Batman

Background Information
Owner(s)	FELD Motorsports
Driver(s)	Jason Childress (2006) Dan Evans (2006 European Tour) John Seasock (2007-2010; 2013-2014) Norman Miller (2011-2013) Fill-in drivers Marc McDonald (MotB 2006) Charlie Pauken (Sylva 2006) Frank Krmel (West Lebanon 2006, Fishersville 2011) Bobby Parr (Saluda 2008) Alex Blackwell (San Jose, Englishtown 2011) Carl Van Horn (North East 2011, WF XIV freestyle) Mike Christensen (Nampa 2012) Tim Missentzis (Saginaw 2012) Bari Musawwir (Minneapolis 2012, show 2) Chad Tingler (Bismarck 2013) Jon Zimmer (June 2013)
Debut	January 6th, 2006
Retirement	June 7th, 2014
Truck Overview
Body Style(s)	Custom 3D batmobile concept
Chassis	PEI gen. I (2006-2008) PEI gen. II Chassis 1 (2009-2011) Chassis 2 (2012-2014)
Engine	540ci merlin
Transmission	Coan 2-speed
Tires	66" Goodyear 66" S.I.R./China 66" Dneproshina
Miscellaneous
Theme Song(s)	"Power Struggle" by Sunna (Monster Jam 2007-2011) "Batman Theme" by Arctic Records (Monster Jam 2012) "Molossus" by James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer (Monster Jam 2013-2014) " Psychosocial" by Slipknot (Monster Jam 2009) "Antisaint" by Chevelle (Monster Jam 2009)
Sponsor(s)	DC Comics

Batman was a custom "Batmobile" monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and licensed by DC Comics, based on the comic book character of the same name and designed after his titular vehicle, the Batmobile. Introduced in 2006, the truck had many drivers over the years, including John Seasock, Jason Childress, and Norman Miller. Batman became a fan favorite for its design and was a staple in Monster Jam events for eight years, retiring by the end of the 2014 season. The truck also competed in seven World Finals events, winning two back-to-back racing championships under Seasock.

History

2004

The first incarnation of a Batman themed monster truck was originally released in diecast form by Mattel named simply "Batmobile". The toy's custom body was originally designed by Fraser Campbell, a British Hot Wheels designer. Because it was initially released as a toy, creative liberties were taken with many of its details, such as a red windshield, wheels with the Batman symbol on them, a turbine in the hood, giant wings and a sleeker body. Most of these details were removed (or, regarding the wings and body, reproportioned) on the real-life truck, and subsequent Hot Wheels releases would follow suit by replacing them with more accurate ones (such as the turbine being replaced with a yellow bat logo).

2005

On January 10th, Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced their partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment (Monster Jam's owners at the time) and their intention to create monster trucks based on DC Comics superheroes Batman and Superman, as well as the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes. The Superman truck had already debuted just two days before, while Batman and Taz were planned to debut later in the year; however, issues with the Batman truck's custom body style, based on a Hot Wheels toy from 2004, resulted in it being delayed for the entire year.

2006

On January 6th, Batman made its competition debut in Charlotte, driven by Jason Childress. At the time of its debut, Batman's wings had a small silver line in the middle however, this line would extend to cover the entire length of the wing by March of that year.

The truck would have a strong season in its debut year, as Childress would win racing in Phoenix, breaking Linsey Weenk's immense winning streak in the process.

After the truck's first World Finals appearance that year, Childress would retire from competition, leaving Batman without a full-time driver for the remainder of the year. As a result, several drivers would take his place at off-season events, including Marc McDonald at Monsters on the Beach, Charlie Pauken at Monsters on Mainstreet (where he'd win freestyle), Frank Krmel in West Lebanon, and Dan Evans during the European Tour.

2007

Batman would receive a new full-time driver, former T-Maxx driver John Seasock, as well as working flamethrowers in the rear. Batman would have another strong season, with Seasock winning racing in Atlanta.

At World Finals VIII, Seasock won his first world racing championship, defeating reigning champion Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger for the title.

2008

At the subsequent World Finals in 2008, Seasock would win racing again over Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter, becoming the second driver in Monster Jam history (after Tom Meents) to successfully defend their world championship for multiple years.

