Being self-critical can be a nasty thing in Hollywood, especially when the whole world has their eyes locked on you, waiting for your downfall. I mean, why be critical of yourself when there are plenty of people ready to throw you off a cliff for your said “disgraceful performance?”

Christian Bale has recently stepped into the limelight, publically dismantling his generally well-received turn as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, telling Yahoo! Movies: “I didn’t quite nail it.”

The discussion on which Batman is best is one that will swirl for the rest of time, at least while cinema continues to produce worthwhile superhero films. Here’s why Bale, despite his own mistakes, will most likely be remembered as the greatest knight to ever stalk the rooftops of Gotham City.

When people think of “Batman,” most think of a rugged, no games, attitudinal, rough-around-the-edges character. They don’t particularly think of adorable little Christian Bale from North Wales, but that’s what makes the story all the more telling. I was only six years old when the first of the three films, Batman Begins, premiered in theaters. That being said, I’ve watched the film more times than I can count, and I can tell you one thing for certain: Bale gave us a Batman we could believe in, in more ways than one.

Batman Begins was surprisingly the first film of its kind that didn’t shy away from the grim reality of  Bruce Wayne’s angst-ridden past. It gave us the caped crusader’s first proper origins story, and it paid off. It made the character itself much more relatable, giving the film the true “it” factor.

The character itself was never overplayed which was absolutely crucial to this plot with this particular actor. I mean, no one would ever believe that a man who previously played a singing, dancing newspaper boy could ever stare at someone with such an intense glare that no secrets could ever be kept. It was always important that the villains be showcased almost as much as the hero, and this is what really separates the trilogy from other, older adaptations.  

Bale’s Batman is one that will be looked back on for years. The voice, the look, the charisma–it all combined to create the versatile enigma that is the “Dark Knight.” He wasn’t taken straight out of the comic books, he was created through the mind of a pure acting genius. We will never see another performance like Bale’s. He was the Batman we deserved.