voices of Arkham” Official Video | PS4

8) “But, Andi, what will vengeance solve?”

Mask Of The Phantasm (1993)

The animated movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was a theatrical film from the same continuity as Batman: The Animated Series. Batman reconciles with a former lover, Andrea Beaumont, and faces a mysterious vigilante murdering Gotham City's crime bosses. Inspired by the Batman: Year Two comic book story written by Mike W. Barr, Mask of the Phantasm starred several cast members from the Batman series—including, of course, Kevin Conroy—plus Dana Delany as Ms. Beaumont. The movie was written by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, and Michael Reaves.

Mask of the Phantasm was initially planned to go straight to video, but Warner Bros. at the last minute decided to release the film to theaters. Unfortunately, the rush to the theater led to poor box office results. But Mask of the Phantasm got a lot of strong reviews, and has over the years ranked as a great superhero movie by the likes of TIME, Screen Rant, Paste magazine, Empire magazine, and Rolling Stone.

In the video below, watch a flashback where Bruce Wayne is remembering a crossroads from his past…

Bruce Wayne Becomes Batman - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) Clip | DC

9) “You’re damned fools.”

Justice League: Doom (2012)

The animated movie Justice League: Doom shows that Batman created plans to defeat the other members of the Justice League—just in case one of them loses control—and a supervillain has now stolen those plans to attack the Justice League. Justice League: Doom is an original film that exists outside of the TV series continuity, with a story inspired by the comic book story JLA: Tower of Babel written by Mark Waid. The film was scripted by Dwayne McDuffie, and directed by Lauren Montgomery.

Several cast members from the Justice League show were brought in to revisit their characters. Among those was Kevin Conroy, who once again serves as an anchor as he’s the center of the film.

Batman Betrays the Justice League | Justice League: Doom | HBO Max

10) “Let your devotion of justice temper your rage.”

Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “Chill of the Night!” (Episode 2.11)

While the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a rare modern example of an animated Batman not played by Kevin Conroy, he guest-starred as Phantom Stranger in one of the series best episodes, “Chill of the Night!” In fact, the story involved an argument between Phantom Stranger and The Spectre, who was voiced by Conroy’s longtime debate partner Mark Hamill.

“Chill of the Night!” is a re-telling of Batman’s origin. The episode finds Batman confronting the man who killed his parents—and Phantom Stranger and The Spectre have decided that how Batman reacts to the man will also determine his own fate. The Phantom Stranger is expecting Batman to seek justice, while The Spectre believes that Batman will seek vengeance.

Conroy—as the Phantom Stranger—requests that Batman “let your devotion of justice temper your rage.” In one of the episode’s best scenes, the Phantom Stranger takes Batman to the past, where he is suddenly at a costume party being held by Bruce Wayne’s parents. As more examples of great voice casting, Bruce’s father is played by Adam West (who, of course, also played Batman—in the 1960s TV series) and his mother is voiced by Julie Newmar (who played Catwoman in the same series).

There are many reasons to watch this episode. But in honor of Kevin Conroy, his appearance is plenty of reason to watch it right now. The whole episode hinges on the wager between Phantom Stranger and The Spectre: Phantom Stranger exclaims that if Batman upholds justice, he will be free to live his life like normal. But The Spectre claims that—if Batman gives in to vengeance—he himself will become like The Spectre.

Buy the episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold from Amazon

Watch a few scenes from the episode below…

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD - “Chill of the Night” | BATMAN ON FILM

11) “Batmobile! Ignition…”

Darwyn Cooke’s Batman 75th Anniversary Short (2014)

Batman, created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, made his debut in Detective Comics #27, which was published in 1939. A few years ago, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Batman, Darwyn Cooke was an acclaimed comics artist and animator who celebrated the anniversary with a very short animated video—seriously, it’s barely over a minute long.

It’s a hoot to see that he included multiple versions of Batman. However, at the center is Will Friedle as Batman Beyond and Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne. And while this is the shortest story on this list, Conroy’s presence—and his few lines—are charming and hilarious.

Darwyn Cooke’s Batman 75th Anniversary Short (Official) | DC

12) “What you wanted from me I couldn’t give to anyone.”

Justice League Unlimited (episode 2.13)

The second season finale of Justice League Unlimited was “Epilogue,” which touched on plot points from Batman Beyond. In fact, this episode offered a true ending for that series.

Set years in the far future, the episode found Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond) discovering a shocking connection he has with Bruce Wayne. When he discusses it with Amanda Waller (from Suicide Squad), she shares a touching story from Batman’s past. What makes this episode standout for this list is that this episode of Justice League Unlimited focuses on Batman—and Kevin Conroy gets to play through two eras in Bruce Wayne’s life.