With the release of The Batman, many fans are itching to compare Robert Pattinson's debut interpretation of the caped crusader to his predecessors. Most notably, this includes Ben Affleck's version of Batman that appears in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, David Ayer's Suicide Squad, and both version of Justice League. Seeing as how these two incarnations are the most recent, it makes sense to compare their performances.
What makes a good Batman, though? Is it the gadgets? Is it how he fights criminals? Could it be his detective skills or code of morality? All of these things and more can be considered when comparing Robert Pattinson's "Battinson" to Ben Affleck's "Batfleck."
8 Vehicles: Affleck
While Pattinson's Batmobile and motorcycle are certainly unique and stylish, Affleck's collection of vehicles is flat out larger, more diverse, and truly awe-inspiring. This Batman has multiple Batmobiles, the batwing, the flying fox, the Knightcrawler, and even a motorcycle in the upcoming Flash movie. All of these vehicles are armored, loaded with highly effective weaponry, and built by Batman himself, meaning he literally knows them inside and out.
It's very possible that Pattinson's Batman will eventually amass a similar collection of custom vehicles. However, at the time of his first film, his current one just cannot match Batfleck's.
7 Batsuit: Pattinson
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Affleck's Batman has a more comic-book accurate Batsuit, but Pattinson's suit seems much more functional. Every inch of it is armored, and yet allows for just enough movement for its wearer to fight bad guys effectively. The suit also has some unique features like hidden grapple guns (sort of like Assassin's Creed hidden blades), contact lenses that function as recording devices, a bat symbol that doubles as a knife, a retractable wing suit, and even a dedicated point of insertion for emergency adrenaline.
Affleck's suit doesn't have any of this. Granted, he has his set of gadgets, but the suit itself is rather basic in comparison the one seen in The Batman. Pattinson's suit just looks flat out cooler.
6 Gadgets: Affleck
Though it's a bit of a close call, it can be argued that Affleck's Batman has the slight edge in the gadgetry department. Pattinson's Batman has his own impressive set of tools (many of which are integrated into the Batsuit itself). However, Affleck's tools are just a little more advanced; his Batman is a twenty-year veteran after all. The more recent' Batman's gadgets are more grounded in current day (minus the recording contacts).
Some of Batfleck's more advanced gadgets include his Kryptonite smoke grenades, sonic emitters, a powered mech suit (all of which are designed to combat Superman). He also has magnetic explosives, a robotic voice changer, and of course batarangs, which Pattinson's Batman strangely does not use.
5 Voice: Pattinson
Battinson takes the win when it comes to the voice. Affleck's Batman relies on a robotic voice changer which, in addition to making him hard to understand, is bizarrely inconsistent at various points during his movies. It also just sounds irritating at times. Pattinson, on the other hand, chooses a natural sounding voice. It's a lower register, almost a whisper at times, but it's smooth and easy to understand.
Consequently, it comes off as confident and intimidating, yet there is a lot of humanity in it, something Batfleck's robo-voice lacks. Whereas the former simply sounds more authentic, Batfleck sounds like he's trying too hard to be scary.
4 Fighting Skills: Affleck
Batfleck would beat Battinson in a fight, no question about it. Pattinson's Batman is absolutely a capable fighter, and he's certainly built like an athlete, but Affleck is a hulking slab of man as Batman. In addition to his sheer mass, Batfleck is shown to be a wonderful tactician. He's more than capable of subduing an entire building full of criminals alone, with barely a scratch on him. Pattinson, on the other hand, is a little more rough around the edges. He takes hits more often and visibility stunned by the pain more than Batfleck tends to be.
It should also be noted that the latter went up against alien beings such as Parademons and even Superman himself. Pattinson's Batman couldn't really exist in the same room as Superman, let alone go toe to toe with him in a fist fight.
3 Moral Code: Pattinson
One thing that caused a lot of controversy among fans upon the release of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was just how violent Ben Affleck's Batman ended up being. This version of Batman not only used guns rather liberally, he had no qualms about killing his enemies. Pattinson's Batman, on the other hand, hates using guns. He goes out of his way to prevent even his allies from killing people, in addition to his refusal to take life himself.
Whereas Batfleck was totally fine mowing down cars full of thugs and blowing up groups of enemies, Battinson won't even do so much as touch a gun. Furthermore, in The Batman, Batman himself only further discovers the worth of human life as he is confronted with the problematic truth about what vengeance hath wrought in the city he loves. Batfleck undergoes no such transformation.
2 Bruce Wayne: Affleck
Whether it was choice on Robert Pattinson's part or simply how the character was written, the characters of Bruce Wayne and Batman in The Batman are very much the same person. There is no public versus private persona to this version of the character, as is the case in previous interpretations. In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, however, Ben Affleck's version of Bruce Wayne is the classic billionaire playboy facade that was made famous by his predecessors. He goes out of his way to pick up women, and to flaunt his wealth and influence.
Of course, this is all an act to appear as a selfish and spoiled "one percenter" to conceal his identity as Batman. Pattinson's Bruce Wayne actually makes very few appearances in the movie, and even then he only has one scene outside in public during the day. He most certainly doesn't spend this moment trying to seem like an unsuspecting rich jerk.
1 Detective Skills: Pattinson
The Batman is first and foremost a detective neo-noir story. It's all about Batman using his detective skills to solve crimes in the dark and dirty Gotham city. Ben Affleck's Batman does very little, if any, detecting work at all in his films. His Batman is unfortunately kind of clueless and easily manipulated, at least when it comes to Lex Luthor, who easily tricks him into fighting Superman for his own gain.
There are a few scenes where Affleck's Bruce Wayne is doing some sneaking around trying to find leads, but it's all inconsequential in the end. Battinson, on the other hand, truly earns the title of "world's greatest detective" for unraveling The Riddler's mysterious agenda and releasing Gotham from Falcone's stranglehold.