History Series / Batman

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[[caption-width-right:350:''Holy tropes-on-this-very-wiki, Batman!'']]
->''"But wait, the wildest is yet to come!"''

[[DescribeTopicHere Holy page description, Batman!]]

''Batman'' is the campy, colorful, comedic adaptation of the titular comic book character, produced for Creator/{{ABC}} from 1966 to 1968; it featured Franchise/{{Batman}} (played by Creator/AdamWest) and Comicbook/{{Robin}} (played by Burt Ward) foiling daffy and innocuous criminals via detective work and slow fist-fights which were [[TheHitFlash punctuated]] by large comic-style POW!s, BAFF!s and ZONK!s. Producer William Dozier and head writer Lorenzo Semple, Jr. were assigned to create a Batman TV series; not being big fans of the comics, they hit on the idea of [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] and parodying the over-the-top tropes of comics and the square [[TheComicallySerious humorlessness]] of superheroes. The result was an instant smash hit in 1966 that appealed to both kids and adults: children tuned in for the superhero adventures, while adults caught the [[ParentalBonus jokes and satirical humor]].

With its intentionally absurd writing (particularly Batman's array of gadgets, which seemed large enough to cater for [[CrazyPrepared any given situation]] -- the legendary Shark-Repellent Batspray comes to mind) and shonky production values, this was more like a televised {{pantomime}}/vaudeville/burlesque than anything resembling portrayals of superheroes in modern day media. The series managed to become something of a cultural icon, but it is also partly responsible for the general public's dim view of comic book writing and comics in general today, as even [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks at the time]] comic book writing was taken far more seriously.

For most of its run, ''Batman'' aired ''twice'' a week, on successive weeknights (which was unusual at the time). The episodes were two-parters; a {{cliffhanger}} punctuated the end of the first episode and the narrator iconically told the audience to "tune in tomorrow -- same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel!" The series switched to airing once a week in the final season.

''Film/BatmanTheMovie'', an original theatrical feature film based on the series, was released in 1966. Among other things, the movie's larger budget provided the Dynamic Duo with some additional vehicles that stuck around for the remainder of the TV series (by recycling footage from the film): the Bat-Boat, the Bat-Copter, and the Bat-Cycle.

The series still tends to be polarizing. Many enjoy it for its sheer farce and surrealism -- or for its nostalgia value -- but at the same time, many modern Batman fans consider this Batman to be the opposite of the Batman they know and love. Many comics fans also consider the show to be responsible for tainting an entire medium in the eyes of the general public; to this day, [[http://www.theonion.com/article/comics-not-just-for-kids-anymore-reports-85000th-m-28727 mainstream news stories about comic books]] are likely to have headlines like "Pow! Zap! Wham! Comic Books Aren't Just For Kids Anymore!" The series is sometimes blamed for causing the Batman comic line to adopt a "campier" tone as well, but [[{{Misblamed}} in truth]] the main difference between this series and the "New Look" Batman comics that immediately preceded it was that the TV show was intentionally funny. The series did play a key role in the continued existence of the entire Bat franchise, however; comics sales had been in a serious decline, but the series provided a great deal of publicity, which led to a much-needed sales boost in Batman comics. In addition, the series was highly influential: Creator/CesarRomero, Frank Gorshin, and Burgess Meredith would become the template for future Jokers, Riddlers, and Penguins. The creators of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' even acknowledged the legacy of Adam West's ''Batman'' by paying him homage in [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE18BewareTheGrayGhost one of the episodes]].

The show's legacy continued long after its cancellation. Almost a decade later, Adam West and Burt Ward would reprise their roles on ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'', a Creator/{{Filmation}} animated series which competed with Creator/HannaBarbera's ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''. West would eventually wind up voicing Batman on the last two "Super Powers" branded seasons of ''Superfriends''. (Robin continued to be played by his longtime ''Super Friends'' voice actor, Creator/CaseyKasem.) The show's style also influenced ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', the first ever big-budget superhero film.

West and Ward would play Batman and Robin in live action one final time (joined by Frank Gorshin as the Riddler) in the 1979 TV ''Legends of the Superheroes'' specials. In the early 2000s, West and Ward (again joined by Gorshin) portrayed cartoonish versions of themselves in the Creator/{{CBS}} movie ''Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt'', consisting of a modern day plot to find the stolen Batmobile mixed with flashbacks to the events behind the scenes of filming the series in the 60s. In 2015, [[http://www.blastr.com/2015-3-30/adam-west-and-burt-ward-return-batman-and-robin-new-animated-film Ward revealed]] he and West would be returning for [[WesternAnimation/BatmanReturnOfTheCapedCrusaders a full-length animated movie]] for [[MilestoneCelebration the series' 50th anniversary in 2016]]. This was followed by a sequel in 2017, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanVsTwoFace'', where Comicbook/TwoFace (who had never appeared on the show) was played by Creator/WilliamShatner. It was West's final outing as he passed away that year.

In 2013, [[http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/03/dc-to-launch-digital-first-batman-comic-based-on-classic-tv-show/ DC announced]] ''ComicBook/Batman66'', a digital-first comic based on the series, with license to the rights for all the actors on the show, and written by Jeff Parker of ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' and Marvel's ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas''; it ended in 2015 with print issue #30. The popularity and critical success of this series led to a number of crossover miniseries, including Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman's ''Batman '66 Meets Franchise/TheGreenHornet'', Ian Edginton's ''Batman '66 Meets [[Series/TheAvengers Steed and Mrs Peel]]'', Jeff Parker and Marc Andreyko's ''Batman '66 Meets Series/WonderWoman '77'', Jeff Parker and Michael Morici's ''[[Franchise/ArchieComics Archie]] Meets Batman '66'', and Parker's own ''Batman '66 Meets Series/TheManFromUNCLE''. Parker also introduced versions of some characters who post-date the series. ''The Lost Episode'', adapted by Len Wein from a rejected Creator/HarlanEllison treatment, also features the first appearance of Two-Face in this continuity.

For many, many years, the show was never given any sort of proper home video release, which was especially awful in light of the TV-on-DVD boom. Reasons for this varied, with some of the issues cited being music licenses, royalties for the numerous "Bat-walk" cameos, and the fact that Bat-media as a whole is owned by Creator/WarnerBros while the series and its various elements are owned by 20th Century Fox. (''Batman: The Movie'' has no such issues.) In early 2014, Creator/WarnerHomeVideo confirmed [[http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Batman-DVDs-Planned/19353 the entire series would be released in one gigantic box set later in the year.]] (It also has more affordable separate season sets for non-collectors.) Burt Ward later confirmed the release date for the set as the 11th of November 2014 – [[MilestoneCelebration just in time to celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary]].

If you want Batman played DarkerAndEdgier, see Creator/TimBurton's [[Film/{{Batman}} 1989 film]] (and [[Film/BatmanReturns its 1992 sequel]]), ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', Creator/ChristopherNolan's ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' and the ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse''. For a more modern take on Batman that retains UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} fun-factor[=/=]{{Camp}} absurdity combo of the series, see Creator/JoelSchumacher's ''Film/BatmanForever''. For Silver Age fun-factor with more tasteful {{Camp}} absurdity, see ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. For a DarkerAndEdgier take nonetheless heavy on {{Camp}}, see ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder''. And for camp absurdity minus the Silver Age fun-factor, see Schumacher's ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''.

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!! Bat-tropes:

