Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for a generation of viewers, has tragically passed away, leaving an immense void in the Caped Crusader's legacy. Beginning his career as Batman in the 1990s classic Batman: The Animated Series, Conroy would go on to voice him in other DC Animated Universe projects. One of these showed off not only his acting skills, but also his singing chops.
An episode of Justice League Unlimited had the Dark Knight belting out a mellow tune for the sake of Wonder Woman, and the crooning voice was in fact Conroy's. Despite this singing skill, there was sadly never a musical episode in the DCAU. With Kevin Conroy now departed, it sadly remains one of the shared universe's biggest missed opportunities.
Justice League Unlimited Revealed Kevin Conroy's Batman Singing Voice
"This Little Piggy" is the fifth episode of the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and it is pivotal for a few reasons. For one, it showcased the bewitching nature of Wonder Woman's magical nemesis Circe. Based on the witch from Homer's The Odyssey, this mythological figure had become a staunch opponent of Diana's in the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths comic books. Transitioning from a more classical witch to a more flighty, energetic one, the latter characterization is on full display in the episode.
The episode has Circe doing her usual bit of animal transformation, this time turning the daughter of Queen Hippolyta into a pig. This "Wonder Pig" constantly gets into mischief, with Batman and the magical Zatanna unable to transform her back into her normal self. Things only get worse when they're transported to a stage in Mykonos, with the Wonder Pig sentenced to be slaughtered.
Forced to trade his seeming dignity -- and clearly feeling more for Wonder Woman than that of just an ally -- Batman does the impossible: he sings "Am I Blue?" in a soulful, sultry fashion. The crowd goes wild, with even Circe moved to the point of restoring Wonder Woman. Besides helping to lay the foundation of a Batman and Wonder Woman ship in the DC Animated Universe, the episode is in general one of the most well-remembered adventures in Justice League Unlimited. A big reason for that is Batman's singing, which sadly wasn't heard much throughout any of Bruce Timm's animated DC projects.
Batman: The Animated Series Needed a Musical Episode
As mentioned, Batman's singing voice is supplied by Kevin Conroy, who voiced him throughout the DCAU and in other projects. That makes said singing even more surprising, as Conroy isn't exactly known for his singing voice among even ardent DC fans. Though musical episodes have become an increasing commonality in cartoons and even live-action shows, there was never such an episode in the DC Animated Universe. Ironically, the later series Batman: The Brave and The Bold did in fact feature a musical episode and a musical enemy, though Kevin Conroy didn't voice Batman in that series.
A musical episode fit that series due to its generally campier, less serious tone, though it might have been much harder to do so in Batman: The Animated Series. That's especially the case given that it and the then-current Tim Burton Batman movies were trying to get away from the goofier reputation of the character. Nevertheless, a musical episode or one with multiple musical numbers would have easily worked in some capacity. For instance, an episode in which Bruce Wayne sings publicly would have added to his foppish, party-going personality, all without seeming too campy or gimmicky.
Most importantly, having a musical DCAU episode would have allowed Kevin Conroy to do triple duty in a way. Not only would he have been voicing both Batman and Bruce Wayne (who had clearly different voices), but also supply his own singing talent to the mix. That sadly never happened during the DC Animated Universe's original run or before the passing of Conroy himself, but the actor's singing for the sake of Wonder Woman will remain a fond memory for fans everywhere.