How the Batsuit Works

An anonymous reader writes "Batman's outfit plays a much more prominent role in Batman Begins than it did in the previous films. And a lot of the technology actually seems plausible. This HowStuffWorks article explains all its features."

Comments

Hmm

[mister_llah]

This is an improvement over the only noticable feature of "has nipples" from previous Batman films... I approve!

Re:Hmm

[aftk2]

Only on Slashdot would this be an improvement over that feature.

Re:Hmm

[Tet]

This is an improvement over the only noticable feature of "has nipples" from previous Batman films

The suit was made by a friend of mine, who happens to be a big fan, so he put the effort in to make the suit look right. Of all the batman films so far, it's probably the one that most closely mirrors the comics.

Re:Hmm

[That's Unpossible!]

The suit was made by a friend of mine, who happens to be a big fan, so he put the effort in to make the suit look right. Of all the batman films so far, it's probably the one that most closely mirrors the comics.

Who is your friend? The article specifically mentions, "The Batsuit for 'Batman Begins' was created by costume designer Lindy Hemming."

Lindy Hemming is either a woman, or one of the ugliest men I've ever seen.

Re:Hmm

[Toxygen]

He actually had a number of different suits that he would wear depending on the type of combat he was expecting to encounter. Batman had his heavy armor suits for fighting baddies with guns, he had lighter armor suits with more flexibility for melee villains, ultra-light suits for reconnaissance work, even suits built for various climates and elevations. Some writers gave him a closet full of suits, others gave the idea that the suit was modular and Batman could mix-n-match the peices he wanted.

Re:Hmm

[RapmasterT]

The suit was made by a friend of mine, who happens to be a big fan, so he put the effort in to make the suit look right. Of all the batman films so far, it's probably the one that most closely mirrors the comics.

Sorry, I got to call BullSh*t on that one. No Batman comic ever suggested a batsuit anything like any of the movies. The comic suit was always a typical cloth, nothing fancy, foldup-stuff-it-in-a-sack spandex suit.

The closes thing to the movie batsuits was in the "NightFall" storyline where Azrael replaced Batman for a while and built his own armored and weaponed batsuit.

So dude, either you're full of it, or your friend set you up to look like a jerk.

Re:Hmm

[__aaclcg7560]

Bullets just bounce off of him.

That's Superman. Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller shows Batman seriously getting seriously wounded during a confrontation.

Re:Hmm

[westlake]

Why does it matter? He's Batman. Bullets just bounce off of him

No they don't. That Batman is a hero without superpowers is what makes him special.

Re:Hmm

[christopherfinke]

What are you, some kind of Batman expert? He's got buttloads of superpowers. Like... samurai sword powers, wall-climbing powers, and this sweet arm blade...

Shark Repellent

[hools1234]

As long as it comes with Shark Repellant, you can put me down to buy 2!

Re:Shark Repellent

[NeedleSurfer]

He was making a reference to the old tv serie. In one episode, while climbing the ladder off an hellicopter a shark jumps out of the water and grab Batman by the leg, Batman turns (or look up) to robin and ask him to grab the Bat Shark Repelant off of his belt and hand it to him, Robin executes himself and one aerosol spray later the shark is gone.

This very moment shows that about anything can be found on Batmans belt, anything that will get him out of trouble after the commercial break or at the beginning of the second part of a two part episode.

Contrary to what state the article the belt has about no fix equipement appart from the gun that fire something that let him climb -- nowadays they say magnetic, old times was a boomerang or grapling hook... how a magnetic thingy can attach to the stones of a building beats me but hey it's Batman, and How Stuff Works...

Re:Shark Repellent

[Kentamanos]

Actually, I think it was in this movie:
Batman (1966)

But it might have been in an episode too?

Re:Shark Repellent

[qzulla]

The shark repellent was from the original movie, not the TV series. One of the best scenes. That and the one where he is trying to get rid of the bomb on the dock.

qz

Re:Shark Repellent

[NanoGator]

"... anything that will get him out of trouble after the commercial break or at the beginning of the second part of a two part episode."

