Batman

Batman
Batman circa 2013
Owner	FELD Entertainment, Live Nation (Truck), DC Comics/WarnerMedia (Name)
Driver	John Seasock
Body Style	Custom 3D Batmobile
Engine	540ci Merlin
Transmission	Coan 2-Speed
Tires	66" Terra
Debut	2006 (Originally 2005)
Discontinuation	2014
Theme song	"Down With the Sickness" by Disturbed (2005-2013), "Molossus" by James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer (2013-2014)

Batman was a monster truck owned by FELD Entertainment (formerly Live Nation), based on the comic book character of the same name, with a design based on the Batmobile, Batman's titular vehicle. The truck was driven by John Seasock. He has taken Batman to two Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championships, one in 2007 and the other in 2008. The truck's original driver was Jason Childress who drove the truck in the 2006 season.

History

• 2004 - Batman was announced to debut in 2005, as a teammate to Superman. However, troubles with the 3D body caused it to be delayed. The truck wouldn't debut until 2006.
• 2006 - Batman debuted in Charlotte, NC, driven by Jason Childress.
• 2007 - John Seasock moved to the Batman truck as the new driver. He would win the racing competition of the Monster Jam World Finals 8.
• 2008 - Seasock would win the racing competition for a second year in a row, at the Monster Jam World Finals 9.
• 2009 - A brand new Batman chassis debuts. The truck starts using silver-lined wings.
• 2011 - Norm Miller began driving Batman as Seasock moves to the Advance Auto Parts Grinder team.
• 2012 - A new chassis debuts in December.

  

• 2013 - An all new version of the Batman body was created, with smaller wings and the engines replaced by a Bat-logo on the back. The classic yellow logo from the original body was replaced by a new, silver logo. At the World Finals, Miller raced with the truck although, got injured and couldn't freestyle. Carl Van Horn then took the wheel in the freestyle competition.
• 2014 - John Seasock returned to the Batman team as Miller moved to the new New Earth Authority Police truck. This would be Batman's final year in competition, before the DC license expired at the end of the year.
• 2017-Present - DC Comics returns to Monster Jam, indicating a possible comeback. However, there is still no official announcement regarding Batman's return to competition.

World Finals Appearances

• 2006 - Jason Childress
• 2007 - John Seasock (won racing)
• 2008 - John Seasock (won racing)
• 2009 - John Seasock
• 2010 - John Seasock
• 2011 - Norm Miller
• 2013 - Norm Miller (racing), Carl Van Horn (freestyle)

Trivia

• The truck's original chassis that was used from 2006-2008 was converted into Grave Digger #22.
• Bari Musawwir drove the truck once in Minneapolis in 2012. He ran the original body on the brand new grey chassis.
• Similar to the Superman toys, the Batman toy releases by Mattel had many odd inaccuracies. The original 2004 release (which was simply known as "Batmobile") featured special bat-shaped wheels, a red windshield, silver wings, and a turbine in the front, which was removed in the 2005 release, where it was replaced with a yellow 3D bat-symbol. The silver wings were removed in the 2007 release (though the actual truck would start running them one year later). The 2009 release removed the bat-shaped wheels, replacing them with standard wheels. The red windshield was removed in 2010. In 2014, the truck was released with the original casting, but with a deco meant to resemble the 2013 body. A version with the accurate 2013 casting was released in 2015.
• Seasock is only one of three driver who have won the World Racing championship two years back-to-back in a row with the other two being Adam Anderson (Grave Digger the Legend) and Tom Meents (Goldberg/Maximum Destruction).
• In 2007, an Australian version of the truck debuted, owned by EMT Events. While it's original design was based on the Tumbler from The Dark Night Trilogy, it's second design was nearly the same as the U.S. one, but with more yellow and a red windshield. This truck was retired after 2013.

Gallery