The argument of who the best cinematic Batman is has been long standing and thoroughly debated. Practically everyone has an opinion on which Caped Crusader they prefer. Even The Simpsons weighed in on the topic in a 2013 episode, proclaiming two actors to be the cream of the crop.
Season 24's "Dark Knight Court" saw Mr. Burns rekindle a love for superhero comics. After buying out the Comic Book Guy's entire stock at the Android's Dungeon, a marathon reading session inspired Burns to follow in a fellow billionaire's footsteps and become Batman himself.
Dubbing himself Fruit Batman, the geriatric tycoon vows to fight crime in Springfield. His long suffering assistant Waylon Smithers fails to talk Burns out of vigilantism. To protect him, Smithers stages crimes for Burns to foil, starting with Snake's regularly scheduled robbery of the Kwik-E-Mart and eventually roping in Homer and other Springfield residents.
Fruit Batman continues to unknowingly stop fake crimes, but he finally gets a chance to do some real good when Lisa asks for his help in exonerating Bart of egging the town. Burns blows her off, and disillusioned, Lisa tells Marge that the experience has taught her that the only true Batmen are Christian Bale and Adam West.
Lisa's declaration may have just settled the age old debate of who the best Batman is. Her preference for Bale's and West's versions of the hero aren't unfounded.
West's portrayal of the hero in 1966's campy TV series was the first version of Batman to rise to icon status. The show's success spawned the first wave of Batmania. There's also a personal reason for The Simpsons to endorse West. Long before he became a recurring character on Family Guy, he guest starred on The Simpsons as himself twice. He first appeared in the episode, "Mr. Plow, and his appearance on the show was immortalized in action figure form.
Bale represents the natural progression of the character from the campy to dark. He starred in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy during the third wave of Batmania. 2008's The Dark Knight became a cultural phenomenon. The trilogy ended with The Dark Knight Rises, which was released the year before The Simpsons' "Dark Knight Court" aired. That proximity to Bale's run as Batman probably didn't hurt when it came to choosing Lisa's picks.
Lisa settled the "best Batman debate" and chose two great past Caped Crusaders. It's a take even Comic Book Guy could be proud of, assuming he could keep himself from picking George Clooney just to be a contrarian.