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[[folder:A-F]]
* AbandonedWarehouse
** Including, but not limited to, abandoned factories for surfboards, umbrellas and ''launching pads''. For such a candy-colored town, Gotham City has an awful lot of abandoned buildings. It's no wonder there's such a rise in crime.
** Sometimes averted when villains like Joker and Penguin use ''active'' businesses such as a printing company and a restaurant respectively as a front.
* AbledInTheAdaptation:
** Batman lacks the PTSD that toher incarnations have.
** Commissioner Gordon doesn't need to wear glasses like his comic counterpart.
* TheAce: This series's version of Batman certainly qualifies; he's one of the most unerringly competent and knowledgeable versions of the character, equally skilled in bareknuckle fistfighting and surfing competitions (even if he is prone to getting caught). At times, he borders on ParodySue.
* ActorAllusion: [[Series/GilligansIsland Alan Hale Jr.]] makes an appearance as a restaurant owner named Gilligan in one episode.
** It may be a coincidence, but Edward Everett Horton appears in the 1st Egghead episode as Chief Screaming Chicken; he played a similarly named Indian Roaring Chicken, on the first several episodes of ''Series/FTroop''.
* AdamWesting: No, Adam West doesn't do it here, but it's the ''source'' of his later Westing.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Creator/BurgessMeredith wasn't the world's most attractive man, but his Penguin was ''significantly'' better looking than the fat, grotesque comics incarnation.
* AdiposeRex: King Tut
* AffablyEvil: The George Sanders version of Mr. Freeze. He makes sure that his henchmen and mountain butler are warm in his lair, rewards his henchmen by tossing diamonds on the floor ("chickenfeed"), and imposes a very strict ThouShaltNotKill policy. He also treats Batman rather cordially; the only reason he wants revenge on Batman is because the Caped Crusader put him in the instant freeze accident, no more and no less. In the first half of the "Instant Freeze"/"Rats Like Cheese" two-parter, he even [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone expresses regret at freezing the dynamic duo]].
-->'''Mr. Freeze''': I am sorry, Batman. I wanted to toy with you a little longer, but...that is the way the [[JustForPun ice cube]] crumbles.
* AffectionateParody: [[http://tothebatpoles.blogspot.com/2011/09/spotlight-on-hi-diddle-diddlesmack-in.html This article]] argues that the mere fact of playing a relatively ambitious live-action production of a superhero (viewed at the time as an inherently worthless material) had to be played as a superficial, deliberately light self-parody devised by mainstreamers who never even suspected that a rich timeless fantasy was lurking underneath.
* AirVentPassageway
** Episode "Smack in the Middle". The Riddler uses an air duct passage to infiltrate the Moldavian Pavilion party.
** Episode "A Riddle A Day Keeps The Riddler Away". Batman and Robin use air ducts to infiltrate a building where the Riddler is holding a kidnapped king hostage.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys
** While Batman and Robin are almost never seen romancing anyone, many of the male villains are usually accompanied by sexy female assistants, and the fact they're more than "just friends" is not always very subtle.
** Inverted with Catwoman. It's heavily implied the duo both have interest in her, at least until Eartha Kitt took over the role and the studio overruled Adam West's wishes to continue.
* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: Inverted by the Penguin when he runs for Mayor of Gotham City; his campaign features 'plenty of girls and bands and slogans and lots of hoopla, but remember, no politics. Issues confuse people.'
* AlliterativeName:
** The Dynamic Duo, the Caped Crusaders, etc.
** The Penguin is especially fond of alliteration, calling Catwoman a "Felonious Feline" and the Joker a "pompous popinjay".
** Batman also engages in it a lot.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: While the Bat Shark Repellent, used in one episode and the film, is seen as ludicrous, shark repellent was researched since WWII.[[note]]Indeed, Batman isn't even the first pop-culture action hero to address it - Literature/JamesBond was discussing it as early as ''Literature/LiveAndLetDie'' (1954)[[/note]]
* AmmunitionBackpack: Mr. Freeze wore a tank of freezing gas on his back to fuel his FreezeRay.
* AmnesiaEpisode: In almost every episode featuring the supervillain King Tut, the Egyptologist Professor William [=McElroy=] is hit on the head and forgets who he really is, thinking he's the historical King Tut instead. At the end of the episode he's hit on the head again and reverts to his standard personality.
* AnachronismStew: King Tut [[DeathTrap drowns Batman]] while quoting Shakespeare. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed,]] as King Tut is really an amnesiac college professor, not the true Egyptian king, who could know Shakespeare as much as any other college professor.
** The digital comic revival is full of this. In one story, camcorders are commonplace; in another, UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson will still be President.
* AndIMustScream: The Paralyzing Fog inflicts this on Batgirl.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Multiple examples.
* AnimatedAdaptation: ''WesternAnimation/BatmanReturnOfTheCapedCrusaders'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanVsTwoFace'', 2016 and 2017 direct-to-video animated films set in the series.
* AnimatedCreditsOpening
* AnyoneCanDie: Generally avoided thanks to Batman being CrazyPrepared (and the fact the show aims to be family-friendly and thus ThouShaltNotKill generally applies). However a few people, both good and bad, ''are'' killed in season 1.
* AristocratsAreEvil: SpecialGuest Villains Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and Lady Penelope Peasoup.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking
** In the classic form of ListOfTransgressions, the list of Joker and Catwoman’s crimes includes “overtime parking”.
** King Tut's line in one episode: "My Queen is disloyal, my handmaiden is a traitor... and everybody's being mean to me!" It's made all the better by the fact that Victor Buono is one of the [[LargeHam hammiest hams]] in the entire series.
** Tut's crimes are at one point listed as "Kidnapping, murder, grand theft, and malicious mischief." The latter is a term for willful or wanton destruction of other people's property (i.e., vandalism).
* AscendedExtra: The Riddler
** Before 1966, he had only appeared in three stories total, two of which were in the 1940s. But his 1965 revival story caught the eye of the TV producers, who made him the series' first SpecialGuest Villain, and ultimately one of the top four.
** Also in a meta sense - the popularity of Gorshin's Riddler led to the character becoming a prominent member of Batman's Rogues' Gallery in the comics, where he remains to this day.
* AscendedMeme: In the BeachEpisode, Batman is attacked by a shark while surfing, but fends it off. After he wins the contest, he chalks it up to his Shark Repellent Bat-Spray - the same notorious one from the movie.
* AsYouKnow: Utilized heavily when discussing villains, especially the few who have origin stories (namely, Mister Freeze and King Tut). Few, if any villains are "introduced" in the series; even when the audience meets them for the first time, it's established that Batman and Robin have had many previous encounters with them.
* BackForTheFinale: A rather odd example. French Freddy "The Fence" Touche, a one-off associate of Catwoman's from season two, returns in the final episode helping Minerva. He's the only non-lead villain to make a second appearance.
* BadassBoast: A meta-example from Adam West:
-->"I never had to say ''I'm Batman''. I showed up. People knew I was Batman."
* BaldOfEvil
** Egghead, portrayed by Creator/VincentPrice.
** Mister Freeze, as played by Otto Preminger.
* BankRobbery: Not unknown on the show, though the various Special Guest Villains generally prefer more elaborate extortion schemes. "Penguin's Clean Sweep" has one especially memorable instance, where ''seconds'' after a successful job, a gang of bank robbers reverse and return the money upon learning the Penguin infected the local mint with [[ThePlague sleeping sickness]] germs.
* BashBrothers: Batman and Robin, even more so in this adaptation than in most. This trope could have easily been called "Dynamic Duo".
* BatDeduction: TropeNamer, for Batman's tendency to make bizarre leaps in logic that inevitably tend to be 100% on the money.
* BatmanGambit: Alfred, Batman, and Robin pull one on Joker in "Flop Goes The Joker" with some paintings.
* BattleButler: Alfred shows himself to be a surprisingly good fighter on occasion, able to deliver solid punches to henchmen and once single-handedly defeating the Joker in a fencing duel. And then single-handedly trapping him in the Batpoles (conveniently unlabeled since Alfred had just repainted them), and sending him repeatedly up and down the poles with the Bat-elevator until the Joker was begging him for mercy. And ''then'' having the childish paintings he'd created to foil the Joker's art heist scheme be praised by the art world and sold for big bucks... which he donated to a children's charity.
* BeachEpisode: "Surf's Up! Joker's Under!" features Batgirl wearing a sexy one-piece bathing suit... and Batman and the Joker wearing swim trunks ''over'' their regular suits for a surfing contest.
* BedlamHouse: Averted. Arkham Asylum was not introduced in the comics until several years after the TV series' end. In any case, the show typically represents the villains as flamboyant, but sane, crooks (even the Joker!), with King Tut (who has a form of insanity that presents itself as a SplitPersonality) being the only notable exception, although the Riddler may have also been an exception as he generally acted like the Joker ''should'' have, complete with insane giggle. The Joker ''did'' put white makeup over a mustache, so there is that.
* BeepingComputers: The Bat-computer.
* BellyDancer: Shown on at least two occasions:
** Marsha, Queen of Diamonds (played by Creator/CarolynJones) would wear the outfit on occasion.
** The episode guest starring Liberace featured a trio of female henchmen who on one occasion wore the outfit.
* BerserkButton: It's best not to bring up the Bookworm's failed literary career.
* BetweenMyLegs: A shot of the Dynamic Duo framed between Shame's legs in "It's the Way You Play the Game". It was an homage to similar showdown scenes in Western movies.
* BigElectricSwitch
** "King Tut's Coup". King Tut throws a switch to lower Batman (who's in a sarcophagus) into a pool of water using an [[Film/AustinPowers unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism]].
** "The Cat and the Fiddle". Catwoman throws one to turn off an elevator so Batman can't easily reach a high floor in a building.
** "The Joker's Hard Time". The Joker uses one to drop a net over the Dynamic Duo.
** "Catwoman's Dressed to Kill". One of Catwoman's henchmen throws one to activate the pattern cutter saw that is supposed to slice Batgirl in half.
** "The Duo is Slumming". One of the Puzzler's henchmen pulls one to activate a shower of balloons on the Dynamic Duo, which allows the Puzzler and his henchmen to escape.
** "A Riddle A Day Keeps The Riddler Away". One of the Riddler's henchmen throws a switch to drop a net on Batman and Robin, and one is later thrown to start the spinning {{Death Trap}}s to kill the Dynamic Duo.
** "A Piece of the Action". Colonel Gumm throws an electric switch to activate the machine that will turn the Green Hornet and Kato into giant stamps.
* BigFancyHouse: Stately Wayne Manor, of course.
* BigGood: Batman is this for Gotham, owing to an extremely cordial relationship with the police and citizens, who hold him in awe. One episode in which he went missing lampshaded this, as Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara were paralyzed, reeling in horror at the prospect of actually having to try ''solving a case themselves''.
* BillionsOfButtons: Devices in the Bat-cave have tons of buttons on them.
* BloodlessCarnage: Double-subverted at least once: Batman and Robin burst into the Parker family's shack while they're eating dinner and pick a fight with Ma Parker's three sons; Ma then cries out because she notices one of the boys is bleeding, but Robin confirms that that's just a ketchup stain from the family meal.
* BondVillainStupidity: All over the damn place; rare is the villain who stays to watch their OnceAnEpisode deathtrap actually ''connect'' on the Dynamic Duo, and even rarer is the villain who actually has a good reason to leave the room 5 seconds after setting it up.
* BoringInvincibleHero
** Each CliffHanger had Batman and Robin in mortal peril! Yet they always ingeniously escape!
** This was double subverted at least once. In the episode where the Mad Hatter was using radioactive chemicals to terrorize Gotham, he locked Batman and Robin inside a "fluoroscopic cabinet" to have their flesh burned off by deadly radiation. His plan appeared to have worked: we saw two skeletons (actually dummies) wearing the heroes' costumes inside the cabinet. Once the "bodies" were discovered, a wave of horror and grief swept the entire world; even Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara burst into tears. Finally, Batman and Robin came out of hiding and explained that they had indeed escaped; they had left the skeletons behind as decoys in order to fool the Mad Hatter and his goons.
** Also {{Lampshaded}} in the beginning of the second season. After the customary near escape, Robin exclaims that this time, he was really worried. Batman replies that he himself was not scared one bit. Has Robin not noticed how every time a criminal puts them at mortal peril, they escape? Robin concludes that they must be smarter than the criminals. Batman says that he prefers to believe it's because they're pure at heart.
* BoundAndGagged: This happened quite a lot to several characters throughout the course of this show. The Dynamic Duo were often tied up during the cliffhangers, although they were gagged only a few times. And after being introduced at the beginning of the third season, Batgirl was tied up (while sometimes being gagged) quite a few times as well.
* BoxingEpisode: "Ring Around the Riddler". The Riddler is out to control all prize fighting in Gotham City by kidnapping and brainwashing all of the top prize fighters. During the episode Batman and the Riddler face off in a boxing ring.
* {{Brainwashed}}: It happened a few times with other villains, but it was the main gimmick for The Black Widow and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds. Averted with the Mad Hatter, who did not use mind controlling hats in the comics until years after the end of the TV series (his topper does contain a "mesmerizer", but this was more of a StunGun than a full-blown HypnoRay).
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Several examples, such as the early episode "Zelda the Great" in which the show's first-ever female villain directly speaks to the audience about her plans.
* BrickJoke
** In "Pop Goes The Joker", Dick noticed the Batpole signs were missing, as Alfred had removed them for repainting. "In "Flop Goes The Joker", Alfred trapped Joker in the Batpoles after a HostageSituation at Wayne Manor when he accidentally went into Bruce's studio and found the button in Shakespeare's bust. Not only were the signs still not there, but Alfred deactivated the automatic Bat costume change mechanism, preserving the Dynamic Duo's secret identity.
** From the same two-part episode, Bruce mentions ''[[MythologyGag The Man Who Laughs]]'' before the opening credits. Later, that's the only painting that Joker doesn't damage at the art gallery.
* BrokenAesop: Batman explaining students that nothing in life is free. Coming from the guy who inherited his parents' fortune.
* BruceWayneHeldHostage
