Alan Moore said he thinks that Adam West was the best Batman in a recent interview. Moore is best known for his iconic comic series Watchmen that spawned a divisive movie adapted by Zack Snyder and an Emmy award-winning HBO show. Moore also wrote one of the most widely praised Batman comic stories, Batman: The Killing Joke. Many say this comic laid the groundwork for future tellings of both Batman and the Joker.

Adam West played Batman in one of the first-ever live-action adaptations of the character. The series ran for three seasons with over 120 episodes. West's performance was praised by many, known primarily for its more lighthearted approach to the character. Many actors have played the character since, with over eight different iterations since the character's revival in the 1989 Tim Burton film, where Michael Keaton portrayed the Caped Crusader. Batman has since been played by Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck.

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In an interview with Deadline discussing his new series The Show, Moore addressed a range of topics. When asked about superheroes and whether or not he watches superhero films revealed that he does not watch them at all, going on to say he feels they're a "blight" on society. He then denounced his take on the iconic character in DC Comics' The Killing Joke. Moore says he thinks comic books and their movie counterparts are supposed to be for children, and his take on the Batman was ultimately too violent for its original intention. Following up by declaring the Adam West version of the character the best:

I’ve been told the Joker film wouldn’t exist without my Joker story (1988’s Batman: The Killing Joke), but three months after I’d written that I was disowning it, it was far too violent – it was Batman for christ’s sake, it’s a guy dressed as a bat. Increasingly I think the best version of Batman was Adam West, which didn’t take it at all seriously.

Batman and Robin

While the Marvel films have stuck with the more lighthearted tone aimed towards children that Moore was talking about, Batman's modern iterations have done quite the opposite. Both the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher takes on the character, while dark in palette, were still a little more light in content. However, beginning with Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins in 2005, Batman films have become increasingly darker. While less grounded in the gritty realism of Nolan's trilogy, Snyder's take on the character is still a rather dark portrayal.

This speaks to an overall trend in superhero movies outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iterations of multiple comic book characters have had a darker tone in their 21st-century portrayals. Moore himself is no stranger to dark and gritty superhero tales. Watchmen, his landmark work, is known for its nihilistic approach to the genre. However, it also worked as a critique of the genre, subverting lighthearted tropes in favor of a more adult-oriented story.

Unfortunately, Moore's desire to see Batman portrayed like the television show West starred on in the 60s is something that that isn't happening quite yet. While recent DCEU films like Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad have taken a more comedic approach, they are still more geared towards adult fans. Even the next iteration of Batman seems to be in line with the post-2000 Batman films' gritty approach. Robert Pattinson will star as the Caped Crusader in 2022's The Batman, more akin to The Dark Knight trilogy than the 1960's series. According to Moore's interview, though, it's likely that he wouldn't be tuning in anyway.

More: Every Actor Who's Played Batman In Live-Action

Source: Deadline