The Batman utility belt is one of the greatest things about Batman’s outfit, right behind the cape. Rumor has it that the Utility belt is Batman’s real superpower. It isn’t that farfetched of an idea because of how much he relies on it.
The utility belt is such an important feature that every member of the Bat-Family has one. Not even team break-ups or new costumes can take the utility belt away.
You can hardly picture Batman without his utility belt. Every fan of Batman knows of its importance to the fight against crime. But what else is there to the utility belt?
1. The Power of 10
Ten is a pretty absolute and powerful number. The same can be said about the utility belt. There are 10 pouches on the belt. In some cases, these pouches are drawn or depicted to be cartridges, cylindrical in shape. These ten pouches hold various weapons and tools to give Batman the upper hand.
The contents of the utility belt have varied from time to time. They have ranged from capsules that emit a strong choking gas, the bat-rope/baseline and the grapple gun, a set of Batarangs, a tape recorder and camera attached to the belt buckle for surveillance and even equipment to hack comm systems and computers. The belt even has its own compartment for holding kryptonite.
2. The First of Many Appearances
The belt made its first appearance in July 1939 as a part of Batman’s outfit in Detective Comics issue 29. It almost instantly became a fan favorite and something that people expected to see in future editions of the Batsuit.
Gardner Fox is credited as the brain behind the first rendition of the belt. He is also responsible for the Batarang appearance coming in hot two issues after the utility belt made its grand entrance. Since then, it has featured as a functional part of the Batsuit in every subsequent issue.
3. No Room for Theft
It’s a given; almost everyone keeps their phones and other devices locked. You don’t want just anyone messing around with your stuff, and Batman is no different.
Where we use fingerprint identification, face, and voice lock to keep the snoops away, Batman’s utility belt has been shown to electrocute people who try to touch it instantly. But that’s just one defense mechanism.
The utility belt has also been shown to emit a stunning gas on anyone who tries to mess around with it. Furthermore, there are locks on all the pouches, and Batman is the only one who knows how to open them.
4. It Paved the Way for Other Bat-tools
Since it debuted, other forms of tools in the bat-itinerary have found their way into the picture. We already know of the Batarang, but there are also others we may be familiar with, and yes most of them have the word “bat” in them.
There is the bat-dart, containing a chemical tranquilizer strong enough to take down the biggest of Batman’s foes; the bat-bolas, which he uses to incapacitate the feet of would-be runaway criminals, and the bat stun-gun, which Batman uses to immobilize his opponents.
Other bat-tools include bat-cuffs, the bat-heater, the bat light, bat-rope, bat-saw, sometimes a bat-sword that is portable for easy carriage, the bat-tracer, bat-bombs, and a bat-key that can open any lock. It is an entire franchise.
5. The Batman Utility Belt Once Had a Gun Holster
In the beginning, there was darkness……… Sorry about that, but in the beginning, there actually was a time when Batman was written without the hatred for guns, and his utility belt was shown to facilitate that thought.
The belt has been shown to have space for a gun holster and not just that but a gun itself. Present-day batman would never let that fly, so we are all glad he hates guns, and there is no room for firearms.
6. The Batman Utility Belt Has Served as Home to Some Weird Components
The utility belt is a testament to how intelligent Batman is. He always has a plan for every situation and somehow manages to have the right tools just as he needs them.
No doubt Batman’s world is a crazy and bizarre one, but the tools he has used to overcome them are even crazier. Some of the unusual tools in/on the utility belt over the years include:
- Shark repellent
- Laughing gas, and wait for it……
- Sad pills
- Crayons; and Batman even admits to carrying them always.
- Napalm; which causes some concern because it could easily blow up!
- A fly swatter: apparently, Batman does not like flies bugging him as well.
- The bat shield (don’t ask how he was able to fit it in)
7. It’s Not Always Been A Regular Feature
Sometimes, people try to change a perfect thing to see if it could be better. Sometimes, these tweaks work, like changing the actors in Game of Thrones for even better ones. At other times, the changes are just insanely out of this world, and no one can get behind the reason for such changes.
One of these kinds of changes was when someone had the not-so-wise idea to remove the utility belt compartments in 1997’s Batman and Robin. If you are a serious Batman fan, you’ll know it tanked, and one of the audience issues was the utility belt.
What’s Batman’s utility belt without compartments to hold valuable tools? The crazier part is, Batman had two suits in this film, and both of them were without the customary utility belt. It is no wonder the movie left such a bad taste in people’s mouths.
8. The Batman Utility Belt Doesn’t Always Carry Useful Items
We can chuck this one up to the writers missing their mark and getting carried away, but sometimes the utility belt holds some items that are not only strange but outrightly useless.
One such item is shown when Batman uses a bat-female-villain repellent to take down Jakita, a villainess in a Batman/Planetary crossover. The idea is so silly that it begs the question: what were the writers thinking? And what exactly was in that repellent?
Being a fan of Batman isn’t complete without Batman merchandise, and if you want to get your very own utility belt, you can always get one of your own.