Ugh. I caught a Batman episode once where the dynamic duo were tied to a buoy out at sea. It really sucked for them because a torpedo was headed straight for them. *COMMERICAL* When the show came back, Batman and Robin were soaked. After a moment passed, Batman thanked the selfless porpoise that gave its life to detonate the torpedo before it hit them.

Our hero, ladies and gentlemen. You should see him at the roulette wheel.

Re:Shark Repellent

[Guppy06]

"Robin executes himself"

Don't think I saw that episode. Did he use the Bat-Cyanide Capsule?

Re:Shark Repellent

[Miss Liz]

I remember it vividly (and I have the movie), so I'll give ya'll the complete version.... It is indeed in the old Batman version. Batman and Robin are on the Batcopter following a yacht. Batman tells Robin to take the controls so he can go down the Bat ladder (with a sign on it saying "Bat Ladder"), only to realize just as his foot is touching the water that the yacht is really a hologram. As he pulls out his foot, turns out he's got a shark on his toe. First, Batman tries to shake it off... but when that fails he calls to Robin to get the Bat Shark Repellent. Robin gets out a case full of various sprays, including I think Bat Squid Repellent, etc. He gets the repellent and climbs down the Bat ladder. He hands the repellent to Batman, the Dark Night sprays, the shark falls, and EXPLODES when it hits the water! Yes, folks... it was a "trained exploding attack shark." Later in the movie, a "trained exploding attack octopus" is mentioned, but that creature is never shown on screen.... a minion blows it up.

Plausible

[kristopher]

Plausible in the sense of it being a movie in the fantasy genre.

Real Stuff

[BobPaul]

I remember back in the glory days when howstuffworks.com used to have articles about actual products and phenomena. They still do that sometimes, right?
--
Don't fight Firefox! Let FireFox fight YOU!

Re:Real Stuff

[yotto]

Seriously. I understand that howstuffworks.com (and slashdot, for that matter) has to make money and all, but do they sleep well at night knowing they turned an informative website into a showcase for the latest movie?

Re:Real Stuff

[jayhawk88]

HowStuffWorks: Here are thousands upon thousands of articles on real items, devices, and phenomena that are both interesting and useful to the reader, composed and compiled over many years.
Yotto: *Yawn*
HowStuffWorks: Here are a handful of articles written for fun on technology seen in popular movies.
Yotto: OMG, HowStuffWorks sucks! They are teh sellouts! How can they do this to me?

It must be terrible to live in your serious, serious world.

Re:Real Stuff

[albieomoss]

I think people are a little preturbed by the fact that HowStuffWorks.com has thousands of articles that are based on real things and then they throw in this Pseudo-Science bullsh*t which brings down the credibility of their site. Its like if I was watching the news and they told me what was going on in World of Warcraft or something. It's nothing to get your panties in a bind about, its just out of place.

Sponsor?

[Malicious]

This is very reminiscant of "How Lightsabres Work". Apparently Howstuffworks.com has become a major sponsor of Slashdot.

Sponsored links should be declared as such to help seperate news from "news".

Batman

[nepheles]

Looking forward to the new Batman -- he's one of the deepest comic book heroes out there. Apart from his own turmoil, documented throughout the series, the madness, brooding insanity and general darkness of Gotham is still an interesting depiction of a vaguely 40s American Urban wasteland. It contrasts fairly starkly with today's forgettable, fluffy all-star heroes.

This Kuro5hin article makes interesting reading.

In the table of contents

[Anonymous Coward]

"Shop or Compare Prices"

If only...

What we really need;

[jafac]

is a "How the Slasdot effect Works"

Re:What we really need;

[pla]

What we really need ... is a "How the Slasdot effect Works"

Simple, really...

1. Write something that tangentially touches on a geeky subject
2. subscribe to a million and one pageads
3. submit your link to Slashdot
4. Profit!

Notice the lack of a "..." step here... Slashdot has nicely answered that (apparently-not-so-)eternal question for us.

The only real skill involved occurs in step #1... In this case, I have to admit, getting geeks to read a description of what boils down to a fashion accessory really takes the cake!


