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| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Batcave – Batman (Ben Affleck) |
Read on to find out which of the movie Batcave’s is the best! Does your favorite top the list?
The Batcave is the secret headquarters of Batman. He uses it to monitor Gotham City and solve crimes. It’s been the stuff of legend and its underground caves have been shown in every interpretation of the superhero. From it’s sophisticated Batcomputer to the garage of the Batmobile it’s an essential component of the Dark Knight.
Here’s every live-action movie version of the Batcave ranked.
12. The Batman (1943)
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| The Batman (Serial) (1943) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson), Robin / Dick Grayson (Douglas Croft) |
The first appearance of the Batcave in movies is in the 15-chapter 1943 serial starring Lewis Wilson as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Douglas Croft as Robin/Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson. Batman calls it the “Bat’s Cave”. Batman and Robin take a thug into the cave for interrogation. It’s literally just a cave with a table in the middle. But it’s connected to a sophisticated crime lab.
While there’s no Batcomputer or other equipment it does have one feature: live bats. The thug is so creeped out by the thought of being nibbled on by bats he spills everything.
This serial also led to the creation of the Batcave. Batman creator Bob Kane visited the set with artist Bill Finger and they were so impressed that they included the idea into the comics. On January 1944, the Batcave made its comic book debut in Detective Comics #83.
It gets points for being the first and is incredibly sophisticated for its time but it’s gets upstaged by later versions.
11. Batman Returns (1992)
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| Batman Returns (1992) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough) |
In the second of the Tim Burton films, Batman Returns, the Batcave gets a redesign. It’s not only brighter but much larger inside. The Batcomputer gets a huge upgrade in the movie and has access to police files. The computer gets simplified in its design but has access to a vast array of newspaper clippings and police reports. It also has the ability to hack into signals and scratch a CD.
The way into the cave is revealed to be a button hidden in a fish tank and an Iron Maiden. Both are very effective methods of secrecy. The Batcave is more stylish and open than the previous one but loses some points for being a little too bright and airy. Still, it’s a wonderful design and fits the tone of the second movie.
10. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
In the Christopher Nolan films, the Batcave is greatly simplified. The Batcave is rebuilt after an attack by the “League of Shadows” and has a little more sophistication than it’s original bare-bones design. The Batcomputer is now on an isolated platform that rises from the water so it’s even more secure than before.
You get in by hitting seemingly random keys on a piano and a secret elevator. The cave has weapons, supplies, and a Batsuit. The design is more sophisticated than the original and shows how Batman has evolved from his early days as a crimefighter.
9. The Dark Knight (2008)
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| The Dark Knight (2008) Batcave |
At the end of Batman Begins, the “League of Shadows” destroys Wayne Manor and the Batcave. While it’s under construction Bruce moves into Wayne Tower and uses a secret underground warehouse at the Wayne Enterprises dock as a base of operations. Some call it the “Batbunker”.
It’s not a cave, but sure works like one. It’s not the most stylish or technologically advanced. It’s just a concrete room with a table, a suit, and some equipment. But it gets points for practicality and secrecy.
8. Batman Begins (2005)
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| Batman Begins (2005) – Bruce Wayne / Batman (Christian Bale), Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) |
In its first appearance in the Nolan films, it’s just a cave with a couple of computers, room for the Batmobile (Tumbler) and that’s pretty much it. The entrances to the Batcave are wonderfully secret though. The only ways to get in are through an active waterfall or by hitting a set of random keys on a piano.
It’s Batman’s first attempt at a headquarters and fits Nolan’s “form follows function” design perfectly. The moody tone and simple design say everything you need to know about this Batman.
7. Batman and Robin (1949)
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| Batman and Robin (Serial) (1949) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (Robert Lowery), Robin / Dick Grayson (Johnny Duncan) |
When the second serial for Batman came out in 1949 it got a new Batman in Robert Lowery but kept the old Batcave. The crime lab is there and the live bats. The biggest difference is a set of filing cabinets that hold a set of files of all of Gotham’s criminals. Batman calls it his ‘rogues gallery’.