In June, Bobby Parr drives the truck in Saluda, Virginia.

2009

Batman would receive a new chassis, while the previous one is converted into Grave Digger 22.

In January, the truck picked up televised racing victories in Detroit and at the first Monster Jam event at Lucas Oil Stadium, with the latter event being won under unusual circumstances. A new rule had been added that year, however, stating that the final race of every show would not have 3 hits on the cars as usual, but instead have 5 hits. Tom Meents ended up finishing the first 4 hits before John Seasock, however, he had forgotten the added lap and began celebrating by doing donuts and jumping obstacles. John took the opportunity, and finished the 5th hit on the cars and ended up winning racing. Tom only found out after the race had concluded that he had actually lost the race.

2010

At World Finals XI, Seasock received a score of 4 points in freestyle after breaking early.

2011

Seasock would leave the Batman team in favor of Advance Auto Parts Grinder, resulting in Norm Miller to take his place.

In July, Carl Van Horn drove the truck in North East, Pennsylvania, while Frank Krmel drove the truck again in Fisherville, Pennsylvania.

2012

In March, Tim Missentzis drove the truck in Saginaw, Michigan and Mike Christensen drove the truck in Nampa, Idaho for the third show. Meanwhile, the truck would not receive an invite to compete at World Finals XIII.

In December, Bari Musawwir drove the truck for one show in Minneapolis on a new, silver chassis. This would also be the last appearance of the original Batman body.

2013

Miller remained as the truck's driver, as the truck received an updated body style, slimming down the hood, while removing the wings and afterburners and changing the logo.

In March, the truck was invited to compete at World Finals XIV. After the racing competition, Miller felt ill and was unable to compete in freestyle, so Carl Van Horn took his place, only to rank dead last with a score of 6.

In April, Chad Tingler drove the truck in Bismarck, North Dakota.

In June, Jon Zimmer drove the truck in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bangor, Maine, and for an encore in East Rutherford alongside Morgan Kane in Superman.

In July, John Seasock returned to driving the truck after his tenure in Grinder, which retired that December.

2014

Miller left the truck to begin driving the recently introduced New Earth Authority Police truck, leading to Seasock returning as Batman's primary driver. This was Batman's final year of competition, as the DC license expired by the end of the year.

On June 7th, the truck competed at its final event in Warsaw, Poland as part of that year's European tour. For the rest of the tour, Seasock would ironically run his chassis as Spider-Man, which is owned by DC Comics' rival Marvel Comics.

2020

Despite the truck having been retired, Spin Master released their own version of Batman, with a more tank-like design.

Events competed

2006
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 6-7th	Charlotte, NC	Jason Childress	Debut show Won Racing, Show 1
January 14-15th	Denver, CO
January 21st	Tampa, FL
January 28th	Phoenix, AZ		Won Racing
February 3-4th	Charleston, WV		Won Racing, Show 1
February 10-12th	Uniondale, NY
February 17-18th	Fresno, CA		Won Freestyle, Shows 1 and 2
February 24-26th	Calgary, AB		Won: Racing, Show 3 Freestyle, Show 2
March 3-5th	Winnipeg, MB
March 10-12th	Beaumont, TX		Won: Racing, Shows 1 and 2 Freestyle, all 3 shows
March 25th	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals VII)
May 12-13th	Virginia Beach, VA (Monsters on the Beach)	Marc McDonald
July 1st	Sylva, NC (Monsters on Mainstreet)	Charlie Pauken	Won Freestyle
July 10-12th	West Lebanon, NY	Frank Krmel
September 8-10th	Oberhausen, Germany	Dan Evans	Won Wheelies, Show 2
September 22-24th	Zurich, Switzerland		Won Freestyle, Show 3
September 30-October 1st	Arnhem, Netherlands
October 6-8th	Antwerp, Belgium
October 13-15th	Paris, France
October 28-29th	Lisbon, Portugal		Won: Wheelies, Show 1 Racing, Show 2
November 10-12th	Stockholm, Sweden		Won Racing, Show 3

