Top Iconic Superhero Rides of All Time

By Auto Parts Warehouse on March 17, 2015

With the advent of superhero movies like The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers and even Guardians of the Galaxy, more and more true believers are introduced to these modern day titans whose stories and exploits have evolved throughout popular culture.

As comics evolve, their characters and stories have now been more fleshed out and given a continuum. Gone are the days where Superman would gain a new superpower that was convenient for the task at hand or Batman suddenly getting the exact gadget he needs to counter the Joker or the Penguin’s nefarious plot. These says, the lore behind superheroes come with a tinge of reality.

Some of these gadgets obviously involve vehicles, because not everyone can fly or run faster than a speeding bullet, and even then, even flyers and speedsters wouldn’t mind driving a car or vehicle of their own because quite frankly, who doesn’t like having their own toys?

With this in mind, we decided to gather the APW geek elite to discuss the top vehicles owned by superheroes. After debating heavily (a full 15 minutes) we’ve narrowed down our list to 8. Some rules were made of course: no toys, no flying and they must be driven: so no Fantasticar, Silver Surfer surfboards or a Lanter corp construct. Now that’s settled, here are APW’s Top Iconic Superhero Rides of All Time:

8. The Punisher’s Battle Van

Source: Marvel Database

Frank Castle is a Vietnam war veteran whose family got killed by the mob, which made him declare an all out war against crime. His super power is guns–lots of guns. So it comes as no surprise that a straight shooter no-nonsense guy like Frank would decide to get a stake out van as his vehicle of choice. Not that great, but not bad either.

7. Spider-Man’s Spider Mobile

Source: Marvel Comics Database

Now, we know what you’re thinking. “APW, how can you actually pick a modified dune buggy over a high tech battle van filled with enough military grade equipment to start World War III?” Answer is simple: Spider-man > Punisher and the story behind the vehicle hits us on a more human level. Unlike most superheroes, Spider-man AKA Peter Parker is the Everyman with a 9 to 5 job just doing the right thing, so him to get a ridiculous looking vehicle out of financial need makes him more relatable than most comic book heroes. To illustrate further:

Source: 8bit Nerds

6. Ghost Rider’s Hell Cycle

Source: Marvel Comics Database

Ghost Rider the Spirit of Vengeance is a flaming skeleton riding a flaming bike. While the whole origin story is a bit confusing, who really cares? It’s a dude with a flaming skull for a head, riding a flaming bike. What more do you need? Nicolas Cage freaking out?

5. Captain Nemo’s Otto Mobile

As if having the Nautilus wasn’t enough, Captain Nemo of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has this baby taking him around us landlubbers. It’s classy, ornate and quite frankly pretty fitting for a guy who, despite having no powers like his fellow Leaugers, kicks all kind of behind in the movie and graphic novel.

4A – 4B. Batmobile (Tumbler) and Batpod

Source: Batman Wiki

Could we really do this list without the Batmobile? The Nolanverse Batman’s vehicle of choice did make the most realistic sense as far as fighting crime in a Bat costume goes. But it does get minus points over the other iterations of the Batmobile simply because it doesn’t feel…. as iconic. Perhaps it’s the lack of anything bat-related in its design, its hardly a car and it lacks the Batlogo. It also doesn’t help that the other vehicle – The Batpod was just so much cooler

3. Batmobile (Tim Burton movies)

Source: Batman Wiki

Perhaps the 2nd most iconic Batmobile ever. The wings and the shape make it more recognizable and not just because it was the Caped Crusader’s big screen debut. Spanning 2 movies under Tim Burton, this Chevy Impala-based vehicle pulls of the Dark Knight look better than the Tumbler on in our humble opinion. Also, there’s this:

2. TV Series Batmobile

Source: The History Blog

Well, if you know anything about cars, nothing beats the original. Sure future iterations may have better everything, but on a pure iconic standpoint, nothing beats the original. That said, Nananananana Batman is now stuck in your head. BWAHAHAHA!

1. The Green Hornet’s Black Beauty

Source: Gregg Jerdingen via Flickr </>

What? A Batmobile isn’t number one? Blasphemy!

Now, this is a controversial pick, but hear us out. While Batman is simply cooler than the Hornet, you can’t deny the the Black Beauty does look like something you can actually own without looking a bit on the ridiculous side. Without the super hero connection, it’s quite a decent looking car that any car guy would love to have in their garage. Besides, it was driven by no other than the Dragon himself Bruce Lee as Kato (you know, the dude that actually did everything for the Green Hornet). Besides, what kind of name is Batmobile anyway?

Source: X-Man’s Comic Blog

Jeez, you need to chill Bats.

Do you agree or disagree with our rankings? Think we missed one? a few? Let us know in the comments below!

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