Batman ‘The Dark Knight’

The Batcave is the secret headquarters of fictional DC Comics superhero Batman, (the alternate identity of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne), consisting of a series of subterranean caves beneath his residence, Wayne Manor.

According to Who’s Who ‘85 edition the Batcave is located beneath the grounds of Wayne Manor. The cavern was discovered by accident by Bruce Wayne when he fell through a rotted floor in the old manor barn. Wayne equipped the cave with the latest in scientific crime fighting equipment and computers. Within the Batcave are Batman’s Batcopter, Batplane, Batmobile, and Bat-boat. Entry to the Batcave from within the manor is through Bruce Wayne’s study behind a old grandfather clock. From the comics it’s a winding staircase but from the classic Adam West Batman entrance to the cave was by a batpole where Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson would slide down and be instantly transformed into the Caped Crusaders Batman and Robin.

Batcave history

Originally, there was only a secret tunnel that ran underground between Wayne Manor and an old barn where the Batmobile and Batplane were kept. Later, in Batman #12 (August-September 1942), Finger mentioned “secret underground hangars”. In 1943, the writers of the first Batman movie serial gave the Caped Crusader a complete underground crime lab and introduced it in the first chapter entitled “The Bat’s Cave”. Bob Kane, who was on the movie set, mentioned this to Bill Finger who was going to be the initial scripter on the BATMAN Daily Newspaper strip. Finger included with his script, a clipping from Popular Mechanics that featured a detailed cross section of underground hangars. Kane used this clipping as a guide, adding the crime lab, stalactites, stalagmites and bats. Thus, the Dark Knight’s creators introduced the definitive Batcave in the Batman “dailies” on October 29, 1943; and in January 1944, the Batcave made its comic book debut in Detective Comics #83

In these early versions it was just a small cave with a desk, filing cabinets and laboratory. Behind the desk, the Batman’s symbol was carved into the rock with a candle in the middle of it. With time the cave expanded along with its owner’s popularity to include a trophy room, supercomputer and forsenics lab.

Fictional history

Discovered and used long before by Wayne’s ancestors as a storehouse as well as a means of transporting escaped slaves during the Civil War era, Wayne himself rediscovered them when he fell through a dilapidated well on his estate. Much like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, the Batcave serves as a place of privacy and tranquility where Batman can be himself.

Use

Upon his initial foray into crime-fighting, Wayne used the caves as a sanctum and to store his then-minimal equipment. As time went on, Wayne found the place ideal to create a stronghold for his war against crime, and has incorporated a plethora of equipment as well as expanding the cave for specific uses.

Often, Bruce Wayne is depicted as having discovered the cave as a child, falling into it during youthful exploration of the grounds. This was shown in the movies Batman Forever and Batman Begins, as a young Bruce Wayne fell through wood that was covering an abandoned water well.

The cave is accessible in several ways. It can be reached through a secret door in Wayne Manor itself, which is almost always depicted as in the main study, often behind a grandfather clock which unlocks the secret door when the hands are set to the time that Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered, 10:47. Alternately, the study entrance has been shown to be behind a bookcase which slides to the side when a secret button is pushed, revealing the “Bat-Poles”, which allow Bruce Wayne and his ward to change into their Batman and Robin costumes en route as they slide down to the cave. There is also an entrance under Bruce Wayne’s chair in his office in Wayne Enterprises, as shown in Batman Forever. In Batman Begins, the cave is accessible through a secret door disguised as part of a large display case and unlocked by pressing a sequence of keys on the nearby piano.

Another secret entrance, covered by a hologram, waterfall or a camouflaged door, allows access to a service road for the Batmobile. Another alternate entrance is a dry well, highlighted especially during the Knightfall storyline. At one point, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson use the dry well to get into the cave, which they had been locked out of by Jean Paul Valley during his time as Batman, and Batman used it to infiltrate the cave and confront the insane Jean Paul in the final battle between the two men for the title of the Batman.

