All 8 Adam West Batman Movies & Appearances in Order
It doesn’t take to be a comic book or a superhero fan to know that Batman is one of the most recognizable and popular characters in entertainment history. Back in 1939, Bob Kane and Bill Finger probably didn’t know what kind of legend they’ll create when they put the Caped Crusader on comic book pages for the first time in ‘Detective Comics’ #27. Today, more than eight decades later, there’s literally no person, superhero fan or not, of any age, who doesn’t know who Batman is, and the Batman symbol is probably equally recognizable as the famous Coca-Cola logo.
Since its inception, Batman has been adapted numerous times in live-action and animated incarnations. And while we all like to say that Michael Keaton started the era of cinematic Batman, we could never forget the legend Adam West and his campy Batman, which provided a lot of fun for the audience during the 1960s. Adam West passed away in 2017 after battling leukemia. In this article, we’ll list all the appearances of Adam West’s Batman, from his debut to his final appearance as the Caped Crusader.
How many projects featuring Adam West’s Batman are there?
Excluding his special cameo appearances in non-superhero projects such as ‘The Milton Berle Show,’ ‘Tarzan and the Super 7,’ and ‘The Simpsons,’ Adam West played Batman in eight projects; one live-action TV series, one live-action movie, two animated TV show, one live-action television special, two animated movies, and one DCEU live-action movie (posthumously).
Projects featuring Adam West’s Batman in order (at a glance)
Adam West first debuted as Batman in the Batman TV series that first debuted on ABC on January 12, 1966. After the first season’s conclusion, West reprised the role in ‘Batman: The Movie,’ which came out in the Summer of 1966. After that, the series ran for two more seasons until 1968. Since West quickly established himself as a legendary Batman portrayer, he reprised the role several times over the coming decades.
- ‘Batman’ (1966-1968)
- ‘Batman: The Movie’ (1966)
- ‘The New Adventures of Batman’ (1977)
- ‘Legends of the Superheroes’ (1979)
- ‘The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians’ (1984-1985)
- ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders’ (2016)
- ‘Batman vs. Two-Face’ (2017)
- ‘The Flash’ (2023)
Apart from these superhero projects, West also appeared as Batman in some non-superhero projects as a special guest star, including ‘The Simpsons.’ Since he’s such a legendary name associated with the DC brand, West also portrayed Simon Trent / Gray Ghost in 1992’s ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ and Thomas Wayne in ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold.’
Are projects featuring Adam West’s Batman connected? Do you need to watch them in a specific order?
To understand the concept of Adam West’s Batman, it’s recommended to watch the original TV series first, but there’s absolutely no connection between live-action projects in which West portrays Batman. The 1966 theatrical movie is based on the series, and it serves as its encapsulation, but it doesn’t matter narratively if you watch the movie before, after, or between seasons of the series.
The only exception is with two animated movies in which West voiced the titular character. 2017’s ‘Batman vs. Two-Face’ is a direct sequel to 2016’s ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders,’ so it’s definitely recommended to watch the 2016 movie first, regardless if you watched anything of West’s Batman’s previous live-action projects.
What is the best way to watch projects featuring Adam West’s Batman?
If you want to experience West’s Batman in his prime, watching the original television series is recommended. However, the series runs for three seasons and 120 episodes. So, if that seems too long for you, the second best option is to watch the original movie from 1966. It’s important to know that you don’t need any previous knowledge from the series to understand the movie.
For the rest of the live-action projects, especially ‘The Flash,’ you don’t need to know anything apart from Adam West being a true Batman legend, which is why seeing him in the role is always so great. As for the animated movies, the only specific order is to watch ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders’ before ‘Batman vs. Two-Face.’ That’s it.
Projects featuring Adam West’s Batman in order
1. ‘Batman’ (1966-1968)
We all know the Batman character was created all the way back in 1939. However, although he rather quickly became a pop cultural icon, those were some different times. 1966 the original Batman television series premiered with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin.
Since that was the time when superheroes weren’t supposed to be taken seriously, this Batman was intentionally made very campy, and the target audience was mainly children and teenagers since the series was, among other things, trying to depict the importance of doing homework and eating vegetables. You know, those things that kids usually tend to avoid.
The series depicted Batman and Robin as they defend Gotham City against various criminals, but in one very unique way that holds its unique charm to this day. The series would occasionally premiere two, sometimes even three, episodes per week, which explains how the series managed to air 120 episodes during only three seasons of its run.
2. ‘Batman: The Movie’ (1966)
The first season of the ‘Batman’ television series consists of 34 episodes. Only two months after the first season’s conclusion, the feature film based on the series was released. Adam West and Burt Ward, as well as the majority of the cast from the series, reprised their roles, except Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman in the first two seasons of the series. In the movie, Catwoman was played by Lee Meriwether.
The plot follows the dynamic duo as they try to stop four Gotham City villains, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman, as they equip themselves with a dehydrator that can turn people into dust. Despite this seemingly serious idea, the movie is nothing less campy and funny than the series.
And although making Batman this way today would be subjected to mockery, this portrayal of Adam West’s Batman still didn’t lose its uniqueness and wholesomeness.
3. ‘The New Adventures of Batman’ (1977)
After ‘Batman: The Movie,’ the Adam West and Burt Ward-starring series ran for two more seasons until 1968. After its conclusion, it took nine years for the dynamic duo to return, although only in voice roles this time. On February 12, 1977, CBS premiered ‘The New Batman Adventures.’ The series starred the dynamic duo, joined by Batgirl and Bat-Mite.
