From the giant penny to the dinosaur, the Batcave is as much a part of the world of Batman as any member of the Bat-Family. But where did the Batcave come from? It's hard to conceive of a time before Batman had the Batcave, as it feels like something that happened at the same time as he was introduced. But Batman's immense mythology didn't begin fully formed.
The Batcave being the headquarters where Bruce stored all of his nifty gadgets and vehicles is something that happened over time. Everything from the cave's trophies to the vehicles to the cave's location has all changed over the decades. Only fans who have been reading for years or have read tons of back issues have seen all the changes the Batcave has undergone, but here are just a few of the ones that helped the Batcave grow into the place it is today.
10 Originally The Batcave Was In Bruce's House
Security today is much more important than it was when Batman was first introduced. At the time, it was simply assumed that no one would be looking to discover Batman as he was still new to the game. For a time, the Batcave was simply within Wayne Manor. He kept his costume within a chest within his house. To be clear, this wasn’t merely just the Batman costume, but utility belt and any other necessary equipment as well, meaning the separation between Bruce’s home life and his superhero life was minimal.
9 At First, The Cave Was Just To Store His Batmobile And Batplane
The earliest version of the Batcave was just in his barn. In the early 1940s, Batman had an underground tunnel from his house that leads to a barn near Wayne Manor where his vehicles were kept. Both the Batmobile and Batplane were kept there, allowing them to leave at any moment. This was the most effective way to keep their vehicles nearby without keeping them directly by Wayne Manor.
8 They Added A Bat-Computer In The Sixties
Batman as a character pre-dates the existence of digital media, so early stories about Batman wouldn’t have shown his tech-savvy capabilities. They introduced more technology as the series went on, but the computer was officially named in Batman vol. 1 #189, where Batman and Robin were both using the computer to help them find information on the Scarecrow. At the time, computers were still such new technology information was only processed via punch cards. Unsurprisingly, Batman also kept a large number of paper files as well both before and long after this.
7 Batman Added An Interrogation Room To Get Information Out Of Criminals
Batman is one of the oldest superheroes, and as such what it actually meant to be a hero was a little different at the time. In the late ’40s, Batman had a habit of taking certain criminals he caught back to the Batcave and putting them in his “truth chamber."
The truth chamber was a square room covered in mirrors that would show the captive twisted versions of their own reflections mixed with different colored lights while Batman interrogated them. Now the problem here is this is technically torture, and it makes Batman look just as evil as the people he’s hunting down.
6 There Was A Trophy Room That Was Moved Into the Batcave
Everyone thinks the Batcave is where Bruce keeps all the cool stuff to mark all his prior adventures. But that’s not how it always was—before the Batcave became standard, the trophy room was actually kept within Wayne Manor. Interestingly, it had nothing to do with the risk of being caught that led to Bruce moving the trophies. Instead, it wasn’t until the trophies became too plentiful to store there that they were moved into the Batcave. These days, Bruce would call it evidence from prior cases rather than something that trivializes his work like “trophies."
5 He Added A Surveillance System To Know If Anyone Had Broken Into The Batcave
It was only a matter of time before people inevitably started trying to find out where Batman lives. Early on in Batman history, they had to deal with the evil Dr. Doom (no, not that one), a smuggler who narrowly escaped by pretending to drown. He snuck into a sarcophagus that Batman and Robin took back to their Batcave, and came back out later to try and take Batman and Robin out for good. The two were only aware he was in the cave because of an alarm system.
4 He Shifted The Costume Room From Wayne Manor To The Batcave
Batman and Robin kept their costumes within Wayne Manor for years, but eventually, they realized it was much too dangerous to keep their equipment upstairs. So they developed a specific costume room for all of their uniforms. At the time, Batman’s stories were more over the top, which lead to him having no shortage of outfits. It only made sense to keep them away from potentially prying eyes, and even more so to continuously check them out to make sure they were okay.
3 Batman And Robin Added A Remote Control To Open The Batcave
Early on, Alfred was actually replaced with another caretaker, Dick Grayson’s Aunt Harriet. She worked in Wayne Manor without being told their secret identities, but eventually, she accidentally discovered the Batcave by tripping the switch in the elevator.
The boys were, fortunately, able to quickly build a hidden remote control that would be the only way to enter the Batcave from Wayne Manor. This is honestly a far better solution than a clock that can open the passage by being changed to a specific time.
2 It Got An Electric Transmitter To Detect The Bat-Signal
Even as early as the mid-’50s much of Batman mythology was already developed. By this point, the Bat-Signal had become more common as a way to signal Batman and Robin and get them to show up and help with crime. But the group wasn’t only able to know about the Bat-Signal from Wayne Manor, but from within the Batcave as well. The two of them had a special light they shined over Gotham Police HQ that would go off when the Bat-Signal was triggered, allowing them to know they were being summoned.
1 Batman And Alfred Abandoned The Batcave And Built Another One In The City
Back in the 1970s, Dick Grayson was finally considered old enough to go off to college. And as he headed to Hudson University, Bruce Wayne decided he’d had enough of being based out of Wayne Manor. Believing they weren’t keeping with the times, Bruce decided to move out of Wayne Manor and into a penthouse at the Wayne Foundation. As a result, they closed down the Batcave entirely and created a new Batcave in the basement of the Wayne Foundation building. Batman would remain operating out of Gotham City for over a decade before finally coming back to the Batcave with Batman Vol. 1 #348.