Batman in the Fifties

Batman in the Fifties is a compilation of many different Batman stories from the 1950s. Here are the information technology highlights:

Detective Comics 156 "The Batmobile of 1950!"
Batman: "Handy gadget, this belt radio! Robin! Batman calling to Robin!"

Batman: "I wish I could go along, Robin! I'll keep track of you on the television screen! Your portable TV camera will transmit the view, and our belt radios will carry the sound!" Robin's portable TV camera is not very portable at all. Not like the 1960s Batman movie. Batman is able to save Robin's life by warning him that a criminal is about to take a pot shot.

Batman: "No car can move through this fog -- unless, like the Batmobile, it's equipped with radar!"
Robin: "It's even more thrilling than flying blind! Look at this radar screen!"

Batman faked prolonged his injury to test the capabilities of the Batmobile. The Batmobile is a piece of technology that allows him to do his job.

Diagram of Batplane II from Batman #61 - the plane has television, radar, radio antennae all contained in the wing structures

World's Finest Comics #81 "The True History of Superman and Batman"
Ka Thar, a historian from 5956, travels back in time to show that his version of Superman and Batman was right. His time machine is a chair that floats while he records the feats that the superheroes perform using what looks like a camcorder.

Detective Comics #244 - The 100 Batarangs of Batman
Robin: "Well--we've now got more than a dozen suspects....crooks who know the various abilities of the Batarang, because we caught them with it!"
Batman: "We'll run these names through our crime file!"
Batman: "All but three of those suspects are still in prison! That leaves Jay Garris, Whitey Mantell, and Matt Howland as suspects!"
Robin: "All dangerous mob-leaders! The card sorting machine will also give us the names and photos of their known associates!"

Detective Comics #233 "The Batwoman"
To find out Batwoman's identity, Batman and Robin manually search through file cabinets to find Kathy Kane's file.

Batman #113 "Batman - The Superman of Planet X!"
Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is living in a world that is depicted as being scientifically advanced, so it should be no surprise that computers and gadgets play a bigger role. In fact, the Batcomputer resembles the current version of the Batcomputer and the main star of the story is the Bat-Radia, which is able to cause controlled disturbances in the atmosphere. One of my favorite Batman stories.