The location of the cave is known not only to Batman, but to several of his allies. In addition to the so-called “Batman Family”, members of the Justice League and the original Outsiders are aware of the cave’s location. Essentially, anyone who is aware of Batman’s secret identity also knows the location of the Batcave, much like how people who have knowledge of Robin’s identity have knowledge of Batman’s; these, unfortunately, include such villains as Ra’s al Ghul, who makes occasional visits to the Batcave to confront his long-time nemesis, and David Cain, who infiltrated the cave during the Bruce Wayne: Fugitive storyline when he framed Bruce Wayne for murder.

Design

The Batcave serves as Batman’s command center, where he monitors all crisis points in Gotham and the world.

The cave’s centerpiece is a supercomputer whose specs are on par with any of those used by leading national security agencies; it permits global surveillance and also connects to a massive information network as well as storing vast amounts of information, both on Batman’s foes and his allies. A series of satellite link-ups allows easy access to Batman’s information network anywhere in the globe. The systems are protected against unauthorized access, and any attempt to breach this security immediately sends an alert to Batman or Oracle. Despite the power of Batman’s computers, the Justice League Watchtower is known to have more powerful computers (composed of Kryptonian, Thanagarian and Martian technology), and Batman does occasionally use them if he feels his computers are not up to the task; on occasion he also consults Oracle for assistance.

The Batcomputer as presented in Batman & Robin is powerful beyond the realm of realistic computer systems, as Alfred is able to program a replication of himself (his “brain algorithms”) which is capable of conversation.

Additionally, the cave contains state of the art facilities such as: crime lab, various specialized laboratories, mechanized workshops, personal gymnasium, a vast library, parking, docking and hangar space (as appropriate) for his various vehicles as well as separate exits for the various types, trophies of past cases, a large bat colony, and a Justice League teleporter. It also has medical facilities as well as various areas used in training exercises for Batman and his allies.

The cave houses Batman’s vast array of specialized vehicles, foremost being the famous Batmobile in all its incarnations (mostly for nostalgia as well as for contingencies, as all are serviceable and in excellent working condition). The 1990s animated series gave rise to the idea that Batman keeps a fleet of regular cars of various models and utility vehicles such as an ambulance as well when the Batmobile would be too conspicuous for a mission. Other vehicles within the complex include various motorcycles, and various air and watercraft such as The Bat-Wing, a single occupant supersonic jet. Another vehicle found in the Batcave is the subway rocket, debuted in Detective Comics #667, during the time when Jean Paul Valley was substituting for Bruce Wayne after Bane broke his back. It allowed Batman to quickly enter Gotham, and could electronically clear a path via Gotham Rail.

The cave is sometimes powered by a nuclear reactor, but most often by a hydro-electric generator made possible by an underground river.

Later comics, specifically the Cataclysm storyline, suggest that Batman has incorporated safeguards against earthquakes and even a potential nuclear catastrophe, outfitting the cave as a virtual bomb shelter or an enhanced panic room. The city’s earthquake redesigned the caverns of the Batcave, with eight new levels now making up Batman’s secret refuge of high-tech laboratory, library, training areas, storage areas, and vehicle accesses. It also includes an “island” computer platform (built on the spot where the Batmobiles’ hydraulic turntable once was) with seven linked Cray T932 mainframes and a state-of-the-art- hologram projector. With the cave’s various facilities spread amid limestone stalactites and stalagmites, Batman built retractable multi-walkway bridges, stairs, elevators, and poles to access its facilities.

What is allegedly the world’s last Lazarus Pit was constructed inside the cave, although this has been contradicted by events in the pages of Batgirl and the Black Adam miniseries.

Memorabilia

The cave stores various memorabilia items, such as a defunct full-size mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex, an equally large U.S. penny and a Joker playing card. The origins of these trophies are explained in Batman #256: the T. Rex comes from an adventure on “Dinosaur Island”; the penny was originally a trophy from Batman’s encounter with a penny-obsessed villain named the Penny Plunderer (in World’s Finest Comics #30, 1947). Other “keepsakes” in the cave include Two-Face’s original coin, Deathstroke’s sword, the shroud of the Vampiric Monk, and over-sized ten-pins.

There is also a glass case display of Jason Todd’s Robin costume as a memorial to him, with the epitaph “A Good Soldier”, and remains even after Todd’s resurrection. Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl costume also remains on display. In the Comico two part crossover, Grendel/Batman II, The skull of Hunter Rose is also put on display in the memorobilia room.