Adam West had lost none of his mock-heroic Batman charm in this surprise parting gift to fans — a cameo performance in a never-aired episode of NBC’s Powerless. DC All Access is presenting the entire episode for a limited time on its YouTube channel as a tribute to TV’s Batman, who died June 9 following a battle with leukemia.
Watch the entire episode above.
With the faux-seriousness that helped make Batman a pop culture phenomenon in 1966, West arrives on the Powerless scene as “Chairman West,” something of a corporate hatchet-man from Gotham who drops by Wayne Security to demand staff cuts.
“I admit it’s a bit of a gratuitous cameo,” says West, fully in character while nodding to his own exalted stature. Better still is his greeting to kitty-sweatered staffer Emily (Vanessa Hudgens): “Nice to meet you…cat woman.”
“Will this ragtag band of plucky performers keep their precious positions or will they be thrown to the wolves?,” intones West directly into the camera, parodying the cliffhanger endings of Batman but confusing the Powerless crew. “Find out next week. That’s when the head of HR gets back from vacation.”
West’s episode, “Win, Luther, Draw” never made it to air before the series was canceled in April. In a brief introduction, DC All Access host Whitney Moore says the episode is being presented now “as a special tribute to the man who brought us so much joy.”
Last night, West’s old co-star and partner in comic crimefighting, Burt Ward, was among those who joined L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti for the lighting of a ceremonial bat-signal onto the tower of Los Angeles City Hall.
“My friend Adam would want every single one of you to be incredibly happy and to be joyous because he spent his entire life as a performer making people happy,” Ward reportedly told the crowd of fans, “making people laugh and trying to make this world a better place.”
Also taking part in the ceremony were members of West’s family, Lee Meriwether (Catwoman in the 1966 feature film version of the Batman series), and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.
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