"Non-sensical" Batman gadget/property challange

[TwilightSandwic]

Bruce Wayne openly 'funding' Batman was a thing in the comics for a while, wasn't it?
There's plenty of times where Batman might need to buy things *as* Batman, espacially in a setting where he's a well-beloved public figure like in the Schumacher films. Maybe he could have convinced a bank to give him a 'Batman' account as a publicity stunt and he keeps a token amount of money in there for emergancies.

[Peelee]

Bruce Wayne openly 'funding' Batman was a thing in the comics for a while, wasn't it?
There's plenty of times where Batman might need to buy things *as* Batman, espacially in a setting where he's a well-beloved public figure like in the Schumacher films. Maybe he could have convinced a bank to give him a 'Batman' account as a publicity stunt and he keeps a token amount of money in there for emergancies.

Batman meets the wonderful world of banking and finance laws!

[Dire_Flumph]

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/batcoin/

Sadly, it apparently stands for Basic Attention Token and is marketed by Mozilla. No superhero connections visible.

Has there been a cryptocurrency themed supervillain in comics yet? I mean, even the name Blockchain sort of works.

[The Glyphstone]

I feel like there's a joke that even supervillains won't stoop to using crypto scams.

[Lord Raziere]

I feel like there's a joke that even supervillains won't stoop to using crypto scams.

Well yeah, Lex is bad, but he has standards, he wants people to get screwed over by inventions he actually makes that could change the world if he didn't have people pay so exorbitantly for them. He will make you pay through the nose for your cure for cancer, and he probably modified it so he is nickle-and-diming the treatments but he will give it to you. He wouldn't stoop so low as crypto.

[Ramza00]

Some Essays
Anthony Oliveira Paper Faces on Parade Sanctioning the buffoonery of Joel Schumacher.https://hazlitt.net/longreads/paper-faces-parade

Which is about JS full work but focuses on his two batman movies, and how they are camp and callbacks to the 1960s series. Camp is a way one process and metabolizes the serious. You make it fun as an act of resistance and thus reclaim things via resistance.

J Bryan Lowder who further elaborates on this Can Camp Be Taken Seriously? A midnight visit to the garden of good and evil. https://slate.com/culture/2013/04/mi...ous-camp.html#

And if one has not read it already one should read the Susan Sontag Notes on Camp essay (links to a PDF not a website) https://monoskop.org/images/5/59/Son...es_on_Camp.pdf

As Susan mentions in the first page of the essay everything that is a camp object is not something made in nature but instead is man made, it is an object of artifice. Camp is about social relations, you can have a pastoral camp and an urban camp and most camp items is urban pastoral. Yet there is an artifce, a cleverness with them where you are precisely playing with nonsense using a man made thing in a social relation that was not congruent with the purpose. That is the point, it is poking fun at everything. But read the whole thing yes it is a dozen pages but get going and you will read it fast.

[McNum]

There one not quite as obviously nonsensical gadget Batman uses all the time that really shouldn't work: His grapnel gun.

How does it shoot so far? Where is all that cable stored? How does it have the pull strength to pull Batman and a passenger along?

You could make something like this, but no way it'd be as compact as what Batman is using. His is usually one-handed with no observable mechanism to pull in the wire.

[hungrycrow]

There one not quite as obviously nonsensical gadget Batman uses all the time that really shouldn't work: His grapnel gun.

How does it shoot so far? Where is all that cable stored? How does it have the pull strength to pull Batman and a passenger along?

You could make something like this, but no way it'd be as compact as what Batman is using. His is usually one-handed with no observable mechanism to pull in the wire.

I also wonder how the grapple end would attach and detach to surfaces. I saw some youtube engineer try to make some and he ended up just carrying multiples and discarding them as he went. And he did it in a room with ceiling beams to grab.

[Ramza00]

There one not quite as obviously nonsensical gadget Batman uses all the time that really shouldn't work: His grapnel gun.

How does it shoot so far? Where is all that cable stored? How does it have the pull strength to pull Batman and a passenger along?

You could make something like this, but no way it'd be as compact as what Batman is using. His is usually one-handed with no observable mechanism to pull in the wire.

Florence Pugh throwing down a grappling device and running down a skyscraper building head first > Batman Grappling Gadget > James Bond Wristwatch device.

[Beleriphon]

Sure it has. Rotting carcass scent.

Specifically, rotting shark carcass.

[Traab]

I also wonder how the grapple end would attach and detach to surfaces. I saw some youtube engineer try to make some and he ended up just carrying multiples and discarding them as he went. And he did it in a room with ceiling beams to grab.

Mythbusters tried it a few ways, the hook was too heavy and ruined any chance at a good and accurate launch, then he tried for a impaling bolt, with stuff like those bullets that put nails in cement, and that was unreliable as heck, bouncing off a lot, and even when it stuck it didnt stick deep enough to safely lift. Jamie built a device capable of pulling him up but iirc it took up most of his hand and forearm and I think was attached to his belt. Also, he punched himself in the face when it came off and bloodied himself.

