Batmobile
 | It has been suggested that Batmobile (Batman Begins) and Talk:Batmobile#Merge Tumbler article be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2008. |
| Batmobile | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #27 |
| In story information | |
| Type | Vehicle |
| Element of stories featuring | Batman |
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.[1]
Technical description
The standard features of the vehicle include a chassis with heavy armor plating and a high performance engine, sometimes with rocket boosters 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 vehicle has changed frequently over the decades. In the early stages of Batman's career, he modified a sedan, with armor, technologically advanced automotive customization, and has turned the Batmobile into the sleek street machine he currently drives.
The Batmobile is also occasionally 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 "a H-bomb on wheels."
Early history
The vehicle that became the Batmobile was introduced in Detective Comics issue #27, the first Batman story, and received its name in Detective Comics issue #48. Originally, the vehicle was a simple red automobile with nothing special in its functions. The car's design gradually evolved. It became a "specially built high-powered auto" by Detective #30, and in Batman #5 it began featuring an ever-larger bat hood ornament and an ever-darker paint job. Eventually, the predominant designs included a large, dark-colored body and bat-like accessories, including large tailfins scalloped to resemble a bat's wings.
1966 TV Batmobile
Although vehicles for the Batman films have been custom built for the purpose, perhaps the most famous Batmobile, the one from the 1966–1968 live action television show, began life as a Ford concept car called the Lincoln Futura, built over a decade earlier in 1954. The body of the Futura was fabricated by Ghia of Italy, whose artisans hammered the car's panels over logs and tree stumps[citation needed] carved as forms to create the sleek manta ray-like car. In 1959, the Futura was featured sporting a fresh red paint job in the film "It Started With A Kiss", starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. In 1965, ABC-TV chose famed Hollywood customizer George Barris to design a "Batmobile" for their soon-to-go-into-production Batman show. Dean Jeffries worked on the design and initial fabrication for the Batmobile, using a 1959 Cadillac, but when the studio wanted the car faster than he could deliver, he turned it back to George Barris.[2] With only three weeks to finish, Barris decided that rather than build a car from scratch, it would be best to transform the Lincoln Futura (bought from Ford for $1.00[citation needed]) into the famous crimefighting vehicle of TV's caped crusader. Barris hired Bill Cushenberry to do the metal modifications to the car. When filming for the series began, several problems arose due to the age of the car: It overheated, the battery went dead, and the expensive Mickey Thompson tires kept blowing. By mid season, the engine and transmission were replaced with a Ford Galaxie's.
Barris built three fiberglass copies of the original Batmobile for exhibition on the car show circuit (one of which was used for exhibition drag racing). Eventually, the three copies were covered with a black velvet "fuzz" paint, presumably to hide stress cracks in the fiberglass bodies. Later, all three were restored to their gloss black paint job. The 3 replicas are all based on a 1965–1966 Ford Galaxie. Barris has retained ownership of the original TV car, which is currently on display at Barris Customs in N. Hollywood, California. The three Barris copies all reside in private collections.
One of these three Batmobiles was sold at the Coys Spring Classic Cars Auction on February 27, 2007 at the Royal Horticultural Hall in London. Coys Auctions had said it expected the car to fetch more than £75,000[3] - the final and closing bid was £119,000, equivalent to $233,000 USD at the time.[4]
Later history
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 used in the two Batman films directed by Tim Burton. Reputedly, every gadget seen on the Batmobile used in these films was fully functional, including the jet engine, which consumed fuel at such a high rate that there was only enough fuel capacity to run it for the approximately 15 seconds of the longest shot in which you can see it operating.[citation needed] This version of the Batmobile was later seen in the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode called "Don't Tug On Superman's Cape," an episode which shows that some collectors had apparently stolen the Batmobile. (This may have been an attempt to explain why a different Batmobile is shown in Batman Forever.) This long, sleek design was later adapted for Batman: The Animated Series, wherein the vehicle was a long, low machine inspired by the 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 became increasingly implausible, as decorative lighting was added to the vehicle's rims and front edge, and the wing-shaped fins reached further into the air. Batman Forever was originally supposed to have a Batmobile designed by famed designer H. R. Giger, but Giger backed out of the project when Warner Brothers rejected his design. The Batmobile used in the film was built at a cost of $1 million dollars, but moved at a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour due to its weight.
In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the Batmobile has been modified into a tank-like armored riot control vehicle, complete with machine guns shooting rubber bullets, a large cannon mounted on the front, and large tank treads in place of tires.
