Summary

• Winston Duke's portrayal of Batman in Batman: Unburied is refreshingly unique, delving into the character's psyche and humanizing both Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter ego.
• Duke's ability to seamlessly switch between Bruce Wayne and Batman adds depth to the character, making even his interactions with supervillains feel genuine and human.
• Winston Duke's potential as Batman has been proven by the success of Batman: Unburied, showcasing a comparatively untapped market for the superhero genre and opening up possibilities for future DC projects.

The history of The first Batman actor donned the cape and tights in 1943 when Lewis Wilson appeared in The Batman movie serial, essentially opening the floodgates for a roster of figures to try their hand at playing the iconic DC hero in movies, shows, games, and many other types of media.

Among this huge array of Batman actors, plenty of my favorite actors deservedly rose to prominence, with the likes of Kevin Conroy and Christian Bale being cemented in superhero history as prime examples of how to do the character justice. However, the number of Batman performances also means some have received less attention and thus less praise than they may perhaps deserve based on my own estimations, especially if in a less distinguished media - which appears to be the case with the Batman: Unburied podcast and its lead actor, Winston Duke, who also plays M'Baku in the MCU.

Winston Duke Has Batman & Bruce Wayne Nailed Down

Batman: Unburied provides a unique take on the Caped Crusader that is refreshingly different to anything I've seen before, with the story initially introducing "Dr. Bruce Wayne" as a forensic pathologist by day instead of a billionaire running Wayne Enterprise - which is just the first of many almost impossible to predict twists and changes the series provides. This initial setup is interesting not only in that it allows for a closer parallel between Bruce and Batman, but also in that it makes separating the two somewhat harder, requiring a more nuanced performance as a result.

Helpfully, Winston Duke is able to pull this off with aplomb, giving his Bruce Wayne an uncanny but endearing personification that makes the usually-less-engaging side of the character a standout figure. When it comes time for Duke to take on Batman's role, he adds the gravel and gravitas befitting one of DC's most iconic superheroes of all time, all while crafting a version of the hero who feels authentic even when the series goes furthest from the original source material.

However, Duke also humanizes Bruce and his crime fighting alter ego in a way that makes what is arguably the trickiest part of characterizing Batman in any media look easy. Part of this is the plot of Batman: Unburied itself, as its story focuses on dissecting the mind of Bruce Wayne, but this would mean nothing without Winston Duke making the role his own with moments of warmth, humor, and sincerity that add dimension and make the DC hero feel like a real, tangible person, able to make even his interactions with supervillains feel genuine and human.

Why Winston Duke Needs To Be Batman Again In The Future

The unique and distinctive performance Winston Duke provides for the Dark Knight has proven to have real potential, with Batman: Unburied topping Spotify podcast charts swiftly after its season 1 release - underlining the potential to continue expanding into a more untapped market for the superhero genre. Though season 2 is confirmed, it's unclear whether the actor will continue to voice the character, with Colman Domingo taking on the Batman role for the Batman: Unburied spinoff The Riddler: Secrets In The Dark.

While Domingo is also a decidedly solid Batman, I still very much hope Winston Duke will reappear once more in the role for Batman: Unburied season 2, and potentially even further down the line for other DC podcasts or in the DCU timeline. With DCU's Elseworlds opening the gates for an animated or live-action iteration of Unburied - and Duke expressing interest in playing DCU's Batman - there's certainly plenty of possibilities for the future, and bringing an excellent Batman performance into the forefront could arguably only help DC as they pave a new path forward.