Batman is arguably the most well-known superhero worldwide. In comic books and other mediums, he goes by many monikers: The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader, and The Defender of Gotham. However, perhaps one nickname rings most true when it comes to Batman: The World’s Greatest Detective. Batman is constantly uncovering clues to crimes and unraveling criminal conspiracies. This is true for comic books, animated films, and television shows.
However, the detective element of Batman tales is sorely lacking when it comes to the silver screen. Batman has played either a lead or prominent role in nine films since 1989, and the number of instances where he puts on his detective cowl are few and far between.
Yet, there are occasions in Batman, Batman Forever, and The Dark Knight where The World’s Greatest Detective puts this moniker to good use. Some are more plausible and clever than others, but they are detective moments nonetheless.
Batman: The Joker Toxin
In the events of 1989’s Batman film, Jack Nicholson’s Joker creates a toxin that terrorizes Gotham City for much of the film. The Gotham Police Department and Batman alike are at a loss for how to confront the Joker and nullify the toxin.
At first glance, Batman is not sure what exactly goes into the Joker toxin. However, he eventually deduces that it is a combination of products that just about anyone could buy in local pharmacies and grocery stores. This makes the toxin all the more frightening, in that the Joker could have anyone picking up everyday items for him to create his deadly weapon.
Batman Forever: Who is the Riddler?
In Batman Forever, The Caped Crusader has two prominent foes from his rogues gallery to square up against: Two-Face and the Riddler. Two-Face’s backstory is already known at this point: he is the disgraced and disfigured former District Attorney for Gotham City, Harvey Dent.
The Riddler is more of a mystery. He was never a major public figure like Harvey Dent was. The Riddler is also a major narcissist who leaves clues at crime scenes to prove to all of Gotham City that he is of superior intelligence. One clue causes Batman to perform some clever work in which he deduces that the word ‘enigma’ is important. From there, he concludes that the Riddler is E. Nygma, or Edward Nygma.
The Dark Knight: Marked Bills
The Dark Knight opens with a bang: the Joker and his henchmen absolutely lay siege to a Gotham City bank. Audiences quickly learn that this bank is mobster-owned and operated, making the heist and escape all the more daring.
In the aftermath of the bank heist, it is made apparent that Batman and the Gotham City Police Department are working hand-in-glove together to solve the crime. As the scene unfolds, it is revealed that Batman has been supplying ‘marked’ bills to the Gotham City Police Department. This is a ploy to track bills that are used in the Gotham City underworld and make major mob busts. This is a subtle detective tactic, but a very clever one.
The Dark Knight: Taking Down Lau in Hong Kong
Early in the events of The Dark Knight, audiences are introduced to a new character: a seemingly shady accountant named Lau. The accountant wants to forge a business deal with Wayne Enterprises, but something does not sit quite right with Bruce Wayne and the trusted Lucius Fox. The former asks the latter to meet Lau in Hong Kong, at his office, to deduce if Lau is in deep with Gotham’s underworld.
It turned out that Lau was indeed in deep with the sharks. After obtaining necessary evidence, Lucius Fox informed Bruce Wayne (who Fox knows is Batman) of Lau’s dirty hands. Batman proceeded to travel to Hong Kong and perform a CIA-style extraction of Lau. After successfully extracting Lau, Batman handed him over to the Gotham City Police Department. It is a bold showing of Batman not having a limit to his self-appointed jurisdiction.
The Dark Knight: Bullet Forensics
In The Dark Knight, Batman seeks to help Detective Jim Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department figure out who committed a shooting. Batman retrieves a bullet out of a wall and takes it back to his base of operations. He conducts some tests on the bullet, and eventually deduces that there is a fingerprint on the bullet, despite the fact that the bullet shattered on impact.
This last example is a bit of a controversial one due to its cited lack of plausibility. Bullets come in shell casings, which are ejected from guns upon firing. So even if there was a fingerprint on the shell casing, it would not be transferred to the bullet inside the shell casing. Anyone who has even an amateur understanding of how guns operate will find this scene implausible and fairly lazy.
Die-hard Batman fans are hoping that 2022’s The Batman features more scenes with Batman playing up his reputation as The World’s Greatest Detective. It is a feature that has been sorely lacking, or even ignored, for too long.
