While Lucius Fox is undeniably an essential asset to Batman and the creation of his numerous gadgets and trinkets, he was not always the Caped Crusader’s go-to engineer when he needed something built. That honor went to the mute hunchback mechanic named Harold Allnut, a societal outcast who had an amazing talent in engineering. He found great use as Batman’s chief inventor.
Harold Allnut first appeared in Question #33 (by Dennis O’Neil, Denys Cowan, Malcolm Jones III, and Tatjana Woods) as a wandering youth who had escaped the abuse of his mother to seek solitude in Hub City, occasionally finding himself working alongside investigative vigilante, The Question. However, unbeknownst to the denizens of Hub City, the mute Harold had a gift, being able to repair and construct nearly anything he so desired. This mechanical marvel would eventually find himself back in Gotham, where the Penguin would learn of his gifts.
Harold Allnut Went From A Penguin Goon To Bat-Family Member
In Batman #448 (by Dennis O’Neil, Marv Wolfman, Alan Grant, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, and Adrienne Roy), the Penguin found Harold being assaulted on the streets by a small-time gang and decided to take in the deformed man, sensing something special about him. With Penguin’s funding, Harold was commissioned to create a device that could control birds to steal items of immense value for the crime lord without leaving evidence. However, Harold soon learns that his supposed ally intended to rat him out to the police once their scheme runs its course and sabotages the device to that it could be tracked by Wayne Tech satellites. This incurs the wrath of the Penguin, who nearly killed Harold before he was saved by Batman and Robin.
After being cast out by the Penguin, Harold Allnut became a recluse, hiding within an abandoned construction site where he repaired broken toys for children. He is eventually run out of the construction site by a mob of angry parents believing Harold wants to harm their children. However, Harold was found by Batman who saw the hunchback’s talent for engineering and mechanics and decided instead of having Harold sent to an institution, he would hire the man as the Batcave’s personal mechanic.
Harold Allnut’s Additions to the Batcave
After Harold was hired by Batman to act as his chief engineer, he immediately began work on the Batcave security. This included creating a hand-held holographic projector Batman #459 (Alan Grant, Norm Breyfogle, Steve Mitchell, and Adrienne Roy) to conceal the entrance to the Batcave if someone finds the secret entrance in Wayne Manor. Harold also constructed an entire private train network for Batman to transverse the entirety of Gotham City from within a Batsubway Rocket, a feat of architectural engineering that goes beyond impressive.
Unfortunately, Batman was wounded by Bane as part of Knightfall before Harold got to unveil the impressive vehicle and transport network to his friend. But in Detective Comics #667 (Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan, Scott Hanna, Adrienne Roy, and John Costanza), Jean-Paul Valley discovered Harold’s project and put it to great use when he adopted the Batman mantle. Harold was also credited by Lucius Fox in Batman: Secret Files and Origins #1 (Chuck Dixon, Jim Aparo, and Tom Palmer) as being responsible for building a prototype hydrogen-powered generator for the Batcave, retrofitting miniaturized night-vision lenses into Batman and Robin’s masks, and fitting the Batmobile with an upgraded experimental McLaren racing engine.
Harold Allnut Made Major Upgrades to The Other Bat-Family Members
As well as assisting in bolstering Batman’s arsenal, Harold Allnut helped craft new trinkets for the other members of the Bat-Family as well. In Nightwing #2 (by Dennis O’Neil, Greg Land, Mike Sellers, and Cathi Bertrand), Harold was responsible for creating Nightwing’s iconic modern black-and-blue costume, which would become Nightwing’s most famous suit. Harold also equipped Nightwing with his two electric escrima sticks, which would become the former Robin’s most famous weapon in his crime-fighting career.
Another suit upgrade came in Azrael: Agent of The Bat #77 (by Dennis O’Neil, Sergio Carello, and Rob Ro), where Harold created a pair of gauntlets known as ‘The Angel’s Wrath’ for Azrael that fired compact fire blasts that were somehow non-lethal. Azrael made heavy use of his new non-lethal fire projectiles when he was forced to fight the film-hero turned real-world supervillain Captain Death in the following issue. Harold helped Nightwing, Robin, and Azrael situate themselves when they moved from Gotham to protect their own independent cities, giving each their own variants of the Batcomputer.
Harold Allnut was a Major Help During Batman’s No Man’s Land Event
After Gotham City suffered a cataclysmic earthquake in the lead-up to the comic book crossover event Batman: No Man’s Land, Harold Allnut was one of the many Bat-Family members displaced after Batman went missing after the earthquakes finally ceased. Gotham City had suffered such damage as to no longer be considered a part of the United States of America. However, while Alfred Pennyworth began to lose hope after the disappearance of Batman, Harold continued to keep the Batcave operational and tending to the Batmobile’s numerous repairs.
During the storyline aptly titled ‘Harold’ in Batman Chronicles #16 (by Dennis O’Neil, Chris Renaud, Sal Buscema, and Ian Laughlin), Harold left the Batcave to help where he could in repairing the damaged city he once called home. With nothing but his undying hope that Gotham could be fixed, and Batman would eventually return, the hunchback mechanic became detrimental to Gotham’s repairs. That is, until the newly elected President Lex Luthor funded a restoration effort in Batman #573 (by Greg Rucka, Sergio Carello, Mark Pennington, and Pamela Rambo).
Unfortunately, Harold’s tremendous aid to the Bat-Family was lost during Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Batman: Hush storyline, wherein the supervillain Hush manipulated Harold into monitoring Batman’s movement for him. In return, Hush used his extensive surgical expertise to repair Harold’s spine and vocal cords so that Harold could finally stand straight and speak. However, when Batman found out about Harold’s betrayal and forgave him, Hush shot Harold in the head, killing the kind-hearted engineer. Harold Allnut made a brief return as a cameo in 2016’s All-Star Batman #3 (by Scott Snyder, John Romita, Jr, Danny Miki, and Dean White) as part of the New 52 reboot of the DC Universe, however, he has not been given the same extensive role as before.
