Batman (1960s Batman)

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"But morals are the stuff men are made from and until criminals learn that, our job will not be done. However if and when they do, we'll be only too ready to hang up our capes and cowls."

―Batman^[src]

Batman was the crime-fighting identity taken by millionaire Bruce Wayne. Having sworn to fight crime after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, he would often assist the Police Department as a duly deputized agent of the law to keep order in Gotham City, often with the assistance of his ward Robin, his butler Alfred and fellow crime-fighter Batgirl. Batman would keep Gotham safe from dangerous super-criminals, including the humor-based Joker, the umbrella wielding Penguin, the puzzle-crazed Riddler and the slinky feline-fatale Catwoman,

History[]

Background[]

The beginnings of Batman's career as a crime-fighter remained unspecified, though he had sworn to conduct the crusade after witnessing his parents' murder at the hands of criminals.^[1]^[2] He donned the symbol of a bat as a disguise to strike fear into the hearts of the superstitious criminals of the city, as well as to protect his identity.^[3] Using his wealth, Bruce secretly funded his activities and provided necessary materials, including high-tech gadgets and vehicles. Most of these were stored in a secret Batcave hidden beneath his stately home, Wayne Manor.

In general[]

As his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne was Gotham City's top philanthropist, helping people publicly through the Wayne Foundation. His connections as one of Gotham's elite allowed him connections to potential targets and to allow. Wayne also fostered fellow orphan Richard "Dick" Grayson as his ward and allowed him to join his crusade as Robin, the Boy Wonder.

Batman and Robin also built a rapport with Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara of the Gotham City Police Department, leading them to be deputized as agents of the law. The two also received help from their faithful butler, Alfred, majordomo of Wayne Manor, who helped maintain their cover and even assisted in the field when necessary.

Bruce also allowed Grayson's aunt, Harriet Cooper, to stay with them at Wayne Manor, though they did not inform her of their crime-fighting activities.

Reputation[]

By the time of the series, Batman and Robin (also known as the Dynamic Duo) had become famous throughout the world and beloved by Gotham. The two were also associated with many figures and celebrities throughout the city. However, their fighting for law and order had also made enemies of a variety of arch-criminals who saw both of them as constant thorns in their sides and were determined to get rid of them one way or another, but the Dynamic Duo always emerged triumphant.

Characterization[]

Bruce has many hobbies, such as collecting antlers, stamps, and antique pocket watches. He was also an international sportsman and involved in various activities, including potholing, fishing, and falconry. Even as a child, Bruce was a skilled individual; when he was 11 years old, he was the Junior Marbles Champion of Gotham City. The one thing he cannot abide is being called a coward.

He is extremely moral with people breaking the law, and though he was ready and willing to send criminals such as the Joker, the Penguin, and the Riddler to prison, he did show a sense of compassion for the Catwoman, who had a crush on him. But because she refused to give up her life of crime and always wanted Robin out of the way, the Caped Crusader never explored the relationship further.

He is a great friend of Police Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara, as both identities; but the two men never found out who he really was. He developed a friendship with Batgirl, who helped him and Robin fight crime making them the Terrific Trio; however he did not know that she was really the Commissioner's daughter Barbara.

Batman was always willing to put others first before himself and often helped Robin while on their adventures with things like Mathematics and Languages, showing he is a good teacher.

Bat-Equipment[]

Batmanadamwest — Posing with a Batarang in a publicity portrait

Even though Batman was a master of countless fighting styles, displayed an unfathomable understanding of advanced calculus, and was endowed with insightful wit and masterful cunning, from time to time the Caped Crusader had to rely on his arsenal of self-made tools of the trade, many of which bore the bat motif of his M.O.(method of operations), to see the day through. What follows is a list of these handy gadgets.

