Posted By Dan Greenfield on Apr 2, 2025 | 5 comments

An APPRECIATION for the actor, who has died at 65. By FRANCO…

By FRANCO

Val Kilmer died Tuesday at 65. So young. Sad story. He was so good in so many roles. Tombstone, Top Gun. But my favorite roles were ones that you might not pick right off the top. 

I loved Real Genius and Top Secret! One was silly and funny. The other was really silly and funny. I think these are my top picks because of my sense of humor. If you have never seen them, you should.

He was even Batman for one movie — 1995’s Batman Forever. Arguably one of the better ones. Although now that I think about it, they were all pretty good in their own way. Except George Clooney. That never really worked for me. I think my issue with it was that he came off very insincere. It didn’t help that the whole movie — Batman & Robin — just turned into a weird, hokey, neon mess from the previous dark n’ gritty stuff.

I LOVED the Christian Bale movies,  but to me, he did not look the part of Bruce Wayne. Then there was BatFleck… Martha!

Anyway… getting a bit sidetracked. With Val now sadly gone, I started thinking about the Batman role in films, and how people would clamor or boo and hiss over the most recent pick. With the casting of Batman, I always feel you need the right balance because you don’t just cast Batman, you cast Bruce Wayne as well.

I argue that the only one to really fill both of these was Val Kilmer. Micheal Keaton comes a close second and I liked him in the role — a lot! But to me Keaton never really had the Bruce Wayne look. Val did! And he looked pretty cool in the Batsuit too!

(I know I’ll get arguments, but I’m looking at this from both sides of the character; there will be some that will challenger — heck, probably a lot– with my choices.)

If we want to really fuel the controversy let’s pick the next one, I would choose Alan Ritchson (of current Reacher fame). That guy looks like Batman without a Batsuit AND Bruce Wayne at the same time. (And here come the angry emails!)

Everyone has their opinions, and that’s my point. It’s fun to argue over who wore it better, or which movie was better, and who is going to be in the next one. I’m just saying how cool it is that we live in an age where we can have these fun arguments. And that we’ve had so many portray these heroes on the screen.

Thanks to all of them for the entertainment and the fuel for light-hearted debates with my friends around the table sharing a meal and at the conventions and in the comic shops.

Thank you Val Kilmer. Rest in peace.

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MORE

–– 13 REASONS to Love BATMAN FOREVER. Click here.

— 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: In Defense of BATMAN & ROBIN. Click here.

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Franco, who writes 13th Dimension’s weekly FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS column, writes and draws stuff. He is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three Eisners.