[TwilightSandwic]

It'll be pretty hilarious if, out every memetically goofy Bat-Gadget out there, the one that's actually the most impossible is just the Grapple-Gun.

[McNum]

It'll be pretty hilarious if, out every memetically goofy Bat-Gadget out there, the one that's actually the most impossible is just the Grapple-Gun.

From what Batman carries on him, it probably is. Batarangs? Bat-shaped shuriken. We could make those easily, take a little longer if you want them balanced for throwing better. Explosive ones would take some engineering, but again, it can work. Smoke pellets? Not much issue there, either. The smoke volume per pellet might be a little overblown, but nothing big.

Even Batman's signature Utility Belt isn't much trouble, it's just about space management and knowing what to pack in advance. Make the Batarangs foldable if you have to. The cape that can turn rigid for gliding, I don't see much problem with. You can do silly things with material science these days.

Batmolbile? People built that thing for real. Jet engine and all. You can own a Batmobile in real life.

Bat-Wing? Custom jet fighters are rare, but I don't see why not. VTOL capability is tricky, honestly as things are, a Bat-Drone might serve his purposes better most nights, but you can totally make a Bat-jet fighter if you want.

But the grapnel launcher. It just doesn't add up. No propellant, too compact, and no good way of making it latch onto any surface. He'd be better off buying web-fluid from Spider-Man. That at least makes some sense compared to a hand-portable sky-scraper reach wire launcher.

[Peelee]

But the grapnel launcher. It just doesn't add up. No propellant, too compact, and no good way of making it latch onto any surface. He'd be better off buying web-fluid from Spider-Man. That at least makes some sense compared to a hand-portable sky-scraper reach wire launcher.

The hand-portable sky-scraper reach wire launcher makes less sense than the hand-portable sky-scraper reach wire launcher (but chemical)?

[tyckspoon]

I also wonder how the grapple end would attach and detach to surfaces. I saw some youtube engineer try to make some and he ended up just carrying multiples and discarding them as he went. And he did it in a room with ceiling beams to grab.

Gotham has decorative gargoyles -everywhere-. It's the city's best known trait. Aside from the abnormally high incident rate of themed criminals, anyways. Can't fire a grapple without having it wrap around or latch inside of a sturdy stone wing or outstretched jaw or something, barely even have to look. And all the interior design is industrial-chic so there are exposed structural elements in all the buildings.

[McNum]

The hand-portable sky-scraper reach wire launcher makes less sense than the hand-portable sky-scraper reach wire launcher (but chemical)?

Some sense.

Pressurized liquid that turns sticky on contact with air, and no retracting of the line. It still has holes, like how did Peter even make this wonder-fluid, but relying on pressure and expansion for launch is a good idea.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Gotham has decorative gargoyles -everywhere-. It's the city's best known trait. Aside from the abnormally high incident rate of themed criminals, anyways. Can't fire a grapple without having it wrap around or latch inside of a sturdy stone wing or outstretched jaw or something, barely even have to look. And all the interior design is industrial-chic so there are exposed structural elements in all the buildings.

Not to mention criminals with doctorates. For a crime riddled city they have a remarkable education system.

[Anteros]

Not to mention criminals with doctorates. For a crime riddled city they have a remarkable education system.

I suppose it makes some sense that when your opponent is the world's greatest detective you'd need some level of intelligence to be a threat.

[Ramza00]

Not to mention criminals with doctorates. For a crime riddled city they have a remarkable education system.

You have to pay those student loans back, thus a life of crime.

[Peelee]

Some sense.

Pressurized liquid that turns sticky on contact with air, and no retracting of the line. It still has holes, like how did Peter even make this wonder-fluid, but relying on pressure and expansion for launch is a good idea.

Imean, the web launchers are even smaller than the grapnel gun, need both the web chemical and also some form of pressurizer to allow their insane range, and also because liquid is more or less incompressible, the chemical somehow gets miles of use out of it

Don't get me wrong, the grapnel gun is ridiculous, but the Spidey's web launchers are not better.

[Fyraltari]

It'll be pretty hilarious if, out every memetically goofy Bat-Gadget out there, the one that's actually the most impossible is just the Grapple-Gun.

His cape has to be a serious contender too:
A) It can drape around his shoulders to cover his entire body minus the head and is longer than his shoulder height so it spreads on the floor.
B) Despite that, it's never any hindrance while running, fighting, doing acrobatics or any combination of the three.
C) It can still harden enough to act as a one-man glider wing.
D) Despite all the people shooting at him and all the running around in poorly-lit alleyways or abandinned amusement parks, it's never torn or ripped.