** Happened a couple of times to Bruce, and also to Barbara Gordon, who is kidnapped by the Penguin in her debut episode and manages to change into and out of her Batgirl outfit twice over the course of her "captivity." Of course, Batman ''knew'' that this would happen to him eventually, which is why Bruce Wayne never goes anywhere without [[CrazyPrepared dehydrated Batsuit tablets]].
** In one episode where "Bruce" was left in the death trap, a mook laments it's not "Batman".
* TheCameo: In many episodes (particularly during the second season), Batman and Robin would find an excuse to climb a wall. Inevitably, a celebrity would open a window and exchange dialog with them. A far-from-exhaustive list of "Bat-Climb Cameo" characters:
** Creator/JerryLewis.
** Lurch from ''Series/TheAddamsFamily''.
** Edward G. Robinson as an art collector.
** SantaClaus (played by Andy Devine)
** [[Series/AmericanBandstand Dick Clark.]]
** Werner Klemperer, in character as [[Series/HogansHeroes Colonel Klink]].
** Howard Duff in character as the hero of ''The Felony Squad'', another Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox show airing on ABC at the time (this series started its run a few months before ''Batman'', which would make this a plug for the other show).
** In a particularly memorable example, the Dynamic Duo encountered Franchise/TheGreenHornet and [[Creator/BruceLee Kato]] in the window, greeting them as fellow heroes. In a later episode, these heroes were full-fledged guest stars, but now Batman and Robin believed them to be criminals, as they pretended to be in their own series. (Although it didn't go both ways; in the universe of ''The Green Hornet''[[note]]from the same producers[[/note]], ''Batman'' was a fictional program that various characters were occasionally seen watching on television.)
** The final "window cameo" was by Cyril Lord, a well-known British floorcoverings distributor of the time, who got a moment in the Bat-spotlight (using his nickname of "Carpet King"), after selling TV producer Howie Horwitz a fine Persian rug, and did so at a discount in exchange for his time onscreen.
* {{Camp}}: Practically the TropeNamer, insofar as it popularized the use of the term in the mass media.
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: In the ''Batman '66'' comics, [[spoiler: False Face]] turns out to be [[spoiler: Basil Karlo, aka Clayface.]]
* CanonImmigrant: Quite a few characters and concepts introduced for the show ended up in the comics. Creator/DCComics does not have the legal right, for works other than ''Batman [='=]66'', to use characters explicitly created for the show, however, so many of these are unofficial.
** The Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl was introduced in the comic version in collaboration with the writers for the TV series, as a ratings stunt for its third season. She continues to be featured in the comics more than 45 years later; the Bat-Girl (note spelling) introduced in the comics in the early 1960s is all but forgotten.
** There's also Chief O'Hara. Though mentioned in the 1960s, he first appeared on panel in the comics during the Steve Engelhart/Marshall Rogers run in ''Detective Comics''.
** This series actually ''invented'' Riddler's "less silly" bowler-hat-and-suit look.[[note]]Specifically, it was designed by Frank Gorshin, the actor who played the Riddler. He ''seriously'' hated the tights he was originally forced to wear.[[/note]] In fact, it's only because of Frank Gorshin's Emmy-winning performance on this show that you've ever heard of the Riddler, who appeared a grand total of ''twice'' in the comics (both in 1948) prior to 1965.
*** The Riddler's ''other'' iconic accessory, his question-mark cane, was also invented on this show - in John Astin's fill-in appearance, to boot![[note]]That said, the cane wasn't really ''codified'' as a must for the character until the one-two punch of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''Film/BatmanForever''.[[/note]]
** The show also brought Mr. Freeze, a formerly obscure villain, back into the comics (and created the name Mr. Freeze, since he was Mr. Zero in the comics). In much the same way, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' brought Mr. Freeze back into the modern comics decades later after a long absence, and introduced the tragic characterization that's defined him ever since. Viewers of Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance in the 1990s ''Batman and Robin'' film might be amused to hear English actor George Sanders adopting a very similar accent when he introduced the character to TV decades earlier.
** King Tut finally appeared in the comics in 2009.[[note]] ''Batman Confidential'' #26 (April 2009)[[/note]] As a 40-plus year journey, this may be one of the longest canon immigrations on record. Technically, however, the comic book King Tut is a different character from the one owned by 20th Century Fox and Greenway Productions, with a different personality and visual look. Since King Tut is a historical figure (and thus in the public domain), this is kosher, but DC would not be legally allowed to publish a character similar to Victor Buono's.
** Egghead had an unofficial cameo as an Arkham Asylum inmate,[[note]] ''Shadow of the Bat'' #2-3[[/note]] and also showed up in issue #16 of the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' tie-in comic.
** Aunt Harriet is often ''incorrectly'' thought to be a Canon Immigrant, but she was introduced in 1964, replacing the dead Alfred (he got better.)
** A great many of the villains originally created for the show make unofficial cameos as prisoner "extras" in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' animated series, including King Tut, Egghead, Archer, Bookworm, Black Widow, Siren, Marsha: Queen of Diamonds, Louie the Lilac, Ma Parker, Shame, False Face and the David Wayne version of the Mad Hatter.
** Much as with Gorshin's Riddler, Burgess Meredith's Penguin is so iconic that it's still not only referenced (''Series/TheDailyShow'' drew comparisons between the character and Dick Cheney), it's also arguable that Penguin's the Bat-Villain least changed since the 60s depiction. He still does the laugh in the comics, too.
** Subtler than most, but a few moments in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' have Heath Ledger's Joker laughing rather like Cesar Romero's, most notably in the video he sends to police. Ledger famously locked himself away in a hotel room trying to find a laugh unlike Creator/JackNicholson's, and the effect of the campy Romero laugh is unsettling in context.
** Bookworm initially made the jump to the main comics in a 1989 Huntress story, and later showed up in 2014's ''ComicBook/GothamAcademy'' as the school librarian.
** Batman '66 has a number of inversions, reworking villains that post-date the series into the '66 milieu:
*** One issue introduces Batman '66's own version of The Red Hood (the original version, not [[Comicbook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws Jason Todd]]) as [[spoiler: a helmet that caused anyone wearing it to become a Joker-aligned criminal mastermind, created when an attempt to calm the prisoners of Arkham Asylum down by projecting brainwaves onto them backfired when [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead The Joker proved to be too much to handle]]]]. Said issue also introduced a psychiatric nurse by the name of [[ComicBook/HarleyQuinn Dr. Holly Quinn, who referred to the Joker as "Patient J."]] She later dons the helmet, which has been reworked as a device to subdue insanity, to stop the Joker and Catwoman from turning Gotham into a city of laughing lunatics; in doing so, she herself becomes insane and incarcerated at Arkham, until a few issues later, she escapes and becomes exactly who we're talking about (under the non-punny name of "the Harlequin").
*** Another inversion from the comic: Waylon Jones shows up as a King Tut henchman who drinks a powerful crocodile serum. He appears fully transformed into Killer Croc some issues later.
*** Yet another inversion is Lord Death Man, who went from the original comics to [[Manga/{{Batman}} the manga]] to Batman '66.
*** Comicbook/{{Bane}} has been reimagined as a MaskedLuchador.
*** The Scarecrow has also been introduced to the Batman '66 comics, as well as Poison Ivy.
* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: The Penguin, acting as a respected restaurateur as part of a FalselyReformedVillain scheme, has considerable difficulty when he actively tries to get thrown in prison so that he can consult an expert forger criminal colleague. (Although this is because Batman recognizes that he's trying to get sent to prison and convinces the cops not to arrest him.) When [[spoiler:he finally succeeds in getting sent to prison, the criminal he wanted to hook up with gets released]].
* CaptainObvious:
--> Batman: "According to my Bat Compass, north-by-northeast is in a general north-northeasterly direction."
* CardboardPrison: Curiously, mostly averted. Gotham State Penitentiary has a few breakouts, to be sure, but you're more likely to hear "It's been X weeks since Y Super-Criminal was released", rather than reports of an escape.
* CatchPhrase
** "Holy [insert relevant joke here], Batman!"
** "It's the Batphone, sir."
** "ToTheBatNoun!"
** "Whoever he is behind that mask of his..."
** "Stately Wayne Manor, home of millionaire Bruce Wayne and his youthful ward Dick Grayson."
** [[OfficerOHara "Saints preserve us!"]]
** "Wild!" - The Preminger version of Freeze.
** *waughwaughwaugh* - The Penguin's laugh.
** Did you forget, "old chum"?
** Narrator, in the part 2 episodes: "So far, we have seen..."
* CatsHaveNineLives: Catwoman died on two occasions including her ''very first appearance'' because she considered her loot more important than her life. The second time is when she willingly fell to her death when she realized a life with Batman as his wife would be impossible.
* TheCavalryArrivesLate: The Gotham city police department.
* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: Episode "That Darn Catwoman". After Robin is placed under Catwoman's control, he breaks a chair over Batman's head while fighting him.
* TheCheerleader: "The Joker Goes To School"
* ChekhovsSkill
** Batman had mastered an Indian rope trick called Ruszííí Szidááá Rákóóó years ago. It came handy in the third season.
** Robin's bird call skills save them from a balloon in "The Duo is Slumming".
* CityOfWeirdos: The citizens of Gotham City were pretty blasé. The Batmobile could screech to a halt in front of City Hall and the Caped Crusaders dash up the steps in their colorful costumes without so much as a second glance from passersby. Even looking out a window and finding Batman and Robin walking up the side of your building was treated as routine. Then again, given how often they climb buildings...
* ClarkKenting
** Here, it's very notable. As Bruce Wayne, Adam West uses a more laid-back, natural delivery, as opposed to Batman's intense, melodramatic manner, but it's still very recognizably the same voice. And Dick Grayson and Robin sound and act almost exactly the same. No one seems to do the math that the two men are almost always together, just as Batman and Robin are.
** Because Batman's costume had no pockets, Adam West developed an 'arms folded' stance so that he could still look dignified in the costume. Occasionally (notably when on his date with Kitka in the movie), he forgets and uses the same body language as Bruce Wayne.
** It gets a little unbelievable when even Aunt Harriet, who lives with Bruce and Dick, doesn't even suspect a thing when they walk into the house, and give her a kiss for her birthday. Saying that "Bruce called in a favor".
** Alfred also qualifies since, though not wearing a costume, he is both Bruce Wayne’s butler who answers his phone for him and the man who answers Batman’s phone for him too. He doesn’t appear to make any attempt to disguise his voice while doing this. One episode ("The Curse of Tut") even had the Commissioner calling Bruce Wayne, Alfred answered and then went and got Bruce, then straight after they were done the Commissioner called Batman and Alfred answered again and got Batman.
** And then there's Batgirl. Batman and Robin are continually perplexed at how Batgirl manages to keep turning up where the action is; it never once dawns on them that Commissioner Gordon has a daughter who's the right age and size to be Batgirl, speaks with the same voice, and above all, who showed up in Gotham City at the exact same time Batgirl did. Did the red wig really fool them ''that'' much?
* ClownCar: It turns out that the Batmobile's trunk is spacious enough to hold ComicBook/TheJoker, the Penguin, ''and six of their henchmen''.
* ColdHam: This show's take on The Riddler. He alternates between cold as ice and leaping with excitement, and is a ham through and through.
** Batman himself was sometimes this, especially next to the youthful exuberance of Robin. But he did have his LargeHam moments.
* ColorblindCasting: When Julie Newmar was unavailable for the third season, Eartha Kitt was cast as Catwoman in her place. Nothing was made of the fact that [[FairForItsDay she was now black]]... except that the ShipTease between her and Batman stopped, [[ValuesDissonance to avoid hints of an interracial relationship.]]
* ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre: In "Catwoman's Dressed to Kill", Batgirl says this to Catwoman after she chases her into a dressing room; naturally, that's Catwoman's cue to [[RightBehindMe appear behind her]] and capture her.
* ComicallySerious: Practically Batman's defining characteristic. He never has any idea that anything he's saying is funny, and Adam West has said that the key to the comedy of the show was saying the ridiculous lines with a straight face. (Creator/LeslieNielsen followed that advice.)
* ComicBookAdaptation: In 2013 Creator/DCComics launched an actual comic book version of the TV series, titled ''ComicBook/Batman66'', as well as releasing a trade paperback of the original issues that episodes were based on.
* TheCommissionerGordon: Actor Neil Hamilton plays Gordon, who, unlike other portrayals, is completely dependent on Batman to catch the villains of the show.
* CompanionCube: In ''A Piece of the Action/Batman's Satisfaction'', Pinky Pinkston much prefers to converse with her sub-ordinate, Colonel Gumm, by pretending to talk to or explain things to her dog, Apricot. She even does it to Commissioner Gordon a few times. This gets a [[LampshadeHanging Lampshade]] when Pinky [[spoiler: is taken hostage and tied up by Gumm in his office]] when she asks Apricot to [[spoiler: chew through her ropes]] by prefacing it with "And this time, I really AM talking to you..."
* CompellingVoice: The Siren, but it only works on men.
* CompositeCharacter:
** ''Batman '66'' essentially does this when False Face [[spoiler: is revealed to be Basil Karlo and gets turned into this universe's Clayface.]]
** Two-Face's real name is Harvey Dent but the script was based off of Paul Sloane's first appearance resulting the character in "The Lost Episode" being an amalgamation of the two.
* ConcealingCanvas
** In the episode "The Duo is Slumming" the plans for an airplane are in a wall safe concealed by a painting.
** In the episodes "That Darn Catwoman" and "Flop Goes The Joker", stately Wayne Manor has a wall safe hidden behind a painting.
* ContinuityNod: Remembering that it was common for syndicated episodes to be broadcast in random order (albeit with the two- and three-part storylines kept together), the use of direct callbacks of this nature were rare for this era.
** In "The Ring of Wax", Riddler is careful to deactivate the Batmobile security system before driving it away. This seems to nod to his intro episode, in which he set off the security system trying to steal it.
** The Joker/Penguin teamup three-parter during the second season also references the fact that it's not the first time that Joker has tried to contaminate Gotham's water supply - previously, he'd tried to do it in "The Joker's Provokers".
** In "Fine Feathered Finks"/"The Penguin's a Jinx", Robin freaks out when he sees Alfred doing maintenance near the Batcave's nuclear reactor, which is where Molly, the Riddler's girlfriend, was killed in the previous week's storyline. It's revealed that there is now a safety shut-off to make it safer.
* ConvenientEclipse: "The Cat and the Fiddle"
