Holy Heroes!

I understand that Adam West and Burt Ward- the original Batman and Robin- did
some sort of revival show Sunday. No, I didn't watch it. I also realize that
"Batman" would have to be in his 70's by now and I just don't want to
sully the imagery.

To the World War II generation Superman was all that but for mine, Batman was
the Great American Hero. For one thing, his was the first show for kids that was
1) not animated and 2) did not involve some stuffy adult trying to teach you
things. No, this was heady stuff. A cool car, nasty villains, hot chicks (for
those approaching puberty) and plenty of action. He was James Bond for
Juveniles.

He was a real  hero who had a real impact on our lives. He was on
twice a week. Every Wednesday at 6:30, the streets of kid-dom were deserted as
every eye to young to have a driver's license was glued to the screen, waiting
to see what the evil villain would to to the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder
this week. The episode always ended with the Dynamic Duo hopelessly snared in
some impossibly fatal trap. At 7:00 sharp kids flooded into the streets to
discuss the episode with their peers and try to figure out how the intrepid
heroes could extricate themselves. All the next day the schoolyards and
classrooms were filled with the chatter of Batman-iacs talking about and even
reenacting the pervious episode. Then, at 6:30 the following night, every kid
worth his Keds was glued to the tube and, miraculously as always, our heroes extricated
themselves and brought the evil doers to justice with a few well placed BIFFS!
and POWS!

Batman was not only the inspiration for our imaginations, he was also the
center of our social hierarchy. We all had our capes and cowls, but the pecking
order changed according to who had the coolest Batman "credentials."
When the Batman movie came out, we envied Mikey because he conned his folks into
going to see it the first weekend while the rest of us had to keep working on
convincing the folks for several more.

"Guys! You ought to see what happens to the Penguin!"

"What, Mikey, what? TELL US?"

"Oh, you'll find out." That sneer in his voice made me want to
knock him down and force him to tell all under threat of a snuggy. His reign
ended, as he had to know it would, when we had all seen the movie.

My own fifteen minutes of Batman oriented fame came when I finally got Dad to
allow me to play in the old Chevy that was parked in the drive. *I* owned a
Batmobile (of course Steve's dad's friend's brother knew the guy that made the real
Batmobile, but we had all heard such claims before). Sadly, I too was toppled
when Larry (even that name exudes a sickening evil- Larry) moved into the
neighborhood. This, this, new kid and his family had the audacity to own a color
TV. Larry was the last and greatest of the Batman society Caesars. It was
immediately agreed upon that the only way to watch Batman was in color- it gave
enormous bragging rights over the other kids at school- so it was very expedient
to stay on Larry's good side.

Of course, once one person in the neighborhood had a color TV, all of the
keepers uppers with Joneses had to get one too. Not too long after that, the
people who made Batman ruined it first by making three part episodes
(blasphemy!) and then by adding that stupid Bat Girl. Once the girls thought
they could play with us the thrill was gone.

I heard someone interviewing Adam West recently and they asked him if, aside
from his roles in a few B movies, he regretted being typecast as Batman. He said
it didn't. He said it felt good to know that he had such an impact on the
children of America. You know, I am thinking that, at the height of his
popularity when he was going to all of those Hollywood parties with a dozen
babes on each arm, he really didn't think much about kids like me and my buddies
who has made him our god. He really has no concept of who and what he was to
every American boy whoever fired a cap gun or did tricks with a yoyo.

He was the ultimate in goodness, altruism, and justice. There was no evil he
could not overcome and no threat he could not defuse. We slept well at night
knowing that the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder stood guard over us.

posted by The Pendragon at 3/11/2003 08:53:00 PM