From Dark Knight to Batman '66: Every Batman Movie Gadget!

Publish date: 2020-10-08

There are certain staples of any solid Batman diet: cape and cowl, batmobile, Alfred, insane villain and, of course, bat-gadgets. And lots of them. For what good is Batman without his trusty utility belt and the many, many enthralling pieces of tech contained therein?

So with The Dark Knight Rises opening this week, IGN has decided to take an inventory of the various bat-gadgets that have appeared in the (modern) live-action Batman films over the years. But a quick note before you get started below: We chose to not include bat-vehicles on this list since those remarkable machines aren't really gadgets (click here for a full rundown of the marvelous movie batmobiles). And additionally, we've also decided not to include Robin or other sidekick gadgets here because, really, who needs to be reminded of Batman & Robin more than is absolutely necessary? But if it's something that fits in the Caped Crusader's belt, in his boot, or otherwise on his person, then it's on this list. And it's probably a pretty wonderful toy

label=Utility%20Belt

Batman and his utility belt go together like America and apple pie, which is why it's always been kind of disappointing that, aside from the old 1960s Adam West Batman, most of his live-action belts haven't seemed very utilitarian at all. They often feel designed more for their cosmetic appeal than their functionality -- which of course they were by some Hollywood costume designer -- as with the belts seen in Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's Batman films, which seemed to be all belt buckle and little else.

In the case of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, like the films themselves, the tech used by Batman is grounded more in reality. Hence the compartments which slide on and off the belt (and echo the West belt) as well as sort of clips which hold batarangs and the such.

The Adam West utility belt, meanwhile, is a thing of beauty and simplicity, a sublime reminder of the charms of that zany old show. Functional with its actual compartments and cylinders (though how they held some of this Batman's huge tools is anyone's guess) and sporting a handsome, metallic buckle (complete with bat symbol), it is perhaps overshadowed only by the belt worn by this show's Batgirl -- which hung so loosely around her leather-clad hips as to drive an untold number of young viewers to distraction. But that's a whole different kind of functionality, isn't it?

label=Batarang

Another standby, the batarang is a variation, one supposes, of the boomerang -- though the device rarely returns to Batman once it is thrown. First appearing in the comics all the way back in 1939 (when it actually did function more like a boomerang), the batarang has been nearly omnipresent in the film and TV appearances of the Caped Crusader, although its look has often been modified for each incarnation of the character.

The Burton/Michael Keaton batarang shows up early in the 1989 film when Batman is battling a pair of thugs and uses it to entrap one of the criminal's feet with wire. He also utilized a computerized version of the weapon in that film's sequel, Batman Returns, which was really kinda cheesy. Capable of being programmed to hit multiple targets, this batarang proved unable to take down a poodle. (Yeah, it was an evil poodle, but still.)

In Schumacher's somewhat misunderstood Batman Forever, most of the technology underwent an overhaul, as did all of Gotham City itself. Batman's equipment was generally more flashy, including his batarangs which were shiny and pointy and seemingly sharp -- of course, it was also ostensibly impossible to carry around more than one or two of the bulky things on your person at any given time. Fashion over function yet again, alas.

Batman Begins once again offers up a more reasonable version of this iconic bat-gadget, and we even get to see Bruce Wayne making the things on his bench grinder in the batcave. They're made of metal yet are small and apparently lightweight, and fit on the utility belt quite easily (some of them even fold up). This Batman often uses them to smash windows or knock out lights, adding to his mysterious persona by darkening the scene of his actions, though we never really get to see him use these shuriken-like tools for their other logical function -- embedding them in criminals' legs and other appendages when they attempt escape.

Of course, the 1960s Batman was old school, climbing walls with nothing but a rope and a batarang between him and the pavement below. You wanna talk psychopath? That's what we call crazy.

Read on for bat-grapple guns, bat-bombs and more...

label=Grapple%20Gun

When the Tim Burton film hit in 1989, the concept of how Batman managed to swing around Gotham City started to make much more sense. This was due to the introduction of the grapple gun as part of the hero's arsenal, a spring- or air-powered device that is similar to the climbing equipment used by military units and the like. Once this gun was introduced, the notion of having Batman use his batarang and some rope to get around just didn't work anymore and the concept began to permeate all forms of bat-media.

