Fans ofBatmanand his many adventures have some words for how the Oscars handled the late Kevin Conroy. The voice actor known for playing Batman tragically passed away last year. But despite the Oscar ceremony putting on its regular “In Memoriam” segment to honor stars who had died since the previous awards, he was curiously absent from the proceedings.Conroy is behind arguably the most famous and beloved take on the Caped Crusader, voicingBatmanin a great many projects fromBatman: The Animated Seriesin the ’90s to the upcomingRocksteady video gameSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Given his prolific status in theBatmanworld, one might expect him to show up in that somber slideshow alongside the rest of the tragically lost over the past year. But that’s not how things played out, and fans are baffled.RELATED:Kevin Conroy’s 9 Best Performances As BatmanWhen viewers realized the Oscars didn’t include Conroy in the segment, they quickly took to Twitter to call out the ceremony and proclaim their love for the dearly departed actor. Fans immediately came out in droves to pay tribute whenConroy passed away in November, and they showed similar amounts of love this time around. But rather than slinging anger at the Oscars, it seems the prevailing sentiment was to express love for the late performer and his iconic career. It certainly seems like the way he’d have wanted it.
WhileConroy’s voice-acting performancesspan more than just theBatmanfranchise, there’s no denying that this particular character essentially became part of his entire identity. To the same degree that many consider Mark Hamill to be the most iconic voice behind The Joker, it’s almost impossible to disentangle the actor from the role. Hamill has even said that he would only voice The Joker in projects if Conroy had already signed on as Batman. So his loss will be felt in more ways than one.
Some have noted that Conroy is most well-known for his work on television, which would explain his absence from this particular ceremony. This is true, as he began his journey voicing the character in the ’90s withBatman: The Animated Seriesand even eventually appeared on-screen as anevil Batman in The CW’sCrisis on Infinite Earthscrossover. But as fans have pointed out, his iconic performances transcend mediums. Plus, he did technically appear in several movies as Batman.
Regardless of the technicalities, it feels like the Oscars could have at least given Conroy a passing mention. There have been manyproductions with perfect casting, such as seeing J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in theSpider-Manmovies and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. But Conroy was one of a kind, becoming the most iconicBatmanin the eyes of numerous fans. That’s got to be worth something.
