Do you know what Christopher Nolan's first exposure to Batman was? It wasn't Frank Miller's grim 'n' gritty comic books The Dark Knight Returns or Year One, the latter of which was drawn on heavily by the director. It wasn't Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum, the first truly deep psychological analysis of the character and his enemies. Not the gold standard Batman: The Animated Series. I think like a lot of people my age, my first memories of Batman were from the television series with Adam West, he says. Yes, the sixties Batman, with all of its high camp, go-go dancing, and sound effects popping up on screen. So pretty much the polar opposite of Nolan's grounded, realistic take on the character in his Dark Knight trilogy. Right. Well, don't be so sure. Still, I think that for something to grown-ups that it so silly and deliberately so when you watch it as an adult that the primal nature of the character still comes through to a young boy, or a child of that age. From the sounds of it, the Adam West Batman had more of an impact than you'd think. There's actually a whole host of things the two different takes on the character have in common, believe it or not. From realism to getting rid of bombs to clown make up, here are ten surprising ways the sixties Batman influenced Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
