If you shine it, he will come

I’ve been guilty of ruining a lamp or two with this exact idea. via guyandrodd.com


I’ve been guilty of ruining a lamp or two with this exact idea. via guyandrodd.com
Batman is quite literally, a ninja. And one of our favorite tropes is how he can disappear into the shadows at will, often leaving people talking to themselves. Is it a conscious effort to perpetuate the aura of mystery around him? Or is he merely rude? Of course his disappearing act can’t work EVERY time, can it?
In this pinup by Adam Kubert, we see Batman swinging through the city on his trusty bat line. As a non-flying hero, he needs some way to keep up. Only Spider-man and Tarzan are known more for swinging on some sort of rope. Neither of them uses a retractable Bat-grapple and synthetic bungee line, however.
Here, we have the Bat Signal; the only way for the authorities to contact the Batman. Its introduction marked the ascendancy of James Gordon to Gotham City police commissioner and the shift in Batman’s role from mysterious vigilante to trusted ally.
Although the good commissioner clearly needed to swallow his pride to admit his police force needed help, there is no doubt that the signal also serves as a valuable reminder to Gotham’s underworld that they are being watched.