The entrance to the Batcave is through a grandfather clock in Bruce Wayne’s study. This was first introduced in the first serial and was kept through the second. The clock entrance would be used for several. In Batman lore, the clock unlocks when it’s set to 10:48 which is the time of his parent’s death.
It’s a moody and technologically advanced Batcave and fits well in the mythos.
6. Batman & Robin (1997)
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| Batman & Robin (1997) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (George Clooney), Robin / Dick Grayson (Chris O’Donnell), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough) |
When Joel Schumacher took over as the director of the Batman movies he tried to add more style to the films. While the Batcave in Batman Forever has style, the one in the sequel takes it to eleven. Decked out like an 80s nightclub the place is full of neon lights and, presumably a disco ball somewhere.
The Batcomputer shows a whole new function too. It turns out Alfred created a virtual Alfred simulator to replace him if he died. The amount of equipment in the place is insane including multiple Bat-Suits for cold and other extreme weather conditions and an extra suit in case his niece comes in and decides to become a crime-fighter. Now that’s forward thinking.
5. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
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| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Batcave |
For Zack Snyder’s DC movies the Batcave is redesigned with a modern style. There’s lots of mood lighting and glass. It has a highly sophisticated Batcomputer and several elevated work stations.
The Batcomputer is able to show him an incredible array of information and has a bank of a dozen monitors. Workspace to work on the Batmobile and his equipment. Technically this isn’t the first cave since the original cave was destroyed at an earlier time. This lair is connected to the house through an elevator.
It feels dark and oppressive, but that fits the style of this tortured Batman.
4. Justice League (2017)
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| Justice League (2017) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman / Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) |
The Batcave comes back for the DC team-up movie with an expanded look and even more technology. Wider, more open and brimming with equipment it took on a new life of its own.
Presumably, the same level of secrecy is there but we get a look the freight elevator that lets in the rest of the Justice League.
3. Batman Forever (1995)
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| Batman Forever (1995) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough) |
While the previous films showed the Batcave as dark and mysterious, this Batcave is filled with bright lights and huge walls full of equipment. We don’t know much about it before it gets demolished by the Riddler, but the Batcave does show news reports. Bruce loves CNN.
There are at least two ways into the Batcave. The first is a massive high-speed chute that connects to Bruce Wayne’s office. The second is through a silver cabinet in a locked room. Super secure. Unless you pretend to be a trick-or-treater and then you just walk right in and start dropping bombs.
Schumacher’s version of Batman has the most high-tech equipment of any Batcave including a boat that comes out of a canal running through the middle.
2. Batman (1989)
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| Batman (1989) Batcave – Batman (Michael Keaton) |
This is the first depiction of the Batcave after the campy Batman TV show and movies and the studio went out of their way to make it realistic. While the cave is full of dials, nobs and switches the only thing we really know about is the Batcomputer which is insanely realistic and hi-tech for 1989.
It sports an awesome holographic cave entrance that leads to the greatest Batcave entrances of all-time as the car literally drives full speed into a wall. It’s not the most secret of Batman’s lair’s since Alfred just lets her in the back door, but it works.
1. Batman (1966)
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| Batman: The Movie (1966) – Batman / Bruce Wayne (Adam West), Robin / Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) |
The most vibrant and stylish of the Batman’s headquarters is the one featured in the 1966 movie Batman: The Movie. Starring Adam West and Burt Ward it’s the same one used on the hit TV show. It’s wonderfully campy but, for its time, incredibly advanced. A lot of the 1960s Batman technology is now real but didn’t become commonplace until decades later.
Besides the nuclear reactor, they had computers. Actual computers. Those didn’t come into home use till forty years later. Plus he had literally every device you could imagine.
This Batcave is the pinnacle of secrecy since you had to get in through a pole hidden in a grandfather clock or the side of a mountain.
This is the headquarters for Batman that set the tone and standards for all the others.
Which is your favorite Batcave? Let us know in the comments below!
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