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

10. Batman '66 & Batman: The Movie

Batman Forever Gotham City
ABC

While these days it's all about brooding, brutal Batmen, that wasn't always the case. Premiering in 1966, ABC's live-action Batman show brought a vibrancy and campness to Batman and Robin that's the polar opposite of Messrs Bale, Affleck and Patterson.

Played by Adam West and Burt Ward, this take on the Dynamic Duo largely mirrored the comic books of the day. Granted, there was an added level of humour to West and Ward's Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder, yet this was at a time when the comic-book Batman and Robin had long been neutered and given ludicrous 'villain of the week' tales.

Due to the very nature of the show and the subsequent spin-off movie, so much of the '66 Batman consists of classic soundstage sets. As such, a lot of the action takes place indoors of rickety sets, or the 'outside' scenes will merely have formulaic backdrops in place rather than take place out in the wild.

There were a few more outside antics and city-covering panning shots in Batman: The Movie, but even then what was seen was simply just the real-life California.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.