If you’ve been a reader of this site for a while, you no doubt realize that I don’t read very much DC. That being said, I almost feel obligated, despite the small number of DC titles in my pull list, to read the Batman comics for the sheer fact that Batman is the definition of awesome. Boatloads of money, martial arts mastery, peak athletic ability. The Dark Knight’s got it all. But what good would he be without all his trusty gadgets and resources? Probably nowhere near as cool as he is. Why not take a look at the best tools Batman has available to him? Let’s get the countdown underway!

For starters, you would not believe how hard it is to find a picture of this thing. I challenge anyone out there to find a better picture of the Batboat. If you find one, you get a bonus point in the Awesome Arena pool. Anyway, while the Batboat might seem completely useless, that couldn’t be further from the truth…assuming that Batman was near water. I suppose if his mission required him to be in the air, the boat would be rather useless. For the sake of this countdown, let’s assume Batman was going after the Penguin in his floating iceberg palace in the middle of the ocean. Would the Dark Knight jump into the Batmobile and chase after him? Not a chance. The Batboat is the only sane choice in a situation like that.

Many heroes have headquarters. Few have a home base as epic as Batman’s Batcave. In terms of usefulness in crimefighting, Batman’s cave is easily the greatest database of information on not only the villains of Gotham City but also many of the villains from around the galaxy. Many times, the JLA goes to Batman’s mainframes in order to gather information on their greatest enemies. While it might not be the best of Batman’s tools, the cave is, obviously, the single greatest piece of Batman’s arsenal as it relates to information on the forces of evil.

Much like the Batboat, the Batplane is seemingly only useful in certain situations. I suppose that’s pretty true but when the Joker builds a poison gas generator high above the skyline of Gotham City, you better believe Batman isn’t rushing into the Batboat and trying get that thing airborn. The Batplane, in all it’s awesomeness is the only choice for the job. Countless times, Batman has taken to the skies and battled the forces of evil that pray on the innocent people of Gotham. Each time, he’s taken down the baddies and saved the day.

Stocked with just about everything Batman can think of, his utility belt has saved him from countless situations that otherwise seemed impossible to escape from. Complete with a boomerang, handcuffs, tracers, a secondary communication device, first aid kit, gas mask, grappling hook, night vision goggles, lock picks, laser torch, a Kryptonite ring plus anything else the Dark Knight could possibly require for a mission, the utility belt easily the runner up to the top prize in Batman’s sophisticated arsenal.

Which, unless mathematics have failed me, brings us to the #1 resource on Batman’s list…the Batmobile. Sure a Batcomputer is great but what good is it when he needs to be hitting the streets and hunting down street thugs? Wouldn’t it be great if Batman could bring the power of the Batcomputer with him in a mobile car-like vehicle? Now he can! The Batmobile is the ultimate tool for Batman. Without it, Batman would have to take the bus or ride on the pegs of Robin’s bike in order to chase down villains across Gotham City. As far as the technical specifications are concerned, the current Batmobile is bulletproof, rides on impact-resistant hydraulics and contains engine specifications that are more advanced than the latest F1 racers. Many of the other features of the Batmobile resemble those commonly found in Stealth jets. Makes you wonder how much money he spent pimping out that ride…

A POA Countdown just wouldn’t be the same without a list of tools that just didn’t quite have what it took to break the top 5. Here they are, in no particular order:

Robin, Batgirl and Alfred:
While the Batman family is technically a piece of Batman’s arsenal, it just wouldn’t be right to throw all these people alongside machines and contraptions…at least not as cool as the ones that were in the top 5.

The various models of Batsuits available:
No matter what, Batman always had just the suit to battle just the right enemy. If he was fighting someone that could throw flames, he had a fireproof suit. If it was someone underwater, he had an underwater suit.

The various other Batvehicles:
Things like the Batglider and the Batsub are great and all but they just can’t compare to things like the Batplane and Batmobile.

Well, that does it for this countdown. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have anything you’d like to add to the list, leave us a comment and let us know!