Batman 66 modern villains

[Tomato]

So the discussion has come up a few times on the discord whether I should include the Adam West Batman crew to my Batman shelf, alongside VG, Film, Comic, TAS, and Lego versions. I've always resisted that notion for two reasons: Because my "comic" section is DCUC, it leans very heavy into that classic aesthetic anyway, and because the series came out in 66, there'd be a few too many gaps (especially on the Bat-Family side) that it'd annoy the heck out of my OCD.

However, the idea HAS been itching at the back of my brain for a while, so I wanted to get some of my thoughts out into the universe. For the purposes of the discussion, we'll be MOSTLY ignoring the Bat-family, though I do want to touch on Catwoman and Jason Todd.

This is my list of characters to discuss. I've crossed out villains who either were in the show (excepting Catwoman, because there were a few and I want to discuss it) or who were covered perfectly well in the Animated films (*cough* Two Face *cough*)

Catwoman

Spoiler

So there were 3 Catwomen over the course of the show, but I'm mainly torn between Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt (Lee Meriwether is fine in the film, but I'm meh on the Russian Kitka stuff). The former is the one with the most appearances both in and out of the show (reprising both Catwoman AND joining Adam West for stuff like the Thomas/Martha Wayne cameos in BatB.

However, I'd argue Eartha might have, unintentionally, paved the way for more recent adaptations. While I think Julie would still be my choice, I liked Eartha in the role as well, and the fact that she was allowed to play it seems to have allowed for some really fun adaptations in projects like "The Batman" or Harley Quinn.

Joker
Scarecrow

Spoiler

So this one is where we start to get into the comic stuff, which I am a bit non plused about, particularly in this case. Part of the issue is that Scarecrow in the modern sense tends towards horror, and the comic version seems to lean into those elements. And while I think that juxtaposition is interesting... it's not the sort of thing I'd have expected to see in the "Two Face's scars are too much for the kids" Adam West series.

Also, to be blunt, the costume design used in the comic is awful. It's busy, expensive looking, and nothing like anything the show preferred to do. I'd expect to see something more... Wizard of Oz or Challenge of the Superfriends than the quilted man.

I dunno. There's a way to make Scarecrow work in the lighter context of the Adam West universe, something more like one of the cartoons of the era. And in fairness, maybe the actual comic stories pull it off, but the design and panels I've seen just don't work for me.

Penguin
Two-Face
Riddler
Ra's Al Ghul

Spoiler

In a lot of ways, I really like Ra's as a character in the Adam West series. They apparently brought him in as the antagonist of the WW team up, and I think that really works for me conceptually. My issue, frankly, is just with the design... I'm sorry, but while there are some minor changes, imho that's just BTAS Ra's transplanted into the Adam West comics.

I don't even mind him wearing the green suit (all the men seemed to get suits in that show) but bling it out a bit, give it cheap patterns on the ends and have some fun with the cape... or, let's be honest, go full blown 60s and give him either an insane middle eastern getup or a fu man chu getup (don't tell me they wouldn't have done that had he existed back then, the most common pronunciation of his name *to this day* is based on bad linguistics, and it was the GD 60s).

Poison Ivy

Spoiler

This is another one where I feel like the comics went a bit too generic with the design. It's just... basic Poison Ivy, without any of the flair I'd expect from the Adam West series. If anything, I'd expect them to lean more into the original appearance of the character, with the headband, bob hairstyle, and weird wristbands. That said, if she had been a character in the OG series, I also wouldn't be surprised if they had her in more of a catsuit than the leaf bathing suit she wears in the show.

Mr. Freeze
Bane
Harley Quinn
Jason Todd

Temp Edit: So this is taking a bit, so rather than leave it in drafts I'm going to post what I have and add to it as I go. I should note since I haven't gotten to them yet: I am aware of the 66 comic adaptations of several characters, like Ivy, Harley, and Ra's, (plus Harley is technically in the Two Face movie also IIRC), I'll get to them, I promise.

[docdelorean88]

This is a great discussion topic and I'm here for it!

[Tomato]

So my intent was to get done both Ivy AND Harley today, but apparently Harley is like, the ONE character with a wealth of wildly different adaptations, and the one I'm most interested in is contained in a bonus feature for the vs Two Face Blu Ray, which I've now ordered and won't be here until Monday, at which point I won't have a ton of time to watch it. I looked up Bane a bit ago, getting my thoughts together on that one.