Kevin Smith Mourns Adam West With ‘Broken’ Tribute
Kevin Smith has made it no secret over the years that he is a major comic book fan, so it was little surprise to fans he would have some thoughts on Adam West’s passing.
If references in the director’s films are not enough, he has also written for comic books like Daredevil and Green Hornet throughout his career.
Smith took to Instagram earlier today to share a heartfelt tribute to the man who breathed new life into the Batman persona and became a pop culture icon in the process.
Kevin Smith posted a picture of himself with Adam West and a couple of other individuals with the caption, “Oh Batman my Batman!”
“I’m standing on my chair to honor [Adam West],” Smith said, calling him “the man whose portrayal of costumed justice made me wanna be a good person when I was a boy.”
West’s version of Batman was first seen by Kevin Smith when the Clerks director was just 4-years-old. The performance, Smith said, was “campy to most, but to me, that’s how true heroes spoke.”
West’s humorous, punny interpretation — his not-so-Dark Knight — kicked off a “lifelong love of the character” for Smith.
In fact, rather than the Dark Knight, West referred to his version of Batman as “the Bright Knight.”
“He brought joy to a somber character and a Fatherly tone to a TV role model. I was lucky enough to meet Adam many times, including the day at @stanleecomiccon when super-fan @ralphgarman and I hosted Adam, Boy Wonder #burtward and movie Catwoman #leemerriweather (where we took this pic). He was pure love and joy,” Smith said.
For Kevin, Adam remained his hero, “even in adulthood,” and served as a role model for how to interact with his fans.
West “loved his fans,” Smith revealed, adding, “Farewell, Caped Crusader. Off to Superhero Heaven you go, where all your rascally rogues are ready to see you again! Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed. Heart to broken.”
You can check out the post in full by clicking the embed below.
It was announced on Saturday, June 10, that the 88-year-old West had died, triggering numerous other tributes. Variety has a roundup here that you can check out.
The last time Kevin Smith spoke about the Batman character was in February when he said there should be a Batman film every year.
In comments reported by the ComicBook website, Smith said DC and Warner should “throw him [Batman] around to everybody! … Just make a bunch! Make that [kung fu] one, make a ridiculously expensive one, make one in space … make Justice League Dark. Every year, there needs to be a Batman movie.”
Smith even suggested bringing in Calendar Man — one of the crazier creations from Batman’s famous rogues’ gallery.
For those of you in the Batman-know, Calendar Man was one of the more “reaching” creations from DC. A character who would have been right at home in Adam West’s Batman universe as he committed crimes — and dressed to the occasions — for specific holidays and days of the week.
Maybe you were wondering if Calendar Man is the best Batman villain? pic.twitter.com/ypPTftfGBm
— Brock Poulsen (@brockst4r) June 10, 2017
For those of you like Kevin Smith, who are still reeling from today’s news, Adam West did leave behind a couple of gifts for fans of his Batman work.
In 2016, he did the voice of Bruce Wayne and Batman in the animated film Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. Later this year, he reprises the role yet again (voice-work) for the Batman vs. Two-Face animated film.
[Featured Image by Anime Nut/Flickr Creative Commons/Resized and Cropped/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