* CoolCar: The Batmobile, almost to the point of being a metal IconicOutfit. There have been ''plenty'' of other Batmobiles before and since, but in car-guy circles the George Barris version for this series is ''the'' Batmobile. Even cooler if you see the real thing in person, since EVERYTHING on the car is meticulously and hilariously labeled, like the bat-accelerator, bat-radio, bat-emergency brake... it's cool because audiences watching would never be able to see the various labels and buttons.
* CoolGarage: the Batcave.
* CoolOldGuy: Alfred, of course, especially when he starts to take an active role in some of the adventures (even donning the Batman costume on occasion).
* CountingBullets: Batman and Robin have been known to do this; once Batman even counted the number fired from a machine-gun!
* CowboyEpisode: The two Shame appearances.
* CrazyPrepared: This ''is'' still Batman, you know. Just with the [[PlayedForLaughs emphasis more on the "crazy"]] than the "prepared".
** [[http://i46.tinypic.com/nfryte.jpg For instance.]]
** He even carries live fish in his utility belt just in case he encounters a hungry seal.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Batman to Mr. Freeze, as noted in the episode "Instant Freeze". (Freeze's origin here is strikingly similar to the Joker's origin in the comics -- [[FreakLabAccident thrown into chemicals by Batman]].)
* CreepyHighPitchedVoice: Cesar Romero's flamboyant, silly portrayal of the Joker was helped greatly by the clownish voice he used for the role.
* CriminalAmnesiac: King Tut, owing to a [[EasyAmnesia simple blow to the head.]] Unlike most cases of this, the "good" identity knows what happens when bumped on the noggin, and takes steps to avoid it. Not that it helps.
* CrossOver
** The Penguin is shown at a table in a nightclub scene in an episode of ''Series/TheMonkees'', and 40 years later in a ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode for a nuns/penguins joke.
** The series itself had a two-part crossover with Franchise/TheGreenHornet. Most notably, at the end of Part 2, Batman and Robin square off against The Green Hornet and [[Creator/BruceLee Kato]]. The fight ends on Bruce Lee whooping the ever-loving shit out of Burt Ward... I mean: A "tie"...
** The comic has had a crossover [[SequelEpisode sequel]] to the Franchise/GreenHornet episode by Creator/KevinSmith, and a crossover with ''Series/TheManFromUncle'' by regular writer Jeff Parker.
* CutLexLuthorACheck
** In "The Penguin's Nest", Penguin opens a hugely popular restaurant, which by all indications positively rakes in the cash. However, Penguin chooses to use it as the front for a forgery scheme instead of simply living off the restaurant's proceeds.
** "The Joker's Flying Saucer". The Joker creates a flying saucer that can (based on the Joker's comments) travel through outer space to other planets. He decides on the standard "conquer the world" strategy when he could have just sold the design to NASA for billions of dollars.
** Also applies to Catwoman, who if she used her intelligence productively (or, let's be honest, became a model or movie star with her looks) -- or even simply give up crime and married Bruce Wayne -- could easily become as rich as she desires.
** Batman and Robin even comment during the Minstrel's appearance that he could make a good living just by selling records.
* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: The attitude taken by almost every guest villain toward the criminal lifestyle, even those who are traditionally grim or loners in the comics. Even Mr. Freeze, the most tragic of the TV villains, enjoyed the fine life now and then.
* DanceBattler: Batgirl, as portrayed by former professional ballerina Creator/YvonneCraig. Almost a required trope given that Batgirl was not allowed to throw punches, confining her fights mostly to kicking.
* DatingCatwoman
** TropeNamer... only fitting considering Catwoman was usually played by Julie Newmar. Meow, indeed.
** Compared to other takes on the Bat-mythos, it's actually kind of subverted, or at least one-sided. Newmar's Catwoman is colder and crueler than just about any other incarnation of the character (a holdover from UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, where the UsefulNotes/ComicsCode forbade villains to look too sympathetic), and regularly arranges violent deathtraps for the man she supposedly loves. When she does show attraction to Batman, it's more the StalkerWithACrush kind (in one episode her deathtrap-du-jour is designed to more or less ''lobotomize'' Batman, with the [[FridgeHorror implication]] that she plans to keep him as a sex slave afterwards).
** And of course, this disappeared entirely once Eartha Kitt stepped into Catwoman's boots, due to ValuesDissonance over a black villainess crushing on a white hero and/or [[HanlonsRazor the shortened length of the episodes leaving no time for such things]]. Either way, Kitt's Catwoman was even more of a CardCarryingVillain than Newmar's, so it probably wouldn't have worked out anyhow.
* DeadpanSnarker: Julie Newmar's Catwoman was very sassy.
* {{Deathtrap}}: You can rely on seeing one in the middle of every two-parter.
* DeathByMaterialism: Happens to Catwoman in "Better Luck Next Time" where she falls to her death because of her refusal to let go of her loot. Luckily CatsHaveNineLives.
* DeconstructiveParody: Arguably the first season and Film/BatmanTheMovie: In the pilot, the Riddler deconstructs the SuperHero by tricking Batman into falsely arresting him so he can make a FrivolousLawsuit for a million dollars, exposing Batman’s SecretIdentity. The second episode shows the Penguin taking advantage of Batman’s BatDeduction to commit crimes. Film/BatmanTheMovie ends lampshading ReedRichardsIsUseless when Batman refuses Robin’s idea to alter the personalities of the world leaders for the betterment of the world (and then exactly that happens unintentionally). The next seasons suffer great SeasonalRot.
* DemotedToExtra: The Riddler after Season One. Frank Gorshin was trying to get more money since the Riddler was arguably the most popular villain of the first season -- which led to a planned Riddler arc being rewritten for the minor Superman villain the Puzzler, and later a story where the Riddler was played by [[Series/TheAddamsFamily John Astin]] instead. Eventually Gorshin appeared for one final episode in Season 3.
* DeusExMachina: Lampshaded when their Bat-chopper gets shot down and they just happen to land on the mattress factory. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJlHjf_E--4 "Hand me down the shark repellent Bat-Spray!"]] Anti-[fill-in-the-blank] pills were commonplace, including Anti-Penguin-Gas (taken before attending a town hall meeting held by The Penguin) and Anti-Hypnosis (to block the effect of The Joker's hypnotic music box) pills.
* DiamondsInTheBuff: The Penguin seems to have had this trope in mind for the movie he directed starring Batman and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, however the local censors put a stop to it, before he can even begin filming the sequence.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In one episode, when Robin gets put under Catwoman's control by a drug called Cataphrenic, he assaults ''freakin' Chief O'Hara''.
* DirtyCoward: Could be subverted or played straight depending on circumstance. Many of the (male) villains were not afraid to join their henchmen in the brawls and could fist-fight at least as well (certainly better than their movie or animated counterparts), but at other times they would try to run away, hide, whine, cry, beg for mercy, or just [[CowerPower pull one of the molls in front of them]]. Never worse than when they would just ''stand there'' and watch their henchmen get knocked unconscious, effectively joining whatever NeutralFemale happened to be standing by.
* DisabledInTheAdaptation: In the inverse of Commissioner Gordon, this Alfred is shown wearing glasses.
* DistaffCounterpart
** In the comic book story that inspired the first Zelda The Great episode, the "magician" role was played by a man named Carnado.
** Batgirl to Batman, in-universe.
* DominoMask: Robin wears one, as do some criminals (Riddler, Catwoman).
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: "Batman Is Riled". The Joker broadcasts from his lair to the [=TV=]s of Gotham City, saying that he will kill the captive Batman and Robin unless he is given the ocean liner S.S. Gotham.
* TheDoorSlamsYou: In "King Tut's Coup", two of Tut's henchmen do this to Robin, knocking him silly.
* DressedLikeADominatrix: Another early example of this trope. This 1966 version of the FemmeFatale villainess ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} wore a tight black leather catsuit with gloves, high-heeled boots, and often wielded a whip. Her comic book version at the time didn't yet wear anything like that (and wouldn't for more than 20 years).
* DutchAngle: Used extensively. The wall-climbing scenes were filmed at an angle to make them look convincing. Meanwhile, the scenes set in villains' hideouts were filmed at an angle to emphasize how "crooked" the criminals were. In fact, this show was previously the TropeNamer, back when this trope was named PowZapWhamCam.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The pilot episode(s).
** Batman dancing the Batusi, likely because Batman had been slipped a mickey by Riddler's moll Molly and wasn't in his right mind). Despite what detractors and spoofers suggest, this wasn't a OnceAnEpisode event; it would only pop up once more at the climax of King Tut's debut towards the end of the season, and it made far more sense there. Later episodes tended to avoid making Batman himself look this overtly ridiculous.
** The episode also ends with "Same Time, Same Channel". No "Bat-".
** In addition, the second half of the episode had the recap shown with still frames, when all the later second-part episodes' recaps would show an actual clip of every important scene before freezing it.
** Batusi aside, the first two episodes actually contain grim subject matter rarely if ever touched upon in later episodes. Bruce Wayne mentions his parents being murdered, which would only be mentioned once more in a season two Joker episode, and the Riddler's girlfriend [[spoiler: dies a clumsy and needless death ''in the Batcave's nuclear reactor''. Although characters would occasionally die during the series, this death stands out as being somewhat darker than the norm for this series.]]
* EasyAmnesia: Getting hit on the head causes King Tut to go back and forth between his regular self (a mild-mannered college professor) and his criminal alter ego. In "King Tut's Coup", two of his students suffer blows to the head and immediately become his henchmen.
* EekAMouse: In "Nora Clavicle and The Ladies' Crime Club." Nora [[ExploitedTrope exploits]] it by replacing the men on the police force with women and releasing mechanical explosive mice all over Gotham City. All the policewomen couldn't do anything about it since they fainted. Justified as the women chosen for the police force are all housewives, while an episode from a previous season shows the force ''does'' have women on it.
* ElectionDayEpisode: In "Hizzoner the Penguin"/"Dizzoner the Penguin", the Penguin runs for Mayor of Gotham against incumbent mayor John Linseed, who withdraws from the race and instead runs as the running mate of Batman. [[spoiler:Batman wins the election and then immediately resigns, making Linseed mayor again]].
* EnthrallingSiren: [[ShoutOut Lorelei]] [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Circe]], The Siren, who can sing a note three octaves above high C to enthrall people.
* EqualOpportunityEvil
** Bizarrely, male and female criminals were kept in the same prison - and sometimes even in the same cell blocks! The latter does not go unremarked by Batman in the "Ma Parker" episode, though by that point, Ma Parker had taken over the prison.
** A few of the villains were pretty enlightened in their treatment of the molls. The Archer's girl, Maid Marilyn, wears pants, speaks in a butch voice (although she's still quite pretty), and serves as the gang's truck driver!
* EscapeArtist: Zelda the Great.
* EvenEvilHasStandards
** Done with a Riddler {{Expy}} called Puzzler when it's suggested they sell a prototype plane to a foreign government:
-->'''Puzzler''': Have you taken leave of your senses?! I may be an Arch Villain, but I'm a naturalized ''American'' Arch Villain.
*** This may have been the basis for a line in a ComicBook/CaptainAmerica[=/=]Batman crossover in the 90's. When Joker discovers Red Skull's affiliation with the Nazis, he flat-out refuses, saying, "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an ''American'' criminal lunatic!"
** Shame uses this at one point saying he isn't ''all'' bad, just ''mostly'' bad.
** Joker even shows signs of this by wanting to safely pump out the gas he used in a DeathTrap in case an innocent passerby ran across it.
* EverybodyLives: The only exceptions are "Smack in the Middle", "A Death Worse Than Fate", and possibly "The Bookworm Turns" as well as ''Film/BatmanTheMovie''.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Miss Iceland from ''Green Ice / Deep Freeze'' is never addressed by her real name. She just might have been the inspiration for the Ice Princess in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', who is also never referred to by name, even on the TV news.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
** Try to count the number of buildings, sets, and objects humorously labeled with the same titles the dialogue just gave them. [[spoiler: You will give up.]] This even occasionally extends to henchmen with "Henchman" written on their shirts.
** Occasionally subverted, as in the Liberace episode, where a strong bare bulb in police headquarters is labelled "Subtle Interrogation Lamp"
* ExpoLabel
** Almost everything in the Bat Cave had a label on it, especially with [[ToTheBatNoun the "Bat" stuff]].
** Episode "Ma Parker". The cells of Ma Parker and her criminal children each had a label with the occupant's name.
* ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt: A very old newsboy is cleverly used to HandWave a PlotHole in "Zelda The Great":
-->'''News Boy''' (handling the Gotham City Times Extra with the lines: “Big joke on bank bandit: stolen cash was counterfeit!: ''Extra! Extra! Get your newspaper here! Read about the bandit’s stolen counterfeit money, [[ContrivedCoincidence Yes that’s all what he did, steal counterfeit money!]]''
-->'''Bystander:''' ''Hey, [[FridgeLogic what was counterfeit money doing in the vault of the First National Bank?]] ''
-->'''News Boy:''' ''Well, if you want to know it, you will have to buy a paper. I am not a special news service.''
-->Bystander buys paper and leaves.
-->'''News Boy:''' ''And what was it doing there?''[[HypocriticalHumor (Reading the paper)]] ''[[HandWave Oh, awaiting at the bank for disposal.]]'' [[BreakingTheFourthWall Looking directly at the camera:]] ''Makes sense.''
* FaceNodAction: Two of the Bookworm's henchmen in "The Bookworm Turns", before taking a swing at Batman.
* FakeShemp: Dr. Cassandra springs Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, King Tut, and Egghead from prison to form her criminal gang. This being the third season (the season of NoBudget), all were played by stand-ins, nobody's face was shown clearly, and none of them had any dialogue (though audio clips of Riddler's maniacal giggling and Penguin's squawking were recycled from earlier episodes). On top of that, they were all given pills which turned them invisible... and then the episode's Batfight took place mainly in the dark.
* FalselyReformedVillain
