A bat phone or batphone, in popular jargon, is a private telephone number for important telephone calls handled at high priority.[1][2][3] The term is also used to describe the use of more than one mobile phone, with the "bat phone" reserved for a specific purpose.[4] The name Bat-Phone was popularized by the Batman television series starting in 1966, when it was depicted as a red phone that Commissioner Gordon used to summon the superhero Batman in emergencies,[1] and as the red phone mounted inside the Batmobile, the car driven by Batman.[5] Technology journalists have also used "Bat Phone" to describe devices that are novel in appearance,[6][7] or have a connection to the Batman franchise.[8]
The term originated with the red phone which Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department uses to call Batman in the Batman television show of 1966 to 1968.[1][8] Enclosed in a glass cake dome,[8][9] this emergency phone was called the Bat-Phone,[1][8] and glowed red when it rang.[10] In the series, Batman played by Adam West is able to receive calls from the police commissioner on the mobile Bat-Phone in the Batmobile,[11] in his study at Wayne Manor,[12] and in the Batcave.
The fictional communications system was first introduced in June 1964 as the "Hot-Line" in Detective Comics No. 328, which depicts a tape recorder in the Batcave for incoming messages, and Batman Comics No. 164/1, showing an extension mounted inside the Batmobile.[13] In DC Comics No. 329 (July 1964), the Hot-Line has been installed inside of Wayne Manor, and is blue rather than red.[14][13] A note from the editors explained, "The Hot-Line provides a direct connection between police headquarters and Batman’s Batcave."[14] In 75 Years of DC Comics, author Paul Levitz credits editor Julie Schwartz for the concept, noting that the Hot-Line "forever [silenced] curious kids who demanded to know why a searchlight was the best way to summon a hero whose headquarters is in a cave."[11]
The Bat-Phone installed in the Batmobile shown in the Batman TV series helped to raise interest in wireless communications technology among American consumers starting in the 1960s, along with the mobile shoe phone depicted in Get Smart and the hand-held communicators which appeared in Star Trek.[5][15] However, it was not until the 1980s that some consumers had access to the first mobile telephone,[5] and not until the 1990s that they became "cheaper, smaller, and more readily available."[16]
In business, a bat phone has come to mean a private telephone number that has higher priority than a number that is more "public".[2][17] A bat phone can also refer to the use of a second mobile phone reserved for a dedicated purpose, or for specific callers.[4]
In 2002, Leading Authorities on Business noted that former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos carried a mobile phone with a number he gave out only to a select group of people, including "his wife, his top suppliers, a few critical subordinates, his management team, and members of his board of directors."[18] Whenever his "bat phone" rang, Bezos made it a priority to take the call, regardless of whether he was in a meeting, or in conversation with someone else, enabling him to respond quickly to critical issues.[18]