The punch became iconic through the 1966 Batman television series starring Adam West, where staged fights were covered with on-screen comic words like POW and BAM. The exaggerated hits matched that camp, pop-art style and separated the show from serious action dramas. Decades later, editors lifted the short impact for online videos, soundboards and meme edits, where it works as instant shorthand for a cartoon fight. It remains popular because almost anyone recognises the reference and understands the joke without needing dialogue or context from the original scene.