** Very common, particularly with the frequently recurring SpecialGuest Villains. Sometimes played straight (e.g., [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Catwoman Goes To College"]]), but frequently, the trope is only implicit. At the beginning of an episode, (for example) the Joker is allowed to move about freely and lay the groundwork for his next scheme, Batman and Robin being helpless until he commits an actual crime. The details of Joker's parole status, rationale for lack of outstanding arrest warrants, etc., are generally unspecified.
** Most of Penguin's appearances tended to use this trope to one degree or another, all under the guise of being reformed, and always as a front for some criminal scheme. Two notable occurrences are when he becomes a crime fighter, and when he runs for mayor.
* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: The Parker clan.
* FatalFlaw: Catwoman's greed led her to death in her first apperance as she refused to give up her loot, even though it could save her life. Since cats have nine lives she gets better. She nearly made the same mistake in her second appearance, except this time Batman helped her come to her senses.
* FauxActionGirl: Considering her skintight outfit, you'd expect Catwoman to be trained in gymnastics or the martial arts (and indeed, she is proficient at both in most other ''Batman'' depictions). But her fighting skills consist entirely of either trying to scare people by hissing and/or flashing her claws at them or (in TheMovie) [[CombatPragmatist sneaking up behind people and pushing them off of something]].
* FilmFelons
** In a three part adventure, the Penguin is pretending to be producer and director of a film. Batman is not fooled for one second, but plays along to find out what his ultimate scheme is.
** Played with in "Death in Slow Motion": The Riddler has an evil filmmaker shoot his crimes so he can screen them for a Hollywood producer as a silent-movie comedy.
* FilmOfTheBook: Many of the early episodes are adapted very closely from stories in the comics.
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: In one series of episodes of ''Batman'' ("The Londinium Larcenies"/"The Foggiest Notion"/"The Bloody Tower"), Batman and Robin travel to Londinium (the Bat-universe's analog to London; actually the Roman name for London) to battle Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and Lady Penelope Peasoup. Not only is Londinium depicted as very foggy much of the time, but Ffogg's weapons are also all fog-based.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The early episode "Zelda the Great" features a dialogue reference to Catwoman, months before the character made her first on-screen appearance.
* FoulFlower: Louie the Lilac made use of mutant plants (including a carnivorous lilac bush) and gave his henchmen flower-themed names.
* FreakLabAccident: Mr. Freeze's origin; see CreateYourOwnVillain.
* FreezeRay: Mr. Freeze uses one of these in every episode in which he appears.
** His standard weapon is a rifle-like device that spews out a stream of freezing gas at short range.
** In the episode pair "Ice Spy"/"The Duo Defy", Mr. Freeze creates an ultra-powerful version called the Thermodynamic Ice Ray Gun that can freeze large areas of effect at long range.
* FrillsOfJustice: A peculiar, Western, non-MagicalGirl example: Batgirl's Batcycle. No, ''[[https://www.66batmania.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/batgirl_cycle1.jpg really.]]'' You'd think the curvier fairing and [[GracefulLadiesLikePurple purple]] paint job would be sufficiently femme...
* FrivolousLawsuit: This is the plot of the pilot episode; the Riddler invokes this when he cleverly tricks the Dynamic Duo into falsely arresting him and then demands Batman pay him a million dollars (in the sixties!). The point is not only the money (Bruce Wayne can afford it) but the fact that Batman must reveal his SecretIdentity, thus ruining his SuperHero career.
* FullNameBasis: Bruce is almost always referred to by the narrator and other characters as "Millionaire Bruce Wayne" and Dick as "his youthful ward Dick Grayson." Contrast NoNameGiven and OnlyOneName below.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:G-L]]
* GadgeteerGenius:
** Batman, probably even more so than his mainstream counterpart. Batgirl has an impressive repertoire as well. Not to mention the fact that all the villains can get their hands on or design weird gadgets and can assemble deathtraps.
** The Joker in particular has this as a gimmick. Most of his plots involve some new invention of his, such as a box that controls time and a way to emulate an alien invasion.
* GallowsHumor: Surprisingly enough, this happened in "An Egg Grows in Gotham." During the Bat-climb scene, no less - as Batman and Robin climb down the building, a jury foreman [[note]] Bill Dana, playing his famous Hispanic character Jose Jiminez [[/note]] sticks his head out the window, and informs them that they've almost decided on a criminal's sentence. A few seconds later, he pokes his head back out, and asks the Dynamic Duo, "Can you leave the rope"?
* GangOfHats: Henchmen always have themes related to the SpecialGuest Villain. In the case of frequently-recurring villains, the theme may be more related to the villain's latest scheme than to the villain's own motif. A few illustrative examples:
** In "Catwoman Goes To College"/"Batman Displays His Knowledge," her henchmen wear Gotham City University sweaters and "freshman beanies," and are named Penn, Cornell, and Brown.
** In "That Darn Catwoman"/"Scat Darn Catwoman" her goons are named after famous literary detectives (Marlowe, Spade, & Templar).
** In "The Ring of Wax"/"Give 'Em the Axe," the Riddler's henchfolks have candle-themed names[[note]] Tallow, Matches & Moth, in case you were wondering [[/note]] in keeping with the wax-museum theme of the caper.
** Ma Parker and her sons from "The Greatest Mother of Them All"/"Ma Parker" are all named after notorious gangsters from the public enemy era.[[note]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Boy_Floyd Pretty Boy]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Gun_Kelly Machine Gun]], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Dog_Coll Mad Dog]] are the sons, while Ma Parker herself combines [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Barker Ma Barker]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde Bonnie Parker]].[[/note]]
** The Puzzler's gang, unusually for a one-shot villain, isn't named after puzzles, but rather various modes of flight, due to his plan to steal a high-tech plane. This actually isn't surprising if you know that his episode was originally written for the Riddler.
** The Mad Hatter's goons are a ''literal'' example.
** In "Joker's Flying Saucer" his gang are all named after different shades of green.
** Subverted in the pilot, where the henchmen are just generic gangster types.
* GenreBlind
** The villains are astounded that the Dynamic Duo escape their death traps on a weekly basis.
** More tragically is Warden Crichton, who makes earnest attempts to rehabilitate his inmates, with little success.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Even this show has a few.
** One is in the Ma Parker episode - her daughter's prison number is her measurements!
** Then there's La Maison du Chat, literally The Cat House.
** In one episode Batman says he likes Catwoman because she gives him "curious stirrings in my utility belt."
** One episode had a villain named Dr. Cassandra fire at Batman, Robin and Batgirl with an alchemical ray gun that would render them two-dimensional. (Just go with it.) When Batgirl commented "I'm getting flat!" Dr. Cassandra's husband responded with "What a pity!" Later in the same episode, Robin admires a sleeping Batgirl and Batman says something about "the first thrust of manhood"...which might be slightly less unsettling if her sleep weren't drug induced. Also, Dr. Cassandra's husband makes a comment on how it is normal for a husband and wife to bump into each other.
** In "The Ogg Couple", Batman is reading from cards from the Batcomputer for names of egg-themed companies. The first one he reads is "the Lo Hung Company, makers of egg drop soup."
** In "The Joke's on Catwoman", the Joker and Catwoman's defense attorney is named Lucky Pierre, which is sexual slang for a man penetrating another while being penetrated himself.
** Alfred once answered the Batphone with, "He's on his morning constitutional, Sir." Whether or not this refers to a walk or the other meaning is unknown.
* GigglingVillain: The Riddler. This is the portrayal that Jim Carrey [[Film/BatmanForever based his own performance of the Riddler on.]]
* GlassShatteringSound: Batman and Robin get trapped in a glass in the second season. They break the glass by using their voices.
* GrapesOfLuxury: King Tut gets this treatment at one point.
* TheGreatWhodini: Zelda the Great, in her eponymous episode.
* HairTriggerTemper: Adding to the menace of Gorshin's Riddler was the way Gorshin portrayed him as seemingly always on the verge of snapping completely.
* {{Hammerspace}}
** Batman is able to store objects of any size in the small pouches in his belt or hide them under his cape, even the massive Bat-shield or the Empty Alphabet Soup Bat-container and Batfunnel. Occasionally the pouches are briefly much larger or even suddenly covered in controls or labels if he has to use gadgets from his belt on-camera, but by the next shot, the belt is back to normal. This is even more the case with Robin's utility belt, which doesn't even pretend to have pouches yet still holds all necessary gadgets.
** Riddler's belt/girdle on his unitard also seems to store things despite having no pouches and being flush against his skin.
** While relaxing at the beach when the Joker shows up, Barbara Gordon, dressed in a skimpy one-piece swimsuit, rushes into a changing booth, and emerges in Batgirl's full costume. She was hiding that ''where?''
* HarmlessFreezing: Partially averted with Mr. Freeze's FreezeRay. In his first appearance those who are hit by it are nearly killed. In later appearances Freeze rarely uses it thanks to [[CrazyPrepared precautions]] taken by Batman. In his second appearance, Miss Iceland is put in a block of ice, and when she comes out, she's okay.
* HatsOffToTheDead: Averted. In his autobiography, Creator/AdamWest talked about how they initially wanted Batman to remove his cowl when a character died in front of him as a mark of respect, but it took too long to remove the tightly fitted costume piece on camera, so the idea was nixed.
* HaveAGayOldTime: In "The Joker Trumps an Ace" Joker labels his van as "Let Gayfellow Take You To The Cleaners!" to disguise it. Obviously 'gay fellow' was meant to be a pun on the Joker's cheerful nature, but given that his actor was a "confirmed bachelor" it does make one chuckle.
* HellholePrison: Averted. Warden Crichton is known for his earnest attempts to rehabillitate the inmates, though Batman and the police occasionally worry that he's not being strict enough given the nature of many of the inmates.
* [[SheWillComeForMe He Won't Come For Me]]: Catwoman once held Batgirl captive to lure Batman out of the way. Batgirl said he'd not save her because stopping Catwoman would be a priority. Batman [[TakeAThirdOption sent somebody else to rescue Batgirl]].
* HighHeelFaceTurn: '''Constantly''', though usually only with molls. The digital comic continuation undoes several of these, sometimes without explanation.
* TheHitFlash: With on-screen sound effects, one of the show's defining tropes. Due to the show's popularity and use of visible words during the flashes, children of the 1960's-1980's had the show cited in English classes as an example of onomatopoeia that they could easily identify with.
* HoldingBothSidesOfTheConversation: Batman and Bruce Wayne [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgCkmUS1IYI have a phone conversation]].
* HollywoodGlassCutter: In "The Purr-Fect Crime", Catwoman uses her glove/claws to carve a hole through a museum display case.
* HollywoodTorches: In the episodes "The Bloody Tower" and "Marsha's Scheme With Diamonds".
* HonorBeforeReason: Batman's respect for the letter of the law and the Gotham judicial system often leaves him a reactive rather than an active crimefighter.
** When the Joker shows up at Woodrow Roosevelt High School just to taunt the Dynamic Duo, Batman is reluctantly forced to let him go -- not only is he out on parole and there's not enough evidence to justify his arrest on suspicion of vandalism, but Joker points out he can't even be picked up for loitering if he changes place every two minutes. Batman even hisses, "You jailhouse lawyer!"
** When Batman tracks down the stolen Batmobile in "The Catwoman Goeth", [[LawfulStupid he receives vehicle citations for an incomplete registration, keys left in the ignition, and failure to report the theft]]. The dimwitted officer wants to impound the Batmobile and haul Batman back to police headquarters. Batman is willing to comply, but fortunately the officer's savvy partner returns Batman's keys to him instead. Batman also instructs Robin in "The Cat and the Fiddle" that stopping to feed the parking meter is the right thing to do, because that money goes towards maintaining civic infrastructure.
* HotLibrarian: Barbara Gordon.
* HumanKnot: Robin and Batgirl are tied in a "Siamese Human Knot" by Nora Clavicle.
-->"''The slightest move by any one of you will only draw the Human Knot tighter, crush your bones and strangle you!''"
* HumanOutsideAlienInside: Mr. Freeze in his first appearance, where (when not wearing his protective suit) he is simply a middle-aged German man who must be exposed to subzero temperatures at all times (and Batman even refers to him by his "human" name on two occasions). Subsequent appearances (by different actors) showed him much more grotesque - resembling the redeemed Darth Vader at the end of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' in his second episode, and as almost a vampire in his third and final episode. One suspects that Freeze's condition must have worsened, or that his body mutated in order to more comfortably adapt to his surroundings.
* HumiliationConga: "Flop Goes the Joker": Alfred utterly schools Joker at fencing with a fire poker, then traps him on the Batpole elevators and sends him shrieking up and down for a good five minutes.
* TheHyena: Joker, of course.
* HypocriticalHumor:
--> '''Gordon''': You know I'm violently opposed to police brutality!
* ICanChangeMyBeloved: In one episode, the Penguin becomes engaged to a woman who's convinced of this. She's wrong.
* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Used ''constantly''. A good chunk of the screen-time in every adventure consists of Batman deliberately walking into traps and setups so he can find out what the villains are up to, and the villains counteracting ''that''.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Two-Thirds of the Time/The Titles Would Rhyme. This was dropped in the final season.
* IdiosyncraticWipes: The "Bat Signal over a spinning background" wipe was one of the show's distinctive and oft-imitated features.
* ImprovisedWeapon: A staple of the fight choreography for both heroes and villains.
* ImprovisedZipline: The Penguin and his henchmen in "The Penguin's A Jinx" and Batman and Robin in "Batman Sets The Pace".
* InsaneTrollLogic
** Batman's {{Bat Deduction}}s are often farfetched enough to rise to this level.
** The villains also have their moments. In one classic moment, Batman and the Penguin are running for mayor of Gotham City, and the Penguin argues that he is more trustworthy because Batman is often in close contact with criminals while he himself is often surrounded by police.
* InsistentTerminology: It is ''always'' "Stately Wayne Manor". ''Always''.
--> '''Suzy Knickerbocker:''' ''Oh, I don't know, Boy Wonder, I hear millionaire Bruce Wayne is really one of the hippies. All that marvelous money and fantastic'' Wayne Manor.
--> '''Batman:''' Stately ''Wayne Manor''.
** There is one exception: In "Penguin's a Fink" it is just called Wayne Manor.
** In 'Fine Finny Friends'/'Batman Makes the Scenes', even the surveillance camera monitor for stately Wayne Manor is labelled "Stately Wayne Manor".
* InstantCostumeChange: All Bruce and Dick had to do was [[ToTheBatpole slide down the Batpoles]] and it was "Holy costume change, Batman!"
