Batmobile
The Batmobile is the fictional personal automobile of comic book superhero Batman. The car has followed the evolution of the character from comic books to television to films.
The standard features of the vehicle include a chassis with heavy armor plating and a high performance engine, sometimes with rocket boosts for increased speed, special devices to improve maneuverability, and mounted weapons to disable vehicles and remove obstacles. In addition, the vehicle typically carries a computer that is remotely linked to the Batcave's main computer, a remote control function, a field forensic kit and a personal small helicopter held in the trunk called a whirlybat.
The Batmobile is also frequently referred to as being powered by nuclear generation of electricity, both by Robin in a launch checklist from the 1966 television show, ("Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed!") and by the Penguin in Batman Returns, where one of his schemes to kill Batman is to turn the Batmobile into "an H-bomb on wheels." (In reality, however, nuclear reactors do not have the possibility of detonating like a nuclear weapon.)
Originally in the comic books, Batman simply drove a simple red automobile with nothing special in its functions. This version first appeared in Batman #5 in the spring of 1941. Since then, the car's design gradually evolved, beginning with a bat hood ornament which became much larger while the car's paint job became black.
Eventually, the predominant designs that would remain the norm included being large, dark colored and often having large tailfins that are scalloped to resemble a bat's wings.
Although vehicles for the Batman films have been custom built for the purpose, perhaps the most famous Batmobile, the one from the 1960s live action television show, began life as a concept car called the Lincoln Futura, built nearly a decade earlier. Famed customizer George Barris redesigned it in three weeks for the series, in 1966. He gave the car a makeover with black paint and bat-themed trim, and then built several more identical vehicles as needed for filming. The series was a hit, and the Futura/Batmobile passed immediately into popular culture history. Barris has retained ownership of the original car, and at least one of the replicas survives at the Volo Auto Museum in Illinois.
Later versions of the famed Batmobile would be built off the stretched-out platforms of other cars, such as the Chevrolet Caprice and Buick Riviera. This style was utilized in the two Batman films directed by Tim Burton. This long, sleek design was later adapted for Batman: The Animated Series, wherein the vehicle was a long, low machine inspired by art deco design style of the film series. As the 1990s Batman films were handed over to director Joel Schumacher, the design for the Batmobile climbed further into implausibility, as decorative lighting was added to the front and the wing-shaped fins reached further into the air. Batman Forever was originally supposed to have a Batmobile designed by none other than H. R. Giger, but Giger backed out of the project when Warner Brothers rejected his design.
The Batmobile depicted in the 2005 film Batman Begins, owes more to the tank-like vehicle from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns than to the sleek automobiles seen in previous incarnations. The film's production designer described the machine as being a cross between a Lamborghini and a Hummer. In that film, Bruce Wayne modifies a military vehicle known as "the tumbler," and it is never referred to in the film as a "batmobile." Six individual Batmobiles were built for filming in the movie, each with a special purpose to meet the various stunt needs of the film: two regular, full-size driving Batmobiles were built for exterior shots, one full-size model with hydraulics for the "jump" sequences, one full-size functional vehicle with propane tanks to fuel the 'rocket' blast out of the nozzle between the rear wheels, one electrically-powered car used for interiors, and a 1/3rd scale radio controlled electric model (5 feet long, 40 lbs) was built (Robert Jones & Greg Morgan) for the biggest stunts in the film such as the jump into and out of the batcave and the majority of the roof-top chase sequence. This was filmed on a massive set built on a stage at Shepperton Studios over the course of 9 weeks. The 'rocket' nozzle is supposedly to give the car extra thrust for its jumps, although it is just a special effect and contrary to some information, no car had a jet engine or a rocket installed. All driving vehicles were powered instead by a 5.7-litre Chevy engine.
A similar tank-like vehicle appears in the 2005 animated series The Batman, which was in development at the same time as the 2005 film, though that series does not follow the continuity of Batman Begins.
The Batmobile in popular culture
- In the movie Rock Star, Mark Wahlberg's character is given to extravagant spending; one of his first purchases is the original Batmobile from the TV Series.
- In the TV Series The Drew Carey Show, Drew Carey won the Schumacher-era Batmobile as a prize
- In the cartoon Transformers: Cybertron, the Decepticon leader Megatron looks similar to the Tim Burton version.
- In the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Daffy Duck drives the Batmobile into the water tower on the Warner Bros. studio lot, causing it to fall over and nearly crush Jenna Elfman's character.
- In the TV Series Tiny Toon Adventures, Hampton the Pig is working as a parking valet at a restaurant when the Batmobile drives up. Batman exits, tosses him the keys, and says "Be careful with it -- I just got it detailed." Hampton accidently activates the rocket boosters, and the car flies off, punching a hole through the Moon that resembles the famed Batman symbol.
- A parody of the Christmas tune "Jingle Bells" states that the "(the) Batmobile lost its wheel / and (the) Joker got away."
- In the TV Series Justice League Unlimited, the Flash has to make an excuse for Batman's absence, and says "(the) Batmobile lost its wheel / and (the) Joker got away."
- An episode of The Simpsons guest-starred Adam West with the Batmobile.