2. Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck’s Batman initially got the same treatment as the DCEU, and it really wasn’t fair. First introduced in the controversial Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Affleck’s version of the character is an older, more jaded take on the Dark Knight. He’s later in his career, his sidekick was murdered by the Joker, and he sees the appearance of Kyrptionians on Earth as a threat that needs to be dealt with. This sees him take on the Man of Tomorrow in his first outing and win, which surely should count for something.
Though Affleck’s Batman is decidedly gritty, angsty, and occasionally gloomy, these are all things that the character is often described as in the comics. In fact, Affleck’s version of the character is perhaps the most comics-accurate, particularly in regard to his role in the Justice League and the fact that he’s shown interacting and working with other heroes to protect the Earth. The decision to use and older, wiser, and more experienced Batman for this purpose works perfectly, and that’s something that Affleck communicates well.
The DCEU may have mishandled a lot of aspects of the comics, but Batman isn’t one of them. Affleck’s Batman is smart, brutal, and a fearsome leader capable of making difficult moral decisions, and those are all qualities that Batman needs in wider DC stories. For the role that he was required to play in the franchise, the DCEU’s Batman was written brilliantly, and Ben Affleck was able to bring him to life in a way that felt organic to the story and the world that he inhabits.