2007
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 6th	Houston, TX	John Seasock
January 13th	Atlanta, GA		Won Racing
January 20-21st	Toronto, ON
January 27th	Indianapolis, IN
February 2-3rd	Fargo, ND		Won Wheelies, Show 1
February 9-11th	Uniondale, NY		Won Wheelies, Shows 2 and 3
February 16-18th	Rosemont, IL
February 24th	Jacksonville, FL
March 3rd	El Paso, TX
March 24th	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals VIII)		Won Racing Championship
June 9th	Gothenburg, Sweden
September 29-30th	Arnhem, Netherlands
October 6-7th	Antwerp, Belgium
October 27th	Cardiff, Wales
November 9-11th	Stockholm, Sweden
November 16-18th	Helsinki, Finland		Won Wheelies, Show 1

2008
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 5th	Houston, TX	John Seasock
January 12th	Anaheim, CA
January 18-20th	Tacoma, WA
January 26th	Phoenix, AZ
February 2nd	Houston, TX
February 16th	St. Louis, MO
February 22-23rd	Oklahoma City, OK
March 1st	El Paso, TX
March 7-9th	Reno, NV		Won Wheelies, Show 3
March 28-29th	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals IX)		Won Racing Championship
May 2-4th	San Jose, Costa Rica		Won Racing, Show 1
May 18th	Lima, OH
May 31st	Syracuse, NY
June 6-7th	Saluda, VA	Bobby Parr	Won Racing, Show 2
July 11-13th	Bloomsburg, IN	John Seasock
July 14-16th	West Lebanon, NY
July 26th	Houston, TX (Monsters on Mainstreet)
August 15-16th	Sunrise, FL		Won: Racing, Show 3 Donuts, Show 1 Freestyle, Show 3
September 5-6th	Corpus Christi, TX
September 26-28th	Wildwood, NJ (Thunder on the Beach)
October 24-25th	Louisville, KY
November 21-22nd	Hamilton, ON
December 6th	Minneapolis, MN

2009
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 3-4th	Cincinnati, OH	John Seasock	Won Racing, Show 1
January 10-11th	San Antonio, TX
January 17th	Detroit, MI		Won Racing
January 24th	Indianapolis, IN
January 31st	Vancouver, BC
February 6-8th	Edmonton, AB		Won: Racing, Shows 1 and 2 Freestyle, Show 1
February 13-15th	Calgary, AB		Won: Wheelies, Show 1 Freestyle, Shows 1 and 3
February 20-22nd	Spokane, WA
February 28th	Oakland, CA		Won Racing
March 6-7th	El Paso, TX
March 27-28th	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals X)
May 30th	Chorzów, Poland
June 6th	Cardiff, Wales
June 13th	Gothenburg, Sweden		Won Racing
September 26-27th	Arnhem, Netherlands
October 24th	Barcelona, Spain
October 30-November 1st	Helsinki, Finland
November 14-15th	Stockholm, Sweden

2010
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 9th	Atlanta, GA	John Seasock
January 15-17th	Tacoma, WA		Won Racing, Show 4
Januuary 22-24th	Sacramento, CA
January 30th	Phoenix, AZ
February 6-7th	Hartford, CT		Won Racing, Show 3
February 13-14th	Cleveland, OH
February 19-20th	Chattanooga, TN		Won: Wheelies, Shows 1 and 3 Racing, Show 2
February 27th	Arlington, TX
March 6-7th	El Paso, TX
March 27th	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XI)

2011
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 7-8th	Evansville, IN	Norman Miller
January 15th	Anaheim, CA
January 22nd	San Diego, CA
January 29th	Phoenix, AZ
February 4-5th	Tallahassee, FL
February 11-13th	Rosemont, IL
February 18-19th	Memphis, TN
February 25-27th	Chattanooga, TN
March 26th	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XII)
May 13-15th	San Jose, Costa Rica	Alex Blackwell
July 8-9th	North East, PA	Carl Van Horn	Won: Wheelies, Show 1 Racing, both shows Freestyle, both shows
July 21st	Englishtown, NJ (Motorsports Spectacular)	Alex Blackwell
July 29-30th	Fishersville, VA	Frank Krmel

