Warner Bros today "leaked out" some official photos of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle ( Catwoman ) from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman Movie. She's wearing a sleek black "Super Spy" High-Tech Outfit & I think it has more to do with her in her "Selina Kyle" Persona than as Catwoman, the Villain. It looks like she is stealing the BAT-POD Motorcycle Prototype from Gotham University! But anyway, to celebrate we have taken the best high-resolution photo we could find & made these two ANNE HATHAWAY DESKTOP WALLPAPERS, enjoy!
One of the coolest things about the last Batman film, The Dark Knight, was the amazing BAT-POD Motorcycle. This thing was totally custom & very well designed. I mean, it was CRAZY! Shown here are 2 Videos that are sort of like mini-documentaries. They both cover information about the vehicle movie prop in high detail & are also very entertaining to watch, enjoy.
OK, Everybody has seen the Famous Custom Bat-Pod that was recently on eBay & here it is! Here are some amazing photos, sent in by a Bat-Blog Fan named Marc, of an extremely cool BAT-POD Motorcycle from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie that he recently made. Yes, he really made this thing & it works! It was built / fabricated by Marc and his brother Shanon at their shop in Melbourne, Florida. Ironically they took over the building that was previously occupied by Billy Lane of Choppers Inc. ( the Discovery Channel "Biker Build -Off" Winner ). They thought it would be a great location to build bikes. Marc & his brother have been extreme comic book fans since they were very young and they love a challenge whenever possible. His Brother asked him if he could build the Batpod and after looking at the bike online a few times they agreed to build it, mostly because of the challenge involved. Most everyone who has seen the bike said it was un-buildable. That's all the motivation they needed, ha!
They started by scaling the dimensions from pictures they acquired online of the original bike. After much measuring and calculations to achieve the necessary balance and weight distribution, they began to build it. The bike is constructed from 1/4 inch solid steel plate and 1/4 wall thickness steel tubing. Unfortunately there are no kits or parts available for this bike so every piece had to be made from scratch. This proved to be much more of a task than they had imagined in the beginning. It's amazing how many tiny little brackets and parts are on that bike. But the goal from the beginning was to achieve absolute authenticity. So they continued welding and cutting and grinding until the finished product was what they wanted. The motor covers, gun mounts and arm guards are made from hand laid fiberglass. The finish is a mat nickel and a mat black. Also, to remain true to the original, the bike is powered by a 650cc Honda XR motor. All of the chains and drive lines are hidden internally inside the frame. The rims had to be specially made to achieve the necessary off-set for balance and handling. Marc said that he has been the only person willing ( or stupid enough, ha ha ) to ride it yet. And it is far from a comfortable ride. But it is by far the most unique and attention grabbing thing he has ever built or ridden. To say that it gets attention is like saying the Atlantic ocean is a puddle. Everywhere they take the Batpod they get mobbed by people with a million questions and requests to take pictures with the bike. It's really great to see how many super comic fans are out there. Many of them are hardcore bikers that you would never think were comic fans. But they all love it! That kind of response has made the 1500+ hours of building and the numerous cuts and burns worthwhile.
And for all the Sci-Fi Fans out there, the next project they're working on is an exact working street legal replica of the Light Cycle from the new TRON LEGACY movie! It will be an all electric bike.
As an extra bonus, here is a Wallpaper Desktop Background of their Custom Bat-Pod!
I know the title for this post is kinda lame. I know I'm suppose to come up with something funny or extremely clever but I'm just not in the mood this morning, OK? ha ha! So, let's get right to it. Recently the Bat-Blog made a new friend in Taiwan named Jerry. Right off the bat he sent us some amazing pictures of Batman Fandom from the other side of the world. OK, I know the Internet has been around for almost 3 decades now but I'm still amazed ( like a Caveman ) about the quick & easy communication with people from anywhere on the globe, it's like magic...I love it! Anyway, Jerry's a nice guy & really into Batman, so that's cool. The 1st pic is a display of some of his favorite Large-Size Toy Batmobiles. You have the Batmobile from the later Animated Series, the Tumbler from The Dark Knight movie, the car from Batman: The Animated Series ( I've always totally loved that car ), the Tim Burton movie car, the Futuristic Flying Batmobile from Batman Beyond, & one of the Vehicles from a later Joel Schumacher Film, Batman Forever. AWESOME!! It's really cool to see them all together like this! Plus, it's a very nice collection. Now the next group of 3 photos is a Japanese Magazine owned by Jerry. It looks like the main cover story is all about the incredible Dolls, Toys, & Action Figures made by HOT TOYS for the DARK KNIGHT movie. I can't read any of this, ha ha, but visually it looks so great & I really love it too! They covered the Christian Bale & Heath Ledger Figures, the Bat-Pod Motorcycle, the Giant-Size Tumbler Vehicle, & some misc ( mainly the Joker Art Bust ). Thanks Jerry for sending all the wonderful pics!! Readers, I will be posting more later so stay tuned for that ( he sent some GREAT stuff ). If there are any other Bat-Fans out there who want to share some of their favorite pieces in their Bat-Toy Collections then please be sure to send us some pics today. Our email button is always on the top right-hand side of this page.
