The DCAU's Batman Waited 27 Years To Get One Of His Best Gadgets In Justice League's Animated Movie Sequel

By David Miller

Published Feb 20, 2025

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Image Made By Zoe Miskelly

The DC Animated Universe’s Batman lacked an iconic gadget for decades before The DCAU timeline version of Batman is considered by many viewers to be one of the best onscreen iterations of the Dark Knight, thanks to both the DCAU’s adherence to the Batman comic source material and the late Kevin Conroy’s vocal performances. Batman’s characterization and technology evolve throughout the DCAU, with one particularly famous device debuting in one of the DCAU’s revival properties.

The DCAU began with 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series, which was itself part of the marketing campaign for the 1992 live-action Batman movie Batman Returns, with the series using elements of the film as inspiration for its initial designs for Catwoman and The Penguin. The show was met with critical acclaim and soon led to the release of more animated TV shows set in the same universe, such as Justice League Unlimited. Even after the 2006 series finale of Unlimited, the DCAU still occasionally receives new properties in comics like Batman: The Adventures Continue and animated films like Fatal Five.

Batman's Lack Of A Cape Glider Was An Issue For Most Of His DCAU Appearances

Batman's Missing Equipment Presented Some Dangers For The Hero

The DCAU’s Batman, like his comic counterpart at the time, lacked the ability to glide through the air without a separate device. For short-distance flights (or when activating the Batmobile’s ejector seats), Batman and Robin used bat-shaped hang gliders in Batman: The Animated Series. In the sequel series – The New Batman Adventures – Batman would also use a bat-shaped jet pack as an alternative to the Batwing. Batman nearly fell to his death when ejecting from the Batwing in the Unlimited episode “Dark Heart” due to his lack of a built-in glider, but Superman saved him at the last moment.

Justice League vs the Fatal Five Caught Batman Up With Other Screen Iterations

Batman Got An Upgrade Years Down The Line

Unlimited would be the final DCAU animated series, but not the last property in the continuity. Fatal Five saw both the return of Conroy’s Batman and the now-famous cape-glider finally become part of his standard Batsuit. Batman’s glider cape has a fascinating history in the Batman comics and their adaptations, strangely being one of Batman’s oldest and most recent gadgets, in a way. Bill Finger and Bob Kane initially envisioned Batman’s cape as being inspired by the illustrations of Leonardo da Vinci, yet Batman would not have a functional gliding cape for decades, using devices like a separate hang glider instead.

Ben affleck batman doesnt use cape much in the DCEU

Why Ben Affleck's Batman Doesn't Use His Cape Much In The DCEU

Batman's cape has several built-in features, but Ben Affleck's iteration of the Dark Knight doesn't use them very often in his DCEU appearances.

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Batman Returns – fittingly – gave Batman a functioning glider cape for the first time. The device would be used even more frequently in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy and the Batman Arkham video games, leading it to become part of the mainstream comic lore. Ben Affleck’s DC Extended Universe Batman had the feature on all his suits as well (though he rarely used it) and 2022’s The Batman reimagined it, having the cape become a literal wingsuit. By giving Batman his now-iconic glider cape, Justice League vs the Fatal Five caught Batman up with other adaptations.