Marvel movies are all the rage right now, but the early pioneering blockbusters that proved superheroes to be box office gold were based on DC Comics properties. Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, the Superman and Batman franchises demonstrated that comic book movies could capture a worldwide audience and rake in a ton of money.
Over the years, many iconic DC superheroes have been brought to life in spectacular fashion by perfectly cast actors, from Christopher Reeve as Superman to Michael Keaton as Batman to Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
Christian Bale As Batman
Over the course of Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking, genre-redefining Batman trilogy, Christian Bale captured every dimension of the character.
He didn’t just tap into the dichotomy of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and his masked alter ego like most of his peers; Bale dug even deeper. Across three movies, Bale played Bruce’s journey from an angry young man to a jaded older man, with plenty of grief and sacrifice along the way.
Jason Momoa As Aquaman
Zack Snyder had the right idea when he cast Jason Momoa as the DCEU’s Aquaman. Momoa has all the traits that a superhero actor needs: lovability, impressive physicality, effortless one-liner delivery. The actor turned a laughingstock into a badass.
Aquaman’s first DCEU solo movie blew Batman and Superman out of the box office water, largely thanks to Momoa’s subversively awesome performance as a character that was previously considered to be one of DC’s lamest heroes.
Zachary Levi As Shazam
The lightest movie in the DCEU, Shazam!, is essentially Big with superpowers. Unlike DC’s other big-screen heroes, Billy Batson is a child with the ability to transform himself into an adult superhero. The actor who took on this part had to convince audiences that he’s a teenager at heart – and Zachary Levi nailed it.
Levi managed to match the youthful energy and adolescent naivety of a 14-year-old who acquires superpowers. Throughout the movie, the actor has a ton of fun with the role, which translates to the audience’s experience of the story.
Robert Pattinson As Batman
Robert Pattinson, the latest actor to don the Dark Knight’s iconic cowl, rounded out the most deeply disturbed psyche of any Batman performance. Pattinson’s Batman rarely sleeps, rarely takes off the cowl, and doesn’t bother to keep up appearances as Bruce Wayne.
This version of Bruce is painfully awkward in any social situation where he can’t hide behind a mask. Pattinson carries himself perfectly in the Batsuit. He doesn’t move too quickly as he broods menacingly around rain-soaked alleyways, looking for trouble.
Jackie Earle Haley As Rorschach
Zack Snyder’s Watchmen polarized fans with its overlong runtime and glorification of superhero characters that are supposed to be a satirical deconstruction of the archetype. But almost everybody agrees that he got the casting spot-on.
Jackie Earle Haley had the perfect grizzled, hard-boiled edge to play the classic noir-ish antihero that is Rorschach. Rorschach is one of the only masked crimefighters to keep fighting crime after superhero antics are illegalized.
Christopher Reeve As Superman
In 1978, the first modern superhero was adapted into the first modern superhero blockbuster. Christopher Reeve was perfectly cast in the title role of Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie.
Reeve plays Clark Kent as a shy, geeky, awkward reporter who struggles to take part in a conversation and Superman as a valiant, intrepid hero who doesn’t hesitate to spring into action. In Reeve’s hands, Clark’s disguise isn’t his glasses; it’s his timid, very un-Superman-like attitude.
Adam West As Batman
Adam West primarily played Batman on the small screen, but he brought him to the big screen in 1966 with a wonderfully bonkers movie adaptation of the iconic TV series. In most Batman movies, a memorable villain steals the spotlight from Batman himself. In the 1966 movie, despite featuring just about every villain in the Bat’s rogues’ gallery, no one steals the spotlight from West.
West’s Dark Knight is far removed from the Batman that fans recognize today, but his delightfully camp performance is just as great as any of his darker, edgier, more brooding successors.
Gal Gadot As Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot managed to salvage the fledgling DCEU with her fierce, empowering portrayal of Wonder Woman. Gadot’s performance is perfectly in tune with Patty Jenkins’ sincere approach, beautifully encapsulated by the No Man’s Land sequence.
Played by Gadot, Wonder Woman goes above and beyond the expectations of a standard superhero. She doesn’t just beat up the bad guys in wartorn villages; she criticizes the generals making life-threatening decisions from the comfort of the war room.
Malin Åkerman As Silk Spectre II
Malin Åkerman as Silk Spectre II was another perfect casting choice in Snyder’s Watchmen. Åkerman was the breakout star of the movie, giving this markedly cynical superhero satire a tangible emotional core. There aren’t many likable characters in this ensemble, but Laurie Juspeczyk is one of them.
Unlike most DC superheroes, Silk Spectre II doesn’t really want to be a superhero. She was pushed into the family business of fighting crime by her mother, the original Silk Spectre, and doesn’t have much interest in taking on the mantle.
Michael Keaton As Batman
The offices of Warner Bros. were famously flooded with complaint letters from fans in response to the casting of Michael Keaton as Batman. Audiences had no faith that a traditionally comedic actor could play the Dark Knight. Keaton, of course, quickly silenced those naysayers with a definitive portrait of Bruce Wayne.
Keaton invented the “Batman voice,” which has since become a staple of the character, and humanized Bruce with a dry sense of humor that highlights his loneliness. When he has Vicki Vale over for dinner in an extravagant dining hall, he tells her, “I don’t think I’ve ever been in this room before.”