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In a Batman Halloween story, a surprising Gotham City villain unleashes a turbo-charged new vehicle that’s even faster than the Batmobile.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers from “Backseat Killer” in Are You Afraid of Darkseid? #1, available now from DC.
Batman’s rogues have found it difficult to match the Dark Knight, it is rare for one of his many opponents to match him in both physical and intellectual prowess. But sometimes, a few villains are smart enough to realize that his arsenal of gadgetry gives him an unfair advantage over them. And while some may never truly have the resources to match him entirely, a few have come to realize that having a getaway vehicle can make all the difference between waking up tomorrow free or going to sleep behind an Arkham cell door.
And now, the Mad Hatter has joined that prestigious club of villains with their own vehicles in a story by Calvin Kasulke, Rob Guillory, Luis Guerrero and Simon Bowland.
During one of their many games of cat and mouse, the Mad Hatter decided to elude Batman by racing a penny-farthing bicycle, an appropriate vehicle for someone whose entire theme is based off of Alice in Wonderland. But Batman underestimated the full capabilities of this bike. He believed that Hatter, in a moment of complete insanity, had actually assumed a bicycle could outpace the Batmobile. So imagine his surprise when the bicycle protruded rocket boosters that propelled the Hatter further away from Batman.
Amazingly, the bike provided Hatter with the escape opportunity he craved, and one that almost gave him the opportunity to be rid of Batman forever. A bike is more flexible on the road than a car and the two were racing down a dimly-lit road alongside a cliff. Hatter could make the sharp turns because he had more room to maneuver whereas Batman had to slow down if he didn’t want to go careening off the side of the road. This gave Hatter an opportunity to escape, but he saw a golden opportunity to get rid of Batman once and for all.
Knowing that Batman would sweep the roads for him, Hatter tossed the bike aside, knowing Batman would step out of the car for a moment to investigate. It was the perfect chance to slip into the Batmobile while Batman was looking around, never suspecting that Hatter had chosen to hide inside his own car. And if it hadn’t been for the timely intervention of a ghost truck (yes, a ghost truck) Batman might not have caught Hatter at all and could possibly have been killed.
It may have seemed silly, but it set Batman up to completely underestimate the Hatter and what he was capable of. And it also continues a longstanding tradition of Gotham City villains making their own vehicles to compete with or outrun the Batmobile.
The most well-known example of this is the Joker with his Jokermobile. How could the Clown Prince of Crime resist having his own flashy car to rival Batman’s. Even Mr. Freeze has gotten in on the action, utilizing ice cream trucks to hide his own plots against the city. Each villain who has done this usually has their own reason for doing so. To stand out, to hide in plain sight, and in Hatter’s case to get away from Batman.
Ultimately, Hatter probably could have gotten away if his murderous tendencies hadn’t kicked in at that exact moment. The bike he rode, while less flashy or imposing than any of the other vehicles mentioned, provides him with unique avenues for escape in comparison to the rest. It’s ideal solely for making a quick getaway, not fighting back. If Hatter hadn’t gotten so cocky he might have been home free on one of the silliest, but undoubtedly most effective villainous vehicles in the DCU.
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