Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 30, 2025 | 1 comment

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: The late, great voice actor was born 70 years ago…

By CHRIS FRANKLIN

Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was THE voice of Batman. Originating the role in the landmark Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, he voiced the Dark Knight in all the subsequent relaunches and spin-offs that comprise what fans universally call the DC Animated Universe, or the DCAU for short. Conroy also portrayed the character in other projects not part of that continuity, such as direct-to-media films and the popular Arkham series of video games.

Through only his voice, Conroy gave Batman a humanity often lacking in many portrayals of the character. His gravelly voice defined the grim avenger of the night, but his sardonic barbs lightened the mood at times. Somewhere between his different octaves for Batman and Bruce Wayne, there was a vulnerability Conroy let slip, a kink in the Dark Knight’s armor. This made his Batman more relatable, and revealed the trauma that Bruce Wayne overcame every night he put on the cowl. Conroy’s Batman felt more real than many of the live-action portrayals, because he understood and fully inhabited the role.

Some cast members of Batman: The Animated Series gathered for the recording of the episode “Almost Got ’im.” Standing: Aron Kincaid (Killer Croc), Mark Hamill (The Joker), Richard Moll (Two-Face), Paul Williams (The Penguin), Conroy (Batman). Seated: Diane Pershing (Poison Ivy), Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn).

To celebrate his birthday, I’m sharing 13 of Conroy’s greatest performance moments as the character. Many of these were spotlighted in the tribute episode of JLUCast that my wife Cindy and I produced after Conroy’s passing, with contributions from some of our friends, including 13th Dimension’s own Dan Greenfield. Some were also mentioned in the piece I wrote here at 13th Dimension after Conroy’s untimely death. I’ve listed the writers and directors for each episode, but let’s not forget the showrunners like Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glenn Murakimi, and James Tucker, as well as stellar casting and voice director Andrea Romano, who helped Conroy create these memorable moments.

A very Bruce Wayne-like headshot of a young Kevin Conroy

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1. Batman: The Animated Series: “Nothing to Fear.” Written by Henry Gilroy and Sean Catherine Derek. Directed by Boyd Kirkland. Under the influence of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin, Batman is tormented by the ghost of his father. Fighting back, Conroy utters the actor’s signature dialogue, and Batman’s ultimate declarative statement, making this first clip the most iconic of the lot.

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2. BTAS: “Perchance to Dream.” Story by Laren Bright and Michael Reaves, teleplay by Joe R. Landsdale. Directed by Boyd Kirkland. Awakening in a world where his parents are alive, he’s engaged to Selina Kyle, and someone else is Batman, Bruce Wayne finds happiness… for a moment. Conroy knocks this one out of the park, playing Batman, an incredibly agitated Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne AND the “fake” Batman, switching between characters in real time.

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3. BTAS: “Beware the Gray Ghost.” Story by Dennis O’Flaherty and Tom Ruegger, teleplay by Garin Wolf. Directed by Boyd Kirkland. A series of mysterious bombings seem to revolve around an episode of Bruce Wayne’s childhood television hero, the Gray Ghost. Batman enlists the help of the Gray Ghost actor, the out-of-work Simon Trent, voiced masterfully by TV’s first Batman, Adam West. Trent helps Batman solve the crime, and Bruce Wayne gets to let Trent know how much the Gray Ghost meant to him. The affection seems genuine from Conroy, who’s only prior exposure to Batman was West’s interpretation.

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4. BTAS: “Robin’s Reckoning, Part 1.” Written by Randy Rogel. Directed by Dick Sebast. When the killer of Robin’s parents resurfaces, the Dark Knight and the Teen Wonder (Loren Lester) flashback to how they first met and became partners. Bruce comforts a young, grieving Dick Grayson (Joey Simmrin), and conveys that he knows how he feels. Conroy’s delivery of Bruce’s promise that things will be better for Dick is touching and says volumes about the bond between the Dynamic Duo.

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5. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Story by Alan Burnett, screenplay by Paul Dini, Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves. Directed by Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, Frank Paur, and Dan Riba. In a flashback showing Bruce Wayne’s whirlwind romance with his lost love Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), a young Bruce visits his parents’ grave and pleads with them to let him out of his vow of vengeance, having never counted on being happy. Batman had never sounded so vulnerable. And we the audience wept with him, knowing this happiness must come to an end.

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6. The New Batman Adventures: “Mad Love.” Story by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, written by Dini. Directed by Butch Lukic. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm adapt their award-winning one-shot comic into a wonderful episode, but the kicker is the end. Batman is only freed from the death trap Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) set for him by an egomaniacal Joker (Mark Hamill), who refuses to let anyone else kill the Dark Knight. But the final insult is when Batman points all of this out and calls Joker by Harley’s cutesy nickname for him. Conroy’s delivery of that one word is dripping with humor, contempt, and expert manipulation.

