If you’re a fan of Batman and his many partners in crimefighting, you may have found yourself over the years defending the Caped Crusader’s lack of powers. After all, on a team like the Justice League where the headliners are Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash, exactly what can Batman contribute, besides footing the bill for their expenses?

Of course, the Dark Knight’s career speaks for itself. He’s long since proven that his human mind, inner strength and force of will are more than enough to save the world. But what if Batman did have powers? What if Nightwing could fly just like Starfire? What if Robin was bulletproof and didn’t need Batman watching out for him? What would Batman be like if he gained the powers of Superman?

No need to ponder for long, because these crazy scenarios have actually happened. Let’s check out seven stories where the Bat-Family gained superpowers!
 

Batman Masters the Four Elements

It’s not exactly a hot take to say that the Silver Age was home to some of Batman’s most belief-defying capers. For example, in 1962’s Detective Comics #308, Batman and Robin are hot on the trail of one Peter Dane—a crook who leads the Dynamic Duo on a frantic chase into an abandoned Native American village. There, Dane reemerges covered in flames, hurling fireballs at our heroes before transforming into liquid and later, rock-and-soil versions of himself.

On the backfoot and needing to figure out how to stop Dane, Batman returns to the Pueblo and finds the remnants of a magical discovery on how to master the four elements--the same discovery that Dane used to gain his powers. With no time to waste, Batman quickly undergoes the same transformation to master the elements of fire, water, air and earth, and confronts Dane back in the city for a fight to the finish. Tricking Dane into freezing his powers into glass, Batman then shatters Dane’s glass jaw the moment their powers disappear.
 

Batman Becomes a Clayface

Originally, the second man to take on the mantle of Clayface, Matt Hagen gained his abilities whenever he would jump into a pool of mysterious protoplasm. The powers used to be temporary, so he would need to return to the strange pool after every 48 hours or so. In Detective Comics #312, Batman recognizes that Clayface has been keeping a peculiar schedule with his attacks and follows Hagen to the secret grotto where he gains his powers.

Racing to stop him before Hagen could transform, the two men fall into the pool and reemerge, now both covered in clay! They duke it out in front of a stunned (and presumably grossed out) Robin before Batman manages to knock the clay-covered criminal unconscious. Now knowing the secret of Clayface’s power, Batman has the grotto destroyed so Hagen can never again return to crime. But of course, we all know that wouldn’t last long…
 

Tim Drake is Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

Tim Drake never had the easiest time being Robin. After the death of a peer his same age, he ran away from home and ended up in Europe, in the middle of an armed conflict. In Robin #51, he meets a girl named Dava who’s fighting against a totalitarian regime that murdered her family. Wanting to help but hopelessly outgunned, Tim believes their time is up until Dava kisses him. Suddenly, Tim is overwhelmed with the power of super speed!

In seconds, the Teen Wonder takes down dozens of armed soldiers and escapes flying grenades before their would-be killers have time to blink. What Dava kissed him with was a spice-plant called Aramilla, grown in the Transbelvian Alps. But things go from bad to worse when Lady Shiva arrives to take her own revenge against Dava. Having always feared the woman who helped train him, Tim overreacts and nearly kills Shiva with his new powers. Applying CPR, Robin inadvertently gives Shiva the Aramilla, granting her super-speed just as King Snake enters the picture. Completely exhausted from all the fighting and shooting, Tim flees the scene and decides it’s time to return to Gotham where life is a bit easier.
 

Batman Gains Superman’s Power and Goes Nuts

So, one time Batman gained Superman’s powers and crashed out almost immediately. It happened across Superman/Batman #53-56.

While battling Silver Banshee, a flash from her magic amulet gives Batman Superman’s powers. Overwhelmed with new Kryptonian abilities and an increased sense of responsibility, Batman quickly travels the globe, going after as much crime as he can find. Foregoing food and sleep entirely, the Dark Knight becomes even darker as he pursues not only members of his rogues gallery, but allies as well, eventually hurting Catwoman and injuring Nightwing.

It takes members of the Justice League to help him realize that in giving Batman Superman’s powers, the amulet also took some of the heroic qualities that make Batman…well, Batman. After much fighting and with the help of Zatanna, the Justice League is able to reverse the spell, saving Batman’s soul in the process.
 

Nightwing Becomes Superwing

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, or so the saying goes. That’s what Neron was betting on when he ran afoul of Nightwing and the Titans in an attempt to gain the soul of a little girl named Olivia.

After Nightwing stops Neron in his tracks by legally adopting Olivia—thus circumventing a form signed by Olivia’s father Blockbuster—Neron resorts to his default technique: dealing in temptation. He gives Nightwing ultimate power and grants him two hours to experience what it’s like to be able to solve as many problems in the world as possible, hoping that the experience would convince Dick to keep the power in exchange for the girl’s soul.

Unfortunately for him, Dick Grayson’s morals are made of much sterner stuff, and with the help of his teammate Raven, Nightwing forces Neron back into the Underworld while Olivia is adopted by the Amazons of Themyscira.
 

The Signal: Batman’s Most Powerful Partner

The Bat-Family has grown over the last few years, but one of the team’s most recent members is also their most powerful. Duke Thomas’ journey started when he was a young boy, aiding a young Batman when Gotham City was first attacked by the Riddler. Years later, Duke helped form the group “We Are Robin” when the city was under attack and Batman was nowhere to be found. When Bruce Wayne eventually returned, he took Duke under his wing and trained him in the requisite skills of martial arts and athleticism.

But during the Dark Nights: Metal storyline, it’s revealed that the person whom Duke thought was his father was actually a step-parent found by his mother to hide his true parentage: that of the metahuman Gnomon. Through Gnomon’s bloodline, Duke can wield abilities related to light and darkness. He can harness and control shadows, see the photons present in every object and utilize x-ray vision. It’s with these abilities in mind that Batman helps Duke form his costumed identity as the Signal—a crusader for Gotham during the daytime to battle evil and ensure the city’s safety in corners that are unseen by Batman at night.
 

Robin, the Superboy Wonder

Damian Wayne is both the youngest and most skilled Robin in the Bat-Family. A scion of both Batman and Talia al Ghul, Damian underwent training with the League of Assassins since he was an infant. And yet, it was not enough to prevent his untimely demise at the hands of his mother’s twisted clone, whom she created in a plot for world domination.

Damian died a hero, but some time later, his body was taken by his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul so that he could attempt to resurrect his grandson through a stolen item from Darkseid—the Chaos Shard. Batman intervened and succeeded in reviving his son, but the resurrection came with an unforeseen side effect. Damian now had superpowers!

With super strength, invulnerability and flight, Robin the Boy Wonder was suddenly one of the most powerful heroes on Earth. This made the often-arrogant Damian even more full of himself every time he charged into battle, where he would take on gunfire without a second thought and often made a miserable mess of his surroundings. Batman quickly grounded him from active duty until they learned more about his powers, but it wouldn’t be long. Damian’s powers faded almost as quickly and mysteriously as they emerged. Bruce was candid that he was glad that his son was back to his normal self, and it wasn’t long before Damian learned to live with once again being Robin, the regular Boy Wonder.
 

Donovan Morgan Grant writes about comics, graphic novels and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Bluesky at @donomark and X at @donoDMG1.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Donovan Morgan Grant and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.