2. The Eye-Pieces
In the summer of 1939, at the suggestion of co-creator Bill Finger, Bob Kane changed Batmans visage from a simple domino mask, to the spooky cowl that we all now know and love. With those piercing, featureless eyes, Batman displayed an element of mystery and hinted at some sort of unspeakable supernatural power hidden just behind the mask. It was a great move. It created a classic look that has been frequently copied over the years, but never bested. More recently, Batmans cold, unreadable stare has been interpreted as having a dual purpose. When he looks out at you, he sees so much more. Batmans eyepieces not only protect his eyes from the flashbang light grenades he frequently uses, they can also provide both night-vision and heat sensors when needed (Hush). Also, forget Google Glass, Batmans eyepieces can run facial recognition software in a crowd (Nowhere Man), as well as bringing up the criminal records of those he apprehends, isolating their injuries and weak spots in real-time (Hush) as he lays the Smackdown on their four-colour candy asses. He can even use the eyepieces to scan for objects or people obscured from the regular fields of vision, which includes nut-jobs in prototype invisibility suits, apparently (Leviathan). In addition, the eyepieces enable Batman to automatically liaise with the Batcave, generating a miniature version of the Bat-Computer that is fully interactive (Death of the Family).