2012
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 6-7th	Columbus, OH	Norman Miller	Won Wheelies, Show 3
January 14th	Atlanta, GA
January 20-21st	Albany, NY
January 27-29th	Washington, DC		Won Racing, Shows 1 and 2
February 3-4th	Rockford, IL		Won: Wheelies, Show 1 Racing, Shows 1 and 2
February 11-12th	Denver, CO
February 17-18th	Tallahassee, FL		Won: Wheelies, Show 1 Racing, Show 1
February 24th-26th	Wheeling, WV		Won: Wheelies, Show 4 Racing, Shows 1, 3 and 4 Freestyle, Show 4
March 2-3rd	Saginaw, MI	Tim Missentzis
March 9-11th	Tucson, AZ	Norman Miller	Won: Racing, Show 4 Donuts, Show 2
March 16-17th	Nampa, ID	Norm Miller (shows 1 and 2) Mike Christensen (show 3)
December 1st	Minneapolis, MN	Bari Musawwir

2013
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 4-5th	Birmingham, AL	Norman Miller
January 11-12th	Knoxville, TN		Won Freestyle, Show 1
January 19-20th	Toronto, ON
January 26th	Phoenix, AZ
February 2nd	Houston, TX
February 9th	Anaheim, CA
February 15-17th	Spokane, WA
February 23-24th	Winnipeg, MB
March 2nd	Detroit, MI
March 9th	Syracuse, NY
March 23rd	Las Vegas, NV (World Finals XIV)		Racing only
		Carl Van Horn	Freestyle fill-in
April 26-27th	Bismarck, MD	Chad Tingler
June 1-2nd	Halifax, NS	Jon Zimmer	Won Wheelies, Show 2
June 7-9th	Bangor, ME		Won: Wheelies, Show 1 Racing, Shows 3 and 4 Freestyle, Show 3
June 15th	East Rutherford, NJ		Encore only
July 26-27th	Mobile, AL	John Seasock	Won Racing, Show 2
September 20-22nd	Monterrey, Mexico
September 28-29th	Mexico City, Mexico
December 7th	Minneapolis, MN

2014
Date	Event	Driver	Notes
January 3-4th	Trenton, NJ	John Seasock	Won: Wheelies, Shows 1 and 2 Racing, Shows 1 and 2
January 10-11th	Wichita, KS		Won: Wheelies, Shows 1 and 2 Racing, Shows 1 and 3 Freestyle, Shows 2 and 3
January 17-19th	Sacramento, CA		Won Racing, Shows 1 and 2
January 25th	Anaheim, CA
February 1st	Houston, TX
February 7-9th	Kansas City, MO		Won Racing, Shows 1 and 2
February 14-16th	Worcester, MA		Won Wheelies, Show 4
June 7th	Warsaw, Poland		Final show

World Finals appearances

Year	Driver	Results
2006	Jason Childress	Qualifying: 14th (18.07)	Racing: defeated in Round 1 by Monster Mutt	Freestyle: 11th (21)
2007	John Seasock	Qualifying: 8th (16.59)	Racing: defeated Grave Digger in the finals	Freestyle: 21st (8)
2008		Qualifying: 3rd (16.62)	Racing: defeated Bounty Hunter in the finals	Freestyle: 18th (16)
2009		Qualifying: 18th (17.65)	Racing: defeated in Round 1 by El Toro Loco	Freestyle: 12th (21)
2010		Qualifying: 10th (16.63)	Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Air Force Afterburner	Freestyle: 21st (4)
2011	Norman Miller	Qualifying: 16th (16.94)	Racing: defeated in Round 2 by Grave Digger	Freestyle: 16th (18)
2013	Norman Miller (Racing)	Qualifying: 19th (17.446)	Racing: defeated in Round 1 by Metal Mulisha	Freestyle: 27th (6)
	Carl Van Horn (Freestyle)

