Top 10 Batman Gadgets

First introduced in the critically acclaimed Arkham Asylum video game, explosive gel has seeped its way into our hearts. While it may be a fairly new addition, its effectiveness, versatility and convenience make us wonder how Batman ever managed without it. Sure, modern technological advancements have encouraged filmmakers and comic book writers alike to give Mr. Wayne some serious toys, but the explosive gel is great because it so perfectly complements Batman’s fighting style. He is all about stealth and the element of surprise, and the explosive gel with remote detonation allows him to significantly step up his game in both regards.

Batman has definitley suffered some bad video games over the years, were looking at you Batman: Forever. However, with the Arkham franchise, fans finally got to live out their wildest Batman fantasies. In the sequel to Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, you get the freeze blast and freeze cluster grenade, two powerful projectiles capable of solidifying water into icy platforms and temporarily freezing enemies. In the third game, Arkham Origins, they were replaced with glue grenades, which essentially worked the same way, but sounded less intimidating... Thankfully Rocksteady and Arkham Knight brought the freeze grenades back and everyone could just chill.

The common criminals of Gotham are notorious for exaggerating the bat-like characteristics and abilities of the caped crusader. At the end of day he’s just an incredibly skilled man in a suit, with some seriously cool toys. However, in Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film, The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne uses his company and substantial means to turn every cellphone in Gotham into a sonar device, essentially giving himself the bat-like ability of echo-location on a citywide scale. While Lucius Fox may take issue with this extreme measure on moral grounds, this ingenious setup proves essential in tracking down the joker.

When in need of some serious backup, the Ultrasonic Bat Beacon has got the Dark Knight Covered. We’re talking about the few thousand bats Batman can summon to his location using this impressive little gadget. When stealth is no longer an option, a huge cloud of bats allows Batman to evade any number of armed villains, who never seem to have a way to deal with this menace. This tool was made famous in the film Batman Begins, but actually made it’s debut in the 1987 comic, Batman: Year One.

For more everyday encounters with criminals, a swarm of bats is probably overkill. Smoke pellets or smoke bombs on the other hand, have been an essential part of the Caped Crusader’s bag of tricks for decades. They are small and subtle, making them easy for Batman to deploy in a split second through slight of hand. Releasing a small but dense cloud of smoke, sometimes accompanied by a low powered explosion, these little tools have helped Batman escape countless situations. With many specialty options, like tear or knockout gas, they make great offensive weapons as well.

Batman first upgraded his stylish but simple gloves in 1940 with the release of Detective Comics #36, trading them in for the trademark spike-edged gauntlets. While Batman has been sporting these gauntlets for over 75 years, it was only with the release of Batman Begins that they got the attention they deserved. Their utility has often been limited to intimidation and style over the years, and in Adam West’s case, they were actually kind of floppy. In 2005, Ra’s al Ghul showed Bruce Wayne, and the rest of the world, that they were highly effective weapons in close-quarter combat, especially for blocking swords.

Forget Mac, PC, and Linux. There is one operating system to rule them all, and it is Bat OS. From data basing the world’s villains and heroes to processing anti-venoms and solving riddles, there is little this supercomputer can’t do. It has come a long way from the punch card computer introduced in 1964, and has gone on to be integrated into vehicles, armour and even satellite systems. As real world technology has evolved, it has grown and expanded in kind, always staying a dozen steps ahead of reality.

Batman may not be able to fly without the Batplane, but this cape lets him navigate the skies just fine. Batman’s cape, when expanded, allows him to gracefully glide between buildings. Batman Begins gave us a scientific explanation for it, using memory cloth and an electrical current, but we were never too worried about plausibility. The cape is a silent, stealthy means of approaching enemies from above and even if they do see him coming, it makes for one intimidating entrance.

The glide cape is a fantastic way of travelling downwards, but it requires a means of getting Batman to a high vantage point to begin with. The grappling gun, or Batclaw as it’s called in the Arkham series, has become one of Batman’s most iconic gadgets, consistently used in the films, animated series and comics since its invention. Remember when Adam West used to manually climb buildings with his grappling hook in the 60s tv show? It may seem silly and slow paced by today’s standards, but it wasn’t until Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film that the now standard motorized grappling gun was introduced.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

- Batmobile Remote Control

- Batsuit Taser

- Kryptonite Ring

- Shark Repellant Bat-Spray

And One Dishonourable Mention…
Bat Credit Card

Striking fear in the hearts of criminals is all well and good, but striking them in the face with one of these guys works great too. Detective Comics #31 in 1939, the batarang has been the quintessential Batman gadget. The Caped Crusader has a strict no guns policy, resulting directly from the fatal shooting of his parents when he was a child. This moral position often puts him at a disadvantage against the more gun-crazy rogues from his gallery, but the batarang functions as a fast, accurate, alternative projectile-based weapon when used correctly. Over the years it’s been electrified, remote-controlled, and explosively charged, but you can’t beat the classic. 50 percent ninja star, 50 percent boomerang, 100 percent batman.

Do you agree with our list? What classic gadgets are your favorite? For more classic top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.