Batman is known for being prepared but his latest defense against removing his cowl goes above and beyond – and then some.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “Hounded” Part Three from Batman: Urban Legends #13, on sale now from DC Comics.
Batman has a long list of ridiculous and complicated gadgets. Although many of them are housed in his utility belt, some are built into the batsuit itself. This can be as simple as the bat symbol on his chest being reinforced with bulletproof padding or as intricate as the defenses in his iconic cowl. These protect him from having his identity uncovered whilst incapacitated. His latest capture highlighted just how utterly ridiculous these defenses really are – and they’re also a stroke of genius too.
Batman and Ace the Bat-Hound were recently captured and while Ace managed to escape, the Dark Knight was still at the mercy of his captors in “Hounded” Part Three (by Mark Russell, Karl Mostert, Trish Mulvihill, and Steve Wands) in Batman: Urban Legends #13. His captors tried to take off his mask to uncover his secret identity but were first thwarted by a classic defense measure – electricity. As seen in the likes of The Dark Knight, the cowl electrocutes any enemies that try to take it off. These villains figured out that insulated gloves could bypass this measure. Too bad the Batman already thought of that.
When the second assailant tried to take off the mask, they could barely get close thanks to large jets of fire spurting out from it. These were located just beneath Batman’s eyebrows, with five points above each eye. It seems like an absolute miracle that Bruce Wayne’s eyebrows aren’t burnt clean off by such a ludicrous defensive mechanism. Surely it’s a hazard to his face and eyes too, having a wild, roaring flame so close to him. Yet, this absolute absurdity is part of Batman’s charm.
Flames and electricity aren’t the only defenses the mask has to offer. Electrifying assailants seems to be the go-to in most cases but there are other weird tricks packed into that cowl. In Batman #609, at the beginning of the “Hush” storyline, the Dark Knight was left unconscious in the streets. Although the electric defense was deployed when they tried to unmask him, just before that, a strange gas was deployed. This was to disorientate any nearby foes and deter others from approaching.
There’s loads more tech packed into Batman’s cowl and it’s likely there are even more defense mechanisms in there that haven’t debuted yet, ones with any number of purposes. In fact, the flamethrower defense went further than just defending the Dark Knight. Huntress was there to save Batman in “Hush”, but Ace didn’t reach his best friend in time in this story. However, the flamethrowers left behind a clear clue that the captured Caped Crusader was hidden here. On the wall Batman was facing when the flamethrowers went off, there was a soot bat symbol clearly marked on the wall. This is an utterly ridiculous detail that, honestly, shouldn’t make sense but it’s brilliant.
This ingenious method of proving the Dark Knight was there feels like something right out of Adam West’s Batman series from 1966. Back then, the Caped Crusader had all manner of ridiculous tools to get him out of the most preposterous predicaments. With Batman and Robin getting caught in a death trap almost every episode, they always had the perfect gadget for any situation. The Bat-Shark Repellant is the most famous but there are even more bizarre entries: there’s a Bat-Fly Swatter, a Bat-Shield reminiscent of Captain America and even rocket boots. The list goes on and on, with each entry more ridiculous than the last.
This latest gadget follows the trend then but by no means surpasses it. A flamethrower that doesn’t melt off Batman’s face and leaves a sooty bat symbol behind to show where he was last seen? It’s nothing compared to the African Death Bee Antidote Pill in Robin’s utility belt (essential when caught unaware by a Death Bee Beehive Tripwire) but, nonetheless, it’s still absolutely perfect.
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