Bat-Mite considers himself the biggest Batman fan, and he wants to help him in his crimefighting cause, often creating more problems than helping. The team fought against various villains from Batman’s rouge gallery and some new, original villains. However, some villains, like Riddler and Scarecrow, were off-limits for the series since the rights for them were given to ‘Challenge of the Superfriends,’ in which Olan Soule portrayed Batman.
‘The New Adventures of Batman’ was short-lived series since it finished in May 1977 after airing only 16 episodes.
4. ‘Legends of the Superheroes’ (1979)
In 1979, Adam West and Burt Ward returned to play live-action Batman and Robin again. But not in a movie or a tv series. Here we are talking about a two-part television special that aired on NBC in January 1979. Apart from West and Ward, the series also assembled a large ensemble cast featuring Garrett Craig as Captain Marvel (today known as Shazam), Howard Murphy as the Green Lantern, Rod Haase as The Flash, Bill Nuckols as Hawkman, Barbara Joyce as The Huntress, etc.
The first special depicts the Justice League of America members as they’re fighting the Legion of Doom, whose members have planted a deadly bomb hidden in a secret location. To make things worse, the heroes are tricked into taking Dr. Sivana’s poison which leaves them powerless. So, without their superpowers, superheroes now must find a way to defeat the villains. The second special, conversely, is the celebrity roast hosted by the legendary announcer, game show host, and comedian Ed McMahon.
5. ‘The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians’ /’Super Friends’ (1984-1985)
The show followed a superhero team closely based on the Justice League, including a series of well-known villains known as the New Gods of Apokolips. The show marked the first animated appearance of Cyborg. Initially, Batman was voiced by Olan Soule, but will be replaced by Adam West for 16 episodes.
6. ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders’ (2016)
During the second half of the 20th century, Adam West grew to become a legendary Batman portrayer, which granted him special cameo appearances as Batman in some non-superhero shows, and he also voiced different characters as a special guest star in ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ and ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold.’
However, the big comeback of his Batman happened in 2016 with the animated movie ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders,’ in which Burt Ward also reprises the role of Robin, and Julie Newmar reprises the role of Catwoman.
The movie follows a dynamic duo against a group of teamed-up villains; Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman. But the matter will become more complicated once Batman becomes more hostile.
7. ‘Batman vs. Two-Face’ (2017)
The direct sequel to ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders’ was released in October 2017, four months after Adam West’s death. The movie was dedicated to him, and the plot follows the dynamic duo facing off against Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent, who eventually becomes a supervillain known as Two-Face.
West, Ward, and Newmar reprised their roles from the previous movie, and Two-Face was played by William Shatner. This animated movie marked the last time the legendary Adam West ever portrayed his equally legendary campy Batman.
8. ‘The Flash’ (2023)
Six years after West’s death, his Batman and Ward’s Robin appeared through archive footage in the DCEU movie ‘The Flash.’ The movie follows the titular character, played by Ezra Miller, as he travels through time to save his deceased mother. Unfortunately, he breaks the time and space continuum, and now he needs to save the alternate universe he’s stranded on with the help of his alternate self, Michael Keaton’s Batman and Supergirl.
In one scene where Barry Allen travels across space and time, the audience can see countless alternate Earths from the DC Universe, and one of them depicted West’s Batman and Ward’s Robin driving the Batmobile back in the ’60s. The scene also featured a cameo of CGI recreated Superman, who was played by the deceased star Christopher Reeve. Although the idea of what this scene tried to accomplish is clear, many fans took issue with this scene. For obvious reasons, we’d say.
9. Honorable mention: ‘Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt’ (2003)
‘Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt’ is a 2003 American made-for-television biographical action-comedy film based on the 1966–1968 Batman TV series. It stars the original actors, Adam West and Burt Ward, as themselves, with flashbacks featuring young versions of their characters played by Jack Brewer and Jason Marsden. The story revolves around Adam and Burt attending a charity event where the original Batmobile is stolen. Adam reveals he had the key to the Batmobile from the show’s original run, and they embark on a road trip to Arizona to recover it, following the thieves’ trail.
And even though this isn’t technically a Batman movie, it’s still an interesting piece of media to check out. Tons of other villains and actors from the original series also made their appearance, and a lot of funny moments from the series were referenced.
Where to watch projects featuring Adam West’s Batman?
Some projects in which Adam West portrayed Batman can be really hard to find. However, the good news is that 1966’s ‘Batman: The Movie,’ and the animated movies ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders’ and ‘Batman vs. Two-Face’ are streaming on the Max streaming service, but only in the United States.
The original ‘Batman’ television series starring Adam West cannot be found on any streaming service, but all three seasons can be bought on Apple TV. One season of the series is also available on Google Play Movies and Microsoft Store. As for 1977’s ‘The New Adventures of Batman’ animated series, it can also only be bought on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, or Vudu.
The DCEU movie ‘The Flash’ is set to be released on Digital on July 18. The movie is also expected to arrive on Max, but it’s still unknown when.
Will there be more projects featuring Adam West’s Batman?
Adam West passed away from leukemia on June 9, 2017, at the age of 88. The last project in which he personally portrayed Batman, ‘Batman vs. Two-Face,’ was released in October 2017, four months after his death. The movie was released and dedicated to his memory.
Therefore, it’s for sure that we won’t see Adam West playing Batman ever again unless some future DC projects decide to use the archive footage of his Batman, like 2023’s ‘The Flash’ did. Although ‘The Flash’ was filled with numerous different cameos from all parts of DC’s cinematic history, many fans agree that the cameo of West and the late Superman star Christopher Reeve weren’t handled well.
Have you watched any movies or TV shows featuring Adam West’s Batman? What are your thoughts on his old-school campy Batman? Let us know in the comments.
