This large, injured, bat was owned by Batman, and kept in a cage in his Batcave. The wounded bat's cage was displayed next to the revolving platform where the Batmobile is parked.
History[]
When Vicki Vale was taken to the Batcave, Batman looked back at her wonderment at all of the cave's bat inhabitants. The Dark Knight claimed they were great survivors as he walked past the cage of his wounded bat. It was likely released back into the Batcave after recovering. By the time Drake Winston joined his crusade, the cage was empty.[1]
Appearances[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Warren Skaaren's screenplay indicates that Bruce sympathizes with the wounded bat, creating a blatant symbolic image. It is implied to be the bat that burst through the window of his father's study but the filmmakers wanted to avoid depicting the Bill Finger explanation for why he wore a Bat-Uniform, merely hinting at it. The "great survivors" remark is a reference to the Monarch Bat that appeared to Bruce Wayne when he found the Batcave as a child, regarded by him as the 'fiercest survivor.' Thematically the wounded bat is an equal spiritual totem to Napier's damaged playing cards, the inspiration for their personas in the world of night. The wounded bat is a creation of Skaaren and Tim Burton, it did not exist in Sam Hamm's script. In Hamm's take Batman enunciated far more dialogue to Vale, specifically indicating that he discovered the cave as a child and transformed himself into the thing he once feared the most. In the final film the vague reference would only be recognized by diehard fans who read Frank Miller's 1986 Dark Knight series while exorcizing the expository dialogue, giving Batman more mystique.
Trivia[]
- In the novelization, Batman pats the cage as he walks by it like the script. The bat is also described as being wrapped in bandages and splint. Rather than looking upward at all the bats in amazement Vale seemed to be examining the wounded bat in the original screenplay. Vale was also described as terrified and repulsed by the creatures rather than being more fascinated by them like in the final film. Kim Basinger's portrayal is more cohesive with the character's bravery while documenting the revolution in Corto Maltese, rather than acting squeamish around some bats.