Summary
Jensen Ackles has become quite the prolificBatmanactor, bringing the Caped Crusader to life in multiple films with performances that vary in quality. Originally, Ackles was best known for the role of Dean Winchester in the hit monster-of-the-week paranormal investigation seriesSupernatural.In more recent years, Ackles has enjoyed a pop culture resurgence thanks to his role in the American superhero dramaThe Boyson Amazon Prime, in which he plays the zealous patriot “hero” Soldier Boy.
That being said,The Boysis far from the actor’s first brush with the world of superheroes. Even beforeSupernatural,Jensen Ackles cut his teeth on the DC comic book-inspired dramaSmallville, playing Jason Teague, an opposing love interest for Lana Lang opposite Tom Welling’s Clark Kent. Yet it’s Ackles' voice work as Batman in a handful of animated direct-to-streaming films that might be his single most prolific superhero role yet, graduallybecoming one of thebest Batman voice actorsto ever debut in animation.
Ackles' first noteworthy DC animation role was actually as the disgraced sidekick Jason Todd inBatman: Under the Red Hood.Butwith the formation of the animated DCAMU, or “Tomorrowverse” in 2020, Jensen Ackles was chosen to represent Batmanand Bruce Wayne throughout the series. Since the premiere ofBatman: The Long Halloweenin 2021, Ackles has lent his vocal talents to The Dark Knight in seven different films. His proficiency with the character has led many fans to vie forAckles as a live-action Batmannext.
Is Jensen Ackles playing Batman in the DCU?
Batman will debut in the new DC Universe’s The Brave and the Bold movie. The Boys star Jensen Ackles has been rumored to play Bruce Wayne, which James Gunn, the DCU’s creative chief, has shot down. Ackles could still be cast as Batman; however, no actor has been chosen at the moment, with casting for the new Batman only starting when the movie has its script ready. Based on his dark and action-heavy roles in Supernatural and The Boys, as well as being the voice of Batman in DC’s animated Tomorrowverse, Ackles would be perfect for the DCU’s Dark Knight.
7Legion Of Super-Heroes
2023
The sixth film in the Tomorrowverse,Legion of Super-Heroestakes the time to introduce a much less famous DC superhero team to its shared universe alongside the Justice League.The titular Legion of Super-Heroes is a distant ancestor of the Justice League who operate in the far future 31st century, primarily battling the terrorist organization known as the Dark Circle. The film revolves around Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Supergirl, traveling to the future to train under the Legion of Super-Hero’s tutelage.
From the synopsis, one could assume a distinct lack of Batman’s presence in the film, and this would be a correct supposition.It’s true that Jensen Ackles' Batman barely has any time to shine here, being largely removed from the Supergirl-centric storyline and essentially only operating as a background character. Batman gets a couple of exciting action scenes towards the beginning of the film and helps set up the sequel alongside Superman in the film’s final moments, but doesn’t get all that much to do.
Thusly, Jensen Ackles' Batman doesn’t get a lot of time to shine in this film, limiting the impact his performance can have.
Thusly, Jensen Ackles' Batman doesn’t get a lot of time to shine in this film, limiting the impact his performance can have. Batman comes off as particularly cold towards Supergirl in the few instances in which he does talk, though not entirely without reason.Legion of Super-Heroesis by no means a bad film, but as a showing of Jensen Ackles' capabilities as Batman, it doesn’t provide much, understandablylimiting Batman’s screentime in order to maintain focus on Supergirl and her new 31st-century friends.
Legion of Super-Heroes
Cast
Legion of Super-Heroes follows the adventures of a young Kara Zor-El, sent to the 31st century where she joins a group of young superheroes in training. With the help of the Legion, she learns to control her powers and confronts various intergalactic threats. The film blends elements of science fiction and superhero genres, highlighting themes of friendship, growth, and heroism.
6Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths, Part Two
2024
The crossover event that resulted in the culmination ofthe Tomorrowverse’s short-lived movie run,Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earthsis a massive three-part sagathat shepherds together heroes and villains from across the DC multiverse, including Jensen Ackles' Batman. The film adapts the infamous DC crossover comic of the same name, which sought to unify the fractured DC multiverse into a single timeline for ease of reading.
