New iterations of the Caped Crusader on film like Matt Reeves’ The Batman means that audiences get to see Bruce Wayne’s new and improved gadgets and Bat-Tech as well. While they can easily be described as cool or sleek for the most part, a lot of them end up being quite useful to Bruce too, and the gadgets shown and used in The Batman that are potentially life-saving, time-saving, or repeatedly utilized are no different.
Whether it’s the famous Batmobile, the iconic Batarang, or the imposing Batsuit, The Batman portrays some of Bruce Wayne’s most useful gadgets and technology on screen.
10 Wingsuit
At the end of the chase scene within the Gotham Police Department building, Batman comes to the edge of the tower and takes in the height before switching into the wingsuit mode with his Batsuit, diving and gliding away.
Although only featured prominently in this scene, the wingsuit proved to be very useful for Batman considering it was easily switched to from the Batsuit and it’s what eventually helped him escape from the police. However, the suit’s parachute and the speed that Bruce was traveling at proved to be the most challenging parts to deal with since colliding with the subway bridge and bus caused him to tumble onto the street.
9 Flares
Near the end of the film, the arena is flooding and smothered in darkness, so Bruce decides to make the situation easier to handle. He pulls out a flare to act as a source of light in the stadium and guides the citizens to safety.
Even though it’s the only use of the flare in the film, it proves to be very effective considering the fact that the electricity went out in the stadium. It’s also the only gadget used by Bruce that directly helps someone other than just himself, which ties in very well with the emotion of the scene as well as Bruce’s character arc in the movie.
8 Batarang
This iteration of the Batarang happens to be placed in the chest plate of the Batsuit and serves as the Bat emblem on the suit as well. It’s used a couple of times in the film for cutting purposes, and perhaps most significantly on the electrical cord in the arena in one of the best live-action Batman movie climaxes.
The fact that it’s right in the suit as opposed to on his utility belt makes the Batarang very accessible in an emergency situation like the scene in the stadium. It also came in handy in non-emergency situations as well, including when Batman had to cut through debris when entering various rooms throughout the film.
7 Adrenaline Shot
After Selina helps an injured Bruce onto the balcony of the arena near the end of the film, one of the Riddler’s henchmen attacks and overpowers her, forcing Bruce to inject himself with adrenaline to gain enough strength to get himself up to help.
While it was only used once in the film, the injection proved to be very useful in the situation as it seemsingly got Bruce to more than 100% of his usual strength in a few seconds after being immobilized in the prior scene. Having the ability to go against bodily instincts could be potentially life-saving in some instances and Bruce may have done just that for Selina in the scene.
6 Taser
Within the first ten minutes of the film, a group of thugs get off the subway and gang up on a defenseless man before Batman makes his first appearance. During the eventual fight, Batman uses a taser attached to his glove to immobilize the last thug who was otherwise equipped with a handgun.
While Batman could probably hold his own against street thugs without the use of any gadgets, having something like a taser on hand only improves his chances. It helps add some extra vigor to hand-to-hand combat, incapacitates the enemy faster, and acts as an additional form of intimidation to the other fighters as well.
5 Batmobile
The Batmobile is first and primarily used in the highway chase scene in the film where Bruce tracks down Penguin in an attempt to apprehend him. Of course, Bruce also uses the muscle car to get around Gotham in other scenes of the film as well, but the chase scene is one of the best Batmobile scenes in any Batman movie.
Arguably the most iconic gadget or Bat-Tech, the Batmobile also proves to be one of the more useful ones as well, since a form of transportation is always a must for a hero like Batman without superpowers like flight or speed. The suped-up engine and strong exterior also make it intimidating and durable without losing its mobility, which makes it ideal to chase down criminals in car chases like with Oz.
4 Grappling Gun
The Grappling Gun is used by Batman throughout the film to propel himself to and from heightened platforms such as during the GCPD chase. It’s also used to grab enemies during certain fight sequences as well, such as with the Riddler’s henchmen during the final act in the arena.
Using the grapple to travel several floors upwards is faster than any elevator could possibly be and it came in handy at GCPD when he was escaping the police. In addition to being able to use it on enemies without getting near them, the Grappling Gun arguably ends up as one of the more useful gadgets in Batman’s arsenal, and it only helps that it’s relatively compact as well.
3 Batcomputer
Storing and processing information is just part of the job for the World’s Greatest Detective, and the Batcomputer is the main technology that helps Bruce with this side of being Batman. He uses it multiple times in the film, whether to see evidence he’s already stored on it or solve the Riddler’s puzzles.
Bruce’s mind is arguably his most valuable asset, but even he can’t rely solely on his brain to decipher every piece of evidence, and the Batcomputer comes in handy in that regard. Being able to look back on and analyze clues and visual information proves to be one of the more useful aspects of the computer, and having that ability is a must, especially when your villains are as cunning as the Riddler.
2 Contact Lens Camera
One of Batman’s coolest gadgets happens to be one of his smallest as well, with that being the contact lens cameras he puts in his eyes. It’s used primarily during the first crime scene in the film and with Selena at the club later on.
Being able to covertly record visual information to look back on later at the Batcomputer is incredibly useful when little details matter in crime scenes as they do with the Riddler. It’s also convenient to store photo IDs and to have someone else like Selena wear the lenses to record information that Bruce wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
1 Batsuit
The Batsuit may be the most obviously useful gadget or Bat-Tech for Bruce as it conceals his identity and allows him to become slightly more than just a man fighting crime. Bruce is rarely seen outside of his Batcave as himself in the film, which obviously opens the door for a lot more of Batman than audiences are used to, and with that comes a lot of use for the Batsuit.
While concealing identity and intimidating enemies is always great, the Batsuit derives even more usefulness from how it armors and equips Bruce when he’s out being a vigilante. The utility belt is a convenient way to hold all of his gadgets and the armor covering his body allows for him to take some bullet damage when fighting his foes, which is something previous live-action Batsuits were unable to do.
