Ben Wan
- Nov 15, 2021
- 4 min read

Ranking The Batmobiles on Film and Television

We rank ALL the live action Batmobiles in film, television, and…stage?! It's a Batmobile ranking video unlike any other, as we go from the 1940s serials up through the new one for Matt Reeves’s The Batman, including the ones from Batman Live and Batwoman! Plus Ben debunks a popular criticism of the Tim Burton Batmobile on how it turns. What’s your favorite live action Batmobile? Comment below.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction

We'll be diving into the Batmobiles that DIDN'T make the cut in our $5 Patreon episode this week, which will cover: the 1963 Batmobile that predated the 1966 show but wasn't used in any productions, the Bathammer from Batman & Robin, the Knightcrawler from Justice League, Bruce Wayne's prototype Batmobile mustang in Gotham, the Batmobile in the Batcave in Titans, and the War Machine/Dark Knight Returns Batmobile in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Join the $5 Patreon here.

Another criteria that wasn't mentioned was that the Batmobile had to be the main Batmobile of that story. We didn't think it'd be fair to include the specialty vehicles like the Bathammer or the Knightcrawler.

3:59 The Comic Origins of the Batmobile

Our sources for a lot of this episode come from the great Batmobile History, which compiles information on nearly every iteration on the Batmobile. Here are the articles on the three original Batmobiles.

Batman's red coupe in Detective Comics No. 27

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1939-detective-27-batmobile.php

The first car formally known as the Batmobile in Detective Comics No. 48.

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1941prebat-batmobile.php

The more traditional Batmobile by Jerry Robinson introduced in Batman No. 5.

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1941-batmobile.php

7:20 The 1943 Serial Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the 1943 serial Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1943-batmobile.php

12:03 The 1949 Serial Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the 1949 Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1949-batmobile.php

From Andrew:

In the US (American English) this is a late 19th century, slang term for zero score in a sporting event or game. A goose egg is the failure of a team to score any points or goals. The phrase is derived from the shape of a goose egg looking like a zero. In a sentence it replaces the word zero. Source: theidioms.com

16:59 The 1966 Series Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the 1966 series' classic Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1966-batmobile.php

The information from George Barris about the paint can serving as the afterburner came from this documentary:

While this Batmobile did have the single afterburner, this may have been inspired by the rocket thrusters on the Batmobile of 1950 from Detective Comics No. 156:

These were two thrusters on the sides, however, and not the single afterburner in the back.

26:20 The Tim Burton Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the 1989-1992 Batmobile: http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1989-batmobile.php

According to Michael Uslan in the introduction to Batman and the Fifties, it was the aforementioned Batmobile of 1950 in Detective Comics No. 156 that was the inspiration for this Batmobile:

It would also be the primary influence for genius production designer Anton Furst, who imagineered the 1989 Batmobile for the first Batman feature, winning an Oscar for his creative efforts.

Here's a better shot of the Batmobile of 1950 for comparison:

33:50 The Batman Forever Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the Batman Forever Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1995-batmobile.php

43:24 The Batman & Robin Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the Batman & Robin Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1997-batmobile.php

One thing to note is that this Batmobile is the first one, post-1966, to NOT have the afterburner. Instead, it appears to have thrusters on both sides of the end, similar to the Batmobile of 1950 that was previously mentioned.

52:06 BREAK: Movie Fighters Promo, Barkbox Promo

Check out our link for Barkbox here.

53:07 The Dark Knight Trilogy Batmobile/The Tumbler

Here is Batmobile History's article on the Dark Knight Trilogy Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/2005-batmobile.php

1:04:29 The Batman Live Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the Batman Live Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/2011-live-batmobile.php

For footage of the Batmobile in Batman Live, check out this video:

This is Gordon Murray giving more details in an interview:

1:10:49 The Snyderverse Batmobile

Here is Batmobile History's article on the Snyderverse Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/2016-batman-v-superman-batmobile.php

1:17:42 The Batwoman Batmobile

While Batmobile History does not have an article on this version, our information did come from this fan wiki:

https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/Batmobile_(Earth-Prime)

For a look at the Batmobile that the Arrowverse Batman (of Earth Prime) drove before Ryan Wilder revamped it, check out this clip.

1:25:32 Preview- The Batman Batmobile (2022)

Here is Batmobile History's article on The Batman Batmobile:

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/2021-the-batman-batmobile.php

Our Final Ranking:

1:30:52 Closing: Fan Comments and Social Media Promotion

Big thanks to our research assistant Dan Yamat for helping to compile the visuals on this, as well as QC and the chapter time codes.

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