The Batmobile is the dope car driven by Batman. It’s Batman’s personal automobile and his main means of transportation on land. Along with Batman’s other selections of cars, the Batmobile is housed in the Batcave, which is accessible only through a secret entrance. The classic Batman, the Animated Series Batmobile, is one of the best made.
The Batmobile has quite a long and rich history. Beginning in the 1940s, the Batmobile has undergone a lot of redesigns and modifications. So much that it’s hard to say how many Batmobiles Batman has ever used.
In every Batman comic series, film, and television show presented to us over the years; the batmobile has looked different in each. So you need a good knowledge of the most popular film and television versions to understand how the Batmobile has evolved. And the ways that they have been modified or redesigned.
FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES BATMOBILE
The first-ever appearance of the Batmobile was in 1939. In Detective Comics #27. Then, it was an ordinary-looking red convertible. And it had no special capabilities.
The Batmobile has been modified since its earliest appearance. But a prominent bat motif with winged-shaped tailfins has always been a feature of the Batmobile.
A little into his crime-fighting career, Batman, switched to a blue roadster. It had no special capabilities as well. But it was the first custom vehicle Batman would drive because it was specially designed for his missions.
Soon after, the blue roadster was redesigned and modified into a supercar. It became a blue two-door sedan featuring scalloped vertical tailfins. And a bat-shaped ornament that protected the front grille. This vehicle could crash into other heavy vehicles and withstand the crash because it was made of reinforced glass and steel.
THE BATMOBILE IN BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
The Batmobile in Batman, The Animated Series, was a long, low vehicle with long fins, square lines, a blunt nose with a huge chrome grille. Style elements from different eras were combined to design this Batmobile.
The Batmobile version in The Animated Batman Series bears a vague resemblance to the Batmobile from Tim Burton’s first two movies. The Batmobile obviously made use of a jet exhaust. But for the driving scenes, the sound effects used was that from a reciprocating engine. That means the car’s primary power source was a large piston engine. And for high-speed acceleration, it made use of an auxiliary jet.
To prevent people from tampering with the vehicle while it is not in use, the car had an armored stationary mode. However, it is not as obvious as the ‘shields’ used in the 1989 movie Batmobile.
The original Batmobile had a lot of design variants. Even Bruce Wayne’s limousine was referred to as an upside-down Batmobile, as seen in Batman Beyond.
FEATURES OF THE BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES BATMOBILE
- smoke and oil dispensers
- wheel slasher hubs
- missile rack
- tear gas dispensers
- ejection seats
- titanium alloy wheels and body panels
- reversible jet exhausts
- shield platings
OTHER DC ANIMATIONS WHERE THE BATMOBILE MADE AN APPEARANCE
The New Batman Adventures: The Batmobile in The New Batman Adventures was remodeled with its jet engine being remarkably absent. This same design was employed in Justice League and
Justice League Unlimited. Although, it seemed it was blue rather than the black in The New Batman Adventures. The cockpit windows were bullet resistant. And when a tire went bad, it was immediately replaced by another one, after the bad one had been discarded.
Batman Beyond: The new Batman (Terry McGinnis) in Batman Beyond used a different kind of Batmobile. This time around, it was capable of flying. This Batmobile design radically differs from the usual designs. The bat motif, and the bat ornament on the grille, to the tailfins looking like wings, were absent.
The Batman: The Batmobile in The Batman looked like a sports coupe. It had several jet exhaust slits jutting from the back bumper. This Batmobile got wrecked in the third season episode ‘RPM,’ beyond repair. And a new design was made. This new design was longer. Kept a lower profile with only one jet exhaust protruding from the car’s rear, similar to the one Batmobile in Batman: The Animated Series.
Scoobydoo and Guess Who? : The Batmobile made an appearance in an episode of Scoobydoo and Guess Who?
Batman: Gotham Night: In this animated shorts collection, the Batmobile is seen in an episode titled “Field Test.” And another episode, “Walking Through Pain,” where Alfred comes to pick up Batman.
Batman: The Brave and The Bold: The Batmobile in Batman: The Brave and The Bold employs design components from the Golden Age Batmobiles and the Lincoln Futura. It had the ability to transform into other vehicles.
Other DC animations where the Batmobile made an appearance are Beware The Batman, The Lego Movie, and The Lego Batman Movie.
Final Thoughts On The Batman The Animated Series Batmobile
Since the show itself is so nostalgic, it’s hard not to think favorably about the Batmobile. There was no other Batmobile designed to be as long as this one. It made it unique, and it also had a greyish blue tint to it that was also unique. One of the best moves they made when making this car was not getting trapped into making it like the Michael Keaton Batmobile.
The Batmobile was also a perfect fit because it looked expensive. The car had a touch of wealth to it that was unique to every other Batmobile. It felt like a luxury car instead of a sports car like many of the other vehicles.
