Line #68 Main/BlindBats


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/PokemonTradingCardGame https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zubatsilvertempest103.jpg]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Despite their lack of eyes, they can still give a [[DeathGlare Mean Look]].]]
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11	Bats are notable for their nocturnal habits, for the tendency of many species to roost in caves and other dark, enclosed spaces, and for their echolocation, which allows them to get around in low-light and lightless conditions by listening to the echoes of their own cries. In fiction, this is often exaggerated to depict them as completely blind or even as [[EyelessFace outright lacking eyes of any sort]].
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13	Idiomatically, this also leads to people with bad eyesight being referred to as being "blind as a bat".
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15	Visually, this is often paired with exaggerated versions of the leaf-like nasal structures and enlarged ears of many bats, partly to underscore their unusual sensory arrangements and partly because these are visually dramatic and unusual features that help sell the concept of a strange, alien nocturnal hunter.
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17	In real life, this isn't really the case -- although the quality of bat vision can vary from species to species and they generally have poorer daytime vision than humans, no bat species is born without eyesight and all use their sight when flying alongside their other senses.
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19	See also SenseImpairedMonster, for other instances of fictional creatures being depicted as lacking a crucial sense. Contrast OneEyedBats. Compare BloodsuckingBats, another trope based on a common misconception about the life habits of bats.
20	----
21	!!Examples
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Card Games]]
25	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
26	** [[https://scryfall.com/card/gpt/102/blind-hunter Blind Hunter]] depicts a bat with nothing but smooth unbroken skin over its face.
27	** [[https://scryfall.com/card/lci/102/deep-cavern-bat Deep-Cavern Bat]] shows another bat with tiny, atrophied eyes.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': The prequel comic, ''Kingdom Kong'', has Kong facing off against the bat-like Titan Camazotz. Normally living in the depths of the HollowEarth, he's completely blind and relies on echolocation to navigate, but nonetheless cannot stand sunlight and seeks to plunge Skull Island into perpetual darkness. Camazotz's smaller bat-like minions also appear to be completely eyeless.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Fan Works]]
35	* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': Subverted. Ami assumed that bats are blind, but her time as one has her learn that they have good eyesight.
36	* ''Fanfic/GettingBackOnYourHooves'': The Ropen is a giant, blind batlike monster that hunts by sound. Since it's blind, [[spoiler:Fluttershy's Stare has no effect on it, but Trixie temporarily cripples its echolocation by using a fireworks spell]].
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
40	* ''WesternAnimation/FernGullyTheLastRainforest'': When Batty Koda is introduced, his eyes are clouded up and he keeps crashing into trees because human experimentation has ruined his echolocation. Krysta uses fairy magic to restore his sight, although that doesn't make him any less clumsy.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Literature]]
44	* ''Literature/AfterManAZoologyOfTheFuture'': This is how several bats have evolved in the 50 million years since humans went extinct. In particular:
45	** Purrip bats have gradually lost their sight in favor of a frontal echolocation system, to the point where some species--they're a multi-species genus--have lost their eyes entirely.
46	** The nightstalker, a predatory flightless bat native to the new island chain of Batavia, has also had its eyes atrophy in favor of highly sensitive ears.
47	* ''Literature/{{Mossflower}}'': The bats of Bat Mountpit are blind, as Martin learns when they feel his face to "see" him. Rockhanger the bat claims if he tried hard enough he could probably see, but the bats gave up relying on sight in the pitch-dark caves they inhabit.
48	* ''Literature/WellWorld'': The Creit, a species of giant humanoid bats, have a very keen sense of smell but are almost blind in daylight.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
52	* ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'': Master Swoop is blind, and also carries the spirit of the bat.
53	* ''Series/{{Primeval}}'': The "future predators" are a species descended from bats that evolved into large, flightless carnivores. They have no eyes whatsoever and rely instead on their highly developed echolocation. This has at times been turned against them; Nick is able to disorient one by shooting out the glass panes of a greenhouse, and the resulting rain of shards confuses the Predator's sonar, while Lester is able to momentarily confuse one by playing loud music from a boombox.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
57	* ''Series/EureekasCastle'': Batly wears glasses, but often crashes into things. He's even more clumsy without his glasses.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Video Games]]
61	* ''VideoGame/BoundByBlades'': Played with. Mittux is a monster consisting of a gigantic mouth with leathery, bat-like wings, without any eyes. As it turns, it does have one eye -- [[EyesDoNotBelongThere on its tongue]].
62	* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': Turel, one of Kain's vampire lieutenants, gained more bat-like features over the centuries, which resulted in a gradual loss of sight in exchange for telekinetic and sound-related abilities.
63	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': The cave-dwelling bat Pokémon Zubat has a completely eyeless face, though its evolutions, Golbat and Crobat, have clearly visible eyes. Its counterpart in the fifth generation of games, Woobat, may or may not have eyes, but if so, these are completely covered by its dense fur. Its evolution, Swoobat, does have eyes.
64	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Shriekwing, the first boss of the Castle Nathria raid, is a blind bat-like monster with a metal mask entirely covering the upper half of her face. Her encounter largely revolves around avoiding her echolocation abilities.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Web Animation]]
68	* ''WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals'': In "[[https://youtu.be/pxrxKPg4mZs?si=pBLaS7g5F-269km2 Daredevil Should Be Named Batman]]", one of the main arguments by the woman for why ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} should be named Batman is that Daredevil is blind.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Web Original]]
72	* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': The Karren is a batlike petpet described as having to rely on its strong hearing to make up for its terrible vision.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Western Animation]]
76	* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': Ben's alien Eyeguy evokes this given he's a bat-like humanoid with an EyelessFace. {{Inverted\|Trope}} however, because he has eyes [[EyesDoNotBelongThere just about everywhere else]].
77	* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'': In "[[Recap/RockosModernLifeS2E13ShortStoryEyesCapades Eyes Capades]]", Rocko becomes farsighted around the time that he's training for a jackhammer contest. When Heffer remarks that Rocko is "blind as a bat", a giant bat approaches Heffer, being insulted by that stereotype. After Heff apologizes, [[IResembleThatRemark the bat suddenly bumps into a wall]], and apologizes to it.
78	* ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy:'' Birdbrain's minion [[ADogNamedDog Bat]] is very visually impaired, often running into his fellow henchmen.
79	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BlindBats