As an aside, some people totally misunderstand the Slashdot effect. They believe it involves writing something factual for step 1, and trying to harden their webserver as step 2 - Thus entirely missing out on step 4, and often actually have to pay more to cover the bandwidth spike. Tsk tsk tsk, silly people... When will you learn, the world doesn't want hard data, it wants the illusion of hard data. real factual information takes (gasp!) thought to process.

I want it!

[GreatRedShark]

so where can I buy it? and what about that lightsabre they did an article on a while ago, I still can't find one like in the article. But it's real, just like the batsuit. right? Right?? RIGHT??!?! OH GOD DON'T TELL ME IT'S JUST ANOTHER PRANK!!!!!!! AAAAAAH!

hehehe...

So is this movie actually good?

[caitsith01]

May as well ask, as we're clearly just discussing new products and services we plan to buy here on ./ these days...

After the last few Batman horrors I swore I would never go to another Batman-related movie, but this one seems to be faring well on Rotten Tomatoes, and Roger Ebert even gave it 4 stars (although he is admittedly something of a teenage boy when it comes to superhero movies). However, I'm sorely tempted to actually pay money to see this. Especially because Christian Bale is so much more interesting than run-of-the-mill action heroes. I had to kill a *lot* of people.

So, would it be worth it, or is this essentially more Hollywood crap? Are the good reviews merely a product of relief a the fact that it's not monumentally awful, or is it actually _good_?

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[ImaLamer]

Roger Ebert even gave it 4 stars (although he is admittedly something of a teenage boy when it comes to superhero movies)

That is true. Ebert said that Spidey 2 should win a best picture Oscar! Not that I don't like Spiderman but I thought both movies weren't that great - as far as movies go.

It's my opinion, I'm entitled to be wrong though.

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[RobotRunAmok]

So, would it be worth it, or is this essentially more Hollywood crap?

As contrasted, say, by those fine, fine French superhero films? Or those magnificent big-budget Dutch action-adventure movies?

I mean, d00d, it's a Batman flick! The scale for movies adapted from comix goes from Corman's Fantastic Four at the crap end up through Spiderman 2 on the Tiffany side, but either way it's all Hollywood. Don't get all sniffy and European when you're discussing grand-scale superhero movies: nobody does them better -- or worse -- than Hollywood, cuz nobody else does them at all!

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[nine-times]

I disagree with you (no insult intended). People tend to dismiss movies that are action-packed and funny as being somehow "without content". Critics and laymen both would tend to dismiss a superhero flick as being "that sort of movie" and therefore not warranting serious consideration and thought.

But if you ask me, both Spiderman movies pretty much have it all. They're actually pretty deep and interesting on the emotional level, if you're willing to take the risk of taking them seriously. They're also very funny, very exciting, etc. But don't think the fact that an idiot can appreciate a thing on one level procludes a deep thinking individual from appreciating the same thing on a deeper level. In fact, the sign of a true master is to make something that can be appreciated on many levels.

If you asked me, Raimi has shown himself to be brilliant by making the films approachable and enjoyable by the set of people who enjoy "mindless fun" types of movies without bringing any harm to the movie on a deeper critical level.

But then again, I'm something of a teenage boy when it comes to superhero movies.

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[caitsith01]

Easy tiger, no need to get all defensive-American on me.

I believe "Hollywood crap" can be contrasted with "Hollywood non-crap." There are a rare few action movies that are both smart, entertaining and well-made. For example: Ronin, The Matrix (I), The Crow, Aliens, arguably the first Spiderman (though I'm not totally sold on this). As for European action movies, I strongly recommend Enemy At the Gates, a very realistic and gripping war movie about Stalingrad. Watch it instead of assuming that nothing good and exciting comes out of Europe.

If I'm going to pay $15 (Australian) to see a movie I want to make sure it is worth it. I would rather pay to see a well made drama, be it European, American or 'foreign', than a bad action movie. Hence the question.

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[rhysweatherley]

cuz nobody else does them at all!