Batcostumes, sometimes referred to as Batsuits: Clothing worn by Batman and Robin to disguise their identities. Commissioner Gordon also claimed that he wore the costume to "strike fear into the hearts of criminals." At times, Batman has had his Batcostume modified to protect him from various hazards or methods of attacks, including one Batcostume treated to be acid-proof and special thermal underwear, described below along with the Portable Freezing Chamber. Alfred Pennyworth constructs and maintains all these Batcostumes, except for those Barbara Gordon wears as Batgirl.
Utility Belt: The yellow (Batman's or Batgirl's) or black (Robin's) belt which contains their various weapons and devices. (Owing to the manners in which both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were orphaned, neither ever carries any conventional firearms.) Unfortunately, Batman has been forced to use magnetic metals to construct both his and Robin's Utility Belts; thus, they are prone to immobilization by electromagnets, which also prevent the disengagements of their buckles.

Handheld Equipment[]

Batarang: The most commonly used weapon that Batman and Robin use whenever fighting against villains; these are essentially bat-shaped boomerangs. The Batarangs were often combined with the Batropes, either to act as grappling hooks or to tether enemies.
Batrope: Batman's way of climbing high and steep walls, since he and Robin would rarely use elevators or stairs. Its hook is a Batarang, though a grappling hook mortar was sometimes used to scale especially tall buildings. The Dynamic Duo customarily use their Batarangs to secure a line and then execute "Bat-Climbs" up the side of the building. A Bat-Climb, unfortunately, makes for very slow going, more so than an elevator for instance, but it allows for secrecy. On occasion, Batman and Robin would use their Batropes to climb to a vantage point from which they could survey the surrounding area. Once their investigations had been completed, the Bat-Duo would use a "Reverse Bat-Climb" to get themselves back down to the ground. Batman is adamant about having both hands kept on the Batropes at virtually all times during all the Bat-Climbs, for obvious safety reasons.
Bulletproof Bat-Shield: A defensive object Batman and Robin use to protect themselves against dangerous attacks. Sometimes they hold it themselves; other times, they have it attached to the Batmobile.
Bat-Cuffs: The same as ordinary police handcuffs, used to capture villains, but each cuff is black and designed with batwings.
Bat-Sleep Gas: A sleeping gas used on people, especially if Batman and Robin are taking them to or from the Batcave. One spray and the person is out like a light.
Bat-Wake Gas: An antidote to Bat-Sleep Gas, as it wakes people up when they are at the Batcave. Its effect is the same as the Bat-Sleep Gas, but in reverse.
Universal Antidote Pills: Small medical capsules capable of neutralizing all known forms of poisons and mind-altering chemicals.
Bat-Directional Finder: This indicates which direction to take to find a certain substance.
Bat-Air Press: A device used for blowing up balloons.
Bat-Capsule Dispensory: The storage cabinet for numerous crime-fighting pills of various types.
Bat-Wax Solvent: A mixture that dissolves any type of wax.
Sky-Writing Drone: A model jet that can write even the longest messages in the sky.
Bat-Antidote Powder: A special powder used to recover from any form of poison.
Bat-cillin: Also called Bat-icillin, and presumably an antibiotic; it is available in lozenge form to prevent infection after either of the Bat-Duo sustains any open wounds. As is the case with any antibiotic, it is useless against viruses. Presumably developed by a pharmaceutical company that the "Wayne Foundation" controls, it is probably not an actual penicillin antibiotic.
Mobile Phone Bat-Plugs: Used for portable Batphones.
Batzooka: A powerful rocket launcher, useful against military tanks. It can also launch Batropes, described above, using its grappling hook mortar.
Oceanic Repellent Bat-Sprays: Stored away in case Batman has to fly the BatCopter (see below, under "Vehicles") over Gotham Harbor. The shark-repellent Bat-Spray once enabled him to drive off a shark. There are four in number.
Bat-Springs.
Portable Bat-Bombs: Small explosive devices that Batman can plant seemingly at random in almost any location. These once enabled him and Robin to avoid the Minstrel cremating both of them alive.
Instant unfolding Batcostumes with utility belts: Used in exactly one third-season installment, "Louie's Lethal Lilac Time." They were contained within two capsules that, when immersed in warm water, would expand to their full sizes. (In the Silver Age DC Comics about The Flash, Dr. Barry Allen, Ph.D., customarily concealed the red uniform he wore as The Flash inside a golden ring he always wore in his civilian identity; its compression ratio was 1:100, and it expanded to its full size upon contact with air. This detail about The Flash's uniform might have given the show's writers the idea for what proved to be a once-and-done gimmick, since Adam West's and Burt Ward's clothes in that installment were not truly conducive to concealing full Batcostumes within them.)

