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Why doesn't Batman have a high-pitched voice?

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RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#1: Jul 19th 2012 at 5:20:26 AM

Okay, yeah, you can't really tell what someone's voice pitch is from a comic. But in every adaptation of the character I can think of, Batman is given a really deep voice.

But he's a bat-themed character. Shouldn't his voice be really high, like a bat's shriek? If Judge Doom can pull it off, why not Batman?

AtomJames I need a drink Since: Apr, 2010
I need a drink
#2: Jul 19th 2012 at 5:25:03 AM

Because sounding like your constantly on helium isn't scary? Yeah it makes more sense, but lets be realistic (or as realistic as we can get, it is Batman we're talking bout) deep, growly voices do a better job at scaring people.

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.
NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#3: Jul 19th 2012 at 10:41:07 AM

That, and low deep tones are better to operate in secret and stealth than loud shrill ones.

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#4: Jul 20th 2012 at 3:16:22 AM

If we're going for scare factor, I think you're seriously underestimating the potential of high, screechy, raspy voices to terrify people.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
Cider The Final ECW Champion from Not New York Since: May, 2009 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
The Final ECW Champion
#6: Jul 20th 2012 at 7:24:53 AM

Bat's aren't so much high pitch as "so high you can't even hear them. Giving him a high pitch voice kind of sounds like the Theme Park Version...then again, Tropes Are Not Bad. Next time they should experiment by giving him that raspy old lady voice Freeza had in the Dragon Ball show.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack
Jhimmibhob Since: Dec, 2010
#7: Jul 20th 2012 at 9:00:09 AM

I dunno ... why doesn't he have a receding chin? Bats do.

Prowler I'm here for our date, Rose! Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
I'm here for our date, Rose!
#8: Jul 20th 2012 at 12:41:32 PM

I once asked someone why Batman didn't have a high-pitched, squeaky bat-voice. They answered in such a voice, "I'm Batman!"

That about summed it up for me.

NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#9: Jul 20th 2012 at 3:23:39 PM

I just imagined Robin with a singing, bird-like voice.

LOL.

AtomJames I need a drink Since: Apr, 2010
I need a drink
#10: Jul 21st 2012 at 8:12:22 PM

Perhaps a better question would be why doesn't he employ more sonic based weaponry into his arsenal? I think we've only ever seen him use that Bat Caller in Year One and Batman Begins.

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.
NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#11: Jul 22nd 2012 at 8:10:37 AM

The Bat Caller isn't that useful. There needs to be several bats nearby, or else the villain will just escape before they arrive. The bats themselves make for little but confusion, and actually could allow a single villain to escape better during the confusion (they are better for crowd dispersal). Furthermore, villains with long reaching weaponry like Firefly or Joker (with his poison gas) would dispose of them quickly.

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#12: Jul 22nd 2012 at 10:09:11 AM

Have they ever given Batman a gadget that uses echolocation to let him see in the dark?

NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#13: Jul 22nd 2012 at 1:21:45 PM

He actually has nocturnal vision lenses built in his cowl. They are what gives his eyes that blank look with no pupils.

I figure they made ecolocation redundant. Plus, ecolocation can be tricked easily by the most savvy and canny foes.

edited 22nd Jul '12 1:22:41 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

Robbery Since: Jul, 2012
#14: Jul 22nd 2012 at 2:02:32 PM

Because Batman's not really trying to be a bat. He's trying to evoke an iconography that inspires fear in a lot of people. Bat's really aren't particularly scary. They might nip at you, get tangled up in your hair if you have longish hair, or (in rare cases) give you rabies. Still, a lot of people are just freaked out by bats at a visceral level. There's also the blood-sucking, vampiric connection to consider. High pitched voices just generally wouldn't scare the people he's trying to scare.

AtomJames I need a drink Since: Apr, 2010
I need a drink
#15: Jul 22nd 2012 at 2:30:04 PM

You know the more I think about it, the more it makes sense that Batman should have sonic weaponry. I mean, being set in a comic book universe, stuff like the brown note could exist so it makes sense that he would use some kinda sonic device to scare people or make them feel off.

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.
NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#16: Jul 22nd 2012 at 2:40:54 PM

The problem is comics aren't a medium that allows sound, so sonic implements aren't left with a lot of expression means. Having those sound effects on at all times just isn't the same.

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#17: Jul 22nd 2012 at 6:11:29 PM

If nothing else, he should carry around a recording of stereotypical bat squeaks and set it to play at a really high volume when he attacks someone.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#18: Jul 22nd 2012 at 11:16:47 PM

Isn't that sonic thingamajig he carries in his utility belt mentioned as the best reliable way to take down Killer Croc?

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Calendar enthusiast
#19: Jul 24th 2012 at 7:12:23 AM

Have they ever given Batman a gadget that uses echolocation to let him see in the dark?

Well, there was that thing with mobile phones in The Dark Knight. That sort of counts.

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NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#20: Jul 24th 2012 at 8:42:42 AM

[up][up] Just gassing him seems to work better. Aren't reptiles less susceptible to sounds than mammals anyway?

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#21: Jul 24th 2012 at 12:58:05 PM

Not when it comes to Killer Croc, apparently. He also uses it every once and a while on robots and every once in a while on big mooks and the like. It's one of those things he always has with him.

AtomJames I need a drink Since: Apr, 2010
I need a drink
#22: Jul 24th 2012 at 4:23:58 PM

What doesn't he usually have on him?

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.
NULLcHiLD27 Since: Oct, 2010
#23: Jul 24th 2012 at 5:17:16 PM

[up]An interesting personality?tongue

edited 24th Jul '12 5:17:24 PM by NULLcHiLD27

AtomJames I need a drink Since: Apr, 2010
I need a drink
#24: Jul 24th 2012 at 6:06:17 PM

Rimshot

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#25: Jul 27th 2012 at 1:28:27 AM

Actually, Batsy rarely carries more than a half-dozen different gadgets on him at any given time.

Most of his preparedness comes from having simple tools that can be used deftly in most given situations, rather than a lot of specific gadgets.

edited 27th Jul '12 1:28:55 AM by KnownUnknown


Total posts: 26
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