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Batarang is a portmanteau of bat and boomerang. They are bat-shaped throwing weapons used by the DC Comics superhero Batman as a non-lethal alternative to firearms, which he avoids due to the circumstances of his parents' murder.
Though they are named after boomerangs, most depictions of the batarang are closer to shuriken, as they are usually metal and do not return to the thrower. Variations of batarangs include those which are able to be opened and closed (presumably so they can fit into Batman's utility belt), those which can be explosively charged and those which are electrified. A grappling hook made out of a batarang and a rope was common until Batman began using a grapple gun in The Animated Series; that weapon has become standard in the comics.
Nightwing (the Dark Knight's former sidekick) is known to use his own modified batarangs (wingdings), shaped after a bird. Batgirl (both Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain) and Robin (Tim Drake) also uses Batman's batarangs, but the last also possesses his own 'R'-shaped shurikens. In an issue of Teen Titans (Vol. 3), Robin claims that he hid the costs for shipping a Batmobile from Gotham City to San Francisco in "the batarang budget", which he tells the others is "bigger than you might think". In the Teen Titans animated series, Robin uses similar modified batarangs to the adult Nightwing, referred to as "birdarangs".
History
Batarangs first appeared in Detective Comics #31 (Sept. 1939) in the same year the character was introduced. They have since become a staple of Batman's arsenal, appearing in every major Batman television and movie adaptation to date. Following the backlash against the camp Batman television series, the franchise has avoided the overuse of the "bat-" prefix, other than the Batcave and Batmobile. Though shown prominently, the batarangs are very rarely referred to by name.
In the movie adaptations of Batman, the batarangs shown match the adapted Bat-logo of the respective movie franchise. Batman Returns also featured a computerized version which could be programmed to fly after specific targets.
"Batarang"