You read right, loyal readers. This is the inevitable Batman-themed week. Now I'll admit, a lot of posts on Panel Biter relate to the Caped Crusader, but doing a week all about this character almost assures that frequency of Bat-posts will be less...frequent. I'll mainly be focusing on all the different interpretations on the Dark Knight and how the years have defined him. So, let's start with everybody's favorite Batman, Adam West! Don't act like I'm wrong, you love this guy.
Ah, good old Adam West, he's like that crazy uncle in a bat-suit we all have. What do you mean you don't have an uncle like that? Uncle West slipped on the cape and cowl in 1966's Batman television show. Excluding the current Gotham television show and the short-lived Birds of Prey show, Batman 66' remains the only live action television program to be based off the Batman comic books, to some degree. It may come as a shock to both old and new readers that this version of Batman is not his first conception. Writer Bob Kane's 1939 Batman carried a gun and upright killed criminals. Over time he became more heroic and less homicidal, but Batman's history would change heavily when The Comics Code Authority hit the world of comics in 1954. The Comic Code Authority was founded because back in 54' comic books were seen as poison to young readers. The CCA essentially censored comic books. Violence, sexuality, horror, kidnapping and concealed weaponry are just a few examples of what the CCA wouldn't tolerate. Meanwhile, healthy good-ol-American values were put on the forefront of comic stories citing hygiene, education and patriotism as important topics for kids to read about. Batman was of course given a more family friendly and comedic look and when it came time to put him on TV, the campy Caped Crusader took his CCA restrictions with him. The show was focused on saloon-style fights with the iconic "Pow" sound effects and graphics. What the show lacked in detective work and complex character, it tried to make up with highlighting Batman's colorful gallery of villains and his endless supply of Bat-themed tools, ridiculous as some tools may be. I'm looking at you, Bat-Shark Repellent.
Despite not lasting as the definitive Batman, Adam West's 66' TV program does present fans with the reminder that Batman's relevancy has been an everlasting feature of every decade since his creation. It also represents my favorite thing about Batman: he can be written in so many different ways! He can be the dark loner or the wise mentor. He can be serious and realistic or he can silly and upbeat. One minute Batman can be delivering a drug dealer to the GCPD, the next minute he can be punching White Martians in space with Superman and The Justice League. The pure legacy of Batman has made him adaptable to any medium and we have the 66' TV show to thank for that.
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