Warning: Spoilers for Batman and Robin: Year One (2024) #4From Batarangs to Bat Shark-Repellent,Batmanis well known to live by the variety of gadgets he employs in the field. But while Batman’s gadgets have evolved over the years, there’s one iconic tool from his early days that seems to have fallen by the wayside – which is why it’s so wonderful to see it again after it definedtheYear Onestory arc nearly forty years ago.
InBatman and Robin: Year One (2024)#4 – written by Mark Waid, with art by Chris Samnee – Batman distracts General Anthony Grimaldi’s goons with a crate of live bats, so he can slip into Grimaldi’s office and interrogate him. When Grimaldi orders his men to attack, Batman bursts out the door and, slipping sonic emitters on his foes, coaxes the swarm of bats to attack them while he gets away.
These sonic emitters are one of Batman’s rarer gadgets,but their presence here is an important callback, as they played a major role in the originalBatman: Year Oneseries.
Batman’s Bat-Calling Sonics Make Their Triumphant Return In DC’s Latest “Year One” Series, Reminding Fans Of The Original
Batman and Robin: Year One (2024)#4 – Written By Mark Waid; Art By Chris Samnee; Color By Mat Lopes; Lettering By Clayton Cowles
The originalBatman: Year Onearc, by Frank Miller and Dave Mazzucchelli, began in 1987 withBatman (1940)#404 and ran throughBatman#407. Specifically, inBatman#406,when Batman is pinned down and under fire from the GCPD, he uses a sonic emitter to call a host of bats to his location to cover his escape.The scene of bats drowning out the sunlight so that Batman can slip free is perhaps the defining moment of the entireBatman: Year Onearc, helpingBruce Wayne establish “the Batman"as a legendary figure in Gotham in a single outing.
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Batman’s arsenal has grown considerably since the events ofYear One.Batman’s gadgetry has reached science-fiction levelsas technology has grown and developed: he has crafted spy satellites, power armor, his cowl augments his vision with AR, and so on. The technological creep has arguably culminated with Failsafe, Batman’s autonomous robotthat could take down the Justice League. As such, his need for such smoke-and-mirror tactics has greatly diminished, leading his bat sonics to largely fall by the wayside. Despite this, they are still an iconic part of his gear, even making a high-profile appearance inBatman Begins (2005).
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The sonic emitters' appearance inBatman and Robin: Year Oneis more than just a wonderful callback. Their presence grounds the story in Batman’s early years, taking readers back to a time when Batman was still defining his approach, his tactics, and how much “bat"would be part of his vigilante persona. It makes perfect sense that the bat sonics would still be a part of Batman’s “Year One” arsenal: the shock value presented by a swarm of bats is second to none, and the setting is early enough in Batman’s career to sell his persona of being completely unpredictable.
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Batman’s use of sonics to manipulate swarms of bats into doing his bidding is one of the more gimmicky aspects of the character, butat the same time embodies the theatricality demanded by a man who dresses up in a batsuit to fight crime.Although the days when such devices were a common part of Batman’s approach are long past, they’re an iconic part of his kit; as such, their return in anotherYear Onestory decades after the original is a welcome reminder of one ofBatman’sbest, if oddest, gadgets.
Batman and Robin: Year One (2024)#4 is available now from DC Comics.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
