Batman is one of the greatest superheroes ever, and one of the things that makes him so inspiring is that he’s just like us. He’s a millionaire, with a loyal, bad-ass butler and a renowned tech-building scientist at his disposal – ya know, just like you and me. Okay maybe not like all of us in that sense, but he has no actual superpowers, relying on technology – aka his Bat-Gadgets – to save Gotham from evil.
Not all of his Bat-Gadgets are hits, though, and some of them just don’t make sense. So, here’s 10 of Batman’s most eccentric Bat-Gadgets.
1Collapsible Bat-Sword
You may be used to seeing Batman in hand-to-hand combat, or using his famous Batarangs to fend off foes from a distance. But sometimes fists can’t do the talking, and the only thing that can is a lightsaber, sorry, Bat-Sword.
Appearing in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series, the Dark Knight whips the collapsible Bat-Sword out of his Utility Belt, and uses it to defeat an army of robots unleashed by the Clock King.
2Bat Ice Skates
You’d think with all these technological masterpieces under his belt, good ol’ Lucius Fox would’ve figured out how to give the Batsuit shoes that can walk on any surface. Instead, the Caped Crusader is forced (not really, he loved it) to use ice skates that pop out of the bottom of his boots, when faced with Mr. Freeze’s diabolical creations in Batman & Robin.
This doesn’t sound too OTT until you realise Batman had these skates BEFORE he knew Freeze existed. Guess we just found Batman’s secret Bat-Hobby.
3Fake Vampire Teeth
Because even Batman needs a Halloween costume. No, not really. The Dark Knight used this ‘terrifying’ gadget in Batman: Year 100 to scare Gotham’s criminals into thinking he was actually an otherworldly creature – because a ripped dude dressed like a giant bat, flying through the night sky and hiding in the shadows isn’t scary enough apparently.
4Underwater Boot Propellers
Some of Batman’s more eccentric gadgets are useful at the time, but raise the question of why he had them in the first place. Take his underwater boot propellers for example. In Batman #612, the Caped Crusader uses his underwater boot propellers to save himself and Catwoman from drowning, after getting their butts handed to them by a Poison Ivy-entranced Superman.
Obviously Batman can swim, and these gadgets were useful when he didn’t have the energy to swim himself and Catwoman to safety, but they were never seen before or after this occasion, so it’s a bit of a mystery where they came from and why they were created.
5‘Knightfall’ Gloves
In Batman #500, Bruce Wayne is paralysed by Bane and Jean-Paul Valley becomes the temporary Dark Knight. As soon as he’s got himself into the Batsuit, he decides it could do with a few upgrades and adds these high-tech gloves, complete with wall-climbing claws and rapid-firing Batarangs, making them way deadlier than the usual Batman is known for.
JP then goes on to redesign the whole suit into a big, metal Robo-Cop abomination, cancelling out the coolness of the ‘Knightfall’ gloves altogether.
6Pneumatic Mangler
Another gadget that’s awesome and useful and all, but makes you scream ‘BUT WHY?!’ at your TV/comic. In The Dark Knight, our favourite masked manhunter is in pursuit of Scarecrow, and uses the Mangler to effortlessly bend the barrel of a long gun and rip through the sheet metal covering Scarecrow’s van.
Unfortunately, Lucius gets rid of the Mangler when he upgrades the Batsuit later in the series.
7Bat-Shark Repellent
To say that Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego lives and operates in the inner-city, he sure has plenty of gadgets in case he ends up at sea. The funniest thing about Batman: The Movie’s Bat-Shark Repellent isn’t the question of why he even needs Shark Repellent when he has all these other killing/maiming gadgets to hand, but that he doesn’t keep it on his Bat-Boat, he keeps it on his Bat-Copter with several other cans of sea creature repellent, like barracuda-repellent and whale-repellent.
So many questions.
8Finger Taser
Another upgrade to the Dark Knight’s hand combat he apparently needs: the Finger Taser. These appear in Detective Comics #871, when Batman uses them to zap Becca Mulcahey as she tries to sneak-attack him from behind. It does not end well for her.
Another cool gadget, but could he not have just punched or karate chopped her? And why didn’t he just keep a normal taser in his Utility Belt?
9Spring Loaded Bat-Ears
If you thought the cowl was just to hide Bruce Wayne’s identity and make Batman look Bad. Ass., then you’re way wrong. Well for Batman and Robin #22 at least. Fighting off the evil, but in no way original villain the White Knight, the Dark Knight fires the apparently spring-loaded tips of his cowl at his foe.
And he never does it again, because he has actual weapons.
10Bat-Cuffs
Some of Batman’s Bat-Gadgets are just straight up Bat-Unnecessary. We get that the Dark Knight has an image to uphold, but does literally everything he owns have to be Bat shaped? Could he not just use some regular hand-cuff shaped hand-cuffs instead of spending time and money on Bat-Cuffs? Apparently not, as these have appeared everywhere from Batman: The Movie (1966), to Batman: The Animated Series and the comics. And they even come with their own little Bat-Key.
Honorable Mention:
The Batarang
You’re probably thinking, the Batarang is not that eccentric. It’s used in almost every issue of the comics, and every times he’s on the big or small screen. But the basic Batarang is just the tip of the Bat-Iceberg, because in the past he’s used many types of the razor-sharp winged boomerang: Computerized, Magnetic, Remote-Controlled, Heated, Electric and Mini. Unnecessary? Probably. Awesome? Absolutely.
So just when you think you know what Batman has quite literally up his sleeves, – KA-POW – he hits you with one of these random weapons. Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
Related Article: Can You Ace Our Batman Trivia Quiz?
