On the Death of Kevin Conroy

I haven’t posted in this blog in more than a year. It’s the longest by far in twenty years, outside of reviewing collections at Goodreads, I’ve gone without talking comics. This post won’t do that, either. Instead it acknowledges the death of the voice of Batman.

Kevin Conroy, folks.

Kevin voiced Batman starting in Batman: The Animated Series, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary this year. When it began, Tim Burton’s cinematic revival had already cleansed the camp reputation of Batman from the popular consciousness, after the 1960s live action TV show had set the standard. Comic book fans had already had Batman redefined in the pages of The Dark Knight Returns in the 80s, but perceptions still feared the combination of Burton and Michael Keaton would revert the character back to Adam West.

The cartoon followed Burton’s moody take, even adapted its theme music from Danny Elfman, to the point where there were probably kids watching who just assumed it originated there. It tackled and redefined the Gotham landscape, even introducing new elements like Renee Montoya and Harley Quinn that would become permanent along the way. Its Joker was voiced by Mark Hamill, a realization that didn’t sink in right away, but would eventually totally redefine him, too.

Watching as a kid, I was always impressed at how Kevin gave separate voices to Batman and Bruce Wayne. It was the first time I was really aware that there might be a difference between them, and in the three decades since it’s still the clearest example that there probably ought to be, in any medium.

Kevin kept voicing Batman over the years, whether in material directly associated with the cartoon or in various other projects. He finally got to play a live action Batman in the Arrowverse’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover in 2019.

Over the years, I lost interest in the cartoon. The more it ended up codified as a defining version of Batman (in many eyes, the defining one, the same way fans assumed John Stewart is the only acceptable Green Lantern, because he was the version in this shared universe), the more I struggled to remember why I had been a fan, too. Watching it now, it’s very clearly a kid’s show. The villains all have voices that would not be out of place in the 60s show. Forget that how they were used, such as Mr. Freeze, gave them new depth: how they sounded is harsh on an adult’s ears without the filter of nostalgia.

That being said, Kevin gave a star performance. He was impeccable, and you could listen to his Batman now as then without doubting for a moment that this guy should be Batman. Out of all the actors who have played Batman over the years, and this is not to say any of them were bad, it’s still a great argument that Kevin sounded like the most perfect fit. 

So: rest in peace, Kevin. Your legacy in the role is assured. You made it your own, and in doing so you defined the character for generations.