Hi! I’m Derek Faraci, ScreenRant’s Training Lead. While I spend my day helping our writers craft the best articles around, at night I become something different. As the sun sets and I sign off from work, I delve into my true passion: superheroes. I, like many of you, have seen every Batman movie and show multiple times, and I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that Adam West is the greatest live-action Batman. If, for some reason, you don’t agree with this absolutely correct opinion, please leave me a comment below defending your choice!
The Dark Knight has been a part of our lives longer than just about anyone alive. And while his greatest adventures can be found on the four-color page, many of Batman's most well-known cases have appeared on the big screen. A dozen actors have donned the cape and cowl, starting with Lewis Wilson all the way back in 1943. But only one has managed to capture everything that makes Batman so special: Adam West.
To fully appreciate how Adam West — along with a cadre of writers, directors, and other actors — gave us the ultimate take on the Caped Crusader, we need to look at the clues just like Batman would. There are very specific elements that make Batman who he is, and while other portrayals of the iconic hero have included some of these aspects, Adam West is the only one to contain all of them. Let's break it down…
Batman: The World's Greatest Detective
Batman is often called "The World's Greatest Detective" (kick rocks, Sherlock Holmes!). The Caped Crusader is able to solve just about any mystery with his analytical mind, though, to be fair, many of the mysteries aren't that hard to deduce. When all the fish in Gotham Harbor suddenly have giant smiles, there's really only one suspect that comes to mind.
West's Batman can solve the most impossible riddle. He can pinpoint where one of his rogues is hiding out with a dirt sample. He even figures out that it was Penguin who purchased a submarine from the US Navy. No piece of evidence escapes this Batman's sight.
And while some of the other Batmen are also detectives in their own right, they usually solve one, maybe two clues. West's Batman solved dozens, if not hundreds.
Batman: The Fighter
There are, to be blunt, some live-action Batmen who may not be able to punch their way out of a paper bag. Michael Keaton could barely move in his suits. Christian Bale's entire fighting style was built on the hope that his enemies would run into his fists. And while Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson's Batmans are surely the best fighters of the bunch, only one of these versions can hit someone so hard that it creates an onomatopoeia.Adam West's Batman may not be the most graceful fighter, but he is the most iconic.West's Batman also does something almost no other live-action Batman does: he works in tandem with his crime-fighting partners. He and Robin will switch between thugs, toss one another into a group of baddies, or even swing each other around for some big kicks. Alone or with a partner, this Batman beats them all.
Batman: The Scientist
It often gets overlooked, but Batman is a genius-level scientist, matching the likes of Lex Luthor, Mister Fantastic, and Iron Man. Adam West's Batman appears to have built all of his computers and gadgets by himself. His car is atomic-powered, which isn't an add-on you can request at the dealership, and his Batcave has a nuclear reactor in it. This is a Batman who can talk quantum mechanics with the best of them.
And while some of the other Batmen are clearly scientifically adept, none of them come close to West's skills. Christian Bale's Batman relies on others to make his gear, as well as find the anti-toxin for Scarecrow's fear gas. George Clooney and Val Kilmer don't even really bother with the scientific details. The only real challenge to West in this area is Affleck, who creates a number of devices to take on Superman. But even there, West takes the Bat-cake.
Yes, Affleck's Dark Knight made Kryptonite gas, but West's Caped Crusader is the only one to invent the Instant Unfolding Bat-Costume Pills, allowing him to store his suit in a simple pill and expand it with a little water. Genius!
Batman: The Gadgeteer
There are different classes of superhero, and one of them is the gadgeteer. These are heroes, like Green Arrow, the Golden Age Sandman, or Mister Terrific, who depend on gadgets to do their job. None of them have gadgets as cool as Batman.
Looking past the Batarang, Batmobile, and Batplane (or the very cool Batcopter in Adam West's case), which every live-action version of the Dark Knight has (except for Pattinson, who is sadly missing out on the plane thus far), Adam West's version of the character has the coolest gadgets. In fact, he has so many that it would take ages to go through them all, but a few of my personal favorites include the Portable Batlab, the Electronic Hair Bat-Analyzer, the Bat-Speech Imitator, and, of course, Batlube. There is no situation that West's Batman doesn't have a gadget for. He is ready for any scenario, and just about every gadget he has fits inside his utility belt.
Batman: The Father Figure
Every Batman has at least one person who helps him out: Alfred. But most live-action Batmen are missing the Batfamily. After all, what is Batman without his sidekick, Robin? The Dynamic Duo is a major part of what makes Batman so cool. Add in Batgirl, and you have a trio of amazing crimefighters who can take on any danger.
