Comic Book Car: Batcycle From The Dark Knight Returns

While the most famous of Batman’s rides is the Batmobile, the Batcycle is still a fairly popular one among fans and even the public in general. The two-wheeled mechanical steed has taken on a variety of forms in the comics, TV shows, and movies, but the one featured in the iconic The Dark Knight Returns four-part comic series published back in 1986.

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The Frank Miller tale is renowned for its gritty take on an aging Batman who struggles to deal with increasing crime and unrest in Gotham City. While we’ve covered before the Dark Knight’s rather effective Riot Tank Batmobile from the same comic series, the Batcycle is similarly brutal.

First of all, the Batcycle is armed with two rather large guns, each mounted to either side of the motorcycle’s front fork. Batman usually isn’t a fan of guns, but these look like they’re at least 30mm machine gun-style barrels, perfect for dealing with not only people but even some lightly armored vehicles.

It’s a curious thing for the Dark Knight to have on his ride, but it shows how much he’s changed with the times.

Another interesting observation is how much the Batcycle looks like the Batpod from the second Christopher Nolan film, The Dark Knight. While not nearly as bare bones as the movie motorcycle (which was more of an escape pod than its own vehicle), one can see a bit of a resemblance between the two.

That means the Batcycle from The Dark Knight Returns obviously inspired the Batpod with huge front and rear tires extended out further than on regular motorcycles. The odd stance is more aggressive and athletic than the more café racer-inspired version of the Batcycle, further emphasizing the difference in Miller’s version of the Caped Crusader.

But unlike the Batpod, this version of the Batcycle does have a sidecar, allowing Robin to ride along no problem. That sidecar apparently has its own controls, which is typical of Batman who has backup plans for his backup plans.

Images via DC Comics