Though we have seen many variations on the grapple gun throughout the Batman movies, they all appear to share roughly the same design. The gun fires a hook or otherwise bat-shaped projectile which clamps onto a wall or other targeted surface. Attached to this projectile is a high-tensile wire; sometimes Batman will simply use this wire to swing from point A to point B, or to catch himself during a fall, but he can also rig it so that a motorized winch in the base of the gun or on his belt allows for a quick and mechanized ascent. Oftentimes, said equipment is almost miraculously invisible during this process. Somehow.

The grapple guns in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin become increasingly frightening-looking, metallic, and varied, with all manner of hooks, bat-shaped blades, and launch platforms popping up throughout each film. One worries at times that they're relics from director Joel Schumacher's secret basement lair. They also seem to magically appear on Batman's gauntlet or belt when needed, only to just as magically disappear moments later.

Batman & Robin pushes what was a sort of believable notion in the Burton films into the realm of fantasy as our hero (and his pals) seem to do nothing but shoot cable after cable out of each appendage, climbing heights that would have the sturdiest of bat-men shaking in their bat-boots.

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight's makers are kind enough to give us a proper description of that series' gun, courtesy of Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox. "Kevlar utility harness, gas-powered magnetic grapple gun, the 350-pound test monofilament," says Fox of this Batman's wall-scaling pride and joy. And despite the fancy talk and apparent updating of the gun, it operates essentially on the same principles of the Burton/Keaton grapple -- without sliding into absolute fantasy land as in the Schumacher films.

Read on for bat-plasma torches and other good stuff...

label=Smoke%20Pellet

The 1989 Batman film has our hero pulling a maneuver that seems taken directly from the pages of a 50-year-old issue of Detective Comics. After his confrontation with Jack Napier, which culminates in the criminal falling into a vat of chemicals, the police zero in on Batman, who is trapped on a catwalk. Unsure of who or what they're pursuing, the cops watch as the Caped Crusader smashes a smoke pellet at his own feet, causing a cloud to form around him that provides mysterious cover as he exits through the roof. "Was that a bat or a man?!" It was a Bat-Man, yo!

label=Napalm

This is an odd one. In Batman Returns the Bat finds himself in a tussle with Catwoman. He's thrown from the roof of a building, as per usual, and while dangling there at his feline foe's mercy, he tosses an incendiary gel packet at her arm which is apparently napalm, burning the villainess' shoulder as a result. 'Cause that's totally the kind of thing you do to a girl you have a crush on, right comics nerds?

label=Plasma%20Torch

If there's a positive side to the Joel Schumacher films, it's the multitude of gadgets that show up over the course of the two pictures. Take the opening action scene of Batman Forever, where Batman must save a hostage of Two-Face's by cutting the chain that a dangling bank vault is connected to (long, stupid story). Fortunately for Bat-Val Kilmer, he's got a plasma torch in his belt. What gas is powering the torch is unclear, however, and the safety issue of carrying around a quantity of such gas on one's person in the high-risk, often explosive situations Batman finds himself in is never discussed.

label=Taser

At least, that's what we think it's supposed to be, though it certainly doesn't function like any taser we've ever seen (and we've seen our fair share -- don't ask). It shows up early in Batman Forever when a Two-Face crony finds himself on the wrong end of this bat-taser and winds up with a bad taste in his mouth. And all over his body.

label=Bat-Spray

The 1960s Batman often relied on various sprays and gases to do his dirty work for him, as whenever he felt compelled to bring someone to his most private and secret sanctum, the Batcave (which seemed to be in every other episode). In such cases he would whip out the old bat-gas, give his guest a quick spray, and watch them settle immediately into comfortable unconsciousness. And of course, there was also the bat-awake spray, which revived said guest at a moment's notice. What kind of long-term neurological or other physical trauma these gases might have caused is unclear.

Batman always carried a store of antidotes to his enemies' own sprays and gases as well, as when he had a handy dose of anti-Penguin-gas-pills ready to go in the 1966 theatrical movie. As you do.

The Caped Crusader, friend to all animals (unlike the dog-beating Batman in The Dark Knight apparently), kept an array of so-called Oceanic repellent around so as to avoid having to hurt any misguided beast. This included the infamous bat-shark-repellent!

label=Communicator

Batman always needs to keep in close contact with his peeps, whether it's Alfred, Robin, or Gordon (a fact which ties into a real lapse in logic in the final act of The Dark Knight by the way). And that's where the communicator comes in. Whether it's a glorified transistor radio as in the Adam West show or an encrypted cell phone in Batman Begins, the Bat is always at the apex of the telecommunications revolution. In fact, we think he owns the telecommunications revolution.

label=Bat-Bomb

Sure, everyone knows that Batman doesn't use guns because of that tragic night when his parents were killed. But that doesn't mean he can't use bombs, right? As in bat-bombs. One wonders, though, if that also includes bat-grenades, bat-land-mines, and bat-ICBMs. Bat-nukes, anyone?

