The hell does Gordon do when there aren't any clouds in the sky to project the signal onto?
this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2025
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We always thought Gotham was Manhattan, but it turns out it's actually Seattle.
Wait, I thought it was Chicago. Most of the movies were even shot partially in Chicago, the bank scene from the dark knight was shot in downtown and even the traffic was going the wrong way on a one-way.
Chicago has often been used for inspiration (as well as a number of other cities) but it was originally based on Manhattan/NYC. The name "Gotham" was coined by Washington Irving in 1807 as a nickname for New York City.
Oh neat. TIL
Gotham is so perpetually fucked by so many supernatural phenomena that it's actually rare for that to happen
I think the first Bat Radio debuted in the 1966 TV Show, so from that point onwards the signal really has served no practical communications purpose.
It has however, always been canon that the signal is not just about communicating to Batman, but also about communicating to criminals that Batman is out and on the loose. It's more psychological warfare than communication device ... Though why Gordon isn't allowed to use the Bat Radio and has to go on the roof in the rain to turn on a high voltage spot light is never fully explained. I assume he lost his privileges for a reason.
Wouldn't it work the other way, too? If the bat signal is off, it's crime time, my fellow criminal goons!
In the Adam West TV show Gordon just picked up the red phone.
"Hey Batman, I have Bruce Wayne on the other line, he's got some information, you should talk to him."
Yes, this is a scene that actually did happen in the Adam West Batman show.
Plot twist, there's a transmitter attached to it that signals whatever his communicator is. The bat signal is pure theatrics, turning it on just pings Batman's pager.
Batman checks his phone: "Fuck."
It would be a hoot if Bruce Wayne got a notification on his smart watch in the next movie.
Since Batman doesn't wear glasses and has a mask, I feel like it's just as likely he'd have a like a smart glasses type thing built into his mask. So he really wouldn't have to look anywhere but the notification would just be a translucent overlay.
Or maybe full coverage heat retardant smart contacts, so they protect his eyes from any debris/explosions. Kind of like what Tom Cruise wore to perform the outside the plane stunt in the last mission impossible movie. Covers the whole outside of the eyeball so the wind does dry out your eye or make it so you can't see.
Didn't see the movie, but heard about the stunt
Kinda makes me curious about the logistics. You can't exactly mark it as 'read'.
Do they just keep it on until he shows up? What if there's more than one crime happening? How long will they wait for some sort of response?
In the movie The Dark Knight, Gordon says Batman often doesn't show up when the bat signal is on, he mostly turns it on to to remind criminals that Batman is out there.
In the comic The Dark Knight Returns, Gordon says there's about a dozen different ways Gordon could contact Batman, but he uses the Bat Signal for similar reasons.
So it's mostly just for theatrics, if it were a real emergency Gordon would phone up Batman. But I guess it's a way to indicate to Batman "let's talk whenever you're not busy".
I didn't catch it, despite watching 1989 Batman several times, until someone pointed out that Bruce in his mansion was looking bored and listless, until the bat signal turned on, and he looked very much animated.
He keeps it on vibrate and mostly ignores it?
[...] and mostly ignores it
That's not where my gutter brain went after reading the first five words. Where my brain did go was a Hans Niemann scenario.
It's probably Alfred stuck watching for the signal, really.
Nah the bat signal light is a red herring, when the light turns on, it just sends an email to Batman. The light is more about keeping criminals afraid cause you know, Batman likes to scare people.