The DC animation wagon of quality just keeps on trucking with the latest offering Batman: Year One, adapted from Frank Miller's seminal comic of the same name. Not long to wait now as it'll be released in the US 18th October.

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There have been some truly awful Thors over the years. In researching this column (yes, I do research. It involves watching a lot of cartoons) I was reminded of how difficult it can be to bring a character like Thor to the screen. Things that work well in the comics, such as his faux Shakespearian dialect or his long, girly hair, just don’t really translate that well unless done properly. You either have to go all the way, and adapt the comic character as is (will only work in animation), or you have to make some pretty drastic changes somewhere.

To pick a prime example, check out Eric Allan Kramer’s awful turn in nineteen eighty-eight’s The Incredible Hulk Returns. While the original Hulk TV series was absolutely brilliant, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno’s return to our screens in several low budget TV movies left a lot to be desired. Of the three, and opinions are divided, but in this writer’s opinion, this first one was the worst. Yes, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk featured a completely uninspired version Daredevil, but the Thor who showed up in Returns, and had his ass handed to him by the Hulk, was, at best, a one note joke. An Asgardian warrior who relished battle, women and drink. There was no nobility to the character, and he was incredibly difficult to sympathise with. He also looked bloody stupid.

So, as with last week’s look at Iron Man, we’re faced with a dilemma. There are few truly great Thors, and not a whole lot of good ones to choose from either. Still, I did manage to find five who, at the very least, could be considered adequate. Four of the men on this list deserve their places. This first guy though, I’ll admit, is mostly there to fill out the numbers...

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This week’s column presented a challenge. When I decided to write the next three columns on the Avengers Big Three (Iron Man, Thor and Captain America), I hadn’t really factored in that they haven’t actually been played by as many actors as, say, Batman or Spider-Man. Until their recent movie adventures, the characters didn’t have the same level of popularity as their slightly more famous friends, and they just haven’t clocked up as many screen appearances.

Of course, all that changed with the release of the first Iron Man movie, but it’s only really been in the last few years that the general, non-comic reading public (or Flatscans. Maybe Muggles) have become aware of the Armoured Avenger, et al. This means fewer (though by no means a total shortage) animated or computer game outings in which actors can portray them, and a distinct lack of great Iron Man performances.

In fact, and I’m aware that this is a controversial statement that may well generate some backlash, for my money, while there have been several good Iron Men, there are only two performances who stand out as great. But let’s visit some of the good ones first...

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Superman, as we all know, first appeared in Action Comics #1 in the year 1938. The first true superhero, Supes paved the way for a veritable army of comic book superheroes in the decades which followed. Quite naturally, it wasn’t long until the screen beckoned, and ever since 1941, when Superman again led the way in the classic Fleischer Studios cartoon series, superheroes have been a common feature on TV and cinema screens everywhere.

Over the years, most of the more popular heroes have appeared in one form or another, played by a huge amount of actors who, it must be said, are all brave for taking on such iconic roles. Some have done better than others, but who are the definitive actors who have played the characters we all know and love? That’s what I aim to look at in this series of columns. Each week, I’ll take a different, well loved character from comics and have a look at five of the actors who have played them, ranking them in order of my own personal preference. I’m also throwing it open to everyone else to tell me who their favourite is before I begin on my Twitter account.

For this week, let us begin with the greatest comic book character of all time, Batman! When I asked on Twitter who everyone’s favourite Batman was, Adam West just beat Christian Bale by a single vote, but does he top my list?

I tried to pick my five favourite actors to ever take on the part of the Caped Crusader, but I couldn’t pick between the last two. So you’re getting six. Let’s go!

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