There's a piece of Batman that tends to be overlooked in the movies: he wants to be a father figure. The Batfamily is built around Batman picking up strays and bringing them together. Some are orphans. Some are from broken homes. Some grow up with loving parents. But they all needed a family that understands them and helps them find their purpose in the world, and Batman gives that to them. In turn, Batman gets back the very thing a mugger took from him all those years ago.
And, as part of this, West's Batman is the only Batman who espouses the importance of good manners, respecting others, and having empathy for the very villains they battle. He goes beyond teaching them how to be great superheroes. He teaches them how to be great people.
Of course, West's Batman isn't the only one to have the Batfamily, but his Batfamily is the one people love most. No disrespect to Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone, but their versions of Robin and Batgirl just don't hold a candle to Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig.
Batman: The Dual Identity
We all know that under the cape and cowl is Bruce Wayne. And hardcore fans know that Bruce Wayne is just as important to Batman's work as Batman himself. Sometimes, there will be situations that Batman can't take part in, and that's where the secret identity comes into play. Bruce Wayne can mingle with Gotham's elite. He can take part in meetings. And, most importantly, he can keep people from thinking he's Batman by acting like a carefree socialite.
A few of the live-action Batmen have pulled this off as well, but there's one thing West's Batman has done that the other would never dare: had a conversation with himself. When Commissioner Gordon needed to talk to Batman and Bruce Wayne at the same time, West's Dark Knight was able to pull it off with ease, switching between phones and never giving a hint that he was actually just a single person. Truly, no one would ever suspect West's Batman of being Bruce Wayne.
While some other live-action Batmen, like Kilmer, Bale, and Affleck, do a good job of separating the two personalities, others are pretty bad at it. Keaton's Bruce Wayne is weird and sleeps hanging upside down. Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is so goth he may as well keep the facepaint on over his eyes at all times. Adam West perfectly captures the two sides of the Batman personality coin.
Batman: Keeping The Secret Identity
Of course, all of this dual identity work is moot if the world were to find out that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same. The secret identity is something that must be carefully guarded, less Batman's rogues use it against him. Across one movie and 120 episodes of the show, West's Batman never reveals his identity to anyone outside of Robin and Alfred. Heck, West's Batman is so good at it, even Aunt Harriet never realizes the truth, and she lives with him. The same cannot be said for most of the other live-action Batmen.
Keaton's Batman will gladly take off the cowl for just about anyone around, even going so far as to reveal himself to Max Shreck. Of course, it doesn't help that his Alfred happily brings Vickie Vale into the Batcave.
Kilmer's Batman doesn't just reveal his true self to Dr. Chase Meridian; he gladly lets Riddler attach a mind-reading device to his head, letting everyone at a gala event see all the wild bat imagery in his mind. Not a great move for a master of disguise. And it's so easy to figure out that Affleck's Batman is Bruce Wayne that Lex Luthor does it before the movie even starts.
And then there's the one thing a lot of people say takes away from West's Batman, but, in truth, it is exactly what makes him the true GOAT…
Batman: The Goofy Side
Yes, Adam West's Batman is goofy. But Batman is, at the heart of it all, pretty goofy. We're talking about a man who puts on a Halloween costume and fights crime. We're talking about a man who puts the word "bat" in front of everything he builds. We're talking about a man who has a life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex and a giant penny in his secret headquarters.
The trick is that, in the universe of Batman, these things aren't considered goofy. And the 1960s Batman, while it plays up the camp, never breaks through the fourth wall of the universe. It doesn't wink at the audience, letting us know it's in on the joke. All of it is played straight. This is why so many people who watched the movie or show as a kid initially thought this version was a serious take on the character (and why many adults who only have a passing knowledge of this version still think it was a serious take on the character).
The goofiness, and our willingness to accept that part of the mythology, are a big part of why Batman has lasted so long. These are iconic signifiers that create the full spectrum of who and what Batman is and can be. When that is lost, when Batman becomes too "real" or "grounded," we lose what makes him such a powerful figure in pop culture.
Even today, elements of Adam West's Batman make it into the modern takes. Robert Pattinson's cowl was inspired by Adam West's. The end of Dark Knight Rises is clearly a play on "some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb!"
But, then again, I'm not the best Batman.
If you really think you can make a case for your favorite live-action Batman, feel free to try in the comments!
Listen to all the Challenge My GOAT podcast episodes on the following platforms:
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Amazon
- Apple
- iHeartRadio
- Player FM
- Podbean
