Batman joins the exclusive club of Harry Potter, Star Wars and Indiana Jones as recipients of their very own Lego video game. With the game condensing major plot points of Batman’s career for a younger audience, we can be sure that Batman will continue to be a popular figure for years to come.
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.
More than any other hero, Batman is known for his nightly patrols of Gotham’s rooftops. From his perch amongst the gargoyles, he can efficiently watch large swaths of darkened alleys and dramatically swoop in when the time is right.