By Samuel Stone

Copyright slashfilm

While it may feel like cheating to have two iterations of the Batmobile on this list, the Tumbler is so radically different from its counterparts, it earns a spot here. Introduced in 2005’s “Batman Begins,” the Tumbler was inspired by a shameless studio note to filmmaker Christopher Nolan. The Tumbler is effectively a small tank, armored, fitted with a large engine for short jumps, mounted guns and missiles, and capable of stealth mode. 2008’s “The Dark Knight” reveals that Tumbler can eject the Bat-Pod, basically this trilogy’s version of the Bat-Cycle, when damaged.

Nolan almost didn’t put the Batmobile in “Batman Begins,” but the Tumbler came to embody his more grounded approach to the superhero franchise. Nominally practical, the car even gets its own backstory, with the prototype described as being designed as a way to deploy makeshift bridges during the Gulf War. The Tumbler’s inclusion gives “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” some of the best action set pieces in the entire trilogy. The Tumbler signaled that Christian Bale’s Batman would be unlike any other that came before him, combining real-world aesthetics without compromising on style.