Read on for bat-gauntlest, bat-sonics and bat... ice skates?

label=Heater

This is a gadget that is very much made to order. In other words, when Batman hears that he's about to go out to face a certain foe -- "Hey Commissioner Gordon, what's that? You say Mr. Freeze is on the loose again?!" -- he can stock up his belt with tools that would work specifically against that villain. So a portable heater would be pretty handy to have around in a Mr. Freeze orange-alert kind of situation, one supposes. Or a Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends crossover. (Come on, Iceman reference here!)

label=Gauntlet

Batman's always got a trick up his sleeve, sometimes literally. In the first Michael Keaton Batman film, he uses his glove arm to deflect bullets. Bullets! Which raises the question: If he's fast enough to react to the bullets in such a way, why not just dive out of their path rather than hope his deflecting skills are precise enough?

Keaton also sports an odd attachment to his gauntlet in that same film. While fighting one of the Joker's thugs, the villain comes flying at him after a series of flips and the such and with knives attached to his feet. So Batman extends his arm and ejects a metal plate of some kind which slams into the crony right where it hurts.

Batman Begins utilizes the gauntlet in a much more sensible way, with that film's Batman wearing metal gauntlets with blades on them, a variation on the ones he used while studying with Ra's al Ghul. These come in handy when blocking blade attacks, breaking said blades, and even slowing down a fall from a precipice, Jango Fett style -- a situation which Batman is wont to find himself in.

In The Dark Knight, when Batman upgraded his armor he also upgraded his gauntlets -- which could now shoot blades at folks. Especially green-haired folks.

label=Sonics

Here's a tried and true gimmick for Batman: Activate your vague sonic device, wait for the bats to come a-callin', and then use the flying rats to your advantage, be it by making a quick escape under their cover or having them maul (and in the case of the Penguin in Batman Returns) or indirectly kill your opponent. Because we all know that the movie Batman doesn't kill folks; he just lets them die.

label=Ice%20Skates

Yep, this is from Batman & Robin. They pop out of Batman's boots on demand for some figure-skating fight action. Forget it, Jake. It's Gotham Town.

label=Laser

Another Batman & Robin item, this one isn't all that bad. Plus, it's good for multi-tasking: When not melting or burning stuff, Batman can always use it as a laser pointer and aim it at Mr. Freeze's forehead.

label=Saw

And a third from B&R, this rotary saw sure does come in handy when our hero has to untangle himself from a villainess like Poison Ivy's vines. It does not help untangle him from the legacy of the bat-nipple-suit, unfortunately. (Will the Batman & Robin digs never end?)

label=CD%20Player

Technically not worn on Batman's person, we had to include this Batman Returns gadget from the Batcave simply because of the scene where Michael Keaton scratches with it like some superhero DJ. Because only a superhero would be able to scratch a CD the way a regular DJ does with vinyl.

label=Stationery

Perhaps one of the more mundane bat tools you'll find in the utility belt, but essential nonetheless. How else can Batman leave a stylish note for his friends and/or enemies than with a nice page of stationery, complete with fancy bat logo and flawless penmanship!

label=Coins

Another bottom-of-the-barrel item, the Val Kilmer Batman uses a handful of coins to fake out Harvey Two-Face during the climactic moments of BF. We bet they're Susan B. Anthonys.

label=Sonar

In BF, the Caped Crusader sports a sonar suit, complete with utility belt control pad, sonar eyepieces, and special batarang. Why he couldn't have used a regular old batarang, or a nice, hefty rock for that matter, to take out the Riddler's mind-control device is a question only a fanboy could answer.

In The Dark Knight, Batman also gets down with the sonar -- albeit in a more realistic way. First Lucius Fox hooks him up with a little cell phone that can map an area… like a bat (or a submarine, as Fox says). Then Batman gets all kinds of invasion-of-privacy crazy -- for the greater good, of course! -- when him and Lucius rig a citywide cell phone something-or-other at the end of the film that lets Batman see… everything?

label=Cape%20Heat%20Shield

Also from BF, Bat's cape gets a workout when we learn that another utility-belt panel can turn the fabric into a heat shield which serves as a sort of bunker for our hero when the, um, heat is on.