* [[InvisibleMonsters Invisible Villains]]: For when your budget is just too damn small to hire actual stuntmen.
* JuryAndWitnessTampering: In one episode, a jury declares the Joker and Catwoman innocent in spite of their lawyer doing little to nothing to defend them. When the foreman's mustache falls, Batman recognizes him as one of the villains' henchmen and pays enough attention to the other jurors to recognize them as other henchmen.
* KickChick: Batgirl specialized in ballet-flavored high kicks. She was effectively ''limited to'' kicks and {{improvised weapon}}s by the producers, who wouldn't let Batgirl give or receive punches, as well as her actress actually ''being'' a former ballerina.
* KneelBeforeZod: In "The Spell of Tut", King Tut does this to Robin.
* KnockoutGas: An ''extremely'' common weapon on the show, in a variety of forms and colors. Most often used by the villains, but Batman and Robin use it too, in the form of "Bat-Gas," most often to transport characters to and from the Batcave without learning its secret location.
* LampshadeHanging: The "Instant Costume Change Lever" near the Batpoles. How does it work? [[RuleOfCool It just does.]]
* LargeHam
** Everybody. That's right - [[WorldOfHam EVERYBODY]]. Even Batman himself, despite (or perhaps because of) being TheComicallySerious.
** Not so much with Alfred, though he does have his moments.
** Penguin's comparatively subdued, too, and comes off as more of a serious threat because of it.
* LatexPerfection
** Although False Face is supposed to be an expert at this, pretty much anyone in this series can pull it off.
** "Smack in the Middle". The Riddler's henchwoman Molly puts on a mask made from Robin's face and masquerades as him.
* LaughingMad: The Joker (of course), but ''especially'' the Riddler.
* LaughTrack
** Used in-universe by The Archer. He stole it from a producer "of so-called comedies".
** Also briefly used out-of-universe when the producers of the show screened the first episode for a test audience with a laugh track, but wisely gave up on the idea after it got a negative reaction.
* LawfulStupid: The police. [[PoliceAreUseless They're stupid in general, really,]] but there's an episode where Egghead becomes Commissioner (ItMakesSenseInContext) and forbids them to arrest any of his friends. They go along with this to the extent that when someone reports a theft, the officer in question charges him with jaywalking. Not to mention Chief O'Hara's casual mention of how if he sees Batman and Robin he has orders to shoot.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Often when praising Batman, Commissioner Gordon would often look right into the camera. Batman sometimes did so as well when speechifying.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Most of the major characters (including the villains) have one.
* LemonyNarrator: William Dozier, [[DescendedCreator the show's executive producer]] (and who was uncredited for his role), provided the memorable narration.
* LighterAndSofter: As well as brighter and more colorful. The {{irony}} is that given the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks state of the comics at the time of the TV series]], this was a very accurate adaptation, or even DarkerAndEdgier. It was only in later adaptations that Batman would be SeriousBusiness.
* LimitedWardrobe: Taken UpToEleven when Catwoman wears her costume to her ''parole hearing'' and subsequent college classes.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: ''"Instant Freeze"'': Mr. Freeze does this to a employee at the Princess Sandra’s Hotel. Despite this, the next episode reveals that ''somehow'' he survived anyway.
* LivingProp: LargeHam King Tut madly screams his dialogue to the ear of one of the beautiful mute LivingProp slave girls of his harem. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQ0RHE8ZhA She doesn’t change her indifferent expression.]]
* LoveMakesYouStupid: Bruce Wayne is on the local parole board, so he uses his influence to get Catwoman an early release, and oversee her case personally as her parole officer in hopes he can finally rehabilitate her. Sadly for both parties it doesn't work.
* LoveRedeems: Batman really wants to use Catwoman's feelings for him to turn her good.
* LovesOnlyGold: Marsha, Queen of Diamonds is a crafty seductive villainess who thinks diamonds are a girl's best friend.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:M-R]]
* MadArtist: Bookworm is an author variant. His BerserkButton is his inability to get published, due to his lack of creativity. In one episode, the Joker inadvertently starts his own art movement and then runs with it.
* MagicalDatabase: The Bat Computer and Batman's own impressive scope of knowledge---both general and esoteric.
* MagicCountdown: In "While Gotham City Burns" Batman and Chief O'Hara have only a minute to save Robin from being killed in a DeathTrap.
* MasterOfDisguise
** False Face.
** Joker is described as such in his first appearance. He uses it later to good advantage imitating a rich, corpulent Maharajah.
* MayorPain: While Mayor Linseed is rarely seen doing much (or seen, ''period''), he's generally painted as not much more competent than Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara. In Season 3 he replaces Gordon with Special Guest Villainess Nora Clavicle, who's much, ''much'' worse than Gordon.
* MeaningfulName: Lord Marmaduke F'''fog'''g, Mrs. Max '''Black, widow'''. Pat Pending, the richest inventor on Earth.
* MickeyMousing: The fight scenes tended to feature obnoxious, brass-heavy music, which would provide a stinger chord for every punch that landed.
* MidseasonReplacement: Batman was one of the first significant examples.
* MoodKiller: Episode ''"The Bat's Kow Tow"'' concludes with Batman and Catwoman {{almost kiss}}ing when Robin off screen shouts out something along the lines of "C'mon, Batman! The police are here!" Catwoman, in a contained fury, says "Boy Blunder!"
* MoodSwinger: King Tut.
* {{Mooks}}
** They're lousy fighters, with only the occasional one ever landing a punch. On the other hand, they ARE snappy dressers, with cute Halloween costumes and even nicknames that play off the villain's gimmick or the theme of the show (resulting in a GangOfHats).
** Although the Mooks often manage to get in decisive blows when it counts, i.e. when it's near the end of part one and the Caped Crusaders have to be knocked out and placed in the deathtrap ''du jour''.
* TheMovie: Film/BatmanTheMovie, released in 1966.
* MsFanservice
** Batgirl was added in the third season in large part for this.
** One shouldn't discount any of the three Catwomen (Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and, in the movie, Lee Merriweather) either.
** Many villains have one female henchperson who provides nothing else to the plot other then eye candy.
** Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, nearly ended up naked in her second appearance - and onscreen, too, with only a flimsy veil protecting her modesty!
* MurderByCremation: Episode "Fine Feathered Finks". The cliffhanger ending has Bruce Wayne captured in a net, rendered unconscious by Penguin gas and put on a conveyor belt to be run into a 10,000 degree furnace. In the next episode "The Penguin's a Jinx", he wakes up and escapes by flinging a cigarette lighter into the furnace, creating an explosion which knocks him off the conveyor belt.
* MysteriousPast
** Averted with the Joker. His past is well-known to Batman and the police department, though the viewer is only told that he was once a conjurer and hypnotist of repute.
** Batman and Robin were never given an OriginStory, oddly enough, aside from a brief mention in the pilot that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed by "criminals". Granted, their origins are pretty dark and likely unfit for a show like this.
* MythologyGag: In "Pop Goes The Joker", Bruce even mentions ''The Man Who Laughs'', the painting that inspired Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson to create the Joker.
* NegativeContinuity: The show didn't take much seriously, and continuity was no exception. In particular, one could almost make a drinking game out of how many times the arch-villains meet Alfred "for the first time".
* NephariousPharaoh: King Tut, one of the supervillains. He wore clothing appropriate for a pharaoh and liked to use Egyptian-themed dialogue. He was actually Professor William [=McElroy=], an Egyptologist at Yale University. Every time he gets hit on the head he develops a split personality that thinks he's a reincarnation of the original King Tut. Hitting him on the head again restores his original personality.
* NeutralFemale:
** The typical gun moll in the series typically stands around during the fights like a complete ninny. Even Catwoman and the other female villains (as well as older villains who wouldn't be expected to be physical) stand back and let the Mooks do the fighting. The only woman who actively participated in the fisticuffs was Batgirl. (Or footicuffs, since as noted above she was limited to kicks.)
** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] once with a moll who stole a cop's gun and tried to shoot the Dynamic Duo, and in the pilot, where the Riddler's moll, Molly, actually tries to shoot Batman.
** Chandell (Liberace)[[note]]or, technically, Chandell's EvilTwin brother[[/note]], being savvier than your average criminal mastermind, had a trio of female henchmen. When it came time for Batman and Robin to fight the male Mooks, the women did everything they could to get between the Dynamic Duo and the Mooks. Batman and Robin had to pull their punches [[WouldntHitAGirl to avoid hitting the women]], leaving them open to the Mooks' attacks.
** Averted in another episode where instead of standing around she decides to run away during the fight.
** Shame's moll Oakie Annie averts this; she has a gun, like the rest of Shame's gang, and during the first fight with Batman, she contributes heavily to Shame's victory by shooting a chandelier that drops on Batman's head.
* NeverRecycleABuilding: Gotham City had some serious problems with abandoned factories and warehouses. It's almost like they ''wanted'' them to be taken over by criminals...
* NiceHat: The Mad Hatter's hat looks good ''and'' shoots stun beams. What more could you ask for?
* NobodyCallsMeChicken:
** West's Batman is unusually susceptible to this, since unlike his cross-continuity brethren, he's a public figure who needs a sterling reputation.
** In "Pop Goes The Joker/Flop Goes The Joker", Joker calls him "chickenhearted" for letting Robin show up alone to rescue hostages and later talks smack about him with Batman [[RightBehindMe listening behind him]] and Gordon on the line. Led to a Crowning Moment of Funny with the Joker OutGambitted and [[HumiliationConga utterly humiliated]].
** Similar taunts led to Batman's - reluctant - participation in both the boxing match in "Ring Around the Riddler" and the infamous surfing contest from "Surf's Up! Joker's Under!"
** Batman actually ''uses'' this tactic on Shame in "The Great Train Robbery", after all other ways to find Shame's gang have failed.
* NobodyHereButUsStatues: Used by the villains of the show to surprise the Dynamic Duo.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** Mayor Linseed was a takeoff on the name of the mayor of New York City at that time, John Lindsey.
** Queenie (Nancy Kovack), the Joker's moll during his first appearance in the third episode, is a pretty obvious imitation of Creator/MarilynMonroe; her voice, makeup, facial tics and even some of the costumes she wears are direct or nearly direct references to MM.
* NoIndoorVoice: Mr. Freeze as played by Eli Wallach.
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: In "Rats Like Cheese", Mister Freeze had Batman and Robin as dinner guests.
* NoNameGiven: Most of the villains, mooks, and molls went exclusively by their villain names, even when they'd supposedly reformed (the Penguin ''ran for Mayor'' as "Penguin"). The real names we know from the comics (Oswald Cobblepot, Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle, etc.) were never used. Notable aversions:
** King Tut, whose harmless professor alter ego was named William [=McElroy=].
** The Mad Hatter, who was frequently referred to by his real name, Jervis Tetch.
** Mr. Freeze was identified (only once) as Dr. Shivel (it was ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' that coined the Victor Fries identity).
** Black Widow was Mrs. Max Black, widow, though this is something of a double subversion as Max Black was her late husband's name, and it's not uncommon for wives to sometimes go by "Mrs. (Husband's Name)."
** Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and Lady Penelope Peasoup had no villain names at all, although [[StevenUlyssesPerhero they hardly needed them]].
** The ice skater Glacia Glaze (one of Mr. Freeze's molls) was born "Emma Strunk", and is outraged and humiliated when [[IKnowYourTrueName Batman mentions the latter]] as she's being arrested. Lola Lasagne, the Extra Special Guest Villainess from Penguin's second season three appearance, is a similar case in that she was born Lulu Schultz, but changed her name upon her short lived marriage to Luigi Lasagne.
** Complete inversion: Nora Clavicle, a female politician, was the only "normal" guest villain during the series' entire run, and never adopted an alias - not that she really needed to, since [[VillainWithGoodPublicity she had the backing of the Mayor's wife and had her coerce her husband into making her the new Police Commissioner]]!
** Non-villain example: Miss Iceland is only ever referred to by her title, not her name.
* NoSeatBelts: That was a early criticism about the show with the Dynamic Duo never belting up in the Batmobile. Considering that kind of car safety feature was still relatively new, the producers thought the heroes taking the time to belt themselves would be funny enough to fit their goodie two-shoes shtick and included a quick scene of them doing so in the car. As it happens, the joke's effect was lost and the show was praised widely for encouraging the use of such an important auto safety function.
* NoodleIncident: In "A Penguin Is A Girl's Best Friend", a movie-making Penguin puts a scene in his script that is censored at the last moment on grounds of being indecent. It's never made clear exactly what was there, but it involved a milk bath, Batman, and Marsha Queen of Diamonds wearing [[DiamondsInTheBuff exactly three large diamonds]] in parts unknown.
* NotMyDriver: Egghead does this to Bruce Wayne in "An Egg Grows in Gotham".
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Since the show relied primarily on stock TV actors even for foreign parts, this was inevitable.
** The California-born Elisha Cook, Jr., plays a scientist from Iceland in the final Mr. Freeze episode - and never makes an attempt to sound Icelandic (kinda Norwegian, kinda Irish). Especially unforgivable since any stock Scandinavian accent would have worked well.
*** In another Mr. Freeze episode, American actress Dee Hartford plays a foreign beauty contest, also from Iceland, but speaks with her native accent as well.
** An inverted example: in the second Shame storyline, Hermione Baddeley doesn't try too hard to cover up her English accent while portraying (presumably American) Frontier Fanny. Meanwhile, Barry Dennen plays a Mexican ''bandito'' whose whole character is one big {{Brownface}} joke, down to the English accent and his initials spelling out "Fred".
** Double-subverted by Victor Buono, who was American but was fairly convincing as a supposedly British history professor - but, in his alter ego of King Tut, would sometimes lapse into stereotypical American [[PlayedForLaughs (for laughs, probably)]].
* NotablyQuickDeliberation: One episode ends with the Joker and Catwoman being tried. Their lawyer doesn't cross-examine any witnesses brought by the prosecution and doesn't try to introduce any evidence that could help his clients so it's not much of a surprise the jury's leader declares there's no need to step out of the court to deliberate. [[spoiler:The surprise is that they decide to acquit the defendants. When said juror's mustache starts falling, Batman figures out Catwoman and the Joker had their henchmen as the jury and they end up being arrested.]]