Batcave Equipment[]

Batpoles: The way Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are shown to descend from the stately family mansion, Wayne Manor, to the Batcave situated below it. The secret panel that allows access to them, which is a dummy bookshelf in Bruce Wayne's study, is operated by tripping a rotary switch concealed inside a bust of William Shakespeare in the study; the secret panel slides to the left whenever the switch is thus tripped. (The technique that the Bat-Duo used to accomplish this task in the DC Comics, descent of a flight of stairs, the access to which steps was concealed behind a grandfather clock, that led into the Batcave, was abandoned in the series as too time-consuming and too expensive.) Situated on the wall of the Batpoles shaft, out of eyeshot of anyone who mistakenly trips the switch as the Joker once did, is an Instant Costume Change Lever, described below, for "suiting up," whose effects a device situated at the bottom of the Batpoles shaft can negate for either or both. Also at the bottom of the said shaft is a Compressed Steam Batpole Lift, also described below, which can bring either back to the study.
Bat-Computer: The primary computer Batman uses for his crusade against crime. It is essentially a mainframe computer, and Batman and Robin alone are capable of operating it. It is powered by industrial "BatDiamonds," which the Giant Hydraulic Bat-Press, described below, is used to manufacture; but as noted below, this procedure can take up to six months.
Radio Frequency Bat-Generator.
Bat-Printer: A printer that can cleverly forge documents.
Precious Metals Bat-Analyzer: A device that lists the components of metallic objects.
Bat-Roscope: A device that can find fingerprints on an item.
Bat-Analyst, also called Bat-Analyzer, lists the chemical components of an item using ultraviolet light.
Bat-Spectrograph Criminal Analyzer: A powerful device that records biological information of anyone in close range. This was tested on the Joker and the Penguin when they fought the Dynamic Duo in the Batcave
Bat-Sound Analyzer: A device that analyzes background sounds on recordings. (Apparently this device has some similar and/or identical functions to an oscilloscope such as the Bat-Scilloscope, mentioned below.)
Master Bat-File: Gives out addresses.
Home Dry Bat-Cleaning Plant: Used to dry-clean Batcostumes, since the materials of which they are constructed cannot be laundered using conventional "wet-cleaning" machines, but its usage for that purpose takes several hours to complete.
Automatic Bat-Alarm For Detecting Phone-Detecting Equipment: This alarm warns Batman if an attempt is being made to trace the Batphone's location. It is used with Diversionary Batphone Lines to prevent such tracing of the Batphone and moved to another location.
Integro-Differential Robot Analyzer: It tells if there is anything out of the ordinary about a certain robot.
Bat-Calendar: A calendar giving a list of Gotham City current events.
Bat-Syllable Device: An electronic typewriter connected to tape player. Alfred uses this to type in words; it then pronounces them in Bruce's voice, in a staggered fashion on the tape player.
Brain-Wave Bat-Analyzer: A device which checks the areas of the brain one at a time for tampering.
Bat-Tape Reader: A device which checks for abnormalities in recorded sounds.
Electronic Translator: An astounding computer translator if given foreign writing, will then display English text on its screen.
Wireless Bat-Transmitter A device used for "bat-emergencies" only and receives "Morse bat-code."
Bat-Naps: Used for cleaning dirty Batcostumes when the Home Dry Bat-Cleaning Plant is unavailable.
Bat-Secret Writing Detector.
