THE LOSS OF BATMAN

 

            Celebrities have died before. It’s just a part of life. However, none have hit me as hard as when it was announced that Kevin Conroy died this week. For the few of you who may not recognize the name, that’s the man who’s voiced Batman regularly over the last 30 years beginning with Batman: The Animated Series.

Signing a life-sized Batman.

            I can’t tell you why his death has affected me unlike so many others. Maybe it’s because TAS debuted the year I was first getting into comic collecting. Maybe it’s because Batman is my favorite DC character. Maybe it’s because I’ve learned a lot about the man himself in the last few years, and all of it was good. I don’t know.

In the recording booth.

            What I do know is I’m not alone in saying that Kevin is my Batman. His is the voice I always hear when I read a Batman comic. His is the performance I always compare actors following to. In my younger years, I loved his performance just because it was pitch-perfect in my mind. In fact, I’ve always said that the one thing the comic-based programs of the early-mid 90s got right above all else was their casting; just about everyone selected was a fantastic fit for their character. But as you get older and revisit these performances, you come to really experience the nuance in Kevin’s portrayal of Batman. The way he takes the scripts given to him and digs deep down to express Batman’s rage. His humanity. His empathy. And, when the time called for it, his smug dickishness.

Confronting Batwoman in the Arrowverse.

            There’s a reason why Kevin kept being cast as Batman beyond TAS. And yes, most of that started before nostalgia-baiting was even a thing. Kevin Conroy was the voice of Batman for an entire generation of fans and creators alike. His performances will continue to live on in those people for the rest of their lives, regardless of who else dons the cowl. He was vengeance. He was the night. He was Batman.

With the Justice League cast on Rob Paulsen's podcast.

            Thank you for 30 years of excellence, Kevin. Condolences to all the ones you left behind, but all the better for having experienced your existence.