Summary
- Batman uses fake vampire teeth to enhance his frightening appearance and inspire fear in criminals.
- Batman carries an electromagnet powerful enough to erase camera footage if anyone tries to expose his identity.
- Batman’s finger taser is a highly effective gadget for quickly incapacitating attackers.
Batman is known for his ability to plan and create contingencies to bring down whoever he goes up against. A major part of this planning involves Batman falling back on his gadgets, which are usually carried in his utility belt. The most common items that he carries with him wherever he goes include his Batarangs, his grappling hook and other items, like his Bat Shark Repellant. However, Batman has so many gadgets that not everything can fit into his belt.
Throughout his career, Batman has had to hide his gadgets elsewhere on his person, such as in his gloves or in his cowl. Even if he were to lose his utility belt, these items would still come in handy. Here are the top 10 gadgets Batman has not in his utility belt.
10 Vampire Teeth
Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope, Jose Villarrubia, Jared K. Fletcher, and John Workman
One of the major elements of Batman’s character is the ability to inspire fear in the criminals he fights. While Batman usually does this through his outfit and fighting style, other versions of Batman have taken it a step further. Readers get to see this in Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope, Jose Villarrubia, Jared K. Fletcher, and John Workman. In this Elseworlds story, a descendant of Bruce Wayne has taken up the mantle to drive fear into the hearts of criminals, and Batman does it by wearing fake vampire teeth to take on a more monstrous appearance.
9 Electromagnet
Batman #584 by Ed Brubaker, Scott McDaniel, Karl Story, John Costanza, and Roberta Tewes
In order for Batman to be scary, it helps for him to be a myth. The more people know about and see him, the less scary he becomes. This idea is explored in Batman #584 by Ed Brubaker, Scott McDaniel, Karl Story, John Costanza, and Roberta Tewes. This story follows a film crew trying to get evidence of Batman’s existence. When they finally do, Batman politely asks them to delete the footage, so he can continue helping from the shadows. Since they had just gotten their lives saved by Batman, they happily agree, but curiously ask what Batman would have done had they said no. This is where Batman reveals the electromagnet he carries on him, which is powerful enough to wipe any camera hard drives near him if activated.
8 Finger Taser
Detective Comics #871 by Scott Snyder, Jock, David Baron, and Todd Klein
Batman fights a lot of things in Gotham City, from petty criminals to monsters to wild animals. Because of this, he often needs an easier way to take something down quickly aside from just his fist. Batman’s answer to this is seen in Detective Comics #871 by Scott Snyder, Jock, David Baron, and Todd Klein. This issue shows off Batman using an electric taser hidden in his fingertips to quickly dispatch someone attacking him from behind. This is honestly one of Batman’s better gadgets, even appearing in The Batman movie most recently.
7 Sonic Disruptor
Detective Comics #19 by John Layman, Jason Fabok, Jeromy Cox, and Jared K. Fletcher
While Batman mostly fights other humans, sometimes he has to go up against truly monstrous individuals. For situations like this, he has to bring out the bigger guns. This is exactly what happens in Detective Comics #19 by John Layman, Jason Fabok, Jeromy Cox, and Jared K. Fletcher. This story sees Batman having to fight dozens of Man-Bat citizens who have been transformed by a virus. In order to battle the overwhelming odds, Batman starts using a Sonic Disruptor gun, allowing him to fire out sonic blasts that disorient and knock out the Man-Bat citizens without resorting to lethal methods.
6 Bat Cowl Tear Gas
Batman #609 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Richard Starkings
One of the most important things to Batman is his secret identity. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to operate nearly as smoothly as he currently does, which is why he’s taken great lengths to make sure he isn’t easily unmasked. Readers get to see an example of this in Batman #609 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Richard Starkings. In this story, after Batman’s grapple line is cut, he falls down into Crime Alley, knocking himself out. A group of criminals converges on him, seeking to pull his mask off, only to be greeted with Batman’s cowl spraying tear gas on them.
5 Knightfall Gauntlets
Batman #499 by Doug Moench, Jim Aparo, Scott Hanna, Adrienne Roy, and Ken Bruzenak
In the classic Knightall story, after Batman is defeated by Bane, he needs a successor to take over while he recovers. This involves Bruce Wayne passing the mantle to Jean-Paul Valley aka Azrael to become his own version of Batman. One of the things that make Jean-Paul instantly distinguishable from Bruce’s Batman is the high-tech suit that he builds. This suit came equipped with the Knightfall Gauntlets, allowing him to do things like scale buildings due to its super sharp claws, or the ability to rapidly fire Batarangs out of the gauntlet. The Knightfall Gauntlets first appear in Batman #499 by Doug Moench, Jim Aparo, Scott Hanna, Adrienne Roy, and Ken Bruzenak, while Azrael’s full new Batman suit debuts in the following issue.
4 Tranquilizers
Batman #405 by Frank Miller, Dave Mazzucchelli, Richmond Lewis, and Todd Klein
One of the easiest ways to deal with a fight is to simply avoid it entirely. Sometimes Batman has no choice but to fight, but sometimes he’s able to simply get around enemies using his gadgets, such as his tranquilizer dart gun. This gun fires tranquilizer darts at close range that immediately incapacitate enemies and was used heavily in his first year of fighting crime. This was best seen in Batman #405 by Frank Miller, Dave Mazzucchelli, Richmond Lewis, and Todd Klein.
3 Batsuit Taser
Batman #609 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Richard Starkings
If tear gas spraying from Batman’s cowl isn’t enough to make someone back off, then Batman has one more trick that might get the message across. The Bat Symbol on Batman’s chest is for more than just looks. While the symbol is bulletproof, it’s also electric. Batman has used this trick a few times, but if someone is getting closer than he’d like, Batman has the ability to fire a burst of electricity through his suit, literally electrifying the Dark Knight and shocking anyone who tries to touch him. This has been used a few times in comics but was last seen in Batman #609 by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Richard Starkings
2 Bat Cowl Lie Detector
Batman #3 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO, Richard Starkings, and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
When fighting crime, it’s important to act on relevant and accurate information. Batman interrogates a lot of people, but he does his best never to resort to torture, simply relying on fear. Because of this, Batman needs to know whether what he’s being told is true. Thankfully, Batman is a billionaire and can afford the best tech, which is how he has a built-in lie detector in his Batcowl. This was first seen in Batman #3 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO, Richard Starkings, and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt. As Batman interrogates someone, his cowl monitors their heart rate, telling him whether they’re lying.
1 Robotic Hand
Batman #135 by Chip Zdarsky, Mikel Janín, Mike Hawthorne, and Jorge Jiménez
Without a doubt, Batman’s new robotic hand is the most useful gadget he currently has in his arsenal, even though the cost of getting it is high. After Batman’s hand is cut off by an evil alternate version of Ghost-Maker, Batman is gifted a new hand by The Dark Knight Returns version of Batman. This hand is completely mechanical, offering Batman increased strength, the ability to stick to walls, and the ability to fire gas from the fingertips. It’s likely the hand can do even more, but readers have yet to see it. This hand was first given to Batman in the recent Batman #135 by Chip Zdarsky, Mikel Janín, Mike Hawthorne, and Jorge Jiménez and is by far the most powerful gadget not in Batman’s utility belt.