Bat-Radar.
Bat-Spot Analyzer.
Electronic Hair Bat-analyzer.
Portable Anti-Crime Lab.
Bat Make-Up Kit.
Bat-Funnel.
Bat-Scilloscope: A device that may have similar and/or identical functions to the Bat-Sound Analyzer described above.
Business Bat-Index Machine.
Well-Known Criminals File.
Emergency Bat-Call Box.
Criminal Analyzing Bat-Sensor.
Bat-Dummy: A life-sized puppet that can be manipulated through cunning ventriloquism.
Recollection Cycle Bat-Restorer: Used to restore lost memories.
Current Criminal Activity Bat-Disclosure Unit.
Auxiliary Circuit Bat-Generator: A special generator used in cases of power disruptions.
Bat-Answer Phone: A device which plugs into the Batphone and carries on a conversation in Batman's voice.
InterDigital Bat-Sorter.
Bat-Research Shelf: Contains the collected volumes of The History Of Gotham City and any other important books.
Bat-Armor: Primarily the Batmobile Bat-Armor, and is usually used in conjunction with the Batmobile's Automatic Tire-Repair Device.
Portable Batphone: A smaller version of the Batphone, described below, which is essentially self-contained. It can be carried on Batman's utility belt.
Bat-Weather Instruments: Often used by Alfred Pennyworth, who has received cross-training in meteorology, the study of weather and climate.
Criminal Sensor Bat-Indicator: A device that automatically plays one of his or her soundbites whenever a villain enters Gotham City.
Three-Dimensional Bat-Restorer: Used to reverse the effects of a device that can take away the third dimension of any living being, in this case Dr. Cassandra Spellcraft's "Elvino Ray Gun."
Batmobile's Nuclear Reactor Power Source: The large generator at the back of the Batcave, used primarily to power the Batmobile.
U.S. And Canada Crime Computer: This provides subway schedules, among other information.
Hyper-Spectrographic Analyzer: A device which among its other uses, analyzes cloth and determines where it originated.
Chemo-Electric Secret Writing Detector.
Electronic Bugging Devices: Constructed in the shapes of small amphibians and insects, for long range listening in.
Gotham City Plans And Views: A database that calls up microfiches of local building plans.
Giant Lighted Lucite Map Of Gotham City.
Portable Freezing Chamber: An electrical deep-freezer large enough to hold a man; the lowest temperature it can reach has not been gauged. It is used for testing anti-freeze capsules and such garments as "super thermo-B long underwear," "Bat-Thermal Underwear," and "Super-Thermalized Bat-Skivvies," all three of which are essentially the same types of garments--undersuits that contain electric heaters inside them.
Inter-Galactic Recorder.
Anti-Crime Auxiliary Power Generator: This supplies power to the Batcave whenever power outages occur.
Bat-Television: A simple, ordinary television set, where Batman watches for any news of what is happening in Gotham City.
Pattern Identification Manual: A book that provides the name of a substance once it has been analyzed.
Bat-Scanner and Bat-Homing Transmitter: These work in tandem. The Bat-Homing Transmitter is placed on the object to be tracked, and the Bat-Scanner picks up the signal.
Emergency Back-Up Receivers: Re-routes the signal if something goes wrong with the Bat-Scanner.
Voice Control Batmobile Relay Circuit: With this device, Batman can control the Batmobile when he is not driving it.
Truth Control Bat-Tester A bag and mask, which is placed over the face of the individual being interrogated. As the person answers questions, their breath is captured in the bag. The breath is then mixed with a chemical liquid. Should the individual be telling the truth, the oxygen content will turn the liquid red. If they are lying, then their increased metabolism means more oxygen; this will create an imbalance in the liquid and it will remain clear. (Batman employed this on "Pauline," moll of "The Riddler," in the episode "The Riddler's False Notion."
