The Ultimate Superheroines Forum

Just what it says on the tin

What's your favourite vehicle that heroes or heroines have used and why?

My own fave was the 1960s Batman BatBoat,
I think partly because it was black and you didn't tend to get many kids toys that colour back then as toymakers went for bright colours to make them more appealing to kids and partly because of the fun I had with mine in the bath.
Plus I remembered it weaving through the explosions in the movie. It sounds stupid but as a 5 year old it was a revelation that speadboats didn't have to go in a circle or straight but could do those sweeping 'S' shapes.

So that's mine, what's yours? The Batbike and weird flat sidecar? The Scorpion mobile? Wonder Woman's invisible plane? Batgirl's Batcycle (WITH CHINTZ FRILLS FFS!)? The Batmobile from the series or from one of the films? The Batcopter? The Batplane?
Please reveal all

Leopardon, Spider-Man's mech from the Japanese Spider-Man tokusatsu series. Part Ultraman, part Jet Jaguar - all ridiculous. I love it.

I hope it has a cup holder

The penis-mobile car from the Sat, Nite Live cartoon, "The Amgiuously Gay Duo."

Get us a pic!

Forgive my lack of imagination, but my favorites are cinematical -- dictated by having big dramatic moments on screen. For me, comic book stuff can't compete with that.

It used to be the classic TV Batmobile -- it looked bespoke, whereas every other Batvehicle looked like mundane civilian equipment with cheap add-ons. The Batmobile got a hero moment in the opening credits of every episode. In fact, the TV show made the Batmobile essential to the character -- TV showed him driving everywhere. Once they'd spent the money on the prop, the Batmobile was an easy way to add pizazz to establishing and transition shots -- screeching to a stop and leaping out, or leaping in and racing off -- and didn't require any risky stunt work.

Then in 1989 the movie arrived, and Charge of the Batmobile sold me on that ridiculous phallic symbol. It looked like it was built around a J79.

Then came the Tumbler. "It's a black... tank!" It is completely mechanical-looking and yet sounds like a monster. But the Tumbler will forever be my favorite for the simple reason that it gave me a rare moment of giddy delight in The Dark Knight. "No. No way. Is that... It IS! That is AWESOME!" I did not see that coming, at all. Neither did most of the people in the theatre that night, no matter what they might claim later. That was just plain genius.


So this question made me realize something.

Batman is the exception that proves this rule: superhero vehicles need to be kept to a minimum -- an answer to a practical concern with at most a brief moment of awesome -- lest they undermine the idea of the superhero. Make the vehicle too good, and it becomes the star and its pilot a supporting character.

Batman gets away with it because, well, that's his superpower.

Even Iron Man observes the rule, keeping his tech subordinate to the man-in-the-suit. He could be more powerful and effective in a broader range of scenarios with an Iron Car and an Iron Wing, but no. Hulkbuster sticks out as the extreme case demanding a large response with a level-up cache hovering nearby; otherwise it's kept pretty close to what "fits" on a man-sized frame.

Do you agree? Am I forgetting someone?

The Interprise under the command of Captain Kirk. Because it had a maximum speed equal to warp 8. Which according to the formula S(8)= 8.8.8.c= 153,600,000 km/sec.And also because he was the best captain

electra woman's.. whatever that dune buggy thing was

And the why?

Automan's digital car and helicopter. No need to worry about leaving them where he parked or landed. Just make them disappear and reappear when necessary.

Heroine Addict wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Automan's digital car and helicopter. No need to worry about leaving them where he parked or landed. Just make them disappear and reappear when necessary.

You hero! I was going to say this one too ... in hindsight Automan was corny AF but as a kid I loved it and those "wireframe" vehicles were cool!

Batmobile

Sorry can't seem to take a picture of Wonder Woman's invisible plane.

tallyho wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Get us a pic!

the thundertank from thunder cats

I am naturally sympathetic to chunky somewhat ugly things that are never the less quite efficient and good at getting the job done, cannot think from where this affinity stems

Superb choice HA / AEM.

DonShip wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Batmobile

Which iteration Don? The classic or Keatons or another?

Here is one of my favorites and a rather obscure one too, nico minoru from the Runaways, she is a goth witch magic user(hmmm...sounds like me!)
But she levitates but also little know fact is she rides a broom, imagine her special designed broom, with twists and curves in the wood so when straddling it fits perfect, in all the right tight magical spots!!!

tallyho wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Just what it says on the tin

What's your favourite vehicle that heroes or heroines have used and why?

