Adam West Becomes The Darkest Batman in Resurfaced Documentary
In a resurfaced clip from a documentary, iconic actor Adam West became the darkest version of Batman. As seen in a tweet shared by @abrahamjoseph, West reads dialogue written by Frank Miller in The Dark Knight Returns.
Batman has endured constant reinterpretation throughout his history, from the noir detective stories of the Golden Age, to the child-friendly Silver Age, and the mature reimagining of Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. Other media has reflected his comic book evolution through the decades, as Adam West famously portrayed a campy, light Batman in the 1960s. When Miller reinvented the Dark Knight in 1986, his story was a far cry from the live action iteration intended for young viewers. However, it turns out that West has voiced the more adult-oriented take on the character.
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In a tweet by @abrahamjoseph which went viral, a clip from a PBS documentary titled Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle showcases Adam West voicing the version of Batman fromThe Dark Knight Returns. The actor read dialogue from Miller’s graphic novel in which the older vigilante threatens a thug, while ironically wearing a blue and gray costume with the yellow oval bat symbol. “Do you know who I am, punk? I'm the worst nightmare you've ever had.” Previously, it would have been difficult to imagine West’s softer portrayal of the Caped Crusader emulating the grittier, aged take on Bruce Wayne. The clip emphasizes the contrast between the 60s and 80s versions of Batman that entered the cultural zeitgeist.
I am once again thinking about how an obscure PBS documentary got Adam West (RIP) to read 20 seconds’ worth of narration from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, and how those 20
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