Batman: Every Live-Action Gotham City Ranked Worst To Best

12. The 1940s Serials

Way before the days of Pattinson, Affleck, Bale, Clooney, Kilmer, Keaton or even West, Batman was first seen in live-action during the 1940s.

Initially starring Lewis Wilson as the Caped Crusader - with Robert Lowery later taking over the role - these 'serials' were black and white offerings that didn't really acknowledge Gotham City. Sure, Gotham was where the action was taking place, but the locale was barely referenced and so much of the action took place in smoky offices and underground labs.

To give an idea of how different things were back in 1943 when the first 15-part serial - titled simply Batman - was released, the World's Greatest Detective is depicted as a US spy looking to foil the plot of a rival Japanese agent in the backdrop of World War II.

The follow-up to this came with 1949's New Adventures of Batman and Robin, Boy Wonder, where the titular Dynamic Duo battled the nefarious Wizard and his scheme to control all of the cars of Gotham. Even then, though, Gotham itself was utterly nondescript. As such, these serials of the '40s have to rank rock bottom on this list.