Halloween Costumes - Batman Gadgets
Batman Gadgets
Over the years, new Batman gadgets have been introduced and continually modified. They are always black and carry the Batman logo. Being a cultural icon makes Batman merchandise easy to market, and toyshops are full of action figures, vehicles and gadgets galore. The coolest gadget of all is probably the Batmobile, a shiny black car with huge tailfins, which can chase villains at great speed. Batman can also race through the sky above Gotham City, in the Batwing. There is also the Batboat and the Batcycle.
Superheroes need cool gadgets, and Batman is no exception. Batman gadgets have played a large part in telling the Batman story, in the original comic strips and then on television and in movies. Batman, unlike Superman or Spider-Man, has no super human powers and so needs all the help he can get. He probably uses the gadgets more than other comic book heroes use equipment.
Various Batman gadgets are kept in the Batman Utility Belt. Never to be seen without it, Batman can reach into its pouches and pull out the appropriate tool, such as his Batarang and Batrope. The Batarang is a handy boomerang style weapon, designed to be thrown at the bad guys and the Batrope is essential when Batman wants to scale tall buildings. The Batman gadgets would go through changes as the belt evolved over time.
In the early days of the DC comics, the Batman gadgets were supplemented with firearms from time to time, but these were phased out. The director Tim Burton brought their use back when he made the movie Batman in 1989. The Batmobile had an arsenal of grenades and machine guns, and the Batwing was equipped with cannons and missiles.
The darker, gothic tales told in the comic strips and the movies did not rely too much on Batman gadgets. However, the television series of the 1960’s was a much more lighthearted affair. The fun, not to say camp, approach of Batman on TV put a lot of emphasis on the Batman gadgets. Batman, and Robin too, had a lot of fun with them and the 1960’s decade was obsessed with new inventions and technology. The TV series tapped into the futuristic sensibilities of the age. Batman and Robin would retreat to their Bat Cave and work out riddles on the Bat Computer. They also had Bat Radar, Bat Cuffs, a Bat Camera and even Bat Spray for warding off sharks.
By and large, Batman uses the minimum violence needed to catch the villains. His parents were killed with a gun, and he doesn’t feel comfortable with using guns himself. This attitude has spawned the inventive range of Batman gadgets that all the fans enjoy. They are fun for kids to play with, and driving a Batmobile is the ultimate fantasy of many adults. Would Batman be powerless without the Batman gadgets? No, but he wouldn’t be so much fun!