In the Knightfall story arc (1992-1994), the character Jean-Paul Valley redesigned the batsuit during his tenure as Batman. Rather than appearing as a new costume, Jean-Paul developed it over time. Valley created an armored suit that contained more gadgets, including a shuriken launcher, flamethrower and other, more lethal weapons. This version of the suit did away with the traditional cape and cowl. It featured armored and bladed wings and was highly bullet proof, capable of sustaining direct machine gun barrages as well as enduring the explosions from grenades and high intensity fire. The suit also featured an underwater rebreather. A circular ammo feeder affixed to the back of the suit provided Valley with continuous bat-shaped shuriken. This suit has often been seen as a reaction to occasional fan criticism that the batsuit was not high-tech enough for the modern age. In the end, the suit became Valley's vulnerable point, as Bruce realized that his replacement had become too reliant upon the suit's gadgetry. In their final confrontation, Wayne, in his traditional bat costume, tricked Valley into discarding the armor by leading him into a narrow tunnel that forced Valley to remove most of the armour to follow Wayne. Upon seeing Wayne revealed in his batsuit under blinding daylight after being forced to remove his helmet- the last part of the armour Valley had kept-, Valley's fragile mind collapsed, and he acknowledged Bruce Wayne as the true Batman.
The gauntlets from this costume are now being used by Kate Spencer, the current Manhunter, who obtained them from an LAPD evidence room. They had been used by a small-time crook who unsuccessfully robbed the safe of a Gotham lawyer who keeps information on all his supervillain clients' loot.
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