OK, Here's a photo of a pretty cool Batman Birthday cake that sort of cracks me up, & really impresses me with it's inventiveness, all at the same time! It was made to look like the Bat-Pod Motorcycle used in THE DARK KNIGHT movie. As you can see in the above photo, the wheels are made out of 2 cakes put together. In fact, I think the whole thing is actually edible! Either way it's really cool. I wanna thank our friend Lauren for sending us this wonderful photo. Plus, I want to invite any Bat-Blog Fans who have had a Batman Birthday Cake in the past or present to send us some pics of yours.
OK, If you're planning to go to the 2009 San Diego Comic Con be sure to hit the Mattel Booth for an EXCLUSIVE Hot Wheels THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Tumbler Batmobile and Bat-Pod Motorcycle Set! They have been keeping it pretty top secret but a reader named Tony sent us this amazing photo. Basically it's a Window-Boxed Set of 2 vehicles from the Dark Knight film. The way the vehicles are displayed inside the dox it looks like the Bat-Cycle is bursting out of the Tumbler batmobile Car...SWEET! I have also heard they will be the 1:50 Scale size...AWESOME! As we get more SDCC '09 information we'll have better pics later, so stay tuned to the Bat-Blog for more info!( Thank You Tony, You ROCK, Sir! )
I was pleasantly surprised the other night to receive an e-mail from a Bat-Blog Reader named Lee who lives in the UK. He had some really wonderful photos of the original BAT-POD Motorcycle & a few Prop Costumes from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie. He explained in his letter, "Hi Tom, my name is Lee, I'm from Manchester, England and I am a huge BATMAN fan. Last year I was lucky enough to get a glimpse (and a cheeky feel) of the Bat-Pod and I was also lucky to see all the costumes in glass display units. I have been looking at your website for about 2 years now and find it really interesting, especially being a collector myself. Also once I get all my collection together I will send you some pics. I have some really wicked stuff like Hot Toys, Model Kits, Action Figures, and a few really rare items. Anyway, keep up the brilliant website! I have attached some pictures of that day I went to see the costumes and Bat-Pod. The picture with the guy in a white t-shirt & brown hat is me!" Cool, very cool! Thank you for sending these great pics Lee & also for the kind words about this blog! Getting to meet Bat-Fans from all over the world is really exciting for me. On a side note I am totally jealous you got to see the real Bat-Pod & these cool costumes, that's a Super-RARE opportunity! It's really neat that Warner Bros displayed this stuff so far away, in the UK. So tell me honestly, did you totally want to steal the Bat-Pod? I know I would have, Ha Ha!
Photos for the 2nd series wave of Hot Wheels Batmobile Vehicles are starting to appear. The 1966 Batboat & '66 Batmobile Car with Trailer Hitch are in stores now & the others should arrive soon after. The top photo is from a recent Hot Wheels Collector Convention where they showed off the 1989 Movie Batwing, 1989 Movie Batmobile, 1966 Bat-Cycle ( reissue ), Super Friends Batmobile, & the Bat-Boat with 1966 Car. The next picture shows the back of the packaging for the Bat-Boat & on that we get to see the Dark Knight Bat-Pod Motorcycle, very cool! These vehicles are really great & I can't wait to get them all!!
This video was shot last September at a Movie Park in Germany. It's a very well detailed view of the original BAT-POD Motorcycle used in the Dark Knight Batman movie.
