Montegrappa Limited Edition Batman 3 Piece Set, 2012

He is known by many names: The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The World's Greatest Detective. He has reached the public through blockbuster movies, TV shows, video games, cartoons and millions upon millions of comics. Whatever the medium, Batman is proof you don't need superpowers to be a superhero...and the poster boy for what a bad childhood can do to you.

Millionaire Bruce Wayne was just a kid when he watched his parents gunned down during a mugging in Gotham City. The crime would define his life, as he dedicated himself to becoming the world's greatest weapon against crime: the Batman.

Forget his Batarangs, Batmobile, or Utility Belt filled with high-tech weapons. Batman is the most feared superhero of all because he's pushed himself to the absolute pinnacle of human achievement. He's a brilliant detective who has mastered fighting techniques from the familiar to the esoteric. An Olympic-calibre athlete with a plan for every occasion and a solution for every problem, Batman seems always to be five steps ahead of his foes.

But in his crusade against injustice, two questions always loom: How far will he go to protect the innocent, and will he sacrifice his humanity along the way? For over 70 years, this double conundrum has kept readers and viewers glued to pages and screens.

Appropriately, there are 1939 Batman fountain pens and 1939 Batman roller balls, the number signifying the year of his first appearance. All of the pens' components are made of aluminium with a black anodised finish, except for clip and decorative rings, which are fashioned from ruthenium-plated brass. This choice of materials provides the pens with a dark grey hue evoking the colour of Batman's original costume. Its surfaces are engraved with bats in flight. The fountain pen terminates in a two-tone rhodium plated 18k gold nib bearing the celebrated bat logo.

The first 500 pens have been made available as part of a set that also includes cufflinks and a wristwatch. Pens with numbering from 501 to 1939 have been issued for individual sale.

The cufflinks are jet-black representations of the bat logo in three dimensions, with the bat shape cut out to expose a surface of carbon fibre (this same feature appears on the pen's cap band). The folding grip carries the Montegrappa name.

Based on the Montegrappa NeroUno watches, the matching wristwatch is powered by a Swiss-made Ronda quartz movement, housed in a 42mm stainless steel case secure against water ingress to 5atm. The case is finished in black PVD, with six screws securing the back.

Embodying all of the mystery that has kept the Dark Knight's following fascinated for generation after generation, the wristwatch is finished in black, with the flying bats pattern found on the pen traversing the bezel and the dial. At the 12 o'clock position is the oval bat insignia in nickel, as are the numerals at the 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions, the dot markers for the remaining hours, and the curved blade hands for the hours and minutes. The sub-dial for the seconds and the crown boast the Batman emblem, with the Montegrappa logo engraved on the side of the case. A sapphire crystal protects the all-black dial and its nickel embellishments. The back is engraved with the bat symbol and the relevant serial numbers. Attaching the watch to the wrist is a carbon strap with black PVD tongue buckle.

As befits a model in the "Cult" series, the packaging for the Batman editions has been designed to delight the owner. The all-black outer boxes bear bats-in-flight patterns, the inner box featuring a large bat emblem on its lid, while the inner lid shows Gotham City at night. Fans and devotees of Batman will cherish the Montegrappa Batman pen, cufflinks and wristwatch as if they were fashioned in the Batcave by Bruce Wayne and his butler, Alfred.