* OddNameOut: "Marsha, Queen of Diamonds" features police officers O'Hara, O'Toole, O'Rourke, O'Leary, and Goldberg.
* OfficerOHara: Chief O'Hara was the TropeNamer. (Amusingly, the role of O'Toole above was played by a real-life O'Hara: James O'Hara.)
* OffscreenVillainDarkMatter: Used with abandon, considering the seemingly limitless amount of henchmen and wacky inventions all the arch-criminals have at their disposal. Batgirl arguably uses a heroic variant, since it's not clear how a librarian (even one who is the Police Commissioner's daughter) could afford so many gadgets, including a motorcycle with a ''built-in Geiger counter''.
* OnlyOneName: Alfred was never given a last name (since the character's official last name of Pennyworth wasn't established in the comics until 1969). Commissioner [[note]] James [[/note]] Gordon and Chief O'Hara had no first names, nor did recurring characters Warden Crichton and Mayor Linseed.
* OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchPhrase
** "Same bat-time... same bat-channel!" Episodes featuring Catwoman altered the phrase to "Same ''cat''-time... same ''cat''-channel!"
** In Shame's first appearance, it was "''Shame'' time... ''shame'' channel!"
** The cliffhanger of the Minstrel episode had the Dynamic Duo roasting on a spit. The line became "Same ''hot''-time, same ''hot''-channel!"
* OralFixation: The Riddler had a habit of chewing on his knuckle or finger when he was nervous or thinking.
* OutGambitted
** In one episode both the Joker and the Penguin consider themselves victorious for seeing the inside of the Bat Cave, until Batman points out that they still have no idea where it actually ''is''.
** The last half of "Flop Goes The Joker".
* {{Outlaw}}: Shame and his gang.
* PalmFistTap: Robin does this quite often, usually accompanied by a "Holy ____, Batman!" exclamation.
* PaperThinDisguise: Common. ComicBook/TheJoker, in particular, is sometimes able to fool people by simply ''wearing a hat''. While wearing his suit and clownface makeup, and without changing his voice. Gothamites are kinda dumb.
* ParentalBonus: The show's initial success was based on this. The early episodes were full of LampshadeHanging, DeconstructiveParody, and {{Fanservice}} for adults, but also worked as straightforward superhero adventures for kids.
* ParodyAssistance: An aversion -- three years after Shelly Winters appeared in an episode of ''Series/{{Batman}}'' as Ma Parker, spoofing Ma Barker (and the infamous Barker family shootout), ''Creator/RogerCorman'' cast Winters in the film [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Mama Bloody Mama]] as Ma Barker.
* PercussivePickpocket: "The Joker's Last Laugh". The Joker (a "master conjurer", according to Batman) bumps into Commissioner Gordon on the subway and manages to not only switch his cufflinks but also wraps several feet of antenna around Gordon's waist and down his pants leg!
* PerpSweating: In the episode "The Dead Ringers", Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara put Harry (Chandell's EvilTwin brother) under a bright light (which was labelled ''[[HypocriticalHumor subtle interrogation lamp]]'') while questioning him.
* PlungerDetonator: "While Gotham City Burns". The Gotham City police use one to blow open a giant steel book and free the Dynamic Duo.
* PoliceAreUseless: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in "The Devil's Fingers" when it seems like Batman and Robin aren't available to fight the special guest villain:
--> '''Chief O'Hara''': If you're thinkin' what I'm afraid you're thinkin...
--> '''Commissioner Gordon''': Precisely, Chief O'Hara. The moment we've dreaded for years has arrived. This time, we're going to have to solve a case ourselves!\\
For adult fans and TV-critics of the show back in the 60's, this line was the show's SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.
** On a handful of occasions, they ''do'' try to be proactive, and occasionally get to act as TheCavalry, but it's generaly agreed their competence had gone right into the gutter by Season 3.
* PoliticiansKissBabies
** When the Penguin runs for Mayor of Gotham he kisses babies.
** Averted by Batman who is running against him. He refuses to kiss babies because he doesn't want to spread germs.
* PragmaticAdaptation: Presumably since exploring the origin as present in the comics would be too dark, Bruce Wayne's parents are merely stated as having been killed by "criminals" (possibly multiple ones), rather than going into detail. Also, curiously, Thomas Wayne is implied to have been a lawyer, not a doctor, in the pilot. Given that the show was all about squeaky-clean heroes, the son of a doctor shouldn't be someone engaging in violence constantly.
* PrettyInMink: A few furs, such as a white mink worn by Marsha, Queen of Diamonds.
* ThePrimaDonna: Parodied with Dawn Robbins from ''The Penguin's A Jinx'':
--> ''Oh, what a drag it is being a famous movie star and so rich. [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere Why doesn't anything exciting ever happen to me?]]''
* PsychicStatic: Egghead tries to use a mind reading machine on Bruce Wayne, looking for proof that he is Batman; instead, all he reads is inane trivia, so he decides Bruce can't possibly be Batman.
* PublicSecretMessage: Batman talks to King Tut over a broadcast radio station, but requests that all other citizens of Gotham switch off to avoid hearing his private message. Naturally they oblige.
* PunchClockVillain
** Zelda the Great only steals (and quite reluctantly) to pay for the amazing devices she uses in her act. She ultimately performs a sincere HeelFaceTurn.
** Chandell only commits crimes in order to pay off his blackmailing brother, and seems deeply distressed at having to do so.
* PutTheirHeadsTogether
** "The Penguin's A Jinx". During a fight, Batman takes out the Penguin and one of his henchmen by knocking their heads together.
** "The Joker Is Wild". While fighting the Joker's henchmen, Batman knocks two of their heads together to subdue them.
* QuicksandSucks: Subverted. At the end of the episode "Batman's Anniversary", Batman and Robin are caught in a DeathTrap consisting of a 15 foot deep pool of quicksand. At the beginning of the next episode "A Ridding Controversy", Batman realizes that they won't sink deeply enough into it to drown. The Dynamic Duo escape by using the experimental "heel and toe Bat Rockets" in their boots.
* RandomEventsPlot: Common in many episodes, since the emphasis was always more on spectacle than story. Got especially bad around Season 3, where many of the writers simply stopped caring.
* RealMenWearPink
** Louie the Lilac (well, technically purple).
** The Joker, of course. (And this version wears obvious lipstick!)
* RememberTheNewGuy: Almost every villain that appeared on the show, since Batman frequently mentioned having fought the episode's villain before even when it was said villain's debut. Notable exceptions include the Minstrel and Ma Parker.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated
** Often, the villains make the mistake of assuming the Dynamic Duo have perished in a death trap and stunned when they show up alive.
** The episode "The Bookworm Turns" begins with what appears to be Commissioner Gordon shot on a bridge and falling to his death. As Batman and Robin show up at police headquarters to head up the manhunt for his killer, Gordon walks in, having been slowed by a fake policeman and unaware of his "death."
** In "The Contaminated Cowl," the Mad Hatter puts the duo in a chamber to bombard with X-rays. They escape but put in a pair of skeletons in spare costumes to fool the Hatter. It gets out of hand with word of the Dynamic Duo's deaths sweeping the world and Gotham City in mourning. They let it go for a bit before Batman calls Gordon and openly quotes the trope.
* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: While comedic elements were there from the start, early episodes of ''Batman'' come off at least a little more serious.
** Characters could and did die in the early days. In the first episode alone, Bruce makes ''two'' references to his parents being murdered, the Riddler's henchwoman Molly is vaporized after falling into a nuclear reactor, and the Riddler himself [[NeverFoundTheBody appears]] to have been blown up at the two-parter's climax [[JokerImmunity (though of course he returned good as new about a month later)]]. A few weeks later, in "A Death Worse Than Fate", two gangsters with tommy guns, having prepared an ambush for Batman and Robin, are tricked into shooting ''each other''. [[BloodlessCarnage We don't see any blood]], but the Egyptian mummy casings in which they've been hiding both keel over, assuring us that they're good and dead.
** The villains' outfits were not always so outlandish at the beginning. In the very first episode, the Riddler is first shown wearing a suit instead of his acrobat tights and mask; he also doesn't jump around manically and giggles only rarely. And in ''his'' first appearance, the Joker is shown playing baseball in the prison yard while wearing a standard blue prison uniform; subsequent portrayals of the jailed Joker and all other incarcerated supervillains [[LimitedWardrobe show them in their usual attire]]. (One memorable exception came in the third season, where the Joker is dressed in a relatively conservative lavender suit while being released from prison.)
** Scenes of pure drama would pop up here and there. The [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]] of female criminals were handled completely seriously, with one reformed moll vowing that once she's out of prison [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes she's going to join her brother on his ranch in New Zealand]]. The very first Joker two-parter has a surprisingly downbeat scene in which a TV news anchor suffers a minor HeroicBSOD as a result of the Joker's crime spree and, [[BreakingTheFourthWall directly addressing the (in-universe) audience]], asks them in a grave voice to pray that JusticeWillPrevail...until the silliness returns when the Joker and his gang [[DeadlineNews storm the TV studio, gas the camera crew, and (non-lethally) shock the anchor with a joybuzzer]]. ("Have a laugh on me, Freddie!") Robin cries when it looks as if Alfred is about to be beheaded by the Archer, and ''everyone in the world'' cries when it appears as if the Mad Hatter has succeeded in killing the Dynamic Duo - including, in what was arguably a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} for many viewers at the time, even the Soviets.
* ReversePolarity: Batman does it in the 1st season episode "Better Luck Next Time".
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Averted, unlike many comics depictions before and since in which Bruce Wayne is the poster child for this trope. In this series, Bruce Wayne is nearly as beloved and respected in Gotham City for his philanthropy as Batman is for his crime-fighting. In fact, he has been asked to run for mayor several times. He's also on the local parole board.
* RoboticReveal: "The Joker's Last Laugh". Batman twists the nose of a bank teller and the top of the teller's head blows off, revealing springs and other mechanical parts. The teller was actually one of the Joker's android robots.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: The Clock King was originally an enemy of Green Arrow in the comics and the villains Puzzler and Archer started out as minor Superman villains.
* RuleOfFunny: This series practically runs on it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:S-Z]]
* SchmuckBait: Death bee beehive trip wire.
* SecretIdentity: Batman and Robin have them, of course.
** Unlike many examples of the trope, however, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson seldom feign weakness. Wayne in particular is quite capable of handling himself in a scrap. Although in one case where Bruce went undercover as an ally of the Joker, he pretended to join ineptly in a fight against Robin and "clumsily" did more damage to the Joker's goons instead. In a later Joker caper, Bruce fought the mooks but pulled his punches just enough that they wouldn't suspect him of being a fighter on Batman's level.
** Batman and Robin's secret identities are a frequent plot point. Batman's identity was actually uncovered by King Tut on two occasions, but his EasyAmnesia saved the Dynamic Duo.
** Oddly enough, doubly played straight with Batgirl -- Batman himself has no idea who Batgirl is, and vice versa, despite Alfred's knowledge of both secrets. Batgirl doesn't suspect Alfred knows who Batman is (and she can't think of two people more different than "Batman" and "Bruce Wayne") and Batman figured out Alfred is keeping secrets from him about Batgirl but he won't force Alfred to betray her trust.
** Franchise/TheGreenHornet and [[Creator/BruceLee his sidekick]].
* SecretKeeper: Alfred. Not just for Batman, but also Batgirl.
* SensualSpandex: Catwoman's catsuit.
* SexyCatPerson: Catwoman, as in every version of Batcanon.
* SheFu: Demonstrated by Batgirl.
* ShoutOut
** In "The Cat and the Fiddle" Catwoman's thugs are crawling around the outside of the Gotham State Building. Commissioner Gordon says "Are they birds?" and Chief O'Hara says "Are they planes?", a reference to the signature line from ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'', "Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's Superman!"
** "An Egg Grows in Gotham"
*** Chief Screaming Chicken is the sole remaining representative of the Mohican tribe, making him "The Last of the Mohicans" (a reference to the James Fenimore Cooper novel ''Literature/TheLastOfTheMohicans'').
*** At one point Chief Screaming Chicken says the phrase "Kemo sabe". When Egghead's goon asks him what it means, he says he doesn't know - he heard it on the radio. This refers to the ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger'' radio show, in which Tonto regularly used that phrase. This one carries RecursiveCanon implications, as ''Franchise/TheGreenHornet'' is a real person in the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' continuity, and is the Lone Ranger's grandnephew by WordOfGod.
*** An unnamed police detective played by Ben Alexander tells a woman to "Give me just the facts", a reference to Sergeant Joe Friday's "Just the facts, ma'am" line from ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' and to Alexander's character on the show, Frank Smith.
** "Fine Feathered Finks". When the Penguin sees a camera observing him in a prison cell, he says "Goodnight, Big Brother" and pokes it out with his umbrella. This is a reference to George Orwell's novel ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', which (among other things) had devices in people's homes that were used to spy on them. The symbol of the government was Big Brother, the Party leader in charge of the country.
* SlouchOfVillainy: Catwoman is always lounging around instead of sitting up straight no matter what the situation.
* SoLastSeason: Happens to Mister Freeze's signature FreezeRay -- in Freeze's first appearance, Batman and Robin getting hit with the thing was considered a big enough deal to form that storyline's CliffHanger, and they didn't outsmart their way out of that one -- they were only saved thanks to the Gotham City police thawing them out. By Freeze's final appearance in "Ice Spy", Batman and Robin know to be prepared with specially-treated suits; the Freeze Ray gets all of five seconds of screen time before Freeze realizes it's useless, and tosses it aside.
* SoOnceAgainTheDayIsSaved: "Tune in tomorrow! Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!"