Japanese - manga anyone?
Russian - who do you think first made Solaris into a movie? And I recall an aquaman-type movie from the Soviet era (wish I could remember the name) that was amazing.
British - How many times has Robin Hood been made into a movie? Not to mention Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Sherlock Holmes, etc, etc, etc.
China - The Hong Kong film industry was built on the back of martial arts superheroes from Chinese history. And don't get me started on Bollywood!

The list goes on and on. Other cultures have superheroes/supervillians and which have been made into big budget film versions in their native countries, and then remade for Hollywood several years later when Hollywood runs out of ideas. Just because you've never seen them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[thesandtiger]

I felt that, if Batman were to exist in the real world, this isn't too far off from how it'd go.

One thing: this is NOT an action movie. It's a drama with some comic-booky elements, but the action in it is really not done in a spectacular form. The fights are not very clear - it's really hard to make out what they're doing to eachother when people fight. Some people have been complaining about that because they expected this to be one of those spectacles.

I liked it as a movie and I liked it as a Batman story.

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[YOU LIKEWISE FAIL IT]

I had to kill a *lot* of people.

???!

Did this just slip out, or what?

-- YLFI

Re:So is this movie actually good?

[caitsith01]

It's a Patrick Bateman quote from American Psycho, Mr Bales' finest role in my opinion.

The Batmobile is much more interesting

[Spodlink05]

Partly because it's insane and partly because all of the US manufacturers said it couldn't be done - so they made it in England.

Re:The Batmobile is much more interesting

[petrus4]

I saw the photos. Although the comments on them state that it looks a bit dubious, to me the design looks extremely logical, and basically exactly what I'd expect Batman to drive.

Realistically, to my mind he'd want if not caterpillar tracks, then as close to all-terrain as tires could give him. That would mean all-wheel drive presumably, and it would also mean big tires like the ones we see there. He'd also presumably want it to be very heavily armoured; capable of withstanding anything short of rockets if that were possible. Heavily armoured glass, small windows, and possibly blast shutters for them as well. The downside is that the car would be extremely heavy in all likelihood, but that probably couldn't be helped.

I'm guessing he'd also want the car to have its own air filtration system. (for threats like the Scarecrow's fear gas, and other airborne threats) If I was wanting a vehicle like that, I'd also want GPS in conjunction with a very large map database, as well as at least basic AI pathfinding to plot courses between points quickly. More futuristically speaking, steering via AI-augmented direct neural interface could also be interesting, especially for people with disabilities. I've got some disabilities as far as learning to drive is concerned myself, so it makes me hope that if AI gets somewhat more advanced in the future, a partly-AI driven car could be a great thing for some people.

Not all that hath nipples, hath beauty...

[mister_llah]

Remember, my good man, that in addition to fine young women, bald, obese, hairy 60 year old men with severe hygeine problems ALSO have nipples...

Re:Not all that hath nipples, hath beauty...

[BasilBrush]

No I don't.

Re:Not all that hath nipples, hath beauty...

[rosewood]

I have nipples focker, you going to milk me?

Good Investment

[TeacherOfHeroes]

It's very rare that you see anyone in the movie industry taking the time to make their technology realistic. In most cases there's no incentive to do so; The movie will only seem less realistic to a small number of people who really know the difference. This movie, however, has a large enough pre-existing existing fan base that does care, and in this case the higher level of detail is a worthwhile one.

Not mentioned.

[AtariAmarok]

Not mentioned are some of the secret compartments in the Utility Belt, such as the one containing live radioactive spiders, just in case Batman finds the need to shoot goo from his wrists and "Swing the extra mile" over Gotham. Kryptonite is found in another compartment: never know when you need to reduce that overgrown boy scout to such a weak state that he can't cross the street himself (let alone help an old lady across it). Also found in a secret flat part of the belt buckle are those certain photos he took of Robin that he does not ever want anyone to find, but he can't bring himself to destroy them.

Hhrmmm..

[Bananatree3]

Shucks. And I thought I was batman with my batman costume. Oh well, I guess those of us who can burn the hundreds of thousands to get this kind of suit are really batman.

From the Article

[Anonymous Coward]

(The exact nature of Batman's relationship with Wayne Enterprises is unclear at this point.)

