20 Best Performances In Superhero Movies

7. Michael Keaton - Batman (Batman)

Christian Bale is commonly cited by many as the best Batman simply because he appeared in what most regard to be the best series of Batman movies.

While Bale made for a killer Bruce Wayne, his Batman was a little less assured, hampered by that awful Bat-voice and ultimately being nowhere near as interesting as his villains most of the time (something Bale himself even admitted).

Michael Keaton, however, was the total package. Cast amid intense fan scrutiny, Keaton quickly won over cynics with his portrayal of a deceptively calm yet undeniably unhinged billionaire, and his brooding, intense caped crusader.

He also managed to play ball with Nicholson, Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito exceptionally well, and in terms of pure performance, gave the most complete rendition of the Dark Knight we've seen to date.

Best Moment: After being interrupted by The Joker while at Vicki Vale's (Kim Basinger) apartment, Bruce angrily starts smashing things up and screams, "You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts!"

It's a great bit of acting because it can be interpreted a number of different ways, namely that Bruce is frustrated at not being able to take The Joker down, and that he's amping things up to try and distract the Clown Prince away from Vicki.

Either way, it's a knowing nod towards Bruce's greater emotional turmoil, namely his scarcely-contained craziness.