- "Self destruct sequence initiated. Goodbye."
- ―The Tumbler[src]
The Batpod is intended as a kind of "escape pod" integrated into the Tumbler, it also served an auxiliary vehicle. Armed with dual front-mounted cannons, machine guns and grappling hooks, the Batpod affords Batman greater mobility at the cost of some protection.
History
The Dark Knight
Batman first used the Batpod to escape from the Tumbler after it was critically damaged by an RPG round fired by the Joker. He then used the Batpod to pursue Joker, eventually crashing the Semi truck he was driving. Batman proceeds to raced down towards The Joker at high speed with Batpod with the intent of running him over as the Joker taunts him to "Hit Me!". However mere moments before the collision, Batman steers out of the way of the Joker's path and crashes.
Batman uses the Batpod again when Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent are kidnapped and placed in two different locations by the mob. Batman races to the location where he thought Rachel was being held only to find Harvey instead who ultimately gets tragically half disfigured facially. Batman would end up taking the fall for Two-Face's crimes becoming a wanted vigilante by the police force. Batman rides off into the night not be seen until he was needed once more.
The Dark Knight Rises
- "Eight years, and he has to pick tonight."
- ―John Daggett when Batman returned[src]
Eight years have passed since the events of The Dark Knight. When Bruce decides to suit up as Batman once again, he re-appears on the Batpod and follows the high speed pursuit chase between the police and Bane along with his group of mercenaries. Batman manages to capture some of Bane's mobile thugs and retrieve a flashdrive holding important information. Unfortunately his reappearance sparks a negative effect as the city's police department pursue him in a full scale chase though the streets of Gotham.
Batman leads them to a dark alleyway where they surround him but he escapes by flying away in the Bat into the night sky. When Gotham City is under siege by Bane, Batman re-emerges from exile and enlisted the aid of the Cat to help him defeat Bane's force by giving her the Batpod to use while he'd provide aerial support in the Bat. Selina uses the Batpod to destroy the rubble blocking a tunnel out of Gotham and goes back to help in the climactic final battle.
Later, she arrives just in time to kill Bane using the cannons on the Batpod. Together she and Batman chase after Talia al Ghul, the true mastermind behind everything. Selina takes care of vehicles on land while Batman, in The Bat, focuses on driving Talia off the road. After Batman and Catwoman stop Talia and the League of Shadows the Batpod is not seen again.
Capabilities
The Batpod has the following unusual functions:
- Grappling hook launchers
- Gun turrets
- Ability to swivel chassis upside down when upright
- Ability to drive sideways with latitudinal rotation of wheels
Background Information and Notes
- The Batpod is The Dark Knight's version of the Batcycle.
- The workings of the Batpod were explained in a special on The History Channel, including the facts that it is steered more with the driver's shoulders than his hands, and that the engine(s) are actually mounted inside the wheels instead of the frame.