Next to 1966 Batman, Avengers: Infinity War is an embarrassment

BIFF! BAM! POW! How are The Avengers really able to compete with Adam West's Batman?

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Yes, we'll admit to being a bit excited about the new Marvel film Avengers: Infinity War, but frankly we put it in a bit of perspective here at SBS. As entertaining as that film is probably going to be, each and every Friday night on SBS VICELAND we are seeing the greatest screen superhero on the TV: the 1966 Batman TV show.

Adam West and Burt Ward don the tights in the very entertaining Batman TV show as Batman and Robin, Gotham City's fearless caped crusaders. Captain America and Bucky simply cannot compete.

Beyond the fact that Adam West is more dead-set handsome than any of the Avengers, the simple truth is that the classic Batman is funnier, more inventive, and way more charming than any of the big screen heroes. We've done some thinking about this and concluded that the Avengers really can't compete.

Better villains

Really, what even is a 'Thanos'? Is it really Josh Brolin under all that CGI?

It's time for some real talk: Most people going into the cinema this week don't really get what an infinity stone is. The only people who actually 'get it' are the people who aren't completely confused by the mid and end credits sequences.

But the Batman villains are iconic. We all know who The Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, and Mr Freeze are. They're no less fantastical as the big screen Marvel villains. In just the second season alone The Joker is shown to have developed the ability to manipulate time and created an army of robot bank tellers.

Source: SBS VICELAND

And, sure, sometimes you get villains who you don't know, but they're usually such ridiculous fun that it's pretty entertaining to find out what their deal is. Marsha Queen of Diamonds, The Mad Hatter, King Tut, or The Bookworm? All bonkers entertaining.

The fun of the 1966 Batman is the old-time guest stars who'd turn up on the show. Like that time John Astin, who played Gomez Addams in The Addams Family, turned up as The Riddler. Or when Liberace played a maniacal musician and his twin brother.

The women in the show aren't just plot devices

Can you believe there have been 19 Marvel movies now and yet none of them have yet starred a woman? Sure, there are some cool female characters - Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Shuri, Nakia, and Pepper Potts are all pretty great, but let's be frank: none of them have really been given many great heroic moments.

The great thing about 1966 Batman is how much screen-time all of the characters get. One of the funniest recurring actors in the show is the amazing Julie Newmar who plays Catwoman in the first two seasons of the show.

Source: SBS VICELAND

But then you also have a whole lot of great character actors appearing:

Anne Baxter as Zelda The Great! Shelley Winters as Ma Parker! Carolyn Jones as Marsha Queen of Diamonds.

Batman 1966 even has it's own Black Widow. Not the same character, but a bank robber who happens to be an electronics genius.

And then there's Batgirl. The episodes currently screening on SBS VICELAND haven't reached the first appearance of Batgirl yet (we should see her in early May), but when Yvonne Craig turns up, she does so with her own theme song and operates with full autonomy from Batman and Robin. She's wonderful.

Batman is funnier

Yes, we all had a few good laughs while watching Thor: Ragnarok, but have any of the Marvel heroes ever challenged their villains to a surfing competition?

Pure West

Let's put our cards on the table: Batman has a more handsome leading man than any of the Marvel superheroes. Adam West DELIVERS! A more suave hero there is not. Yes, some viewers may be drawn towards Marvel's Thor and his always on-display gun show, but Adam West as Batman is rocking a 1960's pre-gym expectation physique with a skin-tight costume that leaves very little to the imagination.