The Batman: Is Robert Pattinson’s Batmobile Inspired By This Pivotal DC Comic?

Today The Batman director Matt Reeves revealed our first look at the new Batmobile that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will drive. The look of this new Batmobile is different, to say the least. Fans are already making memes comparing it to Vin Diesel’s Fast & Furious franchise, while others are discussing whether or not it fulfills the promise of a vehicle Bruce Wayne designed and built himself, and whether or not a second, upgraded, version of the Batmobile will appear by film’s end. However, one thing a lot of Batman fans may have overlooked is the potentially pivotal Easter egg tie between the new Batmobile and this classic Batman comic book:

Batman The New Adventures #408 was a pivotal issue of the DC Comics series, which put the Batmobile of that era (1987) in the spotlight: The first appearance of Jason Todd. Here’s the full synopsis of that issue:

“When Dick Grayson is injured by the Joker, Batman decides to go solo in his war on crime. But how long will this last…when he meets street kid Jason Todd in “Did Robin Die Tonight?” Part 1 of 2.”

If you don’t already know that origin story, Jason Todd would eventually become Robin II after Dick Grayson; when Joker eventually killed Jason/Robin, the boy was resurrected in the Lazarus Pits of the League of Assassins, and became the violent anti-hero Red Hood.

To be fair, Jason Todd’s origin is not the only time this comic book version of the Batmobile was around; it was pretty much the design of the Batmobile throughout the ’80s, aside from variants like Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns tank, or the Batman ’89 movie design that would influence the look forever thereafter. Still, it’s hard not to think that The Batman director Matt Reeves was totally unaware of the association between Jason Todd’s origin and the design of The Batman‘s new Batmobile. At this point there’s no reason to assume there are any plans for The Batman to fit into a larger DC Movie franchise; ergo, no reason to think this Batmobile Easter egg could lead to a live-action movie debut of Jason Todd. Still, it’s pretty cool to think that new Batmobile isn’t straying too far from the source material.

Upcoming DC movies include Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, Black Adam on December 22, 2021, Shazam! 2 on April 1, 2022, The Flash on July 1, 2022, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.