All 7 Batman Live-Action Movie Batmobiles Ranked

Batman has had a long and storied onscreen history. He evolved from the campy, lighthearted hero seen in the 1960s TV show to the brooding, morally complex vigilante seen in the various movies. Every actor who’s portrayed him brought a different dimension to the character, each one being someone’s definitive version of the Caped Crusader. Batman’s onscreen evolution has been heavily influenced by the culture that surrounds him, making every one of his films and TV shows a time capsule. Whether he’s depicted as a detective, a crime-fighting ninja, or a dark antihero, Batman will always remain one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture.

Something that’s almost as iconic as Batman himself is his Batmobile. Like the Dark Knight, its depictions on TV and in film have evolved in a multitude of ways, each one sporting a distinctive style and gadgetry. Here, we rank all seven live-action Batmobiles from worst to best.

7) Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

When Zack Snyder reimagined the World’s Greatest Detective as part of his vision for the DCEU, he made Batman a more violent and brutal version of the character than we’d ever seen before, so it only makes sense that his Batmobile would match. This tank-like behemoth packs some serious firepower while also remaining fairly agile, but it’s largely devoid of personality. It’s a little too reminiscent of the Tumbler seen in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight films, so it loses even more points for its lack of originality.

6) The Batman

Matt Reeves’ The Batman introduces a version of the Batmobile that feels like a muscle car from hell. It’s a raw, stripped-down vehicle, reflecting the early stages of Batman’s superhero career and his more back-to-basics crimefighting tactics. The flame exhaust is a nice touch (and a great tip of the hat to previous Batmobiles) and the wing-like rear side panels give it an intimidating look. However, it’s just a little too…plain, looking like something that wouldn’t appear out of place at a typical hot rod show.

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5) Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin was, if you could believe it, even more over-the-top and cartoonish than its predecessor, Batman Forever: obviously, the Batmobile would follow suit. Here, the Batmobile has an elongated body with massive fins shaped like batwings, and glowing blue accents that contrast quite nicely from the matte black finish. Is it stealthy? No. Does it look like it was ripped right out of a comic book and designed purely to sell toys (some of which this author put on his Christmas wishlist)? Absolutely.

4) Batman Forever

Under the direction of Joel Schumacher, Batman Forever marked the franchise’s turn away from Tim Burton’s gothic neo-noir aesthetic and toward a more colorful cartoon-inspired world. The Batmobile’s body has an almost skeletal-like design that reveals its inner workings which are glowing blue for some reason. The massive bating fins probably make it extremely difficult to back out of the driveway and go into a drive-through, but they sure do an amazing job telling everyone Batman’s driving that thing.

3) The Dark Knight Trilogy

When Christopher Nolan decided to reimagine Batman for the big screen, he was determined to answer the question, “What would a real-life Batman be like?” This mentality obviously applied to the radical redesign of the Batmobile, transforming the car into something closer to a tank. The result was the Tumbler, a powerful vehicle that completely does away with sleekness and stealth in favor of pure brute force. Despite its bulk, the Tumbler was still pretty agile, and could even deploy a specially designed motorcycle – a moment in The Dark Knight that has become iconic.

2) Batman (1966)

It’s far from the toughest or the most high-tech, but it more than makes for those things with pure retro charm. The red trim, bubble windshield, and rocket exhaust – despite their goofiness – would all be used in future cinematic interpretations of the Batmobile. And just like all of the other Batmobiles that followed, this one was filled to the brim with gadgets for almost every situation. In that regard, the original Batmobile is kind of like the grandfather of this exclusive line of cars.

1) Batman & Batman Returns

Tim Burton’s reimagining of the Batmobile is the definitive onscreen Batmobile. Its sleek, gothic design comes with a stylishly elongated body, turbine engine, and rocket exhaust. But it doesn’t just look cool – it’s got all kinds of gadgets and weapons, including grappling hooks, machine guns, and a bulletproof exterior. This Batmobile blended mystique and power for the ultimate cinematic presence. It’s so iconic that when you mention the Batmobile, this is the version that pops into most people’s minds. It’s just that definitive.

Batman movies are streaming on Max.