Memory Bat-Bank: A device that contains photos of known criminals. When Batman needs to find a particular villain, the bank gives it to him at the press of a button.
Bat-Magnifying Lens: An accurate lense for delicate work such as painting false fingerprints.
State Pen Occupancy Report: This contains up-to-date information on the criminals currently housed in the Gotham State Penitentiary.
Compressed Steam Batpole Lift: Used for carrying Batman and Robin up the Batpoles.
Automatic Costume Change Device, or Instant Costume Change Lever: The mechanism which changes Bruce Wayne's and Dick Grayson's clothes into their Batcostumes as they slide down the Batpoles, and vice versa. It can be shut off using a switch in the Batcave; this switch can negate both changes or one change. (It and the Batpoles described above were adopted in lieu of the method of "suiting up" the Bat-Duo employed in the DC Comics, descent of a flight of stairs leading to the Batcave whose access was concealed behind a grandfather clock, which, as noted above, was rejected as being too time-consuming and too expensive.)
Bat-Index: A computerized phone book and automatic phone dialer.
Bat-Speech Imitator: A device once used to produce Batman's voice when Alfred was dressed as Batman.
Bat-Crime Computer: A special computer that creates a profile of a specific villain and then computes the villain's next caper by searching for patterns of activity.
Bat-Seismograph: A special seismograph which is so sensitive it can pinpoint the location of a small explosion in Gotham City.
Transistorized Shortwave Bat-Transmitter: A short-wave communication device. The Transistorized Shortwave Bat-Receiver can receive messages from it.
Bat-Jets: Powerful gas turbines, or more properly "fuel turbines," that are capable of lifting a 5000-pound automobile more than 500 miles into the air. It is not known what happens to such an automobile when it comes down from such a height, but presumably the Bat-Jets are also capable of slowing the descent speed of the automobile so that it can soft-land undamaged, instead of forcefully striking the ground and being smashed.
Bat-Geiger Counter is just that; a miniature model of it also exists and is likewise employed. The full-size and miniature models are both used with Radioactive Bat-Pellets, which are then useful for tracking people or objects because the full-size and/or the miniature Bat-Geiger Counters can be used to locate the pellets.
Microfilm Crime File: Contains photos and information on criminals.
Bat-Chemical Analyzer: Analyzes all substances contained in any certain chemical.
Bat-Drone Plane: A remote-control plane used to pick up narrow wavelengths being transmitted high above Gotham. It has a Bat-Drone Control Console to pilot the it, and is also used to pick up the source of the transmission being tracked. It also includes the Bat-Drone Retriever Switch, which brings the drone to a safe landing inside the Batcave.
Bugging Devices: Constructed in the Batcave from spare components. They are used for the same purpose as other bugging devices.
Batmobile Tracking Graph: A map of Gotham City on which the Batmobile's tracking-location signal can be pinpointed.
Bat-Extension A second Batphone that can be carried around the Batcave when working up in hard-to-reach places.
Giant Hydraulic Bat-Press: A machine used to make "BatDiamonds," but it can take up to six months for this device to create any such one large enough to power the BatComputer.

