Batman is known as one of the greatest heroes despite not having any superpowers. However, there have been some instances in the comics where he gained actual superhuman abilities. While most of these were temporary, it was intriguing to see the Dark Knight take on supervillains with enhanced strength and more.
The Dark Knight’s origin story has always been grounded in reality as a man who trained his body and mind to the peak of human potential. But on rare occasions, magic or science in the DC universe gave Bruce Wayne abilities beyond what’s possible. From flight to echolocation, these are some of the most memorable instances where Batman truly became a superpowered crimefighter, if only for a short time.
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10. Vampire Powers
One of the more unique takes came in the 1992 miniseries ‘Batman and Dracula: Red Rain‘ where Batman encounters the infamous vampire lord. During their battle, Dracula manages to bite Bruce and turns him into a vampire.
Among the new abilities granted were enhanced strength, agility, stamina as well as the ability to fly and mesmerism. While reluctant to embrace this change, Batman used his new vampire strengths against other supernatural villains threatening Gotham before ultimately accepting his condition.
9. Echolocation And Sonic Abilities
In the 2015 Justice League storyline, a virus called Amazo rendered most of the superhero team powerless. Batman was strangely affected differently, losing his eyesight but gaining echolocation that let him perceive the world with sound waves.
He could also fire ultrasonic beams capable of causing physical harm. It was an interesting twist seeing Batman fight without sight but utilizing abilities reminiscent of his namesake, the bat.
8. Flight, Strength And Durability
In ‘Superman/Batman‘ #32, Batman comes into contact with an alien symbiote called Blackrock that temporarily enhances its host’s physical attributes. With Blackrock bonding with him, Batman was granted the power of flight, superhuman strength on par with Superman, and an increased tolerance for damage and pain.
While not entirely in control, it allowed Batman to go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel in combat during an incident where Superman was being mind-controlled.
7. The Powers Of A Genie
One of the more bizarre encounters saw Batman turn into an actual genie after being hit by magic dust in ‘Detective Comics‘ #22. As a genie, he gained the standard abilities associated with the mystical beings like immense super strength, ability to alter his size, and flying.
Batman was forced to obey the commands of the villain who held his lamp but ultimately was freed from this magical enslavement by Robin. This made for a very weird and funny spin on Batman that wasn’t expected to be.
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6. An Evil Bat-Manhattan
In the epic ‘Dark Nights: Metal‘ crossover, an alternate version of Batman is exposed to the energy emanating from Dr. Manhattan, gaining all of his phenomenal cosmic powers. These included molecular manipulation, technopathic abilities, reality warping, teleportation, energy projection and being practically omnipotent.
With these abilities at his disposal and under the control of the Batman Who Laughs, he became one of the most formidable foes the heroes ever faced.
5. Man-Bat Batman
During the ‘Batman Incorporated‘ storyline, he injected a prototype serum based on Kirk Langstrom’s Man-Bat formula to gain new abilities. The serum mutates Bruce into a humanoid bat creature, granting him echolocation, flight from membranes between his arms and legs, enhanced physicals, and control over bats.
While uncomfortable with his new monstrous form, The Caped Crusader utilized these powers against the organization Leviathan before purging the mutagen from his system.
4. Immortality
In the one-shot ‘Superman & Batman: Generations‘, an old Bruce Wayne is persuaded by Ra’s Al Ghul to take a dip in the Lazarus Pit. Emerging rejuvenated with the appearance and physical prime of his younger days.
The Caped Crusader also gained immortality like Ra’s from the reanimating waters. This allows Bruce to fight crime as an ageless Dark Knight for centuries, without worrying about him aging.
3. Green Lantern
The Elseworlds tale ‘Batman: In Darkest Knight‘ spins an alternate first encounter where Bruce is chosen by a dying Green Lantern to be his successor. Given a power ring, he wields the full abilities of a Green Lantern like flight, energy constructs, survival in space without life support, and more.
He effectively employs these powers to protect Gotham and becomes a galactic lawman, making him truly formidable.
2. The Red Death
In the ‘Dark Nights: Metal’ spin-off, a deranged Batman from another world defeats The Flash and gains speedster abilities. This psychotic version of The Dark Knight drained the Speed Force from the Scarlet Speedster, earning the name “The Red Death.”
He then gained super-speed, accelerated healing, and vectors of scarlet lightning bolts under his command. Armed with these phenomenally powerful abilities, the Red Death becomes one of the greatest threats in the Dark Multiverse.
1. Near God-Like Powers
For the ‘Injustice: Gods Among Us‘ fighting game, the story introduces a special Kryptonian pill called “5-U-93-R” that vastly augments a person’s physicality to superhuman levels.
Taking this, the Caped Crusader becomes strong enough to fight an evil regime’s version of Superman one-on-one. Aided by power armor, this temporary power-up lets him fight godlike opponents with enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and resistance.
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