Batmobile

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"In Gotham at least, the Batman's brand of justice has seen mixed results. Successes attributed to the shadowy crusader - whose so-called "Batmobile" roars through the near-empty streets in the middle of the night are difficult to verify. Only fueling the current controversy is seemingly endless parade of theatrical villains, who seemingly emerged on the scene in response to the Batman's presence."

―Ron Troupe^[src]

The Batmobile is Batman's personal automotive vehicle and primary mode of transportation. It comes complete with an array of weapons and gadgets, and is dark and armored.

History

Development

Early into his vigilante career as the Batman, Bruce Wayne realized that he needed a vehicle of some kind to aid in his one-man war on the crime of Gotham City. Bruce began designing and later fabricating his own personalized custom-built pursuit and capture vehicle in the depths of his Batcave over a number of years. Using the latest prototype military-grade hardware and technology, most of which was developed by Wayne Enterprises, Bruce created an imposing hybrid monster of a car to use to prowl the streets of Gotham City.

Intercepting Joker and Harley Quinn

At some point prior to the Black Zero Event, Batman drove the Batmobile to intercept the Joker and Harley Quinn in the Jokermobile in Gotham City, intent on bringing them in for the murder of Monster T. He activated the autonomous control and leapt from the Batmobile onto the Jokermobile. Enraged, Quinn tried to shoot Batman off the roof of the car, but to no avail, due to the Dark Knight's bulletproof suit. The Joker decided to drive the Jokermobile into the bay, escaping but leaving Quinn to be arrested by Batman. He then brought her back to the Batmobile where he took her to the Belle Reve penitentiary.

Chasing Knyazev

Two years after the Black Zero Event, Alfred Pennyworth can be seen working on the vehicle in the Batcave while talking with Bruce. As Anatoli Knyazev and his men were about to escort the Kryptonite nugget from the port of Gotham City to LexCorp Industries headquarters, Batman appeared in the Batmobile and charged the convoy. The Batmobile crashed into a car, hurling it into a portable trailer. Batman then fired his harpoon launcher at the car and dragged it behind him, slamming it into walls and barriers. After chasing down an enemy vehicle, he detached the harpoon and let the car crash onto another.

As the Batmobile was catching up to the convoy, a truck fired at the Batmobile. Unfazed, Batman fired his own guns back, eventually destroying the truck. The Batmobile continued to chase after the convoy until he was diverted by an exploding tanker truck.

The Batmobile blasts an explosive tanker truck

The Batmobile maneuvered its way around warehouses and landed on top of the convoy, crashing through the roof and through several docked boats. Nevertheless, Batman continued to chase after the convoy, deploying flares to ward off homing missiles. Suddenly, he turned a corner to find Superman standing in his way. The Batmobile collided with Superman, careened out of control and crashed into a nearby gas station. Superman remained steady, and ripped the doors off the vehicle to confront the vigilante directly as Batman stood up in defiance.

Superman and Batman stand atop the crashed Batmobile.

Standing on top of the damaged vehicle, Superman warned Bruce Wayne to cease his activities as Batman or suffer consequences. Angered, Batman replied Superman would bleed as he flew away. Afterwards, Batman drove the damaged Batmobile back to the cave.

Upgrades

After Superman's death and the threat of Steppenwolf and his forces, Batman decided to fix and improve the Batmobile to fight against the Steppenwolf.

This section requires expansion

Second Invasion of Earth

When the Justice League arrived in the Batcave, Barry looked around by idolizing it and hopped into the Batmobile.

As the League were ready to fly the Flying Fox to Pozharnov, Batman brought the Batmobile inside the aircraft.

Capabilities

The Batmobile is an armored tactical assault vehicle that has the ability to raise or lower its suspension, depending on its combat or navigational situations. It also has a miniature jet engine afterburner to provide a quick thrust in pursuits and jumps. The exterior body is completely bulletproof and can easily withstand sustained gunfire from miniguns. The Batmobile is measured at 20 ft. (6.1 meters) long and 12 ft. (3.7 meters) wide at the rear. The vehicle weighs in at 7,000 lbs and is estimated to reach up to 205 mph.

The interior and controls are modeled after aircraft fighter cockpit, promoting utilitarian function over aesthetic design, with a number of buttons and switches available to toggle the many functions of the vehicle. The passenger side is retrofitted to function as a miniature armory, storing backup grapple guns, batarangs, smoke grenades, and a grenade launcher.

The Batmobile is equipped with a gimbal-mounted machine gun on its front section and a harpoon launcher in the rear, capable of dragging a truck behind it with ease. It is also equipped with missile racks and flare countermeasures to counter incoming homing missiles. The Batmobile is also capable of autonomous control, should Batman ever need to leave the Batmobile (as seen when he leaps onto the Jokermobile). An electric current runs along the vehicle's exterior plating, able to shock and incapacitate those unlucky enough to get too close.

After the death of Superman and the acknowledgment of his vision, Batman began upgrading his arsenal and vehicles to face the upcoming threat of Steppenwolf and his forces. The Batmobile is outfitted to have more machine guns with high caliber bullets, able to kill Parademons with minimum effort (as seen when Batman was defending himself from a Parademon with the Batmobile's armaments). Batman would also remove the door on the passenger side of the vehicle, previously used by his protege Robin, as well as add heavier plating able to withstand greater damage.

Previously stored in the Batcave, the Batmobile was loaded into the newly constructed Flying Fox for transport with the rest of the Justice League.

Gallery

Promotional images

Promo shot.

Devices inside the Batmobile

Dawn of Justice skin from Batman: Akham Knight.

Concept artwork

Concept Artwork of the Upgraded Batmobile for Justice League.

Sketch of Batmobile upgrades for Justice League

Behind the scenes

Set photo from Batman v Superman:Dawn of Justice.

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Batmobile - rear.jpeg

Trivia

• The design of the Batmobile is notably inspired by Tim Burton/Joel Schmacher's Batmobile and the Christopher Nolan's Tumbler. The sleekness of the design is a call back to the Burton-era version, while it's tactical quality and functional approach is an obvious inspiration from Nolan's tank-esque Tumbler from the Dark Knight trilogy.
• 6th live-action appearance of the Batmobile.
• Interestingly, the Flying Fox is modeled after the Batmobile from the Batman: The Animated Series cartoon.

External links

• Batmobile on DC Database
• Batmobile on Wikipedia