By Ryan Pullido
Eagle News Service

“I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman!” 

This line, which has been synonymous with the character Batman, was first uttered by Kevin Conroy on September 15, 1992, on an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.

The Batman character has been played by numerous actors throughout the years from the recent Batman film which featured Robert Pattinson as a dark and grittier Batman, to the classic film in which the public saw Adam West take the mantle of the Bat. No one, however, has ever captured the epitome of Batman as Kevin Conroy has. 

For the past three decades, Kevin Conroy has been the voice of Batman from animated films, to series and even to video games. For younger fans of the franchise, Conroy was the distinct deep and rapsy voice in the Batman Arkham Games while for older fans he has been synonymous with Batman ever since landing the role in the Batman: Animated Series.

In 1991, Conroy auditioned and landed the role despite having no comic book background.

Casting director Andrea Romano recalled going through hundreds of auditions for the lead actor for the series before Conroy, who was there on a friend’s recommendation, walked into the auditions and immediately landed the role.

Alan Burnett, a writer and producer of the show, told the New York Times that the producers were “transfixed by the gravitas that Mr. Conroy brought.” 

“It’s so much fun as an actor to sink your teeth into,” Conroy told the New York Times when discussing his role as the Batman in 2016. “Calling it animation doesn’t do it justice. It’s more like mythology.” 

Conroy’s portrayal of Batman wouldn’t be complete without his counterpart who played the voice of The Joker: Mark Hamill.

Despite being well known for his role Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, Hamil has also become synonymous with his role as The Joker.

First appearing in the Batman: The Animated Series alongside Conroy, Hamill went on to play the voice of The Joker for several decades in spin-offs, animated series, movies and video games. 

Wherever Conroy was there as the Batman, Hamill was right along with him as The Joker. Conroy and Hamill developed a close bond having worked together on numerous projects. Hamill expressed how close the two were by saying he “loved him like a brother.”

“Kevin was perfection,” Hamill once said in a statement. “For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it.”

According to statement released on Friday by Warner Bros., Conroy died on Thursday, November 10. He passed away at age 66 from intestinal cancer.

After the announcement, there was an outpouring of posts from both fans and coworkers alike in social media.

(Eagle News Service)