The Original Batmobile is a car that is driven by the superhero Batman. He has a wide range of utilities and accessories and gadgets for convenience built into the car. The car is considered to be one of the coolest superhero cars ever made.
The Batmobile is a super-fast car with a lot of functions. It is housed in the Batcave that can be accessed through a secret entrance in Wayne Manor. The Batmobile is a heavily armed and armored tactical assault vehicle. It is also referred to as a custom-built pursuit and capture vehicle built to aid the Dark Knight in his pursuit for justice.
It uses the latest civilian tech and couples with a series of military prototype hardware. Most of these were created or developed by Wayne Enterprises. Batman was able to create an outstanding mechanical beast that aids him in his nightly prowl against evil through Gotham’s streets.
The Original Batmobile Comics
The Batmobile first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), depicted as an ordinary-looking red car. However, its appearance has varied over the years through many issues.
The car has always had a primary appearance of looking like a Bat. It is said to have always had a Bat motif since its earliest appearance. Its shape includes a typical wing-shaped tail fin.
It was originally just an armored car in most early stages, but it has been upgraded to suit the times. Over time, it has been customized with most of the technological advancements you see in Batman’s arsenal today.
The depictions of the vehicle have evolved over the years. Much as Batman has evolved, the Batmobile has not been left out of the fray.
It has been portrayed as having many uses such as vehicular pursuit, prisoner transportation, anti-tank warfare, riot control, and a mobile crime lab.
In some car depictions, the Batmobile has individually articulated wheel mounts and can be driven unmanned or can be remotely operated.
It has appeared in every Batman appearance, ranging from comic books and television to films and video games, and has since become part of popular culture.
Original Batmobile Origin Story
Batman was shown driving a Red car in Detective Comics #27 in his debut. The name never mentioned the car like the Batmobile. Although the Batplane was introduced in later issues and named right away. It was introduced in Detective Comics Issue #31
The name for the car Batmobile has not applied right away, not until later issues of the Detective Comics. The Batmobile was applied as Batman’s automobile in Detective Comics Issue #48 (February 1941).
The car soon evolved from being just an ordinary looking red car to a “specially built high-powered auto.”
This evolution came early in the character’s story. As at Detective Comics #30 and Batman #5 (March 1941), the Batmobile already had a bat hood ornament and a darker exterior color.
This was undoubtedly the birth of the dark look of the car. The predominant designs were large, dark-colored bodies and bat-like accessories. It also has a tail fin that was warped into resembling bat wings.
Other bat-vehicles soon followed, including the Batcycle, Batboat, and Robin’s Redbird.
Batman #5 (March 1941) introduced a long, powerful, streamlined Batmobile with a tall scalloped fin and an intimidating bat head on the front.
A few pages after its introduction, it was forced off a cliff by the Joker and crashed in the ravine below. An identical Batmobile appeared in the next story printed in the same issue.
Other Appearances
The Batmobile made a brief cameo at the end of the Looney Tunes Show episode “Reunion”. Bugs Bunny drove off in it after seeing the Bat-Signal because, in that show, he is secretly Batman. This Batmobile slightly resembles the Golden Age version.
TV Appearances
The Batmobile adapted for the TV show that showcased the Dark Knight a couple of years after initiating the comics.
The Batmobile created for the 1968–1969 Filmation Associates TV series was not exactly based on its immediate predecessor’s appearance. It had other similarities, such as sharing dual rear cockpit canopies with the Barris/Futura Batmobile or any version in DC Comics publications of the time.
Also, Filmation’s depiction of the Batmobile featured a long, black body with what was described as a “Coke bottle” profile, with a large, light blue bat emblem set across the hood. This was made so that when a dashboard control was activated, the metal bat symbol folded its “wings” up at its center, forming a barricade/chain cutter. There were no door-mounted bat symbols.
Another departure from the Barris Batmobile was a single windshield and large, elevated bat-fins.
Original Batmobile Movie Debut
One of the best appearances of the Batmobile was in the 1989 movie starring Michael Keaton. The scene is one of the greatest ever in a Batman movie. Batman duels with the Joker and is running out of the museum to getaway. As he runs, he tells his girl to get in the car, and she asks, “what car?”
She looks over and sees the Batmobile. They introduced the car in the middle of an action scene, and it was amazing. It was also cool to see how awesome the car looked. It was all black and matched his outfit perfectly. Every kid watching the movie wanted to have their own car just like it.
The Batmobile later showed up its features when it went into shield mode. Since the 1989 movie was the first time on the big screen, many consider this ride to be the original Batmobile.
Final Thoughts On The Original Batmobile
The original Batmobile is really whatever anyone has been introduced to as their first Batmobile. If you were around to watch the show with Adam West from the 60s, then that would be the first one that comes to mind. If the first Batmobile someone saw were Christopher Nolans, version then that would be the original Batmobile.
The amazing thing about Batmobile is that there is so much room for Batman to change and grow. The character has unlimited potential, and because anyone can be Batman, we never get sick of the character.
