Who Is Your Favorite ‘Batman’? [VIDEO] [POLL]

Adam West portrayed the 'Caped Crusader' in the 1966-1968 television series. Though the series has often been described as "campy", for many of us it was our first exposure to Gotham's 'Dark Knight'.

The legend that most believe is that producer William Dozier hated comic books and cast West after seeing him play a James Bond-like spy called Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik TV ad. Dozier reportedly decided the only way the show would be successful was if they camped it up.

So now you know who to blame.

The selection of Tim Burton as director and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego for 1989’s Batman, caused many loyal fans to go bat-guano crazy. Many felt their beloved superhero was going to get the Adam West treatment again.

Keaton's casting caused such controversy that 50,000 protest letters were sent to Warner Bros’ offices. In an effort to appease the naysayers, Batman co-creator Bob Kane was hired as the film’s creative consultant.

When the Batman franchise was turned over to director Joel Schumacher, Keaton decided not to return. Schumacher became interested in Kilmer for 1995’s Batman Forever after seeing him in Tombstone.

Kilmer reportedly accepted the role without even reading the script or knowing who the new director was.

The two quicky learned who each other were as the two often clashed on the set. Schumacher later claimed that Kilmer refused to speak to him for two weeks after the director asked his star to stop behaving rudely to crew members.

George Clooney’s movie career was just taking off when he was cast in 1997’s Batman & Robin, with this performance coming just the year before in Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn.

Producers probably felt they pulled off a major coup landing the soon-to-be mega-movie star. Now they probably don't agree. Even Clooney has often joked that he killed Batman.

Christian Bale has the honor of the longest lifespan under the cowl. Bale has received many positive reviews as the Caped Crusader, playing the Batman/Bruce Wayne closer to the originally intended Dark Knight.

Rumors continue to circulate that Bale has been offered the chance to play the super hero a fourth time, but that he has turned them down each time.