The animated series Batman Beyond had a flying vehicle referred to as the Batmobile (in the show's future era, flying cars had become commonplace).
During the Cataclysm storyline, revealed that Batman has hid a number of spare vehicles across the city in case he's unable to reach one of his primary vehicles in time. A HUMVEE served as a primary mean of transportation to across the earthquake-ravaged city during the Aftershock storyline, as most of the Batmobiles were wrecked by the quake. These vehicles aren't as sophisticated as the Batmobiles, but some of them are armored to against ballistics based from military automobiles.
In the Batman: Hush storyline, a splash page by Jim Lee shows all the previous Batmobiles (from comics, movies, and all TV series) in storage in the Batcave. A sample of dialogue between Batman and Nightwing supports this point: Batman: "We'll take the car." Nightwing: "O.K. Which one?" In addition, some incarnations of the character, such as Batman: The Animated Series, establish that Batman has a large ground vehicle fleet of various makes and models as well as utility vehicles to use when the Batmobile would be too conspicuous.
A collection of original Batmobiles are on display at the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum located in Keswick, northern England. A Batmobile from Batman Forever can also been seen on the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour. Replicas of the Tim Burton-era Batmobiles are on display in front of several Batman: The Ride roller coasters. An original Batmobile from these films can be found at Warner Bros. Movie World, on the Gold Coast Australia, along with at least one of every other Batmobile, and the Batboat from Batman Forever.
Nolan film series
The Batmobile depicted in the Christopher Nolan directed films Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) owes more to the tank-like vehicle from Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns than to the sleek automobiles seen in previous incarnations. The vehicle does not have a front axle, a design that was influenced by the spinners featured in Director Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The film's production designer described the machine as a cross between a Lamborghini and a Hummer. It is said to resemble a crouching bat, but in some ways resembles the F-117stealth bomber.
In the 2005 movie, Bruce Wayne modifies a military vehicle known as the Tumbler, and the vehicle is never referred to as the "Batmobile." Six Batmobiles were built for the production of the film. Two regular, full-size, driving Batmobiles were used in exterior shots. One full-sized model with hydraulic enhancements was used in jump sequences. One full-sized, functional vehicle carried propane tanks to fuel the rocket blast out of the rear nozzle. A radio-controlled, 1/3-scale electric model also performed stunts in the film (e.g., the roof-top chase sequence). These scenes were filmed over 9 weeks, on a massive set built on a stage at Shepperton Studios. The vehicle was built from scratch in the United Kingdom after American car production companies claimed it was not possible to create such a vehicle and it was too complex[citation needed].
The Tumbler returns in The Dark Knight, where it is damaged beyond repair by a rocket-propelled grenade; Batman ejects from the Tumbler in the Batpod (a motorcycle formed by the front wheels and struts of the Batmobile). Once ejected, Batman causes the Tumbler to self-destruct.
The Batman (animated series)
In the animated series The Batman, the Batmobile resembled a sports coupe with multiple jet exhaust slits protruding from the back bumper. In the third season episode "RPM", this Batmobile was wrecked beyond repair, and Batman completed a prototype design that included a Wayne Industries 'EXP' power generator. This Batmobile was longer and had a lower profile with only one triangular jet exhaust coming from the rear of the car. At the end of the episode, Batman remarks that due to the Batmobile EXP's success, it is a "keeper". In the fourth season, the episode Artifacts explores Gotham City in the year 2027, complete with a new tank-like Batmobile reminiscent of Frank Miller's design for the Batmobile in The Dark Knight Returns.
Batmobiles in other media
- Batman serials:
- Batman: The Animated Series:
- Batman Forever
- Batman & Robin (1997 film)
- Batman Beyond
- Batman Begins
- Lego Batman
References
- ^ Jimenez, Phil (2008), "Batmobile", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 34–35, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5
- ^ St. Antoine, Arthur. - "Interview: Dean Jeffries, Hollywood legend". - Motor Trend Magazine
- ^ Batmobile goes on show | The Sun |Showbiz|TV
- ^ www.bbj.hu :: Batmobile fetches £119,000 after bidding war in London
External links
- How the Batmobile Works
- The History of the Batmobile
- Chicks Love the Car
- The Batmobile Biography, History
- Batmobile - DC Database
- Only Street Legal Batmobile for Rent
- Batmobile Dealer(Mock Up Dealer Site for Batmobiles
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