How Adam West's Batman Lit the Way for the Dark Knight

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▶Chapters:
0:00 - Intro / Bat-Opinions May Vary
01:17 - The Most Important Batman Ever
05:43 - Pure. West.
10:14 - Holy Enduring Characterization!
13:34 - Rogues of Renown
16:21 - Batmania Leads to Bat-Movie!
19:09 - Conclusion: A Batman for All Bat-Time

[ssatva]

Burt Ward ad-libbed "Holy priceless collection of Etruscan snoods!" in response to a museum heist, and it's one of the few times you can see Adam West crack a smile.

[stevensutton]

"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"

To quote Charlie Brooker; that's exactly how the Dark Knight Rises also ended.

[williamblakehall]

Loosely paraphrasing from dim memory, but ... "Have you ever noticed, Robin, how we always triumph over these villains?" "Yeah, because we're smarter than they are!" "I prefer to think it is because ... our hearts are pure." Great, great stuff.

[Pegasusthewyze]

Somewhat coincidentally I posted this on Facebook on this day 3 years ago:

"Look we can argue about Bat-men all day but only Adam West and Kevin Conroy were brave enough to fight crime without super advanced military armor."


In my defense I was not aware of the 40s content at the time.

[OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

Robin: "You can't get away from Batman that easy!"
Batman: "Easily."
Robin: "Easily!"
Batman: "Good grammar is important, Robin."

I always loved that one.

[Cathmoytura]

To explain the power of the 1960s "Batman" -- I was hit by a car in an Orlando neighborhood when I was a kid. 1975. I was 7 or 8. A kindly woman took me inside her home, and turned on the television. I know there were paramedics who checked me. I know there were cops who talked to me. I know at some point my mom must have picked me up. But what I vividly remember from the whole affair isn't being hit by a car and the parade of events following. It's watching "Batman" in color for the first time in my life. I totally forgot about my pain.

[Jayk]

My favorite bit from the 60s Batman movie has always been the Giant Lighted Lucite Map of Gotham City conveniently labeled “Giant Lighted Lucite Map of Gotham City.”

[JeanieD]

As a little red-haired girl growing up in the 60’s, Batgirl was everything to me!

[keith]

There's a great scene where West has to portray Bruce Wayne talking on the phone to Batman (with people listening, so he actually has to talk to himself) that's emblematic of the whole series. On the one hand, there's the hilarity as he tells himself how much Batman and Bruce Wayne are simply awesome guys who admire each other so much, but it also showcases West's acting. While his Batman/Bruce Wayne aren't as different as Conroy's, there is a difference, and the way he keeps switching back and forth quickly but the audience never loses track of which persona is doing the talking at any moment is something I've seen suggested is a test any actor aspiring to play the character should have to be able to pull off.

[st.anselmsfire]

I think a big part of West's influence is because, for many fans, he *was* the silver age of comics, more than any other live action or even animated comic book series. That was part of the fun. Watching the show is very much like watching a comic book come to life.
I really don't know if a show like that could ever exist today. Too bad, too.

[TaiBlaine]

In 2009 a friend of mine and myself did a cosplay of Batman & Robin from the 1966 show. I got a big bomb and some signs with "pow", "zap", "boom" and "sploosh" and of course I had a dose of "Shark repllant". 😁 My friend played the role of Robin for about 2 years and I played the caped crusader the last time in 2017. But I will definitly put on the cape again when conventions starting again here in Germany. 😊

[francoislacombe]

Adam West also voiced the character of Catman in Fairly Odd Parents, one of the recurring characters that shared Timmy Turner's magical adventures in the series, and an obvious homage to West's version of Batman.

[matthewsever]

Like him or not Westman was the most influential Batman just like Christopher Reeves for Superman. These two kept the fire burning for 90's and laters Superhero movies.

[poolboyinla]

The Adam West version has actually held up better than many more modern versions.
I have always loved this version.

[ramblingRJ]

I'm an old guy now, but I grew up with Adam West as my Batman. He was a big part of my childhood. He was one of the 3 'Bs' of the 1960s...The Beatles, Bond and Batman. Loved Batman 66.

[jeanief.]

And how come Batman doesn't dance anymore?

But seriously, Adam West's Batman was great. He set a standard that everyone was compared to for decades. Heck, even Bale's Batman trilogy ends with, and Spoilers for Dark Knight Rises, "you just can't get rid of a bomb." Not to mention, that he is *my* generation's Batman's Batman, aka The Grey Ghost in Batman: The Animated Series, which is one of the all time best episodes of an all time great series made even more perfect by West's acting.

Pure. West.

[Mallory-Malkovich]

I had pretty much the same experience you did - loving Batman as a kid, then rejecting it as cheesy when I was a teenager, then discovering it was actually brilliantly made intentional comedy as an adult. I don't know who I would be today if I hadn't watched that show in my formative years.

[rmcdudmk]

I'll always have a spot in my heart for Adam Wests Batman. He's the first live action batman I got to see. Even if the show was ment to be a comedy I liked it.

[ConorCarlisle]

Your journey as a fan of the Adam West Batman almost exactly parallels my own.

[Nightcoffee]

100% agree that Merideth’s penguin is still the penguin! Also, Catwoman taught my young growing mind a lot about itself. 😏