Adam West once shaded the Kick out of Nicolas Cage's Ass

Nicolas Cage has been known to draw character inspiration from any number of sources: silent film, John Travolta, and in his most recent movie, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent — himself. For his role in the sorely underrated 2010 superhero flick Kick-Ass, Cage channeled the late, great Adam West — but that wasn't necessarily how West saw it.

During Cage's Ask Me Anything on Reddit, talk turned to Kick-Ass, in which Cage played Big Daddy, a former cop turned caped crusader who bears a striking, some may say copyright-infringing resemblance to the Dark Knight.

For Big Daddy's voice, however, Cage definitely referenced a less dark version of Gotham's finest, Adam West, who portrayed Batman and his millionaire playboy alter ego Bruce Wayne on the camptastic '60s television show from 1966-68.

When asked if Big Daddy was inspired by anyone else besides West, Cage gave full credit where full credit was due. "I would give it all to Adam West. I grew up watching him on the '60s Batman show and he is where it begins and where it ends as Big Daddy," Cage wrote.

But what did West think of Cage's homage?

"I met Adam West once and I said, 'Did you see I was channeling you?' " Cage recalled. "And he said, 'I saw you TRY to channel me!' "

Talk about a KA-POW! But if you're going to get shaded by any Batman, it might as well be the best Batman.

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