My own fave was the 1960s Batman BatBoat,
I think partly because it was black and you didn't tend to get many kids toys that colour back then as toymakers went for bright colours to make them more appealing to kids and partly because of the fun I had with mine in the bath.
Plus I remembered it weaving through the explosions in the movie. It sounds stupid but as a 5 year old it was a revelation that speadboats didn't have to go in a circle or straight but could do those sweeping 'S' shapes.

So that's mine, what's yours? The Batbike and weird flat sidecar? The Scorpion mobile? Wonder Woman's invisible plane? Batgirl's Batcycle (WITH CHINTZ FRILLS FFS!)? The Batmobile from the series or from one of the films? The Batcopter? The Batplane?
Please reveal all

Not really a "super hero", per se (actually....may be!), but in the 16th century Chinese tale Journey's to The West, the monk had a flying carpet (IIRC) that took them from adventure to adventure.
...then there was the magic fighting staff that Monkey kept behind his ear (which I've always considered one of the cooler gadgets, ever), but that's not really what you're asking about....so yeah, the flying carpet thing.

DonShip wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Batmobile

...from the 70's cartoon?
That Batmobile was like a '72 Charger with big fins in the back....I always imagined it being powered by a 426 Hemi.
Yeah, take that, bad guys.

tallyho wrote: ↑

2 years ago

DonShip wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Batmobile

Which iteration Don? The classic or Keatons or another?

All of them really, but specifically the 60s TV show Batmobile.

I LOVED the Batboat and mooned over the Corgi version in the toy shop, but the Batmobile was the iconic feature of the show.

I'm partial to flying vehicles, they're just more super than regular cars.

Wonder Woman's invisible jet is good, particularly in the comics where she's riding on the wing and doing all kinds of impossible stunts with it. I think they could do it justice with modern effects, but so far they haven't.

The JLA Shuttles in the 2000's cartoon were pretty sweet too, cool looking and capable, but they didn't upstage the superheroes.

I also like the antigrav hovering pod type vehicles, like Blue Beetle's Bug, and Owlman's Archimedes owlship in Watchmen. The hovering makes them extra super.

Least favorite: Batman's fugly flying brick in Justice League (2017). It looked like a North Korean knockoff of a Quinjet.

I'm not sure they qualify as a superhero vehicle but the entire squadron of The Thunderbirds super-marionation always thrilled me a kid.

I loved thunderbirds especially thunderbird two. That and the Eagles from space 1999.

Mr. X wrote: ↑

2 years ago

I loved thunderbirds especially thunderbird two. That and the Eagles from space 1999.

The Eagles are the best spaceships ever. They look like the sort of real workhorses you'd need on a moonbase.

tallyho wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Mr. X wrote: ↑

2 years ago

I loved thunderbirds especially thunderbird two. That and the Eagles from space 1999.

The Eagles are the best spaceships ever. They look like the sort of real workhorses you'd need on a moonbase.

Brits sure did know how to make models. Space 1999, UFO, Thunderbirds. Very technical.

Mr. X wrote: ↑

2 years ago

tallyho wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Mr. X wrote: ↑

2 years ago

I loved thunderbirds especially thunderbird two. That and the Eagles from space 1999.

The Eagles are the best spaceships ever. They look like the sort of real workhorses you'd need on a moonbase.

Brits sure did know how to make models. Space 1999, UFO, Thunderbirds. Very technical.

And of course Star Wars.

Oh yeah they did all the star wars stuff.

Does Elvira the mistress of the Night's custom T-Bird count??? Oh yeah, she is one of ours guys, sorry!! I have met her in person and I never could even tell!!!

I like Webwoman's vehicle (was it called the Webtrak?) because it looked like a flying spider and that just makes it awesome!

The Thundertank is the most obvious to me in terms of vehicles, but if we're counting mechs than I'm gonna give it to the Big O. Roger Smith is basically just anime Bruce Wayne anyway and I'd rather have a giant robot with pile bunkers for arms than the batmobile.

Ah yes, Big O. The show with no real ending.

Mr. X wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Ah yes, Big O. The show with no real ending.

The older I get the more I learn to appreciate to just enjoy the ride cuz there's a decent chance the destination is not existent or shitty.

ThatOnePervert wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Mr. X wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Ah yes, Big O. The show with no real ending.

The older I get the more I learn to appreciate to just enjoy the ride cuz there's a decent chance the destination is not existent or shitty.

Oh true. It was really about the fights and the animation. Still the whole premise was intriguing.

bruhhh I still weep that there was never another season of the Big O

Big O more like Big O No

I don't think the show makers knew what they were doing with it. The wiki article talks about that. Or at least they never made the plot public.