Batarang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A batarang is a roughly bat-shaped throwing weapon used by the DC Comics superhero Batman as a non-lethal ranged attack alternative to firearms, which he rejects outright due to the circumstances of his parents' murder. The name is a portmanteau of bat and boomerang, and was originally spelled baterang. Though they are named after boomerangs, batarangs have become more and more like shuriken with time. They have since become a staple of Batman's arsenal, appearing in every major Batman television and movie adaptation to date.

1 History
- 1.1 Other characters and versions
2 In other media
- 2.1 Appearance
3 References

[edit] History

Batarangs first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (Sept. 1939) in the same issue the character was introduced. The earliest depictions were of scalloped, metal boomerangs which were used to attack opponents before quickly flying back to the thrower. However, variations of batarangs include those which are able to be folded to fit into Batman's utility belt, those which can be explosively charged and those which are electrified. A grappling hook made out of a batarang and a rope was common until Batman used a grapple gun in the 1989 Batman film; that weapon became the standard in the subsequent animated series and comics.

[edit] Other characters and versions

Batgirl and Robin also use batarangs. Nightwing, a former Robin, is known to use his own modified batarangs^[1] called Wing-Dings, which are styled after a bird. Tim Drake, the third Robin, also possesses his own 'R'-shaped shuriken. In an issue of Teen Titans (Vol. 3), Drake claims that he hid the costs for shipping a Batmobile from Gotham City to San Francisco in "the batarang budget", which he tells the others is "bigger than you might think". The current version of Batwoman, who was introduced in the 52 continuity, uses a miniature batarang. Catman also uses weapons inspired by Batman's and calls them "catarangs". Alternatively,even though the Dark Knight vows never to use the firearms when ran out of batarangs, he would use some empty pistols nearby as throwing weapons.

[edit] In other media

In the movie adaptations of Batman, the batarangs shown roughly match the adapted bat logo of the respective movie franchise. Following the backlash against the camp Batman television series, the franchise has avoided falling into the perceived overuse of the bat- prefix which the 1960s was criticized for. Though shown prominently, the batarangs are very rarely referred to by name, unlike the Batcave and Batmobile. Batman Returns also featured a computerized version which could be programmed to fly after specific targets.

In the Justice League cartoon series, Batman employed a variety of Batarangs, including explosive Batarangs and electricity-releasing variants.

In the Teen Titans animated series, Robin uses similar modified batarangs to the adult Nightwing, referred to as birdarangs.

Batman Beyond, another animated series, which takes place 40 years in Gotham City's future, has a young high school student donning a high tech version of the batsuit to become the new Batman. This suit, among many other features, has the ability to automatically produce batarangs in the wearer's hand.

The 2005 film Batman Begins showed them as a simple bat-shaped shuriken, used for distraction rather than as weapons, fitting in with that film's depiction of Batman's ninja training.

[edit] Appearance

The batarang as seen in Batman.	The computer-guided batarang as seen in Batman Returns.^[2]	The batarang as seen in Batman Forever.	The sonar batarang as seen in Batman Forever.
The batarang as seen in Batman & Robin.	The batarang as seen in Batman Begins.^[3]

[edit] References

^ Robin's former projectiles were bat-shaped like Batman's, for the fourth film he had his own throwing birds.[1]
^ This time, the batarang looks more similar to the comic book, apart from the fact that it has a small LCD screen. It looks a bit like a bat-shaped Sega Game Gear. The screen was used to target the enemies around Batman. After the weapon was thrown, it would seek and hit the targets wherever they were.[2]
^ Based on the Ninja throwing stars called shuriken, Bruce designs these blade-like weapons in the shape of a bat, the symbol he adopts to strike fear into the hearts of criminals.[3]

v • d • e Batman
Creators:	Bob Kane • Bill Finger • Other writers and artists
Supporting Characters:	Robin (Tim Drake) • Nightwing (Dick Grayson) • Batgirl • Batwoman • Alfred Pennyworth • Lucius Fox • Barbara Gordon • Commissioner Gordon • Harvey Bullock
Villains:	Bane • Catwoman • Clayface • Harley Quinn • Joker • Killer Croc • Mr. Freeze • Penguin • Poison Ivy • Ra's al Ghul • Red Hood (Jason Todd) • Riddler • Scarecrow • Two-Face • Other villains
Locations:	Arkham Asylum • Batcave • Gotham City • Wayne Enterprises • Wayne Manor
Miscellanea:	Batarang • Batmobile • Batsuit • Popular media • Publications • Storylines • Alternate versions of Batman