Hey guys, I’m Mike and I live in New York,
so I don’t really get a chance to drive much.
But I love to live vicariously through the Dark Knight and his badass Batmobile.
I want a car. Chicks dig the car.
This is why Superman works alone.
In comics and cartoons, you don’t have to worry about stuff like physics and engineering when designing your Bat-car,
but it’s a much different story in real life.
So let’s explore how filmmakers throughout the years have conquered Gotham’s gridlock,
with a look at
The Batmobile’s Live Action Evolution.
In the early years of the comic, the Batman stalked the streets in a plain red roadster,
but as the character evolved, so did his taste.
By 1941, Bruce was patrolling Gotham in a slick black car with batwing tailfins and a custom grille in the shape of his mask.
It looked iconic, intimidating, and above all expensive,
Which is why they didn’t even bother recreating it in the 1940’s serials.
Let's go!
I mean, they didn’t even have the budget for proper-fitting costumes,
so you know they weren’t shelling out for a custom ride.
1943’s ‘Batman’ used an old Cadillac convertible to get around,
and the even-cheaper ‘Batman and Robin’ serial downgraded to a Mercury.
What's wrong?
Both Batmobiles were convertibles straight off the showroom floor,
and Bruce used the same car in his civilian life as he did in costume.
Get the car, we have a delivery to make!
The only difference was when the top was up, crime was down.
The first custom Batmobile was created for the 1966 TV series.
A routine question. Have you recently sold any war surplus submarines, and if so, to whom?
After a schedule shakeup,
designer George Barris had only three weeks and $30,000 to create one of pop-culture’s most important icons.
He didn’t have time to start from scratch, but he had next best thing:
A prototype show car called the Lincoln Futura.
Although the Futura is still a long way from the production, stylists are looking far beyond.
To a car that might operate on exotic fuels and electrical power.
Today, it looks like something Homer Simpson would design,
but at the time this thing was the height of ‘50s futurism.
It cost Ford $250,000 to build, about $2 million in today’s money,
but after the public lost their taste for giant cars that looked like rocketships,
they sold it to Barris for one dollar.
With its bubble dome and tailfins, the Futura already had a sci-fi look,
and it only took some minor tweaks to convert it into the Batmobile.
Barris changed the fins and paintjob,
threw in gadgets like the Batphone and quick-turn parachutes,
and added the iconic rear rocket engine.
Atomic batteries to power... Turbines to speed!
He built the original atomic turbine out of an old paint can and it’s been a feature of every Batmobile since.
In 2013, Barris auctioned off the original for a cool $5 million.
Well, that's okay, chum. We all have the right to be selfish sometimes.
For decades, Barris’s legendary design was the definitive Batmobile
At least, until 1989, when we were introduced to a darker, more dangerous car by Tim Burton.
Burton’s ‘Batman’ and ‘Batman Returns’ were set in a stylistic world that was equal parts Fritz Lang and Frank Miller.
British production designer Anton Furst won an Oscar for his work on the film, including a baroque new Batmobile.
He envisioned the car as a set of shining armor that was as integral to Batman’s character as his cape and cowl.
Furst and his crew had five months to build a state-of-the-art automobile from the ground up,
something that actual car companies take ten years to do.
They used a heavily-modified 1974 Chevy Impala frame as a foundation,
and hand-sculpted an aerodynamic kevlar body inspired by low-profile hot rods from the ‘30s.
The paint job looks black on screen, but six different layers of color were used to give the Batmobile an organic, 3-dimensional appearance.
The final design was unlike anything we’d ever seen before, but it wasn’t the most practical.
Batman’s ears were too long to fit inside the cockpit,
so the costume department had to whip up a brand new cowl for driving scenes.
Other than that slight hiccup, this car was fully functional, and so were its wonderful toys.
In a flash, it's the high-powered Bat-Missile!
Two 9mm Browning machine guns emerged from the sides,
while a rear-mounted grappling hook helped the car turn tight corners.
Even the afterburner was real,
although it was so dangerous it could only be fired for 15 seconds at a time.
Special effects were only necessary when the Batmobile armored up,
using stop motion in the first movie and CGI in ‘Batman Returns.’
Burton’s Batmobile inspired everything from the animated series to OnStar commercials,
OnStar, how can I help you, Batman?
and it set a high bar for Bat-car design.
Let’s look at the two versions created by Burton’s replacement, director Joel Schumacher.
He wanted to steer the series back towards the campiness of the Adam West show.
so I’m not exactly sure why he hired ‘Alien’ artist H.R. Giger to design his new Batmobile.
