History of the Batmobile

it’s the Dark Knight’s preferred method
of transportation welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’ll be taking
a look at the evolution of the Batmobile
debuting in 1941 s Detective Comics
number 48 Batman’s car quickly became
his greatest tool for fighting crime
originally lacking any semblance to what
it is today it was bright red and lacked
fins or shields in fact it was devoid of
the signature bat theme with the small
exception of a gold hood ornament in its
place it had a supercharged engine and a
heavily reinforced nose capable of
smashing through obstacles following its
initial appearance Batman’s ride was
overhauled several months later when it
reappeared in Batman issue number 5 now
black in color it became equipped with
fender skirts to protect the tires
armored panels a fin and even a bat head
shaped battering ram despite the major
leap in design it would continue to be
reinvented regularly due to different
artists adding their own interpretations
of what the car should be these changes
included shifting its size shape and
features while adopting futuristic
concepts such as that of a bubble dome
despite the thrilling changes going on
in the comics 1943 s live-action Batman
series did away with any sense of style
this was due to the program’s low budget
which could only afford its producers to
acquire a black Cadillac which came to
be used by both Bruce Wayne and Batman
in 1964 Batman’s car was revamped to
become a sporty or two-seat roadster
this in turn led to the design of the
1966 television series version
which was equipped with Ford’s abandoned
Futura concept car this became the first
full-size fully operational Batmobile
and was chosen for its ability to easily
showcase the dynamic duo due to the
show’s success this vehicle instantly
became one of the most famous in the
world a few years later the design of
the car was modified for the Super
Friends cartoon series with the unique
considerations of making a car that
could easily be redrawn repeatedly for
the animation then after nearly three
decades
Batman returned to live-action in 1989
with Tim Burton’s Batman
thanks to a darker take on the Caped
Crusader it was unlike any previous
incarnation with a custom-built body
it added a front jet turbine intake rear
afterburner
side fins two-seat cockpit with aircraft
like instrumentation a heavy metal armor
cocoon and an array of weaponry
these included spherical bombs a pair of
machine guns and grappling hook
launchers insanely popular it rivaled
the attention given to the previous
live-action Batmobile and became the
main influence on the design of its
counterpart in Batman the Animated
Series of course for marketing purposes
the Batmobile was completely redesigned
twice for Joel Schumacher’s films Batman
Forever and Batman and Robin the first
was based off of an organic aesthetic
that mirrored a body’s use of ribs and
lungs the second version features an
older roadster design that stretched out
over 30 feet long and could only seat
one continuing to change dramatically
from one comic book series to the next
was finally remade for the big screen
when the Caped Crusader returned for
2005 s Batman Begins I gotta get me one
of those in this series reboot it was
given a function over style
consideration capable of making large
jumps and forming an escape motorcycle
from its front wheels over the course of
70 years the Batmobile has changed
countless times for the comics
television shows and films and will
continue to change as long as there are
Batman comics films and merchandise