Everyone's a little bothered by the fact that Batman doesn’t have any bat powers, right? Sure, he’s a great detective, but bats are so cool! They have so many unique abilities, that it’s almost a shame that Batman doesn’t have any amazing batty powers.
So… what if Batman got the powers of a RADIOACTIVE bat?
Photo sourced from DC Comics
Bat Basics
Flight
Bats are the only flying mammal! Sure, Batman has a plane, but that isn’t the same as a pair of wings. Bats aren’t built for flying long distances, but some will still travel for miles and over open water to find food. It would definitely be enough to catch the Joker!
Photo sourced from San Diego Zoo
Magnetoreception
Magnetoreception is a high sensitivity to Earth’s magnetic field. Bats, like many other species, can instinctually sense Earth’s magnetic field. This helps with orientation and navigation, and is important to migrating species.
Super Healing
Many bats heal from injuries and illnesses very quickly. Tears or holes in their wingskin (patagium), bite wounds, and scratches can heal in as little as days. With healing like that, Batman wouldn’t have a problem beating up bad guys!
Super Tendons
Bats have tendons in their feet that lock into place while they hang. When they release, to walk or fly, muscle is needed, but just hanging in place requires no effort. Batman could hang around in villain hideouts with no strain to his muscles!
Picture sourced from Pintrest
Suborder Specifics
Yinpterochiroptera (Yin-tero-chi-rop-tera) AKA Microbats
Echolocation
Microbats are well known for their use of echolocation! Bats use echolocation for communication, navigation, and foraging, all in complete darkness. Their echolocation has been recorded anywhere between 14,000 and 200,000 Hertz, way outside of the human range of hearing! They generate these sounds using the larynx and interpret feedback with the tragus in their ear. When searching for food, bats will produce a low rate of 10-20 clickes/sec. When actively chasing after prey, they will produce a rate as high as 200 clicks/sec, creating a buzzing sound. Batman could be using echolocation to find his villains in the dark streets of Gotham!
Nocturnal
All microbats are nocturnal. Because they are active at night, in darkness, they have highly developed senses of smell and hearing and specially adapted eyesight. It also enhances predation! Because they’re active when other animals aren’t, they have more prey to choose from. Bats are the primary nocturnal predator of insects and can eat millions of bugs every night. Like bats, Batman does his best work at night!
Low-light vision
Because microbats are nocturnal and use echolocation, they don’t have great vision. It’s good enough for the darkness they hunt in, but not for the bright lights of day. This is one microbat power Batman probably wouldn’t want!
Yangochiroptera (Yang-o-chi-rop-tera) AKA Megabats
Crepuscular
Megabats are crepuscular! This means they are most active at dusk and dawn, and have spells of low energy throughout the rest of the day. This is good for a number of reasons. One is that they can avoid being prey for certain types of predators. Another is avoiding the hottest parts of the day! This would be good for Batman, to keep cool in his suit and mask.
Color vision/UV vision
Since Megabats are active during the times where it’s both dark and light, they have vision adapted to both day and night lighting. It is as good as, if not better, than human vision! Bats have very similar vision to cats and dogs, which means they process red and blue light, but not the whole spectrum like humans do.
Specialized Species
Pallid bat
If Batman had the powers of a Pallid bat, he’d be resistant to scorpion venom! The Pallid bat is a desert dwelling bat species that feed on arthropods. Most notably, they will eat the Arizona Bark Scorpion, the most venomous scorpion in North America. Pallid bats are immune to this venom due to mutations in their sodium channels!
Photo by Michael Durham/Minden Pictures, sourced from Bat Conservation International
Mexican Free-tailed bat
If Batman had the powers of a Mexican Free-tailed bat, he’d have super speed! The Mexican Free-tailed bat may be the fastest mammal in the world. Potentially reaching ground speeds up to 100 mph, they are much faster than cheetahs!
Photo sourced from Wikipedia
Vampire bat
If Batman had the powers of a Vampire bat, his saliva could save lives! Vampire bats are the only bats that drink blood. To drink blood successfully, their saliva contains anticoagulants to prevent blood from clotting. Their saliva has been used to create meds that prevent blood clotting in humans and help stroke patients!
Photo by Minden Pictures/Alamy
Sucker-footed bats
If Batman had the powers of a Sucker-footed bat, he’d be sticky! Sucker-footed bats have small cups on their wrists and ankles to hang on the smooth surfaces of rolled leaves. They create a wet adhesion using body fluids, not actual suction. The pads are controlled by muscle contraction and they can detach themselves easily.
Photo by Chien Lee
So what do you think? Should DC give Batman some bat themed superpowers? We think it would be super helpful for fighting some of those Gotham City villains!
To all our batty friends out there, stay super!