The Official Hot Wheels Collectors website has just released information about their line of Batman 1:50 Scale Vehicles for 2009. It looks like they are gonna have a really great variety again this time too. The list includes:
1966 BATBOAT™ ( with trailer ) (SKU# N8016)
1966 BATMOBILE™ ( with trailer hitch ) (SKU# N8017)
1989 BATMAN BATMOBILE™ (SKU# N8014)
1989 BATMAN™ BATWING™ (SKU# P4407)
Animated Series BATMOBILE™ ( with battle damage ) (SKU# P4408)
OK, a Bat-Blog Reader sent me this photo the other day & it totally cracks me up! This is a "Homemade Bat-Pod" Motorcycle. It's just like the one used by Batman in The Dark Knight movie! Well, not exactly "just like it", because this one is made out of cardboard, bubble wrap ( tire tread ), black duct tape & LOVE, ha ha! The cool thing is that the Bat-Signal Headlight actually works. Come on, ya gotta love this thing, it's great ART!!
Every Wednesday we post some free Batman desktop wallpapers...it's called "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday "! Well, I was gonna post some this afternoon but got busy with some personal problems, sorry. So, here they are now & just before midnight, ha ha! The 1st one is an image from the current BATMAN R.I.P. storyline & it was found at the official DC Comics website. The other graphic is the "Blueprints" of the Bat-Pod Motorcycle from The Dark Knight movie...enjoy!
For "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" I thought I would post these 3 promotional Batman Desktop Wallpapers that were created by the Danix Company to hype The Dark Knight movie! Danix make cookies in Brazil & they recently did a promo with Warner Bros. The artwork is pretty awesome, so enjoy!
Target Stores have an "Exclusive" Movie Master Batman Action Figure Vehicle! It's the BAT-POD Motorcycle from THE DARK KNIGHT movie. The detailing looks pretty sharp & at only $19.99 they are going quick so hurry!
Every Wednesday is "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" at the Bat-Blog so I thought I would post these 2 Batman Desktop Backgrounds that are scans from a Japanese Magazine Advertisement for the new Bandai "The Dark Knight" Batman Figure & Bat-Pod Vehicle. Later this year Bandai will be releasing a special Batman Figure & Bat-Pod that a lot of collectors are really excited about. I'll be doing a post about it later but for now just drool over these pics, enjoy!
A good friend to the Bat-Blog, named Matt, sent us these extremely cool photos showing the original Tumbler Batmobile & Bat-Pod. These were actually used in THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie! They were on display at the Six Flags Theme Park in St. Louis, MO. Matt works for a newspaper & they sent him there for a story ( how lucky is that ). The pics show the vehicles from a few angles & are pretty nice. It must have been awesome seeing these in real-life. Thanks Matt for sharing these ( I'm jealous, ha ha ).
A new trading card company called PLAYGROUND MANIACS has come out with a really neat concept. They sell these packs of THE DARK KNIGHT Collectible Stickers & you get a free Mini-Figure in each pack! Each package contains 8 stickers & 1 figure. There are 180 stickers total to collect & 6 mini-figures. They also make a "Collectible Sticker Album" for you to put the stickers in. The figures include: 1 Joker, 1 Tumbler Batmobile, 1 Bat-Pod Motorcycle, & 3 Different Variations of Batman. The only place I have seen these so far are Target Stores. I bought one pack & got a "Batman Standing" figure...pretty neat! I plan on getting all 6 figures. The Batman I got is almost 3" tall.Be sure to click on the above image for a larger photo, the figures are kinda neat!
A friend to the Bat-Blog, named Andrew, wrote that he was excited to know that The Dark Knight had finally hit France ( he lives near there ) because he saw this ad in a French Newspaper! It shows some of the Batman Action Figures & the Tumbler Batmobile with Bat-Pod...very cool! The next picture is a TDK item from the Philippines that was sent to me by Billy, a friend who lives in my hometown. He won this item on eBay. It's a really neat "Tumbler Batmobile Cereal Bowl with Batman-Shaped Spoon" you can get as a give-away premium in a Nestle KOKO KRUNCH Cereal Box. I'm gonna have to get one of those...the box design is really cool. Thanks guys for sending these wonderful photos, I appreciate that! I want to invite ALL Bat-Blog Readers to do the same, no matter where you live!
