When criminals are lurking on the streets of Gotham and the police are unable to respond, it’s Commissioner Jim Gordon’s job to light up the Bat Signal to summonBatman. WhileBatmanhas a lot of unique tools and Bat-themed gadgets in his arsenal, it is perhaps the Bat Signal that is the most publicly accessible of his armaments. However, the Bat Signal has a much deeper history than fans could ever glean from the surface.
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Aside from its nature as a giant calling sign for Batman, the iconicDC Comicsbackground object for a lot ofBatmancomic book covers contains a rich history. From its initial conception to its many uses, these intriguing facts about the Bat Signal are ones that anyBatmanfan should really know about.
10Origin Riddled With Controversy
While it’s known that the Bat Signalfirst appeared in 1942in the pages ofDetective Comics 60, its in-story creation is riddled with controversy. It’s been implied that the Bat Signal has just always been there, and the DC Comics timeline had a lot of accounts regarding the conception of the Bat Signal.
InDetective Comics 575, it’s said that Gordon may have thought of the Bat Signal in order to contact Batman during his early years of activity. Some say he created the Bat Signal when he became the Commissioner, whileBatman: Legends of the Dark Knight 12said he did this when he was still a captain.
The Bat Signal wasn’t immediately a searchlight with the Batman insignia on top of it. InLegends of the Dark Knight 12, it’s said that the earliest form of the Bat Signal was just a giant searchlight with a bat-shaped cloth placed on top of it. However, as the years went by and the Bat Signal took on its iconic appearance, Batman actually had to install various features onto it as it became a target of criminals.
The Earth-Two iteration of the Bat Signal, in particular,had advanced featuressuch as super carbon arc filaments to create a light that’s a hundredfold brighter, bullet-proof glass and outer casing, a slide, and even a more powerful carriage. After theNo Man’s Landstory arc, a new Bat Signal had a laser writer that could skywrite directions and addresses for Batman to use to locate crime scenes.
Considering that it’s Commission Gordon that became Batman’s primary contact during his unofficial collaborations with the GCPD, he’s always been put in charge of the Bat Signal. InNew Earth, Gotham’s Mayor instructed Gordon to place the Bat Signal as an official way to call Batman, with Gordon being the person in charge.
Unfortunately, Gordon’s history with the Bat Signal has become troubled at times. In Earth-Two, an incident caused Gordon to be removed from his post, with his replacement actually destroying the Bat Signal to end Batman’s communication with the GCPD. It was only after Batman uncovered a criminal network that was behind Gordon’s demotion that the Bat Signal was finally repaired.
7A Symbol Of Gordon’s Connection With Batman
Aside from being Gordon’s tool for communicating with Batman, the Bat Signal also serves asymbolic purpose: being Gordon’s connection with Batman. This was prominent during Batman’s brief retirement after his back was broken by Bane and with Jean-Paul Valley acquiring the mantle.
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With Gordon suspicious of this Batman’s identity, he tried trusting this odd Batman until Valley let a villain die and had a victim die in the process. In a heated discussion, a disappointed Gordon broke off his connection with this new Batman by breaking the Bat Signal himself.
While Gordon was put in charge of the Bat Signal, the Commissioner had a lot on his plate to manually go to the GCPD roof deck to activate the device. As such, he’s appointed Sergeant Harvey Hainer, who was an elderly officer not capable of patrolling anymore, to activate the Bat Signal whenever it was needed.
In Earth-Two, a part of Gordon’s phone is connected to a light bulb that turns on whenever Hainer needs to activate the Bat Signal. In most iterations of the Bat Signal, it was always Sergeant Harvey Hainer who activated the device. If not Hainer, it wasGordon himself who turned on the Bat Signalin order to call Batman.
5Briefly Replaced With The Bat-Phone
InBatman 184, it’s revealed that the Bat Signal is actually just a last resort method of communicating with Batman, as the process has been largely simplified by using the Bat-Phone or the Hot-Line. Most appearances depict the Bat-Phone as a network of three red phones in different locations as a way to contact Batmanduring emergencies.
The phones were located in Bruce Wayne’s study, the Batcave, and Commissioner Gordon’s office. The phone in the Batcave also has pre-recorded messages should Batman not be able to answer the phone.
4Became A Target For Batman’s Enemies
Given the obvious nature of the Bat Signal becoming a means to reach Batman, somemembers of Batman’s rogues' gallerythought of using the searchlight as a means to attack Batman. For instance, the Signalman managed to capture Batman and even tie him inside the searchlight. His plan was to have Gordon activate the signal, burning Batman who was inside.
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Thankfully, Batman managed to break free of his restraints before Gordon ever had to activate the searchlight. Unfortunately, however, Batman had to break the actual Bat Signal itself to set himself free.
3Became Prone To Damages
Aside from the Bat Signal being a target of Batman’s enemies, the fragile nature of the searchlight has caused it to be damaged and in need of repair on numerous occasions. For instance, the Signalman incident had Gordon use public funds to repair the Bat Signal.
Another incident came inBatman 325, where Gordon’s rival for reelection attempted to murder both him and Batman, with thefirst murder attempt on Batmanshattering the Bat Signal. In fact, even the repairmen that Gordon hired turned out to be thugs hired by that very same rival, planting bombs in the searchlight, which ended up destroying it once again.
2Became Deactivated For A While
AfterBatman went missingfollowing his confrontation with the Black Glove, news of his supposed death quickly spread around Gotham. The news became so large that a modified Bat Signal appeared in the skies, with a broken Bat Symbol and “RIP” scrawled across it.
Thanks to Gordon’s investigation, he managed to pinpoint the signal’s source to Arkham Asylum where a makeshift searchlight left the supposed signal. He also once activated the signal in the hopes of reaching Batman, but it was Katana and Geo-Force that arrived instead. Given Batman’s absence, Gordon decided to turn off the original Bat Signal, hopeful that Batman shows up alive and well at some point in time.
1Other Heroes May Have Been Jealous
Despite the quirky nature of the Bat Signal, it appears other heroes saw its practicality. When Batman temporarily left the country, he left Gotham in The Question’s care. During this period, The Question replaced the insignia on the Bat Signal with a large question mark.
Funnily enough, even the Metropolis Police Department copied Gotham’s approach and created the S-Signal on top of the Daily Planet. This was supposedly created to summon Superman intimes of distress, with its inspiration coming directly from the Bat Signal.
