R.I.P. Kevin Conroy

[Sabin]

The long-time voice of Batman from The Animated Series. He was 66.

Whenever I've been asked who my favorite Batman is, my answer without question is always Kevin Conroy. He was my Batman. He still. Nobody has come close.

There may be comparable Bruce Waynes but there is no comparable Batman. Kevin Conroy is the only actor I can think for whom it truly felt as though Batman was the character's primary voice and Bruce Wayne was the performance. Obviously, he was helped by the fact that he was voicing a cartoon, but I'll say this: how many memorable line readings can you recall Michael Keaton saying as Batman? Christian Bale? Maybe one, maybe two? And the sentences are pretty simple, aren't they? I can think of a hundred lines that Kevin Conroy said as Batman that stick with me. His was the least tortured Batman, which made him the most compelling. He was relaxed, competent, menacing, but could also surprise you with his thoughtfulness and poetry.

No way around it. A big part of my childhood just died. Rest in Peace.