For many people, the 1966 Batman series was how they were introduced to the characters. Some grew up watching the show when it originally aired. Others saw it when it shows as reruns on cable channels like Nickelodeon. This pop art tongue in cheek take on the Dark Knight still lingers as one of the best-known versions of the character, even after fifty years and multiple billion-dollar grossing movies.

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A huge part of why this lighthearted version of Batman continues to live in the pop culture consciousness is because Adam West's take on the Caped Crusader still stands out among the live-action versions as one of the best. But how can such a bright and colorful version of such a dark character be seen as a great take? Here are five reasons why Adam West was the best Batman, and five reasons why he was the worst...

10 Best: Faced The Most Rogues

While every live-action Batman has faced a few of the Dark Knight Detective's many enemies, none have faced as many as Adam West. From Joker to the Puzzler, West faced the best and the worst of DC's best-known rogues, and he did it all with a "Pow!" and a "Blam!"

The rogues on Batman were the jokesters to Adam West's straight man. Even in this easy breezy take on the character, Batman wasn't one to crack wise or even smile that much, but this only made Riddler's antics all the more fun.

9 Worst: The Batusi

These days, it's become a part of the Batman iconography, but when Adam West broke out the Batusi for the first time, no one had seen the Caped Crusader boogie down before. And while it is a lot of fun and certainly a classic moment in Batman history, it also goes against a part of the character that even Adam West's take held true - Batman is serious about his work.  His stopping during a case to dance with some college girls is great at the moment, but it also takes West's straight man take on Batman and makes him be in on the joke.

8 Best: He Had The Coolest Batmobile

Batman rides in his Batmobile in Batman 1966

The Keaton Batmobile has a great design, but the paint job is drab. The Clooney and Kilmer Batmobiles have some color to them, but they're way too gaudy. Both the Tumbler and Affleck's Batmobile are more military than superhero. Robert Pattinson's muscle car looking Batmobile shows promise, but it certainly owes some of its classic car style to Adam West's Batmobile.

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The 60s Batmobile is easily one of the coolest cars in TV and movie history. Designed by George Barris and built out of a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, it continues to draw crowds at conventions and car shows, and with good reason. With its red piping, wings in the back, and nuclear-powered engine, there isn't a person in the world who wouldn't want to drive it.

7 Wost: His Big Bat-Ego

The Batmobile, Batcopter, Batboat, and Batcave are one thing, but when every item Batman owns has to have his name on it, you start to wonder about what it must be like to be around Adam West's version. From the "Current Criminal Activity Bat-Disclosure Unit" to the "portable Ultraviolet Batray", the number of labels Batman made Alfred print out and glue onto things is really excessive. To this day, the 1960s Batman's love for putting "bat" in front of words is a constant joke by the common folk that Bat-fans have to deal with.

6 Best: He Wasn't A Big Bummer

While he and Burt Ward's Robin were certainly the straight men to the wild and wacky baddies, Adam West never played his Batman as a dark figure. Yes, his parents were murdered when he was a child, but this Batman focused his energy on hope and justice instead of vengeance. And while audiences really seem to love the grim and gritty pieces of Batman in the movies, having a Batman that reminds us that no one moment makes us who we are is pretty great to see. Adam West's Batman may have started fighting crime because of what happened to him when he was a boy, but he kept at it because he knew he was making a difference in the world.

5 Worst: Shape Of The Bat

Batman makes fun of the Joker in Batman 1966

Batman is meant to be the peak human specimen. A billionaire scientist who knows every piece of trivia and the answer to almost every riddle who is also an Olympic level athlete who can climb the sides of buildings and fight for hours without getting winded. That's how Batman is seen by the world.

Adam West wasn't in bad shape for a normal guy, but he sure didn't have the musculature we would expect to see from Batman. While Affleck's version showed us his intense daily workout, it's hard to picture Adam West lifting weights or even skipping desert.

4 Best: Family Friendly

You can't really watch any of the Batman movies with a six-year-old. Well, you can, but you probably shouldn't. The Burton films, especially Batman Returns, are way too dark, and while the Schumacher films are closer to family-friendly, there's a lot of weird imagery that could cause nightmares. The Nolan trilogy and Batman v Superman are decidedly not for kids. But Adam West's Batman is good for everyone. The kids usually don't realize that the show is tongue in cheek, and for the adults, those winks and nods are some of the best moments.

3 Worst: Waiting For Robin To Catch Up

It's great that Adam West's Batman has Burt Ward's Robin with him on every mission. The show just wouldn't work without the Boy Wonder standing next to the Caped Crusader, slapping one fist into one open hand and thinking really hard. The back and forth between the two actors is what makes the show work.

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But with all that said, West's Batman tends to coddle his teen ward a little too much. Often, as Catwoman or Mister Freeze are making away with their stolen goods, Batman is patiently waiting for Robin to put together clues that he's already solved. While it's important to teach the next generation of crime fighters, maybe those lessons should be kept to the Batcave.

2 Best: Treated Everyone With Respect

From Commissioner Gordon to the Penguin, Adam West's Batman treated everyone with respect, and that makes him a really great hero. This aspect of Batman exists in the comics - he wants the criminals he catches to turn their lives around and become useful members of society - but in the movies, the Dark Knight always has a deep hatred for the people he fights.

Nothing makes this clearer than the body count. Adam West's Batman doesn't kill. The two times people die while fighting the 60's Batman, he has no control over it and feels a great sadness over the loss of life. The other live-action Batmans have no issue taking a life. Some of them even seem to enjoy it.

1 Worst: He Got Captured All The Time

For someone as smart and prepared as Batman, Adam West's version sure could be naive. He constantly walked into the deathtraps of his foes, be it a giant mousetrap built by Catwoman to False Face cementing the Dynamic Duo to some train tracks, and that really doesn't make the Dynamic Duo look good.  Luckily, Batman always had a way to break free from the traps the rogues set for him, but he could have stopped their crimes a lot faster if he had never gotten captured in the first place.

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