Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
In the mythology of comic book superheroes, Batman and Superman have been the two most enduring figures on the glossy pages. When it comes to the silver screen, however, the story is entirely different. While some deify the versions portrayed by Zack Snyder, others ridicule them for being darker, more psychologically complex, and morally grey heroes who are otherwise meant to be the beacon of hope and a self-made avenger of the oppressed.
While the comic book legend Frank Miller particularly associates himself with the darker representation of these pop culture icons, there is no single way of dissecting a creative work that has been reviewed, revisited, and rewritten by hundreds of authors and artists over dozens of decades throughout the last century.
Even still, the DC fans can come together in unity to stand opposed to one specific adaptation of Batman: the Adam West TV show version.
Adam West’s Batman Alienates the DC Fandom
There is no telling how frenzied a fandom surrounding a pop culture figure can get when their protagonist gets disintegrated in front of their very eyes. In the days ofAdam West‘s television series, Batman was luckily spared the kind of elitism that Christopher Nolan brought to the table.
The Oscar-winning director radically revolutionized and reshaped Batman to be the most notorious superhero that can ever exist in the comic book world, along with a Joker who is unquestionably the most maniacal psychopath to walk the earth. With Nolan, Batman found a second coming in a new golden age of comic book superheroes.
However, when placing Nolan andZack Snyder‘s adaptations parallel to Adam West’s TV show version of the billionaire avenger, it is almost laughable how cruelly the ’60s ridiculed the concept of Batman. West’s hero was a man out of his depths, the butt of the joke that underlies every Batman comic, and inFrank Miller‘s own words,“the TV show was constantly telling you how stupid the comic book was.”
“It was wacky”: The Harsh Truth Superman: The Animated Series Legend Tim Daly Said about the Adam West Batman Show is Bitter But Necessary
It was no argument that the camp classic has a devoted fanbase of its own but compared to what the modern audience values in Christian Bale’s take on the superhero, Adam West has certainly alienated the DC fandom with his ridiculous and goofy joke of a man.
Zack Snyder & Frank Miller Share Their Concerns
It is hardly justifiable to argue with the genius behind such classic comic book issues asDaredevilandThe Dark Knight Returns. But Frank Miller not only changed the perception of Batman from a silly version to a grittier and more realistic one filled with violence and emotional abuse but also proved that the nocturnal do-gooder has substance and his story can be equated to a tragedy worthy of Greek epics.
Zack Snyder followed in this visionary’s footsteps to bring to the big screen a darker, more mature version of the Justice League superheroes, attempting to redeem DC from itsBatman & Robinmishap and the infamous fiasco of the nippled Batsuit era.
Critiquing the 1966 adaptation, Frank Miller revealed during aninterview forInverse:
The notorious old TV show, the one with Adam West and Burt Ward. I mean, that was a goof. It was basically a snide take on stuff that I remember that I absolutely loved. I loved the comic book characters and the TV show was constantly telling you how stupid the comic book was.
Snyder added:“Yeah. Because it was counterculture against authority and they sort of saw Batman as the man. And so I just felt like they were making the man out to be sort of an idiot.”
“Let’s go back and give a nod to that”: One of James Gunn’s Greatest DCU Characters That Came Straight Out of Batman: The Animated Series Has an Adam West Connection
In Miller’s opinion, this guy is no joke. And his artistic products show just how relentless and dangerous one man can be when driven by a sense of justice in a world painted in shades of reds and greys. But despite Snyder’s reductive take on a Batman who has gone completely rogue and morally bankrupt, he helped resurrect an extreme side of the Caped Crusader that Adam West could never have dreamed of. And DC is all the better for it.
Adam West’sBatmanseries is available to rent/buy on YouTube and Apple TV.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