How about the fact that Batman is Bruce Wayne and owns Wayne Enterprises?

Re:From the Article

[j3tt]

OMG! So the rumors are true then?

Re:From the Article

[RapmasterT]

(The exact nature of Batman's relationship with Wayne Enterprises is unclear at this point.) How about the fact that Batman is Bruce Wayne and owns Wayne Enterprises?

actually, no that's not true, as you'd find out after seeing the movie.

By the end of the movie he is the majority shareholder of the publicly traded company, but through the other 99% he has no legal relationship with the company.

Re:From the Article

[NegativeOneUserID]

How about the fact that Batman is Bruce Wayne .....

Way to ruin it for me ya jerk! How about a spoiler warning next time?

Warning!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Costume does not enable user to fly.

Go go go Gadget Bat Belt

[ROFLMAObot]

Is one of the features and uses of Bat Utility Belt "...to hold up Batman's Bat Pants"?

Advertisement?

[mcguyver]

How much did howstuffworks pay slashdot for this article? Same price as the lightsaber article?

/karma to waste

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:I really hope they do real articles too

[zerocool^]

Not only that, I was looking there just earlier today, and I thought "What a crock" when I saw the advertisement for the new batman movie (sorry, i meant "informative article"). Howstuffworks used to be useful, but I searched there today for the word roulette (was wondering if they had an article on how a roulette wheel is constructed - commercial ones are like $4000), and I got 300 "paid ads" that weren't even in the paid ads section.

howstuffworks is useless now. Just another website where advertising has replaced content.

~Will

Magnetic grappling gun good for

[planckscale]

1. Catching the bus

2. catching that elevator

3. Climbing those stairs

4. grabbing that beer from the fridge

5. getting to the seat in the middle of that crowded theatre

6. Getting to the front of the Batman rollercoaster line

7. Peeping from the 5th floor fire escape

Sign me up!

I mean, come on, "does it run Linux" ???

[AtariAmarok]

"...but does it run Linux?

Do you think for a minute he'd give The Penguin such satisfaction?

Re:Batman and the bathroom...

[mister_llah]

Perhaps he got kicked once, they became swollen, and then he needed the cod-piece for protection of his sensitive genitalia?

That's the best I can figure...

You're actually right about the kryptonite

[Toxygen]

In modern DC Comics lore, Superman gave Batman a chunk of kryptonite after a nasty fight with a villain (I think it was Brainiac) who managed to control Superman's mind. The logic behind it was that in case a situation like that ever happened again and he needed to be taken down, Superman wanted his most trusted ally to have a trump card to stop him from doing evil. Batman's the man he trusted most to both keep it safe from the hands of other villains, and not to be tempted to use it unless it was an absolute emergency.

Re:You're actually right about the kryptonite

[JahToasted]

Yup. And in the Hush series Poison Ivy took over Superman's mind and Batman had to use the kryptonite. That was actually an excellent comic (Batman #612), but then I always enjoy seeing Batman slap around Superman.

Batman: He [superman] is the best at what he does.
Catwoman: That's open to debate
Batman: I said he's the best at what he does, not at what I do.

Plucky Duck....

[Himring]

I thought Plucky Duck did an excellent Batman:

[Plucky Duck as Batman attempts to join the Justice League]:
Justice League: "We have incredible powers! [each displays genetic abilities]. What are your powers?
Plucky Duck: [Looks concerned and then draws attention to his waist] "Well ... I have this really cool belt...."
[Entire Justice League bursts into laughters]

And then Lex Luthor shows up and drains each hero's abilities making him singularly incredible, but then tries to drain Plucky's forcing him into a weakened state and thereby losing it all. Justice League lets Plucky in based on his success as a failure....

Some photos

[pete19]

It was featured on the BBC motoring program 'Top Gear' last week.

They had to build it from scratch instead of just modifying a base vehicle. It looks kind of like a big monster truck thing, pretty cool!

http://www.movieforums.com/news/277

How kind of Anonymous Reader

[barakn]

to submit this story right before the movie comes out. There's a 99%$ chance that "anonymous reader" is an employee of the movie or ad industries or of howstuffworks itself. Thanks for giving a large corporation free advertising, Slashdot!

