Every Batman Ranked From Worst To Best

5. Adam West

Ah, Adam West: the Batman against whom all others measure their performance. I don€™t mean in terms of quality €“ obviously, he€™s not number one on this list €“ but in terms of how distant from his interpretation of the character.

There€™s no point taking any aspect of West€™s Batman as inspiration for your own, as his playful, kitschy iteration is beyond both parody and contempt. If you take the p**s out of it, you€™re missing the point; if you reiterate it, you€™re just jacking his style. He exists in his own alternate timeline where he is the only Batman who is or ever could be, completely disconnected from anything as awkward as the social context in which it was made.

He vacillates between shallow-breathed incredulity at the devilishness of his enemies and the kind of matter-of-fact, workaday mien of a plumber who€™s telling you that your pneumatic flange gasket€™s gone and it€™ll be another three weeks until the parts come in, plus a side-order of po-faced secondary school chemistry teacher thrown in for good measure.

That weird melange makes him both unrepeatable and near-inexplicable. These days he feels more like an eccentric folk hero, a mid-point between Spring-Heeled Jack and Mr Blobby, than a major cultural totem. That€™s his charm though, and the very fact that he has charm puts him many leagues above Kilmer and Clooney.

Contributor
Contributor

Holding midfielder; can get forward. Decent engine.