Vehicles[]

Batmobile: The specialized car Batman drives to Police Headquarters, and indeed almost everywhere in Gotham City, by land.
BatCopter: Batman's helicopter that he uses for missions by air.
BatBoat: The motorboat-speedboat Batman and Robin use whenever they have to fight crime on sea.
BatCycle: Batman's motorcycle; it has a Go-Cart that can be disengaged.

Behind The Scenes: A Bat-Plane was briefly considered for addition to Batman's arsenal of vehicles, but ultimately nothing came of the idea.

Other/Miscellaneous[]

Batphone: A device which Batman and Police Commissioner Gordon use to communicate. It has a portable version mentioned above, as well, and a duplicate of it is mounted in the Batmobile.
Bat-Signal: A superheated spotlight used by the police to signal the Dynamic Duo whenever crimes that they themselves (the police) cannot solve have been committed. The tool was often used to contact Batman and Robin either at night (which is when it is primarily used in the DC Comics) or if, for whatever reason, they were unable to answer the Batphone.

Charitable Organizations[]

As head of the Wayne Foundation, Batman as Bruce Wayne has made several public organizations to benefit the Gothamites, these include:

Bruce Wayne School of Home Economics
Wayne Animal Sanctuary
Wayne Federation of Boys Clubs
Bruce Wayne Ice Arena
Wayne Foundation Free Nursery School
Gotham City Boxing Commission
Gotham State Prison Parole Board
Gotham Point Surfing Association
Bruce Wayne Foundation Memorial Handicap
Gotham Library's Board of Trustees
First National Bank of Gotham City
Gotham Lines
Bruce Wayne Rehabilitation Fund
The Wayne Foundation for Delinquent Girls
Gotham City Museum
Gotham City League of Bankers
Wayne Camp for Underprivileged Children
Gotham Millionaires Hunting Club
Gotham City Water Commission
The Thomas Wayne Memorial Clock Tower

Behind the scenes[]

Adam West's portrayal of Batman is famous for being comedic and insincere compared to previous versions, and the word "campy" is commonly used to describe the show's tone. But that perception of the series always bothered West; as he explained to Jeff Rovin in Back To The Batcave, "I loathed the word 'camp.' It demeaned our efforts by suggesting that what we were working hard to achieve was so corny or easy or bad that anybody could do it. We just made it look that way." He always stressed that what they were doing was farce, a lampoon, and deliberately intended as comedy.
West's Bruce/Batman played up on the comedy from Burt Ward's Robin/Dick Grayson, and he was very clever, often figuring out seemingly impossible clues or riddles. But he also had a knack for getting into trouble, and he was often trapped in various death-traps by various villains. He always escaped, however, using either his wits or his ridiculous array of gadgets. The gadgets were often used as puns, e.g., when dealing with sharks, he once cracked, "Luckily I carried my shark-repellent Bat-Spray." Not surprisingly, he appeared in every episode.

Appearances[]

Batman (all episodes)
Batman: The Movie
Legends of the Superheroes (two-part 1979 television special)
Batman '66
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Playable character)
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders
Batman vs. Two-Face
Batman (Vol. 3) #135
The Flash (cameo)

Trivia[]

It was never revealed in the series whether Batman actually caught the criminals who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents. Bill Finger eventually showed Batman catch the crooks who killed his parents in Detective Comics #235 (November 1956)
Bruce mentions twice that his parents were murdered by dastardly criminals. This is not strictly in line with the original origin, as Bruce's parents were murdered by one unnamed mugger. Finger expanded the backstory in 50's, revealing the shooter's name as Joe Chill, who was also revealed to have been hired by a crimeboss named Lew Moxon to assassinate Dr. Wayne.
This is one of the few Batman incarnations where Batman is operating legally as a deputized officer of the law and not as a vigilante. Lewis Wilson in the Columbia serials was operating as agent of the US Government to catch foreign spies, the local police were unaware of his status however.
In the DC Comics, Bruce Wayne was not allowed to adopt Dick Grayson legally because he was a bachelor, and thus, he did the next best thing and had himself appointed as Grayson's legal guardian.
The blue cowls Adam West wore as Batman, which Jan Kemp, the show's wardrobe master, constructed for him, tended, in time, to turn purple under the hot studio lights. Their color was drawn from a DC practice, in the comics, of shading black items with blue. In dictating Back To The Batcave, West explained to Jeff Rovin, who transcribed his (West's) dictations, "The shiny blue-black cowl was stitched around a blue plastic bowl-type cap that had no give. I was convinced that every time I put the thing on, it was hastening male pattern baldness."

On Etsy, a clothier and cosplay supplier called Williams Studio has obtained a license, from DC Comics and its parent company, Warner Brothers, to duplicate the cowls in, for example, black leather, to bring them closer in appearance to what Batman might actually have worn in the DC Comics.