THOUGH the face of Bruce Wayne and Batman in live action films is often tied to Christian Bale, there is no one else more associated to the character in the world of voice acting than Kevin Conroy.
To most of the world, Conroy might be unfamiliar; some might not have even heard of his name.
But for countless others, particularly those who grew up in the ‘90s and onwards with their heads buried in comic books and superheroes, Conroy’s name was synonymous with the Caped Crusader.
Over the span of 30 years, Conroy would forge a career as the definitive voice of Batman. Each time a show, animated film or video game was planned with Batman in it, the Bat-Signal was shone in to the night sky; it was a call by the producers for Conroy.
On Nov 10, the signal tore through the global skyline once again, but it was not for Conroy; it was for his fans.
Conroy had passed away after a short battle with cancer, which he had not disclosed publicly.
Becoming a symbol
Traditionally trained in theatre, and graduating from the prestigious Juilliard School, Conroy would nab the lead voice acting role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the critically-acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series that ran from 1992 to 1995.
During the BTAS period, Conroy further lent his voice for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, an animated movie based on the same version of the character from the animated series.
Mask of the Phantasm is – even today – considered the definitive story of Batman, with Conroy’s voice lending layers of emotion to a story that dealt with loss, heartbreak, the unrequited yearning for love and obsession behind the character and his alter ego.
This would then be followed with several different series’ based on the ‘Batfamily’, which led to vocal appearances in Superman: The Animated Series, and finally, the critically-acclaimed Justice League animated series.
All the different moving parts in DC Comics and Warner Bros.’ early animated series were part of the DC Animated Universe, which owed its success and legacy – in part – to BTAS and Conroy’s voice.
A voice acting icon
Though Conroy continued lending his voice as Bruce Wayne and Batman in a mix of animated series, animated films and video games, his career as a voice actor would only hit its true stride in 2009, when he voiced the character in Rocksteady Studios’ critically-acclaimed and commercially successful videogame, Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The game saw Conroy reuniting with long-time colleague Mark Hamill to play Batman and The Joker respectively, as the Caped Crusader is trapped within an asylum by the Clown Prince of Gotham with everyone from common criminals to dangerous supervillains gunning for Batman’s head.
Conroy’s voice acting reached true legendary status as his elevated vocal performance was much more layered and gritty.
Conroy would return to the Arkham game franchise for two more sequels, Arkham City and Arkham Knight, while also playing a different version of the character with a noteworthy performance in the Injustice videogames.
A broad way of looking at Conroy’s career and its impact on pop culture would be how there were two distinct eras; one that introduced kids growing in the ‘90s to Batman due to how his voice played a huge role in making the character even more popular, and another, for kids who were growing up at the height of the gaming boom in the late 2000s.
Just like how the faces or performances of film actors are tied to their most popular performances, so long as Batman and Bruce Wayne continues to endure in pop culture, so will the legacy of Kevin Conroy.
To paraphrase his own words about the early animated series: “Calling (Conroy’s performance ‘voice acting’) doesn’t do it justice. It’s more like mythology”.
