And I am, I admit, quite sad about this.
If you know me even at all, you know to some extent exactly how prevalent Batman has been in my life. What you may not know is that I don't even know why. I'm sure most of you can remember how you first came to your hobbies and interests...a first exposure, an introduction, et cetera. For all of other things I'm interested in - Masters of the Universe, Dick Tracy, Star Wars, Shakespeare, etc, I can remember how I found them. Not so with Batman - I can say in all sincerity that my love of the character and his world goes back as far as I have memory. There was no time when Batman was not.
But there's something about Batman that I don't think a lot of younger fans realize. When I was a kid, Batman was nowhere near as ubiquitous as he is now. These days, he's everywhere - multiple movies, tv series, video games, toylines, roller coasters, merchandising, and of course, comics. But that was not always the case. In fact, long before there was the DCEU, the Arkhamverse, the Dark Knight Trilogy, before The Animated Series and before anyone knew who Kevin Conroy was, before Clooney, Kilmer, Keaton, before even the Dark Knight Returns or Super Powers - yes, Pre-Crisis - things were quite different. When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, Batman was not on big screens or action figure sales. There were only three ways to have access to the character. The comics, of course, the Super Friends cartoon, and re-runs of the 1960s Batman TV series.
Think about that: this was not a question of "who is YOUR Batman?", because there was not a smorgasbord of options. For two generations, any concept of Batman in live action was defined by Adam West. No offense to Lewis Wilson or Robert Lowery, but if you asked anyone who they thought of, West's name was what you'd hear.
I didn't know then that it was silly. I didn't get the meta-humor, or (benign) innuendo. I just had so, so much fun. Of course, years later, when I started catching it again as a teenager, I understood how goofy it was, and started to really get - and appreciate - the humor. But I'll say this for the show - goofy or not, it was always sincere.
Things changed; the world of Batman got darker and far more serious. And by the late eighties/early nineties, a new Batmania had exploded, but now Batman had fully become the brooding Dark Knight that he's largely been ever since. The vast majority of people who became Batman fans could and would only accept this newer incarnation as the only legitimate one, and the 60s series - and West - became nothing more than a joke, to be dismissed with scorn and oh-so-superior eye rolls.
Now, please do not misunderstand - I love every incarnation of the character. The Dark Knight Returns, and its spiritual companion, Year One, revitalized the character and began a tradition of rich storytelling with multi-faceted psychological underpinning. I can probably quote the dialogue of the 1989 Batman film verbatim. And I've seen every episode of the Animated Series more times than I can count. But I never lost my love for the brighter days of West's version, and that take on Batman was never anything less than fully legitimate in my eyes.
West would pop up regularly, usually in the context of someone interviewing him about his thoughts on the newer iterations. When he appeared onscreen, he was often playing a pastiche of him famous character; he'd been quite public about his frustration regarding his inability to get other roles because of the typecasting. There was something a little tragic about it, actually. But he was never forgotten. The Animated Series did a full-on tribute episode to West, having him guest star as Simon Trent, AKA the Gray Ghost, a TV star from an old superhero series that Bruce Wayne loved and was inspired by as a child. It was a magnificent and touching homage.
That seemed like it was going to be it. And throughout the nineties, as the Batman franchise got bigger and bigger, the more scorn seemed to get heaped on West and his show. Many of the original stars and guests were passing away, and the show itself was not made available on home media, though eventually the theatrical film was released. But it seemed like West himself had become a bit of a punch line.
I had always wanted to meet him. Not to be overly corny, but I wanted to tell him that there were those of us who cared, who remembered. And yes, I wanted to say thank you. In 1995, I actually wrote and starred in a high school production of Batman that was based largely on the 1960s series, with a modern aesthetic. It was in effect a love letter to the franchise as I saw it; Danny Elfman music but brightly-colored "Biff!", "Bam!' and "Pow!" signs.
Well, some years later I did actually get to meet him, and a small convention not far away. This was before NYCC had started up again, and these shows were far smaller and intimate affairs, so it wasn't quite the celebrity-dripping, high-cost wristband-required events they've become. I stood on line for about twenty minutes, rehearsing what I wanted to say. So naturally, when I finally came face to face with West, and got to speak to him and shake his hand, my carefully prepared speech of admiration and gratitude came out in such fashion as to make me sound like a resident of Ork. I think I bewildered him, honestly. But he was unfailingly polite and gracious, and ever since, be it ever a brief and slightly embarrassing encounter, I can say I'd met Adam West.
But then something unexpected, and wonderful, happened. The world found him again. Thanks to the work of devoted fans, the long-standing legal wrangle that was the 1960s series was resolved. And the show exploded, all over again.
Yes, West had been working regularly - fans of The Family Guy certainly know that. And for five seasons, CN ran a series called "Batman: The Brave & the Bold" that was a spiritual, and in some ways, direct, sequel to the '60s series. But now the original show itself was FINALLY made available after almost fifty years and sales were incredible. Not only that, the show could at last be marketed. So yes, I now have an Adam West Batman figure. (Two, actually, in different scales.) A full length animated feature was made with the surviving stars of the show, and even the grimmest versions of Batman have incorporated the brightest...you can play through the Arkham games with a 1960s costume, if you so choose. And don't even get me started on the joy that is Lego...
Some celebrities die forgotten; some are honored throughout their lives. But not many become representatives of a different time, a different spirit. West was the figurehead of a fan movement, of light-hearted fun and humor that for too long was sadly lacking. It was incredibly touching to see how well received that series was when it came back a few years ago, and I am so happy West got to see it.
Ultimately, West was the inverse of Nolan's Dark Knight. He was the one we deserve and the one we needed - and he lived long enough to see himself become the hero.
Thank you, Adam West. Thank you for always keeping the faith. Thank you for never apologizing for what you gave us.
Thank you for being my Batman.
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