Trivia

• Though it shares some similarities with the Batmobile featured in the Tim Burton Batman films, the truck's design is a wholly original take on the vehicle and isn't specifically based on any version of it.
• The twin afterburners on Batman's body were equipped with flamethrowers, a unique feature that was built into the chassis and triggered by the driver. Initially, the afterburners were solid gray props without any additional function; the flamethrowers were added by March of 2007.
• The truck had its own separate introduction in the 2006 and 2007 European Tours.
• Batman's 2013-14 theme song, "Molossus" by James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer, comes from the score of the 2005 film Batman Begins.
• John Seasock is one of only three drivers who have won the World Finals racing championship in two consecutive years, the others being Tom Meents (2000/2001 and 2001/2002) and Adam Anderson (2013 and 2014).
• In 2007, an Australian Batman truck, owned by KC's Fireworks, made its debut. While it was initially based on the Tumbler from The Dark Night Trilogy, it would be redesigned in 2008 to look much closer to its U.S. counterpart. This truck was scrapped in 2012, and its body was repurposed as Wicked.
• Batman is one of 6 known trucks to not have the name itself on the body, but did have the classic Batman symbol.
• According to John Seasock, the cost of the Batman body was $18,000.

Gallery

Early concept art, circa 2003.

Preliminary concept layout, 2003.

Original Hot Wheels concept art, 2003; Campbell's signature is in the bottom left corner.

Full concept art, 2003.

Render art on packaging of 2004 Hot Wheels release.

Concept render in the 2005 yearbook.

Batman making its debut in Charlotte, January 2006.

Batman in Phoenix, January 2006.

Original body without wings in Wilkes Barre, February 2006.

With blank afterburners.

Batman at World Finals XII, March 2006; note the silver lines on the wings, as well as the fire pattern in the afterburners.

Batman at Monsters on the Beach in Virginia, May 2006.

Batman in the Indianapolis pit party, January 2007.

With its new driver John Seasock.

Batman winning racing over Grave Digger at World Finals VIII, March 2007.

Batman in the Cardiff pit party, October 2007.

During competition in Cardiff, October 2007.

Batman shooting flames in Tacoma, January 2008.

Batman shooting flames during a donut in El Paso, circa 2008

Batman winning racing over Bounty Hunter at World Finals IX, March 2008.

Batman in the 4-Wheel Jamboree in Lima, May 2008.

Batman at Monsters on Mainstreet in Houston, July 2008.

Competing in Vancouver, with the World Finals X flag circa 2009.

Batman's new chassis at World Finals X, March 2009.

Crashing during freestyle at World Finals X.

Batman in Helsinki, November 2009.

Batman in Atlanta, January 2010.

At World Finals XI

Batman at World Finals XII, March 2011.

Batman's new chassis (with the old body) in Minneapolis, December 2012.

Ditto.

Batman's updated body in 2013.

Circa 2013.

Ditto, in the World Finals XIV pit party.

Batman in Trenton, January 2014.

Monster Jam - Batman freestyle crash

Batman at its last show in Warsaw, June 2014.

Spider-Man running on the Batman chassis post-retirement, circa late 2014.

Merchandise

Tyco R/C

2004 Hot Wheels toy prototype

Speed Demon Hot Wheels toy

Plush truck

Original Hot Wheels toy from 2004

Alternate version of the 2004 release, with regular wheels

2008 Hot Wheels toy

2014 Hot Wheels toy, with 2013 deco on the 2005 casting

Ditto, with a figure

2010 1:24 Hot Wheels toy

2015 Hot Wheels toy, on updated casting

2014 1:24 Hot Wheels toy, with 2013 deco on the 2010 casting

2016 1:24 Hot Wheels toy, on updated casting

1989 movie Batmobile from the 2010 scellaneous Hot Wheels Monster Duo 2-Pack

1:64 "Track Ace" render

1:64 render

1:24 render

2016 release

2020 Spin Master toy

Spin Master 1:24 toy, 2021

Miscellaneous

2006-12 logo.

2013-14 logo.

Promotional logo, used on the truck's chassis and mostly appeared in promotional art and yearbooks up to 2013.

1989 Batmobile which the truck's design was based off of.

Batman on travel tires, July 2008

Front view of Batman, March 2008

Ditto, with visible support beams for the wings

Close-up of the logo on Batman's hood, March 2009

Rear view of Batman in July 2008, with the flamethrowers exposed

Ditto, in January 2007; the flamethrowers haven't been added yet

Front view of the updated Batman, March 2013

Close-up of the logo on the updated Batman's hood, March 2013

Rear view of Batman in Phoenix, January 2013; the afterburners have been replaced with a black bat symbol

Ditto, with a silver bat symbol in Trenton 2014

Australian Batman truck in 2011, with a similar design to the U.S. version