So it’s my birthday this week, and I thought that instead of talking tech, I’d talk about one of my other personal obsessions: Batman.

I’m a massive Batman fan. Partly because Batman is a great character analogy for never giving up, partly because Batman is the only superhero in the DCU with no powers at all and is still able to keep up with the rest of them… but also (and more significantly) because Batman’s tech is AWESOME. Over the past 80+ years, Batman has been at the forefront of technology, and every time Batman whips out a cool new gadget that does something incredible, I usually have Jack Nicholson’s voice floating through my head.

When I was growing up, of course, the bat-tech I saw the most was through Batman: The Animated Series (TAS). Every week there would be some new thing that made me go, “Okay, that’s cool.”

1940s vibe, 1990s function

One thing about the tech in TAS was that it was an interesting mix: the look of something you might see in the 1940s, but the functionality of the 1990s and beyond.

The computers were ginormous by today’s standards (and frankly by 1990s standards), but what they could do was incredible. Batman could track the information superhighway when in reality it was still very much in its infancy. The ability to attach GPS trackers always impressed me, and there was even an episode with a massive computer that looked like an overgrown version of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Don’t get me wrong—I love the tech we use today (and will likely use in the future) that’s sleek and easy to handle. But back in the 1990s, when computers still weren’t terribly powerful and were huge, seeing the kinds of tech on the show do what it did was a joy to watch.

That Batcave screen (SO AWESOME)

I think we’ve well established that I love a good big screen. To be honest, this is where it came from.

Watching the cartoons and movies—and even seeing drawings of the Batcomputer and the massive workstation that Batman used to keep an eye on Gotham—is something I’ve always aspired to. I love the screen I have at home because, while it’s still nowhere near as cool as what Batman has, it still lets me work on multiple different things and see different things all at the same time.

The car is obviously the best

I mean, come on—who doesn’t like the Batmobile?

When I was a kid, I loved watching Batman chase down criminals, and in those moments where Batman was the one being chased, there would inevitably be some sort of gadget that popped out of the Batmobile to help.

When I got my first car, I have to admit I really liked putting a satellite radio unit on the dash. Combined with some of the other buttons, it made me feel like I was in the Batmobile.

There are lots of people who like fictional characters and their toys. There are big James Bond fans. There are Tony Stark fans. All good options.

For me, the best of the best will always be Batman.

On the non-tech side, Batman is a character who never, ever gives up on what’s right. When Batman is presented with a problem, Batman can quickly assess the situation and make the right conclusion. I also like that when Batman is presented with reasons to change their mind (assuming they’re just), Batman is able to change their mind.

On the tech side (of course), I love that Batman can quickly utilize the latest and greatest to fight crime. With so much new technology coming at us all the time, it can be difficult to maintain an understanding of it all. But, like Batman, if you dig into your tech, you never know how you’ll be able to use it going forward.

What tech do you like to use?