See what modern Batman villains would have looked like on TV in 1966

September 25, 2015, 10:17AM By MeTV Staff

Batman

12/28 10:30PMJoker Goes to School (1)
"The Joker attempts to recruit high school dropouts for his gang. Batman and Dick Grayson teach the students to make better choices."
1/4 10:30PMHe Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul (2)
"Batman and Robin track a female student who joined Joker's gang, but Joker poisons her perfume to cover his tracks."

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In the current DC Comics universe, Batman is not even Batman. He's Jim Gordon in a mechanical suit. Thankfully, the publisher has been keeping the older spirit of the character alive with its delightful Batman '66 series, which is released both as a digital serial and in print. Writer Jeff Parker and artists such as Mike Allred nail the bubbly tone and candy-colored pop-art look of the original television series.

Perhaps the most alluring element of the series has been the villains. DC keeps sending modern Gotham baddies back in time to the 1960s. Bane is the ultimate 1990s comic villain — all muscles upon muscles and pure aggression. Harley Quinn, the Joker disciple, is another dark creation of that decade. Both villains have been reimagined for Batman '66 and they're far more upbeat than their modern cinematic iterations.

In the latest issue that hit stands this week, Bane has been cleverly remade as a lucha libra wrestler. Up above you can see Harley Quinn as a roller-skating jester. Next month, an issue hits the stands with Scarecrow and Killer Croc. The menagerie of criminals on Batman was fantastic, but effects at the time could not quite allow for men made of mud and reptile skin. But we're glad someone has the imagination to to ask, what if…?

Scroll down to see the retconned villains.