Imean, the web launchers are even smaller than the grapnel gun, need both the web chemical and also some form of pressurizer to allow their insane range, and also because liquid is more or less incompressible, the chemical somehow gets miles of use out of it

Don't get me wrong, the grapnel gun is ridiculous, but the Spidey's web launchers are not better.

And despite all the fighting he does, his web-shooters are never ruptured, spilling his sticky white fluid everywhere at an inopportune moment.





What? Is he not an allegory for puberty?

[Traab]

Not to mention criminals with doctorates. For a crime riddled city they have a remarkable education system.

Too be fair, they got their doctorates BEFORE falling to a life of crime, generally after some horrible accident twisted them terribly physically and mentally. Just because they were employed in gotham doesnt mean they got their phds there.

[Smoutwortel]

Not to mention criminals with doctorates. For a crime riddled city they have a remarkable education system.

There has been research that proved that high education pays remarkably well in crime(even better than in non-crime for the most cases), so it can just be that batman only catches the bigger, smarter and most deadly fish.


As for the grappling gun:
Maybe "Wayne construction" company could make a mechanisms in most of Gotham's buildings that does most of the pulling and force exertion and aiming for Batman's grappling gun.
The basic idea would be something like this:
electric magnet, which can be turned on by sending the right wireless signal to it and a spill that will if it manages to catch a cable with the right wired signal start spinning to provide the power needed to pull batman up.
It pulls most of its power out of the electricity net, maybe with a capacitor in between to allow for power charges.
This way we would only need a way to fit a lot of cable and a somewhat powerful launching mechanism in batman's storage.
This could be achieved by working the cable in the full suit, making a connection point at the end of the cable and embedding it in batman's right hand and using some serious explosives to fire the to the cable end attaching tip, which is stored in the gun itself high enough to be catched by the grappler mechanisms spread through Gotham.

[Lord Torath]

Gotham has decorative gargoyles -everywhere-. It's the city's best known trait. Aside from the abnormally high incident rate of themed criminals, anyways. Can't fire a grapple without having it wrap around or latch inside of a sturdy stone wing or outstretched jaw or something, barely even have to look. And all the interior design is industrial-chic so there are exposed structural elements in all the buildings.

Stone is pretty terrible in tension, though, and wrapping a thin cable around a wing and then applying several hundred to several thousand pounds of tensile force (depending on just how hard Batman is swinging on the cable) is a recipe for a lot of broken gargoyles.

[The Glyphstone]

Stone is pretty terrible in tension, though, and wrapping a thin cable around a wing and then applying several hundred to several thousand pounds of tensile force (depending on just how hard Batman is swinging on the cable) is a recipe for a lot of broken gargoyles.

"Why don't you kill me?"
"Batman doesn't kill, I'm better than scum like you."
*Fires grapple launcher upward.
Loud cracking crunch noise, broken gargoyle crushes criminal.
"Technically, the gargoyle killed you just now."

[Peelee]

Stone is pretty terrible in tension, though, and wrapping a thin cable around a wing and then applying several hundred to several thousand pounds of tensile force (depending on just how hard Batman is swinging on the cable) is a recipe for a lot of broken gargoyles.

Rebar-reinforced gargoyles?

"Why don't you kill me?"
"Batman doesn't kill, I'm better than scum like you."
*Fires grapple launcher upward.
Loud cracking crunch noise, broken gargoyle crushes criminal.
"Technically, the gargoyle killed you just now."

Ok that got a laugh out of me.

[Fyraltari]

The gargoyles littered throughout the Batman Arkham Asylum game are a donation from Bruce Wayne.

[Peelee]

The gargoyles littered throughout the Batman Arkham Asylum game are a donation from Bruce Wayne.

Really? I played the hell out of that and I don't remember it. But then again, Arkham games have tons of little easter eggs, so I'm not surprised I missed some

[Fyraltari]

Really? I played the hell out of that and I don't remember it. But then again, Arkham games have tons of little easter eggs, so I'm not surprised I missed some

Pretty sure. Couldn't tell you where in the game it's mentionned, though.

[Psyren]

Batman meets the wonderful world of banking and finance laws!

I feel like there's a joke that even supervillains won't stoop to using crypto scams.

You have to pay those student loans back, thus a life of crime.

Capitalism-man, the true supervillain.

And despite all the fighting he does, his web-shooters are never ruptured, spilling his sticky white fluid everywhere at an inopportune moment.

My theory is that his standard release (the "thwip" wrist gesture) involves releasing some kind of catalyst or additive into the chamber at the moment of propulsion. Simply cracking the tank open and exposing the contents to air won't have the same effect as shooting them out normally will.

As for the solid webs having possibly more mass (and certainly more volume) than their liquid state - he's not firing them through a vacuum, so them picking up extra stuff from the various molecules/particles in the air isn't a huge stretch for me. So I'm leaning towards McNum on this one.