Happy 87th Birthday Adam West

While his actual birthday was on Saturday, September 19, I'm uploading it still today because, hey, why not?

Adam West was the first hero I was aware of growing up, thanks in large part to the Batman TV show being in syndication heaven. Every portrayal of Batman have something unique that one recalls instantly, from Michael Keaton being the scary Gothic nightmare of Burton's films, to Kilmer being a moody and intense brooding one hampered by the creeping camp of Batman Forever, to Clooney basically doing a pantomime of Adam West in the much-deservedly maligned Batman and Robin, to Christian Bale going back to basics with a critically acclaimed portrayal in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Where does Adam West stack up? That depends on your own opinion of the Batman TV series. For some, the 1966-68 series represent the low point the franchise found itself in, the nadir that had followed a decade filled with science fiction storylines that were not appropriate for the character and a growing staple of ridiculous additions that did nothing for the title. In fact, the show is often criticized for creating the perception of Batman as the chummy superhero who operated in the daylight more than the "dark knight" of the old Bob Kane/Bill Finger days that would be quickly re-established in the comics upon the show's cancellation in 1968. The over-reliance on gadgetry plus ridiculous puns in dialogue further created the show's reputation as one of the campiest TV products ever aired.

And yet...Adam West's Batman was probably closer to the idea of Batman as created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger than one would realize. That over-reliance on gadgets, such as the infamous "Shark Repellent Spray" from the 1966 movie display the ingenuity and preparation that Batman was famous for (you think stories such as Tower of Babel, where he inadvertently topples the JLA, would have been possible if not for Batman always being ready for whatever is presented to him?). Adam West's Batman was also as much a detective as his comic counterpart. You see a little of those skills in the first movie with Michael Keaton, and again in Batman Returns while both Forever and Batman and Robin let the detective take a backseat to the growing problems within the franchise. Only when Nolan started his trilogy did the detective return, and it is quite often forgotten that Adam West was the first to really establish Batman as being on par with Sherlock Holmes in terms of solving crimes and riddles. 

West's portrayal was charismatic, affable, and at the same time believable. Much like George Reeves a decade earlier with "The Adventures of Superman", if West hadn't taken the role as serious as he did the show wouldn't both be fondly remembered and reviled in the same breath as it is. Despite the loud colors, the "SOCK! BIF! BANG! POW!" word effects, and insane villains, the world of the Batman TV show comes together whenever Adam West pops on screen.

I hope he had a good birthday. Next year the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the show will be insane.