Giger’s design was a purple, X-shaped monstrosity that looked like a cross between intestines and a pair of scissors.
It’s a cool concept, but I’m not sure it would have fit in the same world as Bat-Nipples and Jim Carrey’s ridiculous Riddler.
Was that over-the-top? I can never tell!
Giger left the film, but the final Batmobile still had the organic feel that Schumacher was going for.
He was inspired by a leather fetish magazine of all places...
The entire vehicle is ribbed for our pleasure,
with giant, impractical bat wings that actually look pretty close to some of the early comic designs from the ‘40s.
I can’t say the same about all the lights.
Apparently they were inspired by bioluminescent sea creatures, but all I see is ‘2 Fast 2 Furious.’
Too wide.
Also, I appreciate the fact that the bat logos on the wheels are always right-side up,
but is that really something Bruce Wayne would give a shit about?
No!
For the sequel, Schumacher wanted a Batmobile with a little more screen presence,
which is why the car in ‘Batman and Robin’ is even more over-the-top.
It’s got six rocket nozzles instead of one,
two gigantic tailfins,
and at 30 feet, it’s the longest Batmobile ever built with the least amount of seating.
Another unique feature is its lack of a passenger seat.
Batman sits alone in a one-man cockpit, while Robin rides alongside in his Redbird motorcycle.
Chicks might dig the car, but nobody dug ‘Batman and Robin.’
It killed the Batman franchise for nearly a decade,
until it was revived with a back-to-basics take by director Christopher Nolan.
Nolan’s desire for a realistic Batman extended to his car, too.
The Tumbler? Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that...
He sculpted his initial Batmobile idea out of Play-Doh,
and handed it off to designer Nathan Crowley to flesh into a finished vehicle.
Crowley started out by kitbashing, using parts from various model kits to piece together Nolan’s vision,
It's got bits of stealth bomber, bits of Lamborghinis, bits of Hummers...
All different things put together in the marvellous combination.
which is why the car’s rocket engine looks like the nose cone from a P-38 fighter plane.
Once the design was finalized, Crowley’s crew sculpted a full-sized replica out of styrofoam.
Then he had to make a functioning car out of it.
Spoiler alert: He did.
Nolan set some pretty steep requirements for his Batmobile.
It had to go from zero to sixty in six seconds,
turn the narrow Chicago street corners at top speed,
and pull off an unaided, 30-foot jump.
What do you think?
Does it come in black?
It took nine months and millions of dollars, but Crowley pulled it off.
I've gotta get me one of those.
The Tumbler became the definitive Bat-car for a new generation, despite the word ‘Batmobile’ never once appearing in Nolan’s trilogy.
For ‘The Dark Knight,’ the design stayed the same, but we learned about some awesome new functions.
In a throwback to the Bat-Missile mode from ‘Batman Returns,’
Bruce can transform the Tumbler into a sleek motorcycle known as the Batpod,
with two thick tires on rotating frames and heavy machine guns that are perfect for blowing Bane away.
After ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ DC rebooted Batman to fit their wider cinematic universe, the DCEU.
so designer Patrick Tatopoulos came up with a car that reflected Zack Snyder’s beastlier bat.
Coming in at 20 feet long, 12 feet wide and over 8,000 pounds,
the DCEU Batmobile was never supposed to be pretty.
Inspired by ‘The Dark Knight Returns,’ it’s a dirty, down-to-business tank with gigantic wheels made from shaved-down tractor tires,
Along with with electrified skin,
dozens of rockets,
and .50 caliber machine guns that shoot rubber bullets.
Honest.
Kids these days. No respect.
After ‘Batman v. Superman’ and ‘Suicide Squad,’ the Dark Knight got an upgrade just in time for the invasion in ‘Justice League.’
The new Knightcrawler isn’t so much a car as it is a giant mechanical spider.
I can’t really see him cruising around Gotham in this thing, but it’s perfect for shooting down swarms of Parademons.
I'll take it from here.
Whether it’s climbing skyscrapers or ripping up the road,
Batman has the right ride for any occasion.
Right now, there’s a lot we don’t know about the future of the franchise.
Will Ben Affleck continue to don the cape and cowl?
Or will we get another reboot along with a brand new Batmobile?
That's not Batman, that's Bat-Boy!
No matter what happens, it’s clear that the caped crusader’s car has become an icon several times over.
And any new design will have to clear the high bar set by the live-action legacy of the Batmobile.