Re:Cyberpunk gear

[Suddenly_Dead]

I don't exactly get the classification of "cyberpunk gear", but I did hear something about those sunglasses. More accurately, it's currently more like the other "head mounted computers" or whatnot, wearing a computer on your belt and some glasses over your eyes hooked up to it (though the glasses may be less dorky, can't remember too much). They figure that they'll eventually get it so useful information is displayed in the place of billboards. Weather forcasts or email or whatnot.

That's just one application of that technology though, and it's still probably not being commercially produced.

Re:hence...

[ScrewMaster]

No, having him be a rich bastard was how Batman having all those phenomenally expensive toys was justified (hell, in the TV series he had his own Bat Atomic Reactor.) Perhaps it would have been better if he'd been a normal guy that accidentally discovered an alien device that gave him superpowers. That way he would be less unlikeable to you.

But then ... he wouldn't be Batman.

I must be the only one

[dubdays]

...who thought the headline read "How the Biscuit Works".

Re:I really hope they do real articles too

[Bortal]

Make your own how-to-pages on wikiHow then: http://wiki.ehow.com/Main-Page

Though how-to and how-stuff-works aren't exactly the same, but enough close for me.

On the Utility Belts

[Anonymous Coward]

On the Utility Belts

* Bat-antidote Powder (used to recover from any form of poison)
* Bat-cillin (also called Bat-acillin, available in lozenge form to prevent infection)
* Mobile Phone Bat-plugs (enable use of a portable Bat-phone)
* Bat-gas (also called Bat-sleep, used to put people to sleep)
* Bat-awake (counteracts effects of Bat-gas)
* Anti Bat-sonic device (deflects energy beams)
* Underwater Bat-sonar Device (can be attached to tracking devices to enable them to work underwater)
* Bat-homing Devices (can be rendered ineffective by some metal alloys)
* Emergency Bat-air Pumps (used for pumping up Batmobile tires)
* Bat-respirators (used for traveling underwater)
* Remote Batcomputer (allows access to the Bat-computer's databanks from any distance)
* Bat-detector (can be set to super laugh track sensitivity)
* Bat-plugs (go in nostrils, to prevent inhalation of poisonous fumes)
* Anti Short-circuiting Brain Bat-electrodes (also known as Anti Short-circuiting Bat-brain Electrodes)
* Mini-charge (puts out 5000 Volts)
* Remote Control Batcomputer Oscillator (activates Radio Frequency Bat-generator in Batcomputer, accepts Batman's voice commands)
* Bat-melter (for locks)
* Emergency Bat-communicator (fits on jacket lapel, or disguised as cufflinks)
* Anti Eavesdrop Bat-plug (placed on telephone mouthpiece)
* Remote Batmobile Control Phase Advancer (brings Batmobile to user's current position)
* Small Echoing Seal Pulsator (tracking device for seals)
* Super-thermalized Bat-skivvies (also known as bat-thermal underwear, protect against Mr. Freeze's freeze gun)
* Batrope (used in the Bat-climb)
* Anti Radioactive Bat-pill
* Bat X-ray deflector
* Special Exploding Batarang
* Bat-cuffs
* Bat-sound Amplifier
* Trusty Bat-deflector
* Bat-fan
* Small Batcave Improvement Loan
* Empty Alphabet Soup Bat-container
* Bat-negative Ion Attractor
* Instant Unfolding Bat-costumes complete with Utility Belts (add warm water)
* Shark Repellent Bat-spray
* Heel-and-toe Bat-rockets (experimental)
* Portable Ultra-violet Bat-ray (used to set off explosions)
* Bat-geiger Counter (detects radiation and indicates which direction it's in)
* Pipe of Fog Bat-reverser
* Anti Blast Bat-powder
* Insecticide Bat-bomb
* Bat-tweezers
* Bat-shield
* Miniature Bat-communicator
* Bat-ear Plugs (block out any sound over 14,000 decibels)
* Anti Thermal Bat T-shirts (provide protection from explosions)
* Anti Lethal Fog Bat-spray
* All Purpose Bat-swatter
* Reverse Thermal Bat-lozenge
* Ice Batarang
* Ice Batrope
* Bat-tools (for picking locks)
* Bat-synchronizer (moves lips of the Bat-dummy)
* General Emergency Bat-extinguisher (can remove fog from a room)
* Batmobile Bat-tracker Device (leads the user to current position of Batmobile)
* Bat-file (for escaping from handcuffs)
* African Death Bee Antidote Pill
* Bat-brush
* Laser Bar Cutter
* Bat-hooks
* Bat-chemical (makes metal 20 times heavier)
* Anti Alvino Ray Bat-disintegrator
* Steam Neutralizing Bat-pellets
* Three-Seconds-Flat Bat-vault Combination Unscrambler
* Anti-percussion Asbestos Bat-flax
* Bat-bomb Machine (defuses bombs)
* Bat-hook (attached to suction cup, allows things to be hung on wall)
* Bat-gauge (used to search for hidden doors)
* Laser-gun (can be used to melt things)
* Special Super Thermal B Long Underwear
* Universal Drug Antidote Pill
* Anti-freeze Capsule
* Anti-mesmerizing Bat-reflector (for deflecting Mad Hatter's Super Instant Mesmerizer)
* Bat-key (though likely highly illegal, can open

