Characterization
Skills and abilities
Batman has no inherent superhuman powers; he relies on "his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess."[30] In the stories, Batman is regarded as one of the world's greatest detectives, if not the world's greatest crime solver.[124] Batman has been repeatedly described as having a genius-level intellect, one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe, and having peak human physical conditioning.[125] He has traveled the world acquiring the skills needed to aid in his crusade against crime. As a polymath, his knowledge and expertise in almost every discipline known to man is nearly unparalleled by any other character in the DC Universe.[126] Batman's inexhaustible wealth allows him access to advanced technology, and as a proficient scientist, he is able to use and modify these technologies to his advantage.
Superman describes Batman as "the most dangerous man on Earth", able to defeat a team of superpowered extraterrestrials by himself in order to rescue his imprisoned teammates in Grant Morrison's first storyline in JLA. Superman also considers Batman to be one of the most brilliant minds on the planet in the Superman: Doomed story arc.[127]
Batman has the ability to function under great physical pain, and to withstand telepathy and mind control. He is a master ofdisguise, multilingual, and an expert in espionage, often gathering information under the identity of Matches Malone, a notorious gangster. His ninjutsu training has made him a master in stealth and escapology, allowing him to appear and disappear at will and to break free of nearly inescapable deathtraps with little to no harm.
Batman is an expert in interrogation techniques and uses both law-abiding and extreme methods to extract information from suspects, such as hanging a person over the edge of a building. His intimidating and frightening appearance alone is often all that is needed in getting information from suspects. Despite having the potential to harm his enemies, Batman's most defining characteristic is his strong commitment to justice and his unwillingness to take life, regardless of the situation he has faced. This unyielding moral rectitude has earned him the respect of several heroes in the DC Universe, most notably that of Superman and Wonder Woman.
Costume
Main article: Batsuit
Batman's costume incorporates the imagery of a bat in order to frighten criminals.[128] The details of the Batman costume change repeatedly through various stories and media, but the most distinctive elements remain consistent: a scallop-hem cape, a cowl covering most of the face featuring a pair of batlike ears, and a stylized bat emblem on the chest, and the ever-present utility belt. The costumes' colors have traditionally been dark blue and grey,[128] although this colorization arose due to the way comic book art was colored;[128] the character is sometimes depicted in black and grey. Finger and Kane conceptualized Batman as having a black cape and cowl and grey suit, but conventions in coloring called for black to be highlighted with blue.[128]
Batman's batsuit aids in his combat against enemies, having the properties of both Kevlar and Nomex. It protects him from gunfire and other significant impacts. His gloves typically feature three scallops that protrude from long, gauntlet-like cuffs, although in his earliest appearances he wore short, plain gloves without the scallops.[129] The overall look of the character, particularly the length of the cowl's ears and of the cape, varies greatly depending on the artist. Dennis O'Neil said, "We now say that Batman has two hundred suits hanging in the Batcave so they don't have to look the same . . . Everybody loves to draw Batman, and everybody wants to put their own spin on it."[130]
Equipment
See also: Batman's utility belt
Batman uses a large arsenal of specialized, high-tech vehicles and gadgets in his war against crime, the designs of which usually share a bat motif. Batman historianLes Daniels credits Gardner Fox with creating the concept of Batman's arsenal with the introduction of the utility belt in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939) and the first bat-themed weapons the batarang and the "Batgyro" in Detective Comics #31 and #32 (September; October 1939).[26]
Batman's primary vehicle is the Batmobile, which is usually depicted as an imposing black car, often with tailfins that suggest a bat's wings. Batman also has an aircraft called the Batplane (later called the "Batwing"), and he is usually shown as having aBatboat, Bat-Sub, and Batcycle. In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in Batmobile or batarang) is rarely used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, particularly after some portrayals (primarily the 1960s Batman live-action television show and the Super Friends animated series) stretched the practice to campyproportions. The 1960s television series Batman has an arsenal that includes such "bat-" names as the bat-computer, bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-cuffs, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, bat-shark repellent bat-spray, and bat-rope. The storyline "A Death in the Family" suggests that given Batman's grim nature, he is unlikely to have adopted the "bat" prefix on his own. In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman tells Carrie Kelley that the original Robin came up with the name "Batmobile" when he was young, since that is what a kid would call Batman's vehicle.
Batman keeps most of his field equipment in his utility belt. Over the years it has shown to contain an assortment of crime-fighting tools, weapons, and investigative and technological instruments. Different versions of the belt have these items stored in compartments, often as pouches or hard cylinders attached evenly around it. Batman is often depicted as carrying a projectile which shoots a retractable grappling hook attached to a cable. This allows him to attach to distant objects, be propelled into the air, and thus swing from the rooftops of Gotham City. An exception to the range of Batman's equipment are conventional firearms, which he refuses to use on principle, since that weapon class was used in his parents' murder. Modern depictions of Batman have him compromise for practicality, by arming his vehicles mainly for the purpose of removing obstacles or disabling enemy vehicles.
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