9 Major Differences Between The Batmen of Ben Affleck And Robert Pattinson

Matt Reeves’ take on the character of Batman has finally made it to theaters worldwide. There was a lot of wonder regarding this take on the character as live-action interpretations of Batman have always been a thing of major debate. Robert Pattinson is not the first actor who has been in major debate upon being selected to be cast in the role of the character. Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck also faced some reaction from the fans upon being cast in the role only to be proved wrong later with their take on the role. Ben Affleck was the much more recent take on Batman and we even got to see him last year with the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Let’s take a look at some of the major differences between the Batmen played by Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson.

More DC Characters

The biggest difference between both the renditions is the vast number of DC characters the DCEU Batman has. Pattinson’s Batman is still trying to set up Gotham and at the same time has a very grounded narrative. Bringing other superheroes from the DC in this arc would actually ruin the tone of the movies. But the world that the DCEU set up clearly has means for the likes of Batman and Superman belonging to the same universe. Even though it would be fun to see Pattinson’s Batman meeting Superman, we would much prefer if these movies stick to the grounded tone they have.

 

Love Interest

Over the years, the comics have shown us Batman going through a lot of love interests. One character has been associated with Batman the most and that is Selina Kyle aka Catwoman herself. This certainly adds a certain depth to the character of Batman and it helps with the narrative of the character as seen in the case of The Batman. But the same didn’t actually happen in the DC Extended Universe. Bruce Wayne is a lot more focused on other things and relationships aren’t really his thing when it comes to Batfleck. There were chances of romance with the appearance of Diana as a close colleague but the movie was a lot more focused on dealing with the enemies than developing the character in that manner.

 

No-Kill Rule

One of the most essential characteristics of any Batman rendition is the No-Kill policy. We have seen this being referenced various times in the past where Batman’s tendency to not kill the criminals has been used. Often this rule is broken and it creates a divisive reaction from the fans of the caped crusader. Pattinson’s Batman tried to make sure multiple times that there were no guns during the fights. At the same time, he even made sure that there was no life taken during his venture. But Batfleck didn’t really look into the casualty that much. During the various sequences where he attacks his opponents, we can be fairly certain that a lot of lives were taken and a lot of people died in the process. It was a darker take and Snyder also mentioned the detail of Jason Todd’s death and that could have been the reason for his ruthless behavior.

 

Experience

The experience as the caped crusader plays a rather essential role for the character in each rendition. Pattinson’s Batman had only experienced two years as the character but the same cannot be said for the character of Affleck’s Batman. According to the first time we saw Batfleck, he had already been going around for about twenty years and that is exactly ten times more than Pattinson’s Batman. One can clearly see this difference based on the way that the two characters appear in their individual appearances. Batfleck is a lot crisper and has a lot of exciting tech with him for the weapons. He is prepared for threats that included otherworldly creatures. Pattinson’s rendition is still in the self-made stage and trying to solve the problems that exist in his city of Gotham. It will take time for him to get used to the threats and work out a way to deal with them with a lot more experience.

 

Billionaire

Bruce Wayne is an essential part of the character of Batman and this also makes into the persona of the hero. If we are comparing Batman, we must also look a the man that exists underneath the Batman costume. It seems that both of the characters are absolutely different when it comes to their version of the billionaire. Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne was older and a lot more experienced and this actually helped him deal with the problems he faced in a much more different manner. Whenever we got to see him at some social event, he appeared to be a lot more confident about himself. This is quite different from Robert Pattinson’s version considering he would much prefer staying in the Batsuit. The movie actually focuses a lot more on Batman and he surely hasn’t managed to create a balance between the two personas.

 

Bat-Family

Batman has had various members in his family over the years. We have gotten to see the character have sidekicks and other characters who have appeared under his mentorship. This includes the likes of Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, etc. The DCEU hinted at the presence of Jason Todd in the movie with the director himself revealing that the character died in the hands of Joker. This was one of the major reasons why Batman was a lot more brutal than we expected him to be in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Pattinson’s Batman is at a very early stage and is only come to grip with his own persona as Batman and makes sense that he hasn’t had other characters around him yet. We would only get to see that when Bruce comes to terms with Batman himself.

 

Teamwork

The DCEU clearly didn’t have a solo Batman feature and every one of his appearances saw him next to the other characters. This actually showed us the origin of the Justice League and how the team worked with Bruce himself recruiting each of them. The team-up played a major role in getting the heroes to fight against some rather large enemies. The same cannot be said in the case of Matt Reeves’ Batman because it has a more grounded narrative. This universe doesn’t have a superficial element that will kill the narrative yet. According to Reeves, when asked about Superman appearing in the movie, he stated:

I suppose it’s not impossible to believe that somewhere down the line, they could connect to something else, but that was not my interest in this, and it’s not my interest in what we would do in follow-ups at the moment either.

 

Obsessive

The thing that is quite common with every rendition of Batman is their obsession with the truth. All of them tend to be very rigid when it comes to finding out a solution to a problem and stick to it till the very end. But in the case of Pattinson and Affleck’s Batmen, we can clearly see one deal with this better than the other. This obsession can often take things to a whole new level that might end up proving to be a bit dangerous. Affleck’s Batman is driven by determination and prefers to avoid sloppy mistakes. That said, we have to agree that he did try to kill Superman. The same cannot be said about Pattinson’s Batman because the latter is a lot more desperate and this shows up when Penguin himself calls out one of his several mistakes.

 

Comic Accuracy

As you may have noticed already, Pattinson’s Batman is much skinnier. He is a capable fighter and can take down a large group of goons on his own. And he has a very realistic all-black suit made out of multiple components. Batfleck on the other hand is much bigger. Snyder wanted to give us a comic accurate Batman in terms of his appearance. So this Batman was a big brawler who wore a grey and black suit like the one we’ve seen for years in the comics.

Okay, that’s all as far as the differences are concerned.

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