Yesterday, June 10th 2017, I learned of the passing of Adam West. The original TV's Batman. For many, this man was their childhood, the caped crusader they watched every day growing.
There are also many like me, who also had West as part of their childhood, but for something both exactly the same and opposite reasons. Throughout my childhood, and even up until the man's death, West became one of the few celebrities whose career revolved around lovingly poking fun of himself.
Be it Johnny Bravo or Fairly OddParents, I remembered the name Adam West as a man who was playing a parody of himself. Silly, kind, caring, off-the-top, and even playing the same character he played on TV all those decades ago. It is funny to think how that never got old. Family Guy even reused this joke as well, and for all the flack I've seen Family Guy get, this never seemed to bother anyone. No matter how many times, or who did it, this was still Adam West and it still worked.
I was also familiar with the original show, and I have to admit an old arrogance you have heard before. I originally did not like the show, because I did not realize it was supposed to be a comedy. Batman as a brand, as far as I had known, was always supposed to be the brooding anti-hero, the near psychopath who fights psychopaths.
It was foolish of me, but I will get to that in a moment.
A bit of personal story time. Last year, my father suffered a seizure. He survived, but medical bills are terrible. $1000 dollars for an ambulance ride. (Although if you ask actual pond-scum-come-alive Paul Ryan those fees are too low. Coming from an already rich man who probably scours the couch every week for loose change just to have it). This did not set as back as far as it could of, but it meant the extra one-day-long vacation we had hoped for would need to be cancelled both due to funds as well as time to rest up. I decided we could just stay home, grab fried chicken and pizza, and watch a movie. We all wanted to watch something funny.
We picked Batman: The Movie.
I don't think I've ever been so surprised by a funny movie. More moved by a romantic scene in a comedy. More involved by a performance in what I figured was a silly comedy movie.
Even when I was young and foolish enough to dislike the original series, I always knew I liked West. I more than respected his attitude towards himself and his clear love of what he was doing.
Yet I'm realizing too late how wonderful he truly was.
It is a disservice to not go back and watch the works of West's career. I find it horribly ironic that at this point in time, DC is hoping to revamp their characters in dark and gritty stories that are real and intense, ala The Dark Knight, and it had to happen the same time as the passing of the man famous for the silly version of one of their most beloved characters. There may be a time and place for dark and serious, but more and more, we need superheroes who are paragons. Who are just plain fun and entertaining.
With the death of celebrities, I tended to have any of the following for responses:
1) I would not know them well enough, but would of course be saddened by the lose of life. Especially one whom many people looked up to.
2) I would be devastated.
or 3) They would have just been old enough that I would have felt less sad at their passing, and more happy that they had such a legacy to leave behind.
Mr. West was 88, which I am telling myself is just young enough that I was he still had a few years left. In complete truth, I've never felt this exact way before, where I am mostly disappointed in myself.
"This man was a hero and an icon and you didn't appreciate him enough" Has been going through my head since yesterday. I suppose the more complicated truth is that I am heavily grieving and don't completely understand why.
All I can say is, rest in peace Adam West. Millions loved, adored, and looked up to you. And I owe it to you and myself to make sure I do as well.
By the way, one last personal story. My local news sometimes has movie reviews, and when The LEGO Batman Movie came out, he said he liked every Batman movie, only to backtrack after showing certain ones. An overused joke in the first place. One of the ones he showed clips from was Batman: The Movie, and even at that exact moment I felt myself legitimately mad at such a bad attempt at an overused joke at the expense of what was a silly movie on purpose anyway. He gave that movie a B. I liked it quite a bit, but I'd have to give it a C.
Because C is for Catwoman.