In the 52 series, The Question alters the traditional Bat-Signal to project a spray-painted question mark. The laser signal is said to have been unused because the city council deems it an "inappropriate gift." (The characters are notably unimpressed by the more high tech version.) This version of the signal is donated by Kord Industries (see the Blue Beetle). This signal is a more sophisticated laser which paints a green bat symbol in the clouds and is apparently more visible. Needing Batman's help on an extraordinary case, Akins brings out a spare bat signal for a single use. Owing to the events in the "War Crimes" storyline, relations between Batman and the Gotham City Police Department under Commissioner Michael Akins are officially severed the Bat-Signal is removed from the roof of Gotham Central. In the comic book series Gotham Central, the purpose of the Bat-Signal is further expanded upon as Batman's existence is not officially recognized by the Gotham City authorities, the Bat-Signal is explained as a method of using the "urban legend" around Batman to terrify Gotham's criminal underworld.Īs official proven police interaction with the Bat-Signal and Batman himself can lead to cases against criminals arrested by Batman being dismissed, it is up to the civilian employees of the Gotham police department (including the Major Case Squad's civilian attache, Stacy) to operate the signal officially. Oracle also builds a small Bat-Signal to summon Batman to talk to her after having seen Huntress wearing a Batgirl costume. Gordon smashes it to pieces as he is angry that Batman hasn't shown up. Near the beginning of the Batman: No Man's Land story arc, a junior officer creates an improvised Bat-Signal out of spare parts. In Batman: Dark Victory, Hangman sneaks onto the roof of Police Headquarters and turns the Bat-Signal on to lure then-recently appointed Commissioner James Gordon to the roof and try to kill him, but is thwarted when Two-Face cuts Gordon down. By adding an orange bulb and painting "eyes" on the signal, he turns the beam into a stylized Jack-o'-lantern image (with the bat symbol forming the mouth beneath two eyes). In Legends of the Dark Knight #6, a cadre of crime bosses projects the signal upside down in order to summon Batman to help them fight a killer they can't defeat. In the Halloween special comic series, Haunted Knight, Scarecrow alters the Bat-Signal to notify Batman that he has kidnapped then-Captain Jim Gordon. In Detective Comics #466 (1976), the villainous Signalman manages to trap the Batman inside the Bat-Signal device. When he reaches the rooftop, however, he finds that the Joker actually created it, and used it to force a confrontation with Batman. In the "Lovers and Madmen" story arc from Batman Confidential, which retells the origin of the Joker and his first encounter with Batman, Batman sees the Bat-Signal for the first time and assumes that Gordon created it to ask for his help in battling the Joker. Others have used the Bat-Signal for their own purposes. In the comic's post-Crisis continuity, the signal was introduced after the Batman's first encounter against the Joker (not unlike the first movie) in Batman: The Man Who Laughs in Batman and the Mad Monk, Gordon initially used a pager, but during a meeting with Batman he threw it away, saying that he couldn't sneak around in the shadows like Batman and wanted a more above-board means of contacting him. It made its first appearance in Detective Comics #60, February 1942. The fictional origin of the signal varies between timeline and media.
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