10 Ridiculous Batman Show Moments Modern DC Movies Would Never Allow

Batman TV shows have included some very silly moments that would never make it into modern Batman films. While Batman is known to be one of the darkest heroes in the DC Universe pantheon, his comic book adventures in the 50s, 60s, and 70s had a much more light-hearted, goofier tone. That was famously reflected in the 1960s Batman TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward, which presented a very campy take on Batman.

Batman has also had his share of campy and comedic hijinks in other adaptations, such as his various animated adventures. Meanwhile, Batman movies of the 21st century have long since taken The Dark Knight back to his dark roots, making a clear effort to leave Bruce Wayne’s wackier days and the goofy villains of the Adam West Batman show behind him. Here are 10 ridiculous Batman TV moments that no modern Batman movie would ever venture to recreate.

10 “Almost Got ‘Im”

One of the most popular episodes of Batman: The Animated Series is “Almost Got ‘Im,” in which several members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery recount stories to one another of how they each came close to defeating The Dark Knight. The concept of “Almost Got ‘Im” itself isn’t a silly premise at all, with the episode including some great flashback storytelling. However, modern Batman films probably would take more of an anthology approach with individual villains flashing back in their minds rather than sharing stories during a poker game.

9 Batman & Robin vs. The Green Hornet & Kato

The Adam West-led Batman show famously crossed over with another ’60s superhero series, The Green Hornet, with the two dynamic duos of each show initially misinterpreting each other as enemies, leading to one of the best fight scenes of both shows. However, rights issues between the two IPs would sadly prevent any modern-day meetings of Batman and Robin and the Green Hornet and Kato. Despite this, even if the meeting of the four heroes was a one-and-done, the Batman-Green Hornet crossover adds to Bruce Lee’s legacy by making his Kato a part of DC’s film and television multiverse.

8 Batman & Robin’s Chats While Climbing Up Buildings

A recurring motif of the Adam West Batman series was scenes featuring him and Burt Ward’s Robin slowly scaling the sides of buildings with their Bat-ropes, often discussing the specifics of their particular mission while doing so. Naturally, climbing rooftops is part of the job for every member of the Bat-Family, but modern Batman movies and TV shows would never portray it in a similar manner to the 60s Batman TV series. If anything, Batman and Robin scaling rooftops would not only happen in the dead of night but would be much more likely to happen off-screen altogether.

7 Batman vs John Wilkes Booth on Batman: The Brave and the Bold

The animated series The Brave and the Bold had a very light-hearted tone by contemporary Batman standards and was full of all kinds of silly moments. However, arguably none was sillier than the showdown between Batman and the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth. While it is surely one of Batman’s most unique villain battles, it can almost certainly be ruled out of being recreated in James Gunn and Andy Muschietti’s plans for Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

6 The Condiment King’s Appearance On Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series created numerous original characters who became staples of the Batman pantheon, most notably Harley Quinn, and another was the wackier villain known as the Condiment King. As his name implies, the Condiment King’s arsenal against the Caped Crusader consists of kitchen condiments fired through a custom-made gun. While Harley Quinn has evolved beyond the jester suit she wore on Batman: The Animated Series to be featured in multiple modern DC movies, Condiment King is highly unlikely to make even a cameo in contemporary Batman films without being massively modified.

5 Batman & Robin Meeting Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo was big on cross-overs and event stories, and one of its most well-known were the multiple guest appearances Batman and Robin made on the show (as well as the two properties making modern animated cross-overs.) With Batman’s animated portrayals in the 60s and 70s having a similarly campy quality as the live-action Adam West series, Batman and Robin could easily drop in for such team-ups with Scooby-Doo and the gang to solve mysteries and unmask villains. In modern times, however, even the most bizarre of multiversal crossovers would be unlikely to result in the Batmobile and the Mystery Machine cruising off into another adventure together.

4 Batman & The Joker Surfing

The 1967 episode of Batman, “Surf’s Up! Joker’s Under!” delivers exactly what its title promises with a memorable scene of Adam West’s Batman and Caesar Romero’s Joker surfing the waves in Gotham City harbor. The immortal image of Batman and the Joker cruising a tidal wave is as emblematic of the 60s Batman show’s campiness as anything. However, with modern portrayals of Batman adopting a darker tone, Batman, Joker, or both surfing would simply never come to pass.

3 The Batusi Dance

With the 60s Batman show ever eager to bring colorful fun to the proceedings, one of the most memorable is Batman’s trademark dance dubbed “the Batusi.” As a Bat-themed spin on the ’60s Watusi dance, the Batusi certainly fits right in with the tone of the Batman TV show and has been immortalized in modern times in endless online GIFs and YouTube parodies. Still, for all its charm as a ’60s retro Batman trope, don’t expect to see any contemporary Caped Crusaders breaking out the grooviness of the Batusi, or really another dance style for that matter.

2 Shark Repellent Bat-Spray

Virtually every vehicle, gadget, and crime-fighting device on the ’60s Batman show carried the “Bat” prefix, but arguably the most remembered is the Shark Repellent Bat-Spray featured in 1966’s Batman movie. Kept right alongside the Whale, Barracuda, and Manta-Ray Bat-repellents in the Bat-copter, Batman uses the Shark-Repellent Bat-Spray to ward off a shark dangling from his leg. In modern Batman movies, The Dark Knight not only wouldn’t carry such a hilariously specific defense against aquatic attacks but would surely have more all-purpose methods for warding off an animal attack.

1 Batman’s Bomb Scene

No scene of Batman 60s silliness tops the famous bomb scene of the Batman movie, in which Adam West’s Batman sprints around a dock trying to find the safest place to dispose of the bomb he’s carrying over his head. The scene itself is pure comedy and camp gold, with Batman running into one obstacle or innocent bystander after another. Batman’s modern methods of bomb disarming and disposal are, of course, much more akin to that of a bomb squad, ensuring that Adam West’s Batman will be the only version of The Dark Knight to ever experience such comedic difficulty in getting rid of a bomb.