
The Bat-Signal is a fictional distress signal appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics that shines a light into the sky with a shadow in the shape of a bat to call Batman and Robin when there's a crime happening or when James Gordon has a lead on a case in Gotham City. Gordon, Harvey Dent, Harvey Bullock, Hamilton Hill, and Barbara Gordon have access to the machine. Many spoofs of the machine are made in many television shows.
It doubles as the primary logo for the Batman series of comic books, TV shows, and movies.