* SpecialGuest: At least one "SpecialGuest Villain[ess]" in every episode. If there were two, the second was billed as "Extra Special." The one exception was the Green Hornet crossover, where the credit read "Visiting Hero" for Van Williams and "Assistant Visiting Hero" for Bruce Lee, while the actual villain of the piece was relegated to the end credits.
* SplitPersonality: King Tut.
* SpottingTheThread: Batman figures out that Commissioner Gordon has been replaced by False Face when he wipes his face with the wrong hand.
* StatuesqueStunner: Catwoman, as played by Julie Newmar, was 5'11". Wearing heels, she even towered over her own henchmen.
* StealthHiBye: ''Not'' Batman, upstanding pillar of the community he is; instead, this is presented as Batgirl's specialty. In fact, the very last dialogue of the series is Batman and Robin having a lighthearted exchange about it.
* StockFootage: The same footage of the Batmobile exiting and reentering the Batcave, and the Batmobile arriving in front of police headquarters, was recycled endlessly.
* StockSoundEffects: In ''Fine Feathered Finks''/''The Penguin's a Jinx'', the Penguin has a model [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_penguin African penguin]] that ''quacks like a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallard mallard]]''.
* StrawFeminist: Nora Clavicle, who takes Commissioner Gordon's job, then replaces all of Gotham City's policemen with women, as part of her villainous plot.
* StrictlyFormula
** Pretty much every two-part episode had the same basic formula: Batman and Robin try to thwart the latest scheme of one of their enemies in part one, but end up in some kind of death trap. Then in part two, they escape the death trap, pummel the bad guy's minions, and defeat the villain and turn him in to the authorities.
** Averted in "Zelda the Great" where it's [[spoiler: Aunt Harriet]] who is in mortal danger, for once.
* StunGuns: In "That Darn Catwoman", Catwoman's goons use electric cattle prods to stun Batman into unconsciousness.
* SuperHero: Batman, Robin, and Batgirl, of course, but also SpecialGuest Heroes Franchise/TheGreenHornet and Kato.
** This trope is deconstructed in the pilot episode when the Riddler makes a FrivolousLawsuit for a million dollars after he cleverly tricks the Dynamic Duo into falsely arresting him. Batman must reveal his SecretIdentity in court, ruining his SuperHero career.
** And, the plan would have worked, too! [[spoiler: Riddler went missing and was presumed dead before the court date!]]
* SurroundedByIdiots: Catwoman says this in "The Cat's Meow"; "Why can't I get good help?" Mind you, this is while she has Batman and Robin in a DeathTrap.
* TakeMyHand: Multiple examples.
* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: In "The Great Escape," when Commissioner Gordon calls the hotline with Bruce Wayne right next to him, Alfred hooks it up to an answering machine that then carries on a conversation with Gordon.
* TapOnTheHead: Multiple examples.
* TechnicolorScience: Common, particularly in the form of colorful KnockoutGas.
* TemptingFate
** What one of the train security guards says in "The Great Train Robbery".
** One of Lord Ffogg's goons refers to Batman as a [[UsefulNotes/{{Cricket}} slow bowler]]. No, he'll figure your boss out and spread-eagle the blighter's stumps.
* ThemeTune: Dadadadadadadadada... Also doubles as Batman's leitmotif.
* ThemeTuneCameo: In "The Pharaoh's in a Rut", King Tut calls for "bat-music". A henchman sets a gramophone in motion, and we hear a brass-enhanced version of the show's theme.
* ThereWasADoor: In a variant of Batman's usual StealthHiBye, Batman and Robin practically always enter buildings through the window, even if this is unnecessary.
* ThinkOfTheChildren: Invoked by name by Aunt Harriet in protest to the Marsha/Batman love scene in Penguin's film.
* ThirdWheel: As far as Catwoman is concerned Robin is this to her and Batman, and she wants him ''gone''. It's something of a dark RunningGag that whenever it seems like Catwoman is just about successfully persuade Batman to give in to his feelings for her, he inquires "what about Robin?" to which her answer is always to kill him.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Gordon and O'Hara.
* ThrowABarrelAtIt
** In "Ice Spy", one of Mr. Freeze's henchmen throws a barrel at Batman during a fight in Freeze's lair.
** In "the Foggiest Notion", Batman throws a barrel at one of Lord Fogg's henchmen.
** "Penguin's Disastrous End"
** "A Riddling Controversy". Batman throws a barrel at one of the Riddler's minions during the final fight scene.
** "The Spell of Tut". While the Dynamic Duo are fighting King Tut's goons, a goon throws a barrel at Batman but hits King Tut instead.
** "Pop Goes The Joker". During the fight with the Joker and his henchmen, Bruce Wayne (Batman's secret identity) throws a small barrel at a henchman.
* TitleThemeTune: Indeed, it's the ''only'' lyric (if you don't count "Da"). Contrary to one rumor (believed and spread by Creator/AdamWest himself, among others), the word "Batman" was indeed sung by vocalists, not created by horns.
* TookALevelInBadass: Hanging around Batman and Robin, you probably become Badass by osmosis.
** Aunt Harriet of all people during the two-part Chandell episode where she pulls a ''gun'' on his evil twin brother Harry! Talk about guts!
** Alfred, at the end of "Flop Goes the Joker!" Not only does he single-handedly beat the Joker at Wayne Manor [[BattleButler while demonstrating his fencing skills]], he also gives the Joker his most humiliating defeat (see HumiliationConga, above.)
** Alfred had already shown off his badassery several episodes earlier, when he (disguised as his own security-guard cousin... [[ItMakesSenseInContext don't ask]]) holds the Joker and his gang at gunpoint and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard forces them to eat their own time-reversing pills]].
* TortureTechnician: Parodied (?) when Mr. Freeze lowers Miss Iceland body’s temperature, convinced [[InsaneTrollLogic that she will fall in love with him when she hits fifty degrees below zero]]. When that fails, he subjects her to HarmlessFreezing.
* TotallyRadical: Kept to a minimum early in the show's run, when if anything the writers and actors spent more time spoofing conventions from movies from the 1930s and '40s - [[TwoDecadesBehind the years of their childhoods]], as well as [[FridgeBrilliance the era in which Batman himself first appeared]]. By the third and final season, though, they were hitting you over the head with constant "hip" reminders that it was TheSixties, and in seemingly every scene too.
** The most triumphant example of the latter is probably the series' penultimate episode, "The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra", where half the villains' gimmick consists of speaking in painful amounts of Hippie slang.
* ToTheBatNoun
* ToTheBatpole
* TrackingDevice: "The Joker's Flying Saucer". When Alfred is forced to help the Joker assemble the flying saucer, he puts several Bat tracking signals inside the saucer so Batman can learn its location after it lands.
* TrainJob: In keeping with his western motif, Shame pulls one.
* TranquillizerDart: "The Ring of Wax". The Riddler takes down Batman and Robin with anesthetic darts fired from a blowgun.
* TrrrillingRrrs
** King Tut.
** The Joker, particularly when he enunciates "Batman and Robin" (probably due to the fact that the actor playing him was Hispanic).
** Catwoman purrs hers, ''especially'' when Eartha Kitt plays herrrrr.
** Lord Ffogg also has a propensity for this.
* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: "Pop Goes the Joker"/"Flop Goes the Joker" is all about this. Joker raids an art gallery and randomly sprays paint all over the artwork, only for the artist to proclaim the results much better than the originals. This goes on throughout the story (with Joker, naturally, taking advantage of people who are convinced he's a genius). At the end of the second episode, a gallery patron looks at one of the Joker's works and says, "I don't understand it at all. It must be very profound."
* {{Uncanceled}}[=/=]ChannelHop: Aversion. After ABC canceled the show, Creator/{{NBC}} offered to pick it up for a fourth season if the studio sets were still available. However, by that time all the sets had been demolished and NBC didn't want to pay to have them rebuilt, so they withdrew their offer.
* UnderCrank: Used frequently, particularly in Batmobile scenes.
* UnresolvedSexualTension
** Between Batman and Julie Newmar's Catwoman, much to her dismay.
** To a lesser degree, between Batman and Zelda.
* VerbalTic: Mister Freeze as played by Otto Preminger ''really'' uses the word 'wild' a lot. A ''lot''.
* TheVamp: Many of the female villains, but especially Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}.
* VileVillainSaccharineShow
** Unlike the creepy but sympathetic portrayal of the character in other continuities, David Wayne's Mad Hatter is a humorlessly vicious psychopath who tries to flay Batman and Robin alive to make hats out of their bodies and then attempts to burn the flesh off of their bones with concentrated radiation. He's easily the series' nastiest villain.
** In one of his episodes, the Joker styles himself as a MadArtist and not only leaves Robin to be carved up by sculpting knives, but expects his blood to splatter everywhere and "paint" the gallery. When he returns and sees the "blood", he's overjoyed - but then Robin appears, free from harm, and says that it's just red paint meant to fool him.
** Two villains - the Riddler and "Commissioner" Nora Clavicle - attempted ''mass murder'' as part of their criminal schemes, albeit because of {{Greed}} than hate or misanthropy. Especially heinous in Clavicle's case because she tried to blow up ''all'' of Gotham City, which in-universe was said to be home to more people than New York City. And the Riddler's plot involved making buildings throughout the city semi-permanently disappear with an antimatter ray gun, thus bordering on [[ApocalypseHow a Class Z Apocalypse]]!
* VillainTeamUp: The third season was built heavily on this. Two three-part episodes in the second season each had the Penguin team up with another villain (ComicBook/TheJoker in the first one and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds in the second). ''Film/BatmanTheMovie'' had the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman all work together.
* VillainessesWantHeroes: Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} got's it bad for Batman, to the point where she'd give up being a criminal if he would marry her. Sadly her desire to murder Robin (out of jealousy, perhaps?) put the cork in that proposal.
* VisualPun: The crooks' lairs are always shot in crooked angles.
* TheWallsAreClosingIn: In Catwoman's first appearance, she subjects Batman & Robin to the SpikesOfDoom version. But the walls stop just before they'd impale Batman, and anyway the spikes are made of rubber. She was just [[CatsAreMean toying with him]] (It wasn't the {{Cliffhanger}} of the episode). This was an homage to an [[http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6601/38423963.37/0_a6f9b_3b88d32_XL.jpg actual cliffhanger]] from the [[Film/TheBatman 1943 Batman serial]].
* WeirdnessMagnet: Gotham City sure has a lot of colorful characters.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Actually a Well Done Daughter Gal - Legs in "The Greatest Mother of them All"/"Ma Parker"
* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve
** "The Joker's Flying Saucer". When the Joker's henchman places a time bomb inside the Batmobile, he sets it to go off at midnight.
** "The Bookworm Turns/While Gotham City Burns". The Bookworm ties Robin to the clapper in the bell of the Big Benjamin clock. When the clock strikes midnight, the clapper will slam Robin against the bell and kill him.
** "An Egg Grows in Gotham". According to the Gotham City Charter, nine raccoon pelts must be delivered to Chief Screaming Chicken on a certain day. If he does not receive the pelts by midnight on that day, the ownership of the city reverts to him.
** "Batman Displays His Knowledge". Catwoman proposes to Batman that they have a meeting at midnight for her to turn herself in. Of course, it turns out to be a trick.
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: Egghead used this as a clue when he correctly guessed that Bruce Wayne was Batman; he abandons the idea when his attempt to confirm it fails.
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield
** For the most part, Gotham City seems to be New York under an assumed name. It seems to be in Gotham State and is adjacent to New Guernsey. It has a Queen of Freedom statue which is an {{Expy}} for the Statue of Liberty. Gotham's Mayor Linseed is an expy for New York City's Mayor John V. Lindsay (1966-73), and the state's chief executive Governor Stonefellow is a pun on New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (1959-73). [[EstablishingShot Establishing shots]] of the city are often StockFootage of recognizable New York locations like Central Park or the Flatiron Building. But there's also evidence pointing to alternate locales, and at least one reference to New York as another, separate, city from Gotham.
** Adding another level of confusing, both the series and TheMovie have numerous shots that are recognizably around Greater Los Angeles...
* WilliamTelling: Alfred attempts to show off his archery skills and places an apple on Dick Grayson's head. Bruce stops him saying it's not worth taking the risk so Dick places the apple on a stationary target. Alfred shoots and misses. Had they gone through with it the arrow would have hit Dick right between the eyes.
* WomanOfWealthAndTaste: Catwoman's various lairs are usually opulently decorated.
* WorldOfHam: It would be easier just to name the characters who don't constantly ham it UpToEleven.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Strongly enforced at all times (hence the lack of a Batfight in "Zelda The Great" and "Nora Clavicle And The Ladies' Crime Club"). In addition, Batgirl could neither throw nor receive punches ([[KickChick But nobody said anything about kicks]]). There was one exception to this: Batgirl took several punches in one fight... against Dr. Cassandra's ''invisible'' henchmen.
* WrittenSoundEffect: Originally optically superimposed over the action in the first season and TheMovie; in later seasons, to save money, this was replaced by cutaway title cards. Not consistently used; there are occasional episodes were fight scenes come and go without them.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Batman's specialty.
* {{Yandere}}: Catwoman loves Batman, but she's not above attempted murder when he's interfering with her schemes. Best exemplified by one exchange from "Scat! Darn Catwoman":
-->'''Batman:''' A wife -- no matter how beauteous, or affectionate -- would severely impair my crimefighting!\\
'''Catwoman:''' But I could help you in your work! As a former criminal, I'd be invaluable. I can reform, honestly I can!\\
'''Batman:''' What about Robin?\\
'''Catwoman:''' ''(Disgusted)'' ROBIN?! ''(Beat; gleefully)'' Oh, I've got it -- we'll kill him!\\
'''Batman:''' ...I see you're not really ready to assume a life in society.
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: All over the place in the Archer two-parter; even the SFX cards get in on the act!
* YouJustRuinedTheShot: Batman and Robin foil a bank robbery... but it turns out to be part of a completely legal and authorized location shoot for the Penguin's movie. The Penguin shot the scene specifically to invoke this trope and entrap Batman. Batman told Robin he intentionally fell into the trap to find out what the Penguin was up to.
* YouWouldntHitAGuyWithGlasses
** Several examples, most prominently the Bookworm episode, where Batman and Robin pause before the fight to allow all of Bookworm's henchmen to remove their spectacles.
** In Shame's first appearance, one of Shame's accomplices says to Batman, "You wouldn't hit a man with glasses, would you?" Batman points out that the man isn't wearing glasses and proceeds to punch him.
[[/folder]]

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