Read on for bat-nets, bat-jets and bat-plastic!

label=Net%20Gun

The Batman gets some very brief underwater action in BF, enabling him at least to show off this gun, which shoots an expanding net that ensnares a group of baddies beneath the sea. Presumably, they all drowned as a result.

label=Jets

Val Kilmer's Batman just might've had the most gadgets out of any of the big-screen Dark Knights. And he didn't just whip stuff out of his cape -- he had tools built into his costume too, as with these boot jets that prove very useful when the hero must ascend a wall while forcing his way through some elaborate infrastructure.

label=Inoculator

Any hero worth his weight in Kevlar knows that, sooner or later, his former mentor is going to attack his city with a weapons-grade psychotropic drug that will drive the entire population mad and lead to the destruction of said metropolis. Which is why an inoculator is essential. Not included with the inoculator: the thousands of medical personnel required to inject each and every infected citizen, or the millions of bat-lollipops that would be handed out after the shots.

label=Periscope%2FBinoculars

Batman is a detective -- the world's greatest, actually -- but this is a fact that the movies too often overlook. So the infrared periscope that Gotham City's Sherlock carries around would seem to be a logical extension of his detecting ways. Also, good for peeping-tom type stuff.

The Adam West Bat was known to utilize binoculars, ranging from ridiculously large ones to oddly teensy ones.

label=Wings

Sometimes Batman takes up the habits of his pal Superman and gets to flying around town. Of course, he can't really fly like Supes, but he makes a pretty good show of it with his high-tech cape. In Batman Returns, he busts out a hang glider that allows him to soar from a rooftop (before making a fairly rough landing, we might add).

Batman Begins offers up a cape made of something called memory cloth, another Master of Gadgets Lucius Fox special, which when hit with an electric charge from Batman's gauntlet can take on the shape of a pre-set form. Like, say, bat wings.

label=Bola

The first Tim Burton Batman had the masked hero utilize a bola -- which Wikipedia describes as "a throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs." Except in this case the animal being captured is the Joker, and he's not being captured so much as murdered when the weapon causes him to fall from the roof of a towering church to the pavement below.

label=Detective%20Kit

We mentioned Batman was a detective, right? Well, the Adam West Batman did his fair share of CSI-style police procedural work thanks to his handy, dandy detective kit, which includes such high-tech items as a magnifying glass and a screwdriver. Holy low-end, Batman!

label=Handcuffs

BF seems to have an S&M thing going on at times -- not that there's anything wrong with that! -- so while we never get to see Batman actually use these handcuffs, on a criminal or on Robin for that matter, director Schumacher is sure to include a shot of them.

label=Carabiners

For climbing and the such, yo!

label=Credit%20Card

The most hated of gimmicks ever seen in a Batman film! We give you the ridiculous credit card from B&R. Good forever? Or good for nothing?

label=Exo-Skelton%20Arm

We don't really know what this thing is called, though it apparently is designed to give Batman Superman-level strength so that he can bend the barrels of guns, rip open the sides of vans and… knock guys out. So, George Reeves Superman-level strength anyway.

label=Scanner

In The Dark Knight, Batman uses this device to scan money found in the bank vault where the Joker pulled off his first heist in the film. The Caped Crusader apparently uses the device to scan for and find radiation signatures, indicating that they are some of the marked bills that he and Commissioner Gordon have been using in sting operations.

label=Sticky%20Bomb%20Gun

It's a gun… that shoots sticky… bombs!

label=Oxygen

When a billionaire playboy philanthropist superhero wants to go roof-jumping in Hong Kong, oxygen is a necessary accoutrement. Obviously.

label=Sky%20Hook

Another item from The Dark Knight treasure chest, the Sky Hook and its attendant gear allows for Batman to pull off some sky-high international kidnapping. What, are you gonna question the Batman's motives?!

label=Drill

This item comes in handy for the rare occasion when the World's Greatest Detective actually does detective work in his movie adventures.

label=Electrified%20Cowl

Don't nobody take Batman's mask off! Not even when Batman's asleep! So say Batman!

And that's all the bat-tech we've got! Did we miss one of your faves? Then please comment below and let us know!

Note: This article has been updated with more recent bat-information since it was first published.

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN and on Facebook.

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