With Comic-Con International kicking off starting next Wednesday in beautiful San Diego, we’re counting down the days until we can up close and personal with all six film versions of the Batmobile that Warner Bros. is bringing to the show. While it’s unlikely, what we’d really love to see is a close-up of “The Bat,” the latest and greatest tech that Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne gets to play with under his alter ego as the caped crusader in The Dark Knight Rises.
With no talk of the Bat-Pod or director Christopher Nolan’s version of the Batwing showing up at SDCC 2012, we’ll have to make due with this detailed look at the vehicle from collectible manufacturer, Hot Toys.
Our first look The Bat (which I call the Hoverbat) came via mysterious set photos and videos from last August, which was later confirmed to be the case when we saw it fly in the third official trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. More recently, scans from the film’s manual offered several detailed images as well, but nothing like what we have below.
Hot Toys teased the construction of The Bat model back in late May, days before they officially unveiled their model of the Bat-Pod. Both vehicles look equally as stunning in their detail and authenticity. Check out the model under construction as well as the two brand new photos Hot Toys posted yesterday of the completed 1/6th scale design. Click to enlarge:
Afraid of heights, but feel the need for speed? The Bat-Pod, first introduced in The Dark Knight as an escape vehicle from The Tumbler, is back in The Dark Knight Rises and gets used not only by Batman himself, but by Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman as well. It also has its own highly detailed 1/4th scale replica:
If you’re a collector, or are simply interested in seeing more, check out the official Hot Toys Facebook page where images of their work – including several character pieces from The Avengers - are regularly added.
The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata and Nestor Carbonell. It will open in regular and IMAX theaters around the U.S. on July 20th, 2012.
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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.
Source: Hot Toys
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This craft hasn’t won me over yet. It’s hard to compete with Burton’s Batwing but I’m eager to see how the “Hoverbat” looks in IMAX.
I agree. The stills just don’t look appealing, but hopefully it’ll look cooler in the actual film…
I think the Hoverbat is going to be be awesome in The Dark Knight Rises.
I love the Bat.
Looks ridiculous. Like it would fall right out of the sky.
It and the tumbler look like cooler vehicles that have been half-crushed. They should have saved it as a surprise anyway.
Looks like something out of the terminator franchise. Maybe Bale brought back some artwork with him after salvation . .
Anyone notice how the 2-wheel cycle would in reality probably spit all kinds of road grit and gook straight into the face?
I noticed. There is zero functional design to that cycle.
That is another case of making a cool looking vehicle
with little regard to real world practicality of use.
Well the Batpod is an escape pod for the tumbler. Its main function is to get the user to a safe distance from the tumbler. Doest get more practical then that lol.
FYI In reality, very little if any dirt would be kicked up in the driver’s face during forward rotation of the tires.
Ummm Ignur, did you make a mistake in your last comment?
Absolutely dirt would be kicked up in the driver’s face during forward rotation. Maybe not so much on pavement, but hit a gravel road and game over.
I do agree that dirt and gravel would kick up in your face but not to the point that it would render the batpod impractical. In my personal experience on dirt bikes on streets and dirt roads, the gravel and dirt kicked up in my face has been very minimal.
Most importantly, I dont think there are any gravel and dirt roads in Gotham city lol
Not to beat someting to death my commenting friend, but I believe there would be a few gravel roads on the way to the bat cave.
Your bikes, I am sure had front tire fenders and weren’t 12″ wide with heavy duty treads. I think there is little doubt that this set up would make this vehicle completely impractical.
To be fair though, this is a comic book movie and who really cares about such things…
Apart from the dirt in the face problem
having tires that fat does not make for
an agile vehicle and I doubt it could be
capable of more than very wide banked
turns of which Gotham would not afford.
The problems with what Rob aptly calls the “Hoverbat” is that
as a practical matter is seems to defy the laws of physics.
It looks the part though fitting into Nolan’s landscape.
The Bat is actually very practical. There are rotary blades underneath and Its design is based on the apache helicopter.
The Apache helicopter is not a hovercraft.
And no hovercraft ever made looks anything
like the The Bat nor could it “fly” as depicted.
The Bat is closer to te design of a Helicopter than Hovercraft. Its actually nothing like a hover craft. It has rotors and thrust like a helicopter.
The Bat would need helicopter blades to achieve lift.
Without blades it is not a helicopter by definition and
the rotors it has would barely get it off the ground let
alone have it behave like the flying car in Blade Runner.
I should empathize I do not care I find the vehicle designs impractical.
Any practicality is irrelevant to the production design and all that matters
there really is do the vehicles look like something Nolan’s Batman would have
at his disposal which they do and do they look cool and they do do that as well.
Haha!
As I was clicking on the photos a trailer for the movie was playing on TV so it gave the whole process of looking at them a epic feel.
Thanks Movie Gods
You’re welcome.