Batman: Every Screen Batmobile Ranked From Best To Worst

8. The Tumbler - Batman Begins

Is it possible to go in the exact opposite direction again? Because the Adam West and Animated Series Batmobiles couldn't be more different, but the same is true of the tank-like tumbler Christian Bale secreted himself in for Christopher Nolan's recent Dark Knight trilogy. We suppose it could be a z y x axis, or something. Okay, so now for something completely different: for the Animated Series the designers didn't take reality into account at all, taking full advantage of the cartoon medium and creating an awesome, badass, and totally impractical Batmobile. In the sixties they basically did up a Caddy with added extras, but it's still not strictly street legal. The Nolan movies had a different tone from both these previous adaptations, taking the angle of "what would Batman be like if he actually existed in real life?" And the answer was "the skinny dude from The Machinist talking in a funny voice." The longer answer involved a kevlar armour costume, a certifiably insane Joker and some slightly suspect commentary on the Occupy movement. It also involved a Batmobile unlike any we've seen before, allegedly taking inspiration from the literal tank the Caped Crusader pilots in the Dark Knight Returns, but having more in common with real, militarised all-terrain vehicles. The tumbler is a magnificent piece of machinery, a ruddy huge thing that crushes other vehicles beneath its treads whilst looking pretty darn brilliant in all-black. And all that's before you get into its myriad gadgets, the motorbike concealed inside just in case everything goes pear-shaped, and the flying descendant that makes it debut in the Dark Knight Rises. It's the Swiss army knife of Batmobiles. And one that, like an actual Swiss army knife, you could actually own. You'd have to be a billionaire, but it's still an option, is all we're saying.