No one comes close to Kevin Conroy in terms of lending a voice to a character with such an enduring and timeless legacy. Conroy’s signature voice in the Batman animated scriptures remains proof of that legacy and his contribution as the awe-inspiring Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series is a subject that can never be called into question. The voice actor was celebrated as much in life as his alter-ego in the DC productions. And with him now gone, the world finds itself helpless and suppliant just as Gotham would without its Bat.
Kevin Conroy Recalled the Grueling Hours on Arkham Games
For Kevin Conroy, the Batman: The Animated Series marked his debut as well as established his lifelong legacy as the definitive voice of Batman, but the voice actor claimed that doing his part was not always as comfortable as he expected it to be. Describing his experience while recording the lines for the Batman: Arkham games, he said:
“You do four hours a day alone, in a booth, in a vacuum, creating the character, keeping the character’s voice alive, and then creating the situation for each line, and then they want it three times. You know, ‘Give it to us angry! Oh, keep that anger and give it to us with a little irony! Oh, we love the anger and we love the irony, now just sweeten it with a little bit of love.’ By the time you get out of there you’re pulling out your hair, you’re going, ‘What the f**k do they want me to say!?’ So you do that for four hours, and then you get an hour for lunch, and then you do four hours more! And that goes on for a week, just you.”
Even despite the inhumane recording sessions that were followed in the making of Batman: Arkham, Conroy managed to go on delivering his career best every time he donned the cape and the cowl behind the scenes. His contribution to giving voice to the character has been untenable in its magnitude and that impact he left behind only ever increases with time.
Kevin Conroy’s Irrefutable Contribution as Batman
Only if the legacy of Batman stopped at the threshold of the CBM industry. A character as infamous, tragic, conflicted, and equipped with a rich story to tell could be endlessly adapted into film and television as endlessly as the DC superhero. For every generation, there has been a signature Batman, and not just in the form of movies. Be it animation, gaming, or television, a Caped Crusader has existed to bring fear, pity, and dread in the countless adaptations of the comic book character.
And there has never been a person so intricately involved with bringing the character alive as Conroy himself. That legacy was solidified when the news of his passing rocked the world in 2022 and the memory of the legend lives on still in the lives of every one that he influenced with his work. Most recently, Mark Hamill who plays the Joker to Conroy’s Batman has hung his spurs in respect of the latter, claiming that without him, “There doesn’t seem to be a Batman for me.”
Source: Popcorn & Shield
