Image via Warner Bros.
One of the chief characteristics of Batman is his high-tech rides, so it’s no surprise he still has one in Gotham By Gaslight. Set in Gotham City during the Victorian era, there would be few if any cars on the roads. But the Dark Knight has a different surprise which is delivered during the movie’s third act.
Learn about the first Batmobile which was red, not black.
Just a fair warning, there are heavy spoilers in this article, so only keep reading if you want to know about the movie’s plot.
After Bruce Wayne is incarcerated, he’s able to bribe a guard to send a cryptic message to Alfred. His Butler understands what he’s to do, and has a trio of orphans deliver a large crate to a dark alley, along with a package containing a fresh Batman costume.
Inside that crate is the Victorian Batcycle, which is of course steam powered. Lest anyone think that’s wildly historically inaccurate, there were steam motorcycles as well as cars back then, so it actually isn’t that far out there.
How the Batcycle operates, including the sound it makes while running and how fast it goes might not entirely square with historical fact, but this is a fantasy movie so we can forgive such details.
It would’ve been cool to see Batman get the steam engine going as well as light the gas headlight before he tore out of there to save Selina Kyle from the Ripper. But that also would’ve been anticlimactic and not good storytelling.
While the surprise reveal of the Batcycle is fun in the movie, it does leave us wondering why Batman didn’t use it earlier? And it begs the question of why there wasn’t a steam powered Batmobile? That would’ve been just as cool if not even cooler to see.
Check out the Batcycle from Gotham By Gaslight in action here.
Image via Warner Bros.
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