Zack Snyder’s Justice Leaguefans praising Ben Affleck’s performance as Batman has Christian Bale and Michael Keaton fans defending their respective Batmen. Last week, theSnyder Cutfinally premiered on HBO Max after years of campaigning from DC fans. The movie featured more of Affleck as Batman, which includes a scene with Jared Leto’s Joker that many have said is the best part of the entire four-hour movie.

With so much chatter over Batfleck’s performance on social media, there were naturally bound to be some comparisons with the otherBatmanactors. This includesChristian Bale, who put on the cape and cowl for three moves withThe Dark Knight Trilogy. With someJustice Leaguefans declaring Affleck’s Batman to be the best of them all, Bale’s fans are arguing that it’s still their guy who’s the all-time greatest Bruce Wayne.

“Ben afflecks Batman is cool and all but Christian bale will always be the goat,” oneDark Knightfan writes.

“Christian Bale was a great Batman,” said another fan. “He was a master of playing both sides of Bruce, both the billionaire playboy facade he put on in public and the tortured soul he truly was in private. I don’t believe anyone captured that as well as him. Most of the Batman actors were great tbh.”

Taking issue with claims that Affleck and Leto’s Snyder Cut scene was the greatest on-screen interaction between Batmand and Joker of all time, another fan also tweeted, “Heath Ledger didn’t tell Christian Bale to actually beat the sh*t outta him for the interrogation scene for y’all to say this.”

Meanwhile, fans of Tim Burton’sBatmanandBatman Returnsare reminding everyone not to forget aboutMichael Keaton. One fan writes: “The ‘best Batman’ discussion is happening again and I can’t understand why because everybody knows Michael Keaton was the best Batman.”

“You can have Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Val Kilmer, & George Clooney. Michael Keaton was the best #Batman,” says another.

One fan simply ponders, “Imagine like a Batman that isn’t Michael Keaton.”

Fortunately for the Keaton fans, they haven’t seen the last of theirfavorite Batmanjust yet. The actor will be back to reprise the role inThe Flashmovie with Ben Affleck also returning as his incarnation of the Dark Knight. There’s no indication Bale will be a part of the movie, so his fans will have to stick with revisitingThe Dark Knight Trilogyfor now.The Flashis scheduled to be released on Jul 30, 2025.

Many Batfleck fans have also been calling for Ben Affleck and Jared Leto to be given their own Batman vs. Joker movie, based on their scene in the Snyder Cut. As of now, there are no plans at Warner Bros. for Zack Snyder to make any more DC movies, but fans are attempting to change that with a new social media campaign to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. It worked for releasing the Snyder Cut, so it doesn’t hurt to try. Featuring the new scene with Affleck and Leto,Zack Snyder’s Justice Leagueis now streaming onHBO Max.