Which Batman is the most reckless?

Ranking the portrayals of Batman in terms of recklessness was worked out by attributing a scoring system for each type of incident that each actor was involved in.  A roadside fix equated to 1 point, needing a tow as 3 points and a write off as 5 points. This provided a total recklessness score, revealing which Batman is the most reckless behind the wheel.  

According to our recklessness score, Christian Bale takes the top spot – and it isn’t even close.  Batman Begins had a reckless score of 6, The Dark Knight had a massive 15 and The Dark Knight Rises came in high too with a score of 9. The Dark Knight trilogy, Bale managed to rack up a total of 8 incidents, meaning he would have needed roadside assistance once, had to wait for the recovery truck for a tow on three separate occasions and completely wrote off his various Bat vehicles four times!  

With the Batmobile costing $1 million dollars to create in the Dark Knight trilogy, the Batpod selling for $250,000 and the high-tech Batplane which debuted in The Dark Knight Rises costing a hefty $46 million dollars, Bruce Wayne’s reckless driving would have put a hefty $49 million dent in his wallet. 

Bruce Wayne must have managed to recoup some of his cash after Bale’s destructive outings – because when Ben Affleck took on the role in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, he continued the trend of extreme recklessness. Affleck was responsible for no less than 3 incidents, giving him a recklessness score of 13. 

One tow and two write-off incidents helped him seal the number two spot, but it was the Batwing being taken down by a laser that will have dented Bruce Wayne’s considerable finances the most. That incident brings Ben Affleck’s total write-off cost to $100 million – which is even more than Bale’s efforts!  

Perhaps $97 million for the ultra-high tech Batwing  and $3 million for his flash Batmobile didn’t represent the best value.  

Despite having a lower overall recklessness score than Ben Affleck starring as Batman, Michael Keaton had the advantage of starring in both Batman (1989) and Batman Returns. Both films ended up being equally as reckless as the other, with 1 tow and 1 write-off in each one. This totals 4 incidents and generates a reckless score of 8 for each film.  

Keaton’s iconic Batmobile (worth $1 million!) and Batwing ($46 million) getting destroyed meant he would have faced $47 million worth of damage in write-offs. 

In Batman & Robin, George Clooney certainly didn’t shy away from vehicular carnage, equalling Keaton’s efforts with a recklessness score of 8.  

In the 1997 remake, Mr Clooney must have endured an off-screen wait for the recovery truck after his Batmobile was frozen mid-air by the villainous Mr Freeze. The film also features a laser attack on the Batmobile, which by real-life standards could have no other outcome than a write-off. 

Lucky for Batman this time, the overall cost of write-off damage is considerably less as he would have only needed to replace the Batmobile once. Mr Clooney’s cost $75,000 – a bargain! 

Van Kilmer put on the mask for Batman Forever, and though he avoided needing to wait for a recovery truck for a tow or roadside assistance, he couldn’t stop The Riddler chucking an explosive into the driver’s seat of his Batmobile. The resulting explosion surely must have left the caped crusader in need of a new ride.  

Only having the one write–off meant Val Kilmer’s recklessness score was a low 5, but his need to replace the costly Batmobile meant his write-off damage totals a cool $2.8 million.