Re:Oh definitely.

[karnal]

Congratulations, fatty!

That better?

Be gentle. Cutting back on the cigarettes.... tend to be a little more edgy....

Damn, I missed that one

[Toxygen]

Sounds like a great story, sadly my readership mostly spanned the 500s. Superman/Batman stories were always among my favorites, the two just complement each other so well. Batman was Malcom X to Superman's Martin Luther King.

One of my favorite bat-quotes:

Robin: You know where every sewer pipe goes?
Batman: I don't say it's my city just because I live here.

Re:Cyberpunk gear

[1u3hr]

augmented reality sunglasses that overlay black squares over billboards

Douglas Adams has prior art on that: "Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses, which had been specially designed to help people develop a relaxed attitude to danger. At the first hint of trouble they turn totally black and thus prevent you from seeing anything that might alarm you."
Restaurant at the End of the Universe

There is something that Batman sholud have...

[dalmiroy2k]

There is something that Batman should have in order to get revenge and stop crime: A gun

And in the dark knight returns

[porkchop_d_clown]

Superman is ordered by the government to "bring Batman in" and Batman responds with an elaborate scheme to make sure they die together. (which is what the OP was alluding to.)

(Yes, I know that's not *really* what Batman has planned, but I don't want to drop any spoilers...)

They left out one thing...

[Aardvark99]

It's machine washable, that's a new feature.

Codpieces?

[Grendel Drago]

Heh.

Baldrick: My Uncle Baldrick was in a play once.
Edmund: Really?
Baldrick: Yeah. It was called Macbeth.
Edmund: And what did he play?
Baldrick: Second codpiece. Macbeth wore him in the fight scenes.
Edmund: So he was a stunt codpiece?
Baldrick: Yeah.
Edmund: Was it a large part?
Baldrick: Depended on who was playing Macbeth.

Utility Belt?

[stuffduff]

The one feature of both Batman and Star Wars was the Utility Belt. We have Cell Phones, Pagers, PDAs, Music Players, Multi-Tools, and the list is growing. It will be quite a while before we can expect an all in one tool that will do it all. It takes a while after dressing to load up the belt with all this stuff and cram the extra media in the pocket along with wallet and keys. I've often thought that it would be nice to just have a Utility Belt that could hold all the stuff and be ready at a moments notice.

On a somewhat related matter, the physician's vest in Event Horizon also seems like a good idea. I'm considering a 'Red Green' and modifying a fishing vest to accommodate the usual tools I use for PC repair for family and friends. Just slip it on and I'm ready to tackle hardware and software problems!

Re:Utility Belt?

[WebGangsta]

And we already have that today. Except it's called a "fanny pack".