Similarly,Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earthsdoes the same to the animated franchise, consolidating characters and universes.Batman doesn’t feature as much in the second partofJustice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths,struggling to find relevancy in a sea of other heroes new and old that the film must balance its spotlight between.
When he does show up, Batman is mostly fighting, either preventing the Joker from blowing up a critical tower or defending it from shadow demons. His bristly dynamic with the Bat-Family, possibly made worse by Psycho Pirate’s influence, once again doesn’t paint Ackles' vocal performance in the best light, being an angry caricature of himself.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Two
The Justice League faces a universe-altering challenge as they confront the Anti-Monitor, whose destructive actions threaten every existence across the multiverse. Heroes and villains alike must unite to stop the cascade of collapsing realities.
10 Ways Jensen Ackles’ Animated Batman Proves He’d Be Perfect For The DCU
Jensen Ackles’ impeccable performances as Batman throughout DC’s animated Tomorrowverse make him the ideal candidate for the DCU’s live-action Batman.
5Justice League: Warworld
Thefirst true Justice League film of the Tomorrowverseintroduced DC’s most famous crime fighting team with quite a bizarre debut.Justice League: Warworldcenters on the titular team’s “big three”, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, being trapped in the enigmatic “Warworld”, a hostile artificial planet that makes prisoners of its inhabitants through intense illusory worlds. Each member of the team gets to live out a sub-story in a different genre before Martian Manhunter can snap them out of the trance, allowing them to join up and escape.
This premise sees Batman getting to play in a variety of settings he normally doesn’t.Jensen Ackles does a phenomenal job carrying an amnesiac Batmanthrough aConan the Barbarian-style high fantasy world complete with deadly magic and massive swords, reverting to an almost neolithic level of simple survival with his vocal performance.Bruce Wayne also gets to briefly show up in Clark Kent’s vision of a 50s sci-fi noir thriller, appearing as a state trooper. These wildly different circumstances help show off Ackles range as Batman.
Unfortunately, this impressive acting showcase is buried within the overall forgettable stature ofJustice League: Warworldwithin the Tomorrowverse. Having almost the opposite problem asLegion of Super-Heroes,the film buries its excellent Jensen Ackles Batman in a loose anthology storythat struggles to tie together its various worlds with a solid emotional impact. The rug-pull of Martian Manhunter’s aid cheapens the overall experience, bringing Ackles' Batman down alongside it.
Justice League: Warworld
Justice League: Warworld is the tenth animated film in the Tomorrowverse series. It follows the legendary team of superheroes as they’re captured and transported to Warworld, where all prisoners are forced to participate in gladiatorial games for the rest of their lives. Together, the heroes lead a rebellion to try to break the planet free of its authoritarian rule.
4Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths, Part Three
The grand finale of both theJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earthstrilogy and the Tomorrowverse as a whole,Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Threeisa modest entry in Jensen Ackles' fabled career as the franchise’s Batman.As the threat of the Anti-Monitor grows ever more powerful, the clock is ticking for the various heroes to figure out a plan before the DC multiverse is erased from existence entirely.
Once again, the frantic action and wide scope of the story means thatBatman is just one character with little time to shine relative to the bigger picture.Still, the third part ofJustice League: Crisis On Infinite Earthsmanages to find some quiet moments for Ackles' subtle excellence as Batman to shine compared to the previous entry.
Standout scenes include Batman’s conversation with Constantine over the bizarre sight of a baby Darkseid as well as Batman’s difficulty in accepting the end following the climax of the film. However,Ackles' presence is far overshadowed by thefinal posthumous Batman performance of Kevin Conroy, the legendary late actor who embodied the character in countless projects.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three
Now fully revealed as the ultimate threat to existence, the Anti-Monitor wages an unrelenting attack on the surviving Earths that struggle for survival in a pocket universe. One by one, these worlds and all their inhabitants are vaporized! On the planets that remain, even time itself is shattered, and heroes from the past join the Justice League and their rag-tag allies against the epitome of evil. But as they make their last stand, will the sacrifice of the superheroes be enough to save us all?
3Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths, Part One
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Oneis first film to mark the beginning of the end for the Tomorrowverse, as well as countless other DC animated universes that make cameo appearances in the trilogy going forward. Here, the crisis gradually unfolds as the heroes go about business as usual, withthe terrifying threat Amazo nearly putting down the Earth’s finest heroes, before the Justice League is gathered alongside their Earth-2 counterparts by the Monitor.
Swept up in the chaos,Batman has alarmingly moments of focus.However, when Jensen Ackles Batman is afforded the spotlight inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part One, he more than makes the most of it.
The scene in which Batman interacts with the Earth-2 Batfamily, including his daughter from another universe, isone of the best vocal performances by Ackles in the entire series, let alone the film itself. His Bruce Wayne is also worthy of praise here as well, finally revealing himself for the first time to his compatriots in a hilarious dramatic beat.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One is an animated action-adventure series directed by Jeff Wamester. The Monitor gathers the greatest heroes across the furthest reaches of the DC Multiverse to stop a dark foe from laying waste to everything across time and space - but the challenge they face may be the greatest any of the DC heroes have ever rallied against.
10 Best Jensen Ackles Roles, According To IMDb
With Jensen Ackles set to return to the Supernatural world as Dean Winchester, he has a fair of great roles like Soldier Boy and voicing Red Hood.
2Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One
2021
Far from the multiversal escapades of the Justice League, it should be no surprise that a more grounded Batman solo story would deliver Jensen Ackles' best performance as the character.Batman: The Long Halloweenis a two-part movie that loosely adapts the comic of the same name, detailing Batman’s efforts to close the case on a holiday-themed serial killer that meticulously plans their murders around the calendar.
Jensen Ackles gets more time to flex his acting muscles here compared to any other film in the Tomorrowverse.
The first part focuses on the fallout of the Falcone crime family being targeted by the murderer, causing waves in Gotham’s villain community.Jensen Ackles gets more time to flex his acting muscles herecompared to any other film in the Tomorrowverse.
His delicate relationships with Commissioner Gordon, Catwoman, and Harvey Dent are all put to the test in the wake of the holiday-themed killings, and Ackles is able to expertly navigate these emotional straits whilefiltering his voice through the calm, cool demeanor to be expected of Batman.Even if the first part ofBatman: The Long Halloweenplays out mostly like a typical procedural, it makes a strong case forAckles' strength as the DCU’s Batman.
Batman: The Long Halloween
In this two-part animated film, a serial killer terrorizes Gotham, killing on holidays. It’s up to Batman to find and stop the killer, while the Falcones, the Joker, and plenty of other old enemies seem determined to get in his way.
1Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Twoups the ante established in the first half, taking Batman through more devastating circumstances than ever before. After overcoming Poison Ivy’s brainwashing,Batman has to deal with more of his rogues gallery coming into the pictureas the pressure to solve the murder case continues to mount.
The film also features the official creation of Two-Face in the Tomorrowverse, adding yet another tragedy to the already somber tale of Batman’s year against the holiday killer. Here,Jensen Ackles manages to outdo even the previous entry inBatman: The Long Halloweenthe emotional opportunity of the second part, revisiting Bruce Wayne’s childhood with quiet contemplation.
Upon finally catching Holiday, Batman’s vulnerability with the villain he’d been pursuing and simultaneous cold fury concocts a delicate emotional balance Ackles is able to get across with very few spoken words. Both as a story and a testament to Jensen Ackles’Batman,Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Twois an utter triumph.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two is an animated film that continues the story of Gotham City’s struggle against both organized crime and a mysterious serial killer known as Holiday. The film, directed by Chris Palmer, sees Batman, voiced by Jensen Ackles, working with Gordon and Dent to unravel the mystery while navigating his dual role. The narrative delves deeper into Batman’s relationships and the complexities of the city’s criminal underworld.
