What Is Batman’s ‘Contingency Plan’? Explained

If one thing Batman is famous for, it’s his planning and prep time. Despite not having any superpowers, Batman always seems to have the upper hand when it comes to opponents far more powerful than him. He also doesn’t shame away from creating plans to deal with superpowered team members as well. And this is what we’re going to talk about today, Batman’s ‘contingency plans.’ Batman is distrustful in nature, and due to his intelligence, he is aware that things can go very wrong in just a short amount of time. This is why he created possible plans to deal even with the most superpowered individuals on Earth. Let’s see what Batman’s contingency plan is.

Batman’s contingency plan is a detailed recount of weaknesses and possible strategies in how to deal with superpowered individuals if they ever go rogue. Numerous versions of the plan exist for a great number of superpowered beings, including the Justice League members, Task Force X, and Teen Titans. Although quite guarded, the plans were stolen and used against Batman several times. Batman also has a contingency plan to deal with himself if he ever falls under malicious influence. 

Now that we’ve covered, in summary, what Batman’s contingency plan is, it’s time to analyze it in more detail. If you’re interested in detailed accounts of the weaknesses of the likes of Wonder Woman and Superman, stay with us and keep reading!

Batman has several approaches how to deal with his colleagues 

Batman is an incredibly paranoid individual, some of his quirks led fans to believe he was autistic as well, but this was never officially confirmed, so let’s just settle that the vast majority of Batman’s social problems, paranoia, and obsessive thinking comes from his incredible intelligence and childhood trauma. 

It is expected that someone with an IQ as high as Batman’s will ultimately predict a scenario in which he will have to go up against the likes of Superman and that he will devise a plan that includes all possible weaknesses of Superman and how to utilize them. And this is exactly what Batman did, but not only for Superman. He created a contingency plan for all of the Justice League members, including himself. 

Now several versions exist, The New 52 version, the animated movie version, and the ‘Tower of Babel’ version, and today we’re going to focus on the ‘Tower of Babel‘ storyline and the contingency plan presented within it. 

In the Tower of Babel storyline, Batman’s secret contingency plans to neutralize Justice League members are stolen by the villain Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s Al Ghul, the leader of the League of Assassins, decides to use Batman’s plans to incapacitate the Justice League and bring chaos to the world. 

Meanwhile, Batman, unaware of the theft, continues searching for his parents’ remains. However, he soon realizes that his plans have fallen into the wrong hands when the League members start experiencing these targeted attacks. As the League members fall one by one, Batman investigates and discovers Ra’s Al Ghul’s involvement. He gathers the remaining Justice League members and devises a plan to put a stop to Ra’s’ plans. 

Even though the League was eventually able to deal with Ra’s, it left a bitter taste in their mouth. There was a lot of tension between Batman and the rest of the group because he did, at the end of the day, spent hours, perhaps days and months, devising a plan on how to kill them basically. Batman argued that this was merely a countermeasure devised in the aftermath of the Injustice League.  

Now that you know that those plans exist, it’s time to see what Batman’s original plan was to deal with several superpowered individuals. 

Martian Manhunter’s weakness is fire

Martian Manhunter’s most noted weakness is fire. Batman has devised a nanite virus which, if introduced into J’onn’s body, would convert the outer layer of his skin into magnesium, causing him to burst into flames upon exposure to air. Likewise, a substance taken into his body, such as drink or food, could be laced with magnesium carbonate, causing him to sweat out the magnesium once again, causing him to spontaneously burst on fire. 

Plastic Man was frozen and shattered 

Having a plastic-like body structure, Plastic Man is highly vulnerable to sudden changes in temperatures. This is what Batman decided to abuse as his plan was to flash-freeze Plastic Man and shatter him. This is how he was eventually dealt with as well. 

Aquaman should be kept as far away from the water as possible

If we know one thing about Aquaman is that he needs to be submerged in water from time to time to maintain access to his incredible powers. The longer Aquaman is outside of water, the weaker he gets until he eventually dies. This is why Batman’s contingency plan for Aquaman was to modify the Scarecrow Toxin, to render him aquaphobic and keep him from the water for as long as possible. 

Green Lantern was rendered blind

Green Lantern mostly relies on his sight to utilize his powers. Batman thought of a way to counter this as well. Post-hypnotic suggestions influenced Kyle Rayner during his REM phase, which made him completely blind and unable to guide his ring by using his sight. 

Wonder Woman is stuck in a perpetual fight to the death

Batman’s contingency plan exploited Wonder Woman’s competitive nature to the fullest. A nanite virus was placed inside her ear, which trapped her in virtual reality to fight endlessly against an opponent that was equal to her in every way. Her unwillingness to surrender eventually leads to exhaustion and leads to her death. 

Flash is beaten with a “vibra-bullet”

Batman’s strategy on how to deal with the Flash includes a specially designed “vibra-bullet” that proves to be completely disabling to the speedster because of his molecular structure that vibrates extremely fast. “Vibra-bullet” causes Flash to have seizures at light speed and be unable to recover from them. 

Superman is dealt with by using Red Kryptonite 

In several storylines, Batman and Superman are enemies again due to Batman’s paranoia. Considering that Batman thinks that Superman is a great danger to humanity, it’s only natural that he learned how to modify and utilize his Kryptonite weakness against him. Batman created Red Kryptonite by exposing Green Kryptonite to sample radiation. This Red Kryptonite makes Superman’s skin transparent and causes him great pain and unable to utilize his yellow solar radiation. 

Batman has other contingency plans

Batman didn’t stop when he devised plans on how to deal with Earth’s mighties defenders. He also devised plans on how to deal with the rest of the Justice League reserves and notable members. Zatanna should obviously be cut off from her access to magic. Doctor Fate should have his helmet taken from him, which renders him unable to access his powers. Green Arrow’s weakness is his playboy personality and lifestyle, so his personal matters should be dealt with before he is significantly affected and unable to fight. 

As I’ve said, plenty of contingency plans are out there, and most of them have evolved over the years.   

Does Batman have a contingency plan for himself?

Batman indeed has a contingency plan even for himself, and this was officially revealed in ‘Batman #127.’ Batman’s contingency plan for himself involves a Failsafe android. Failsafe android was created to deal with Batman in case he ever goes rogue and becomes a threat to humanity. Failsafe was designed with Batman’s own moves and strategies in mind so the android can easily counter him at every turn. It is important to note, however, that Failsafe wasn’t created to kill, only disable the target. 

The android possesses superhuman strength, allowing him to effortlessly overpower multiple opponents and deal devastating blows. He has extreme stamina reserves, and he is capable of fighting and hunting continuously without fatigue. Failsafe’s speed surpasses human limits, enabling him to keep up with the Batmobile and even catch up to Superman. His enhanced reflexes allow him to react swiftly, demonstrated by his ability to catch Batman’s cape using his grapnel gun. Failsafe is practically invulnerable to a wide range of attacks and energy-based assaults.

He also has energy resistance, the ability to project energy blasts, and enhanced senses, including vision and hearing. He can fly and generate powerful force fields by using a specialized helmet, the android is also capable of mind control. 

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