There are many times, particularly in the 1950s and 60s, when Batman was a much less serious and dark character, that he was known for the improbable gadgets he managed to pull from his infamous utility belt. The strangest thing about these gadgets was how they seemed incredibly particular to the situation he was in at any given time.
No matter how filled the utility belt seemed to be, there were always more in there. From the Adam West TV show and the Silver Age of Batman comics, there is a huge list of gadgets that only appeared once and never again.
8 Kryptonite Ring
A Kryptonite Ring was created by a scientist convinced that Superman was only the beginning of an alien invasion of Earth. Through a series of events, the ring came to a criminal in Gotham and then to Batman. While his ownership of a Kryptonite Ring suggests a plan to stop Superman in his tracks, the real story is much more wholesome.
Batman gave the ring to Superman after recovering it, leading to the Man of Steel trusting the Caped Crusader more than ever. However, Superman brought it back to Batman, saying that he trusted him to use it if he ever went rogue and needed stopping.
7 Makeup Kit
It only makes sense for a detective to be able to go undercover, and in the Silver Age of comic books when Batman was viewed much more as a detective than a superhero, it made sense for Batman to have a makeup kit in his bag. However, looking back this seems both impractical and useless for the majority of situations he could possibly find himself.
Batman looking up modern makeup tutorials is a pretty amusing idea, but it seems unlikely that this stunt, shown in an incredibly early issue of Batman comics in 1941, will ever make a comeback in his infamous utility belt.
6 Bat Handkerchief
Adam West’s Batman is responsible for a huge number of silly moments and gadgets pulled from seemingly nowhere. Of all the strange things Batman has trademarked and placed in his utility belt, one of the strangest ever to come out of any Bat Media is the Bat Handkerchief.
Most Batman gadgets have some utility specifically crafted by him, but the Bat Handkerchief simply has his name emblazoned on it and works like any other handkerchief. It was used to wipe away his tears when he believed Catwoman to be dead. Even more surprising to fans will be the fact that the Bat Handkerchief goes back to Batman's very first appearance in comic books. In Detective Comics #1, Batman takes a handkerchief out of his utility belt and uses it to plug a gas jet, some things never change!
5 Bat Shark Repellent
Many fans know about the Bat Shark Repellent, used in the 1966 Batman movie, again a moment of classic Batman action featuring Adam West. However, fans may be shocked to learn that this isn’t the first appearance of the infamous gadget. There was also a comic book usage when Batman and Robin traveled to Planetoid X to chase an alien thief.
This was back in 1958’s Batman #117, years before Adam West’s Batman film. It is shocking that this came in handy on multiple occasions, but perhaps even more shocking that it was a fitting weapon for chasing off alien creatures, in addition, to actually working on sharks.
4 The Batpoon
It is difficult to say the word Batpoon. It is even harder to take a gadget called the Batpoon seriously, but Batman did give Robin a mini harpoon gun as a gift which was called the Batpoon. Batman also showed off his own version of the weapon/gadget, proving that this is indeed the correct name for the gadget and that it is a real item.
A small harpoon gun is a useful item in many situations and isn’t the most ridiculous of Batman’s many gadgets by any means. It is simply hard to believe that multiple comic book writers agreed upon the name Batpoon.
3 Napalm
Of all the strange things for a hero known for not killing to carry around in his belt, a capsule full of the deadly and corrosive material Napalm is one of the most surprising. In the film Batman Returns, the Michael Keaton version of Batman carried around a small blue capsule which he uses on Catwoman to burn her.
This featured in the comic book run Batman ’89 as well. It isn’t the only chemical weapon this version of the caped crusader carried around either. Apparently, it was listed as one of four chemical capsules on his utility belt, so there could be other equally deadly devices stored there.
2 Bat Shield
The Bat shield isn’t the most insane gadget in terms of how it could be useful or why Batman would want to have it on his person. Going in often without any weapons against criminals that wield many of them, a shield could be a vital piece of equipment for The Dark Knight.
However, it is baffling that Batman managed to keep this large device, split into pieces, in his utility belt. Whether the shield is made of springier fabric or material that would be useful in such a device or the utility belt is a lot larger than is practically possible, this device was a bizarre contraption to add to the Bat arsenal. It also has appeared, in a slightly different form, in several issues of Batman comic books over the years. The first appearance was in a fight with the Penguin in Batman #190 in 1967. Albeit this Bat Shield was more Captain America-esque than the Adam West one.
1 A Lightsaber
The Batman: The Brave And The Bold cartoons harkened back to the silver age comics that found many of these stranger Batman gadgets in his utility belt. While this light-hearted storytelling led to many fun and memorable moments over three seasons, it also led to a weapon that looked suspiciously like a Jedi weapon.
The weapon, treated as more of a collapsible sword, was definitely referencing lightsabers and Batman pulled it out frequently for duels with the likes of Ra’s Al Ghul. Whether it was a real lightsaber seems to be irrelevant, the way it was treated and utilized was definitely in that vein.