For all of Batman’s gadgets and tech, there is none more exciting to fans than the Batmobile. And whether your favorite is sleek, strong, or an outright tank, fans everywhere finally know the origin story of the gigantic Absolute Batmobile… and the surprising villain Bruce actually stole it from.

The vehicle itself made a surprise debut in just the second issue of DC’s Absolute Batman, without readers or even Alfred Pennyworth aware that a Batmobile could be so large. But in the newly released Absolute Batman Annual, readers are taken back in time to see why Bruce Wayne needed a Bat-vehicle to begin with.

After defending residents of a homeless camp from a gang of violent locals in Slaughter Swamp, Bruce winds up beaten, and his own truck burned to ashes. But when Batman suits up to take revenge, he soon finds himself the owner of a new set of wheels.

Batman Finds His Ultimate Batmobile: An Abandoned Caterpillar

Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer

Absolute Batman Finds The Abandoned Batmobile in Comic Art — Absolute Batman Finds The Abandoned Batmobile in Annual Comic Art by Daniel Warren Johnson

The encampment in which the massive Caterpillar 797 is discovered is the real heart of the story. Revealed to be inhabited by people and families who relocated with the promise of work in a massive new construction project outside Slaughter Swamp. When the company changed plans, the employees were abandoned and forgotten. So too, it seems, was the construction equipment.

The symbolism is alive and well in the vehicle’s reveal, as Batman succeeds in defeating the mob attempting to harm and evict the residents of the camp. The draped, unseen vehicle concealed in the shadows of the contruction site bears more than a passing similarity to Batman himself, making the right course of action obvious.

The Origin of The New Batmobile Makes It A Powerful Symbol

The Absolute Vehicle is An Embodiment of Everything Bruce Fights Against

Absolute Batman Destroys A Building With Batmobile in Comic Art

Stepping behind the wheel of the abandoned and forgotten monster, Batman uses it to obliterate the stronghold, the armory, and the forces of the violent gang in one massive assault. And as Bruce drives the massive earth mover back to Gotham City, having seen the first of many battles as his soon-to-be Batmobile, their shared experience and anger are impossible to overlook.

Special credit is owed to writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson, for brilliantly weaving the same class battle, ignorance, abandonment, and violence being explored in the Absolute Batman series. True, Bruce finding a kindred spirit in a hulking, brutal vehicle may not a healthy twist. But you can’t argue this Batmobile is a stronger symbol than any which came before.

Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 is available now from DC Comics.