The U.S. Senator Who Has Been In 5 BATMAN Movies!

You remind me of my father...

The American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Gotham Vermont, Patrick Joseph Leahy, was first elected to this seat in 1974. A member of the Democratic Party, Leahy is now in his eighth six-year term of office, making him Vermont's longest-serving U.S. Senator, the longest-serving Democrat in the current 116th Congress, and the most senior member of the Senate. From December 17th 2012 to January 3rd 2015, Leahy held the position of president pro tempore of the United States Senate, and was thus during that time third in the presidential line of succession.

He's also a huge comic book fan. Specifically, Batman.

Senator Leahy first shared his love of The Caped Crusader when in 1992 he penned the foreword to The Dark Knight Archives, Volume 1 (a collection of the first four Batman comic books). Four years later he'd contribute a preface essay for Batman: Death of Innocents (a graphic novel about the horrors of landmines), but by that time he'd already made a dream come true, voicing a character in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Showdown". The character's name was the Governor, and he took part in an inauguration ceremony for the Transcontinental Railroad...

If being turned into cartoon form is a dream come true then think how excited Leahy was when he scored back to back roles in both Joel Schumacher's live action Batman movies. First, an undredite extra role in 1995s Batman Forever, followed two years later as "himself" donning a crisp tux and black bow tie during the Bat-Credit Card scene in Batman & Robin...



The Bat-franchise may have stumbled after Batman & Robin, and Christopher Nolan might have wanted to eradicate any links to that bizarre Bat-outing, but Senator Leahy got a pass. Nolan gave him a role in his second Bat-film, 2008's The Dark Knight playing a Wayne Enterprises board member. Leahy's character tells the Joker "We're not intimidated by thugs", to which the Joker replies, "You know, you remind me of my father. I hated my father."



But wait, there's more! In The Dark Knight Rises, Leahy appeared once again. This time defending defended the legacy of the Wayne family against attempts to usurp the company by industrialist John Daggett.

Once Nolan completed his trilogy and handed the Bat-reigns to Zack Snyder, he also gave Snyder the Bat-phone book with Leahy's number in it, as the Senator is in 2016s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice too. Here he plays Senator Purrington, in a scene set during a Senate hearing which is subsequently destroyed by an explosion.

All royalties and fees from Leahy's roles have been donated to charities, primarily the Kellogg–Hubbard library in Vermont where he read comic books as a child.

Will Senator Leahy appear in the upcoming Robert Paterson Batman film? We wouldn't bet against it.