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7. Batman Beyond: “Rebirth, Part 2.” Story by Alan Burnett, written by Stan Berkowitz. Directed by Curt Geda. Fifty years in the future, an old and lonely Bruce Wayne meets Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), who subsequently discovers he was Batman. Terry steals Bruce’s final batsuit and uses it to avenge the death of his father, and thwart the plans of Bruce’s corporate partner, Derek Powers. At episode’s end, Bruce arrives at Terry’s home and tells his mother (Terri Garr) he’s offering him a job. The two play coy about what this job is really about, but when Terry agrees, Conroy’s delivery of “Welcome to my world” is almost sinister, with a musical sting to match. Terry has just agreed to give his life over to the thing that has destroyed Bruce’s chances at happiness. It’s nearly Faustian! And if it reminds you of the later scene between Tony Stark, Peter Parker and Aunt May in Captain America: Civil War… well, you’re not the only one!

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8. Batman Beyond: “Out of the Past.” Written by Paul Dini. Directed by James Tucker. Conroy gets a workout in this episode as well. Not only does he play old Bruce Wayne at his absolute lowest and grumpiest, forced by a well-meaning Terry to watch a horrible musical lampooning his career as Batman, but he plays the exuberant actor in the Batman role as well! As that actor, he even gets to recite his most famous line, AND sing for the first (but not the last) time in a DCAU episode.

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9. Justice League: “A Better World Part 2.” Written by Stan Berkowitz. Directed by Dan Riba. On a parallel world, the Justice League, renamed the Justice Lords, have seized global power, and they kidnap our Justice Leaguers, in the hopes of doing the same on another world. But the heroes escape, and Batman confronts his doppelganger in the parallel Batcave. Conroy of course voices both Batmen, who argue back and forth over ideals of security versus freedom. Until Justice Lord Batman points out that in his world, no kid has to worry about “some punk with a gun.” Our Batman concedes but later points out how proud “Mom and Dad” would be of the inflexible totalitarian regime their son has helped create, when they witness a man arrested just for complaining at a restaurant. Conroy makes no vocal difference between the two Batmen, which allows the viewer to debate who is right, and who is wrong.

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10. Justice League Unlimited: “This Little Piggy.” Written by Paul Dini. Directed by Dan Riba. When Circe (Rachel York) turns Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg) into a pig, Batman enlists the aid of Zatanna (Jennifer Hale) to break the spell. But Circe won’t relent until Batman gives up his darkest secret: He can sing! Conroy croons the standard “Am I Blue?” and brings down the house in this light and goofy episode.

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11. Justice League Unlimited: “Doomsday Sanction.” Story by Dwayne McDuffie, written by Bob Goodman. Directed by Dan Riba. On a remote island nation, Superman battles Doomsday, and Batman nearly sacrifices his life to stop a nuclear missile launched by the shady Project Cadmus to destroy both combatants. Recovering from his injuries, he knows Superman and the other founding Leaguers sentenced Doomsday to the Phantom Zone. Batman accuses the Man of Steel of acting like his Justice Lords counterpart. Superman jokingly quips back, and Batman’s response is raw and perhaps the angriest we’ve heard Conroy’s version of the character. The producers briefly toyed with Batman siding with Cadmus, and with Conroy’s performance, it would have been a totally believable move.

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12. Justice League Unlimited: “Epilogue.” Story by Bruce Timm and Dwayne McDuffie, teleplay by McDuffie. Directed by Dan Riba. Further in the future, an adult Terry McGinnis learns Bruce Wayne is his biological father. Believing he used Cadmus’ cloning technology to make sure there was another Batman, Terry confronts Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder), director of Cadmus. Waller admits she was the one who initiated what was essentially the cloning of Bruce Wayne. She also tells Terry he’s wrong about Bruce being an uncompassionate monster. She relates the story of how Batman comforted the terminally ill telekinetic girl Ace (Hynden Walch) as she died. Conroy’s words of comfort are few, but his tone sells the connection these two make in the girl’s last moments.

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13. Batman: Strange Days. Written and directed by Bruce Timm. Bruce Timm produced this short for Batman’s 75th anniversary in 2014, setting it in a separate timeline similar to the original Golden Age Batman comics. Batman fights Hugo Strange and one of his monster men and never speaks until the final seconds. My son and I watched this when it first aired on Cartoon Network, marveling at the animation, but wondering, would it be HIM? Would Kevin Conroy be playing Batman once again? When Hugo Strange seemingly falls to his death, the damsel in distress asks if it’s over. Batman utters only two words, “For now.” It was Conroy! We leapt off the couch and cheered. We’d literally accept no substitute. A testament to his skill and his ownership of the role if there ever was one.

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MORE

— BATMAN’s KEVIN CONROY: The Voice of a Hero — And So Much More, by CHRIS FRANKLIN. Click here.

— The SECRET ORIGIN of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES — With Commentary by KEVIN CONROY. Click here.

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13th Dimension contributor CHRIS FRANKLIN is a graphic designer, illustrator, writer, and podcaster, who co-hosts and produces several shows on the Fire and Water Podcast Network, including Superman Movie Minute. Check out his illustrative and design work at chrisfranklincreative.com.