5 Things ADAM WEST Did Better Than Other Batmen
Adam West is quoted as saying that three B's shaped the '60s: Bond, The Beatles, and Batman. Curiously enough, West was offered the role of James Bond for the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service but turned it down, wanting a British actor to have the role instead. While West may have been right about the '60s, I might expand and say those three B's have shaped our pop culture to this day. Fifty years later we still get excited about all three, but over the years some have forgotten the impact West's Batman truly had on the series. While we may not have a Batman logo etched on our back molar like West does, we do remember some things his Batman did better than most.
Operate In Broad Daylight
Christian Bale's Batman believed that darkness was his ally. For West's it was but an acquaintance. Most of the stories in the Batman television series took place during the day, but it didn't seem to bug the Dark Knight. Batman and Robin walked the streets of one of the most dangerous cities in the world during business hours in full costume. If that doesn't require balls of steel, I don't know what does.
Win A Fight Without Throwing A Punch
We've seen, heard, and seen the sounds of West's Batman throwing punches, but sometimes violence is not always the solution. Batman has shown this in various ways throughout all his incarnations, but none of them have ever entered a boxing match and won not throwing a single punch. Riddler leaves off of sheer intimidation factor! Speaking of which, Riddler was originally planned to be a throwaway character in the comics until his inclusion in the series, which made him a mainstay and one of Batman's greatest villains.
Dance
Only one Batman has had a dance named after him. Take a guess which one. The "Batusi" was a variation of the '60s dance the "Watusi." You wanna do the Batusi? Just do the eye thing and shake your hips... but do both peace signs horizontally from the center of your face and outward. This is the Batusi, and it works to every song in the world. Top that, other Batmen.
Made Robin A Bad Ass...Sort Of
It's tough to call someone who is commonly referred to as "the Boy Wonder" bad ass, but the West Batman let Robin do a lot more than others. Robin occasionally got to drive the Batmobile, have his own catchphrase (which is annoyingly immortalized), and trained him enough to take him on. Seriously, how many times have you seen Robin kick Batman's ass?
He Saved Batman For All Future Batmen
Call it campy, call it stupid, call it what you will, but the fact of the matter is West's Batman was the hero you needed, not deserved. Without his show the Batman comic series would've been cancelled, and there would be no Batman films, series, or games. West put Batman on a national stage and allowed the true vision of who Batman is to be realized. If that isn't something a real Batman would do, I don't know what is.