DC Entertainment is honoring the late Adam West by releasing an unaired episode of the recently cancelled NBC series Powerless, in which he makes a cameo. The sitcom centers around the employees of an R&D department for Wayne Security as in Bruce Wayne AKA Batman. However, due to rights issues this superhero world is populated with lesser known heroes. Batman never makes an appearance. . . until now! West portrayed the cape crusader on the campy 60s Batman TV series.
Powerless cast canned!?
Adam West guest stars as Wayne Security Chairman Dean West in “Win, Luthor, Draw.” He drops by to announce cutbacks following an alien invasion.
“I admit it’s a bit of a gratuitous cameo,” he says anticlimactically.
West breaks the fourth wall multiple times to set up the next plot development. The alliteration-laden monologues parody the comic book narration used for cliffhangers on Batman. In the final instance, he is revealed to be talking to a potted plant. The employees begin to doubt whether the senile old man even works there. This is seemingly a nod to the actor’s most recent claim to fame as the absent minded Mayor West on Family Guy.
Dark Knight Returns
West, Burt Ward (Robin) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman) recently reprised their roles in the animated film Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. West will don the cape and cowl one last time in the upcoming sequel Batman: The Caped Crusaders vs. Two Face, which was completed prior to his passing. The duplicitous character was originally supposed to be played by Clint Eastwood in the TV series but the script was thrown out due to infighting behind the camera. Sadly, we may never see Clint talking to himself. William Shatner has been cast as the cartoon version of the supervillain.
