Batwheels is an American animated superhero children's television series that premiered on September 17, 2022, on HBO Max. It made its linear premiere on October 17, 2022 on Cartoon Network's preschool block Cartoonito.[2] A second season premiered on January 12, 2024.
Plot
The Bat-Family's vehicles are brought to life by the Batcomputer to form the "Batwheels", a team led by the Batmobile or "Bam", to fight crime in Gotham City.
Duke Thomas / Robin (voiced by A.J. Hudson) - A mystery-loving member of the Bat-Family who wants to prove himself in the eyes of Batman.[3]
Cassandra Cain / Batgirl (voiced by Leah Lewis) - A daredevil tech-savvy member of the Bat-Family, who serves as a "big sister" figure in the group.[3]
Badcomputer (voiced by SungWon Cho) - An A.I. computer software inside a scoreboard and temporarity in a television who wants to replace the Bat Computer as the most powerful computer on Earth.[6]
Crash (voiced by Tom Kenny) - Badcomputer's crash-dummy like robot minion.[6]
Prank (voiced by Griffin Burns) - Joker's funny and pranking van.[6]
Jestah (voiced by Alexandra Novelle) - Harley Quinn's fun-loving ATV.[6]
Ducky (voiced by Ariyan Kassam) - Penguin's mischief-causing duck on a boat with wheels vehicle.[6]
After Batman, Robin, and Batgirl foil a group villain robbery effort, the three heroes are taken away in a limousine. Unfortunately, this leaves them unavailable to deal with a break-in at the Batcave forcing M.O.E. and the Batcomputer to take drastic measures.
2
2
"Stop That Ducky"
Michael G. Stern
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
102
N/A
A disastrous attempt at stopping Ducky leads to the Batwheels nominating Bam as team leader, but his failed attempts to use Batman's leadership style make him realize that some things only work when done in a more personalized method.
3
3
"Buff's BFF"
Craig Fernandez
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
103
N/A
A mission to catch Mr. Freeze results in Buff befriending the villain's vehicle, Snowy, and the pair quickly hit it off. However, the other Batwheels are skeptical about the Zoomer's good side, and the Bat Truck has to teach his teammates that even criminals can be good at heart.
4
4
"Up in the Air"
Patrick Rieger
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
104
N/A
The Penguin hijacks every television channel to broadcast his own show, but a bad decision resulting in Wing crash-landing and Batman getting captured causes Bam to lose confidence in himself.
5
5
"Bibi's Do-Over"
Sarah Eisenberg & Becky Wangberg
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
105
N/A
After a slip-up during a mission to catch Toyman, Bibi becomes dead set on perfecting her jump, but she eventually learns that it doesn't matter if she looks bad as long as the mission at hand is accomplished.
6
6
"Sidekicked to the Curb"
Michael G. Stern
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
106
N/A
Disappointed in being left behind, Redbird tails Bam as he takes Batman and Robin to apprehend the Joker and Prank, with both learning that even great heroes need a partner at their side.
7
7
"Keep Calm and Roll On"
Michael G. Stern
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
107
N/A
Bibi's temper gets the better of her when Jestah and Harley mock her capabilities, causing her to lose control. With the help of the others, she learns that the best thing to do is to keep calm and take a deep breath under stress.
8
8
"Bam's Upgrade"
Michael G. Stern
October 17, 2022 (2022-10-17)
October 18, 2022
108
N/A
Fed up with being overshadowed by the others on mission outings, Bam has himself upgraded to convince Batman to take him out, but the upgrades prove to hamper their mission of catching Toyman.
9
9
"Redbird's Bogus Beach Day"
Sarah Eisenberg & Becky Wangberg
November 7, 2022 (2022-11-07)
November 8, 2022
109
N/A
A trip to the beach gets interrupted when the Joker sets out to turn off the lighthouse light and crash a ship, forcing Batman, Robin, Bam, and Redbird to take action.
10
10
"Cave Sweet Cave"
Craig Fernandez
November 7, 2022 (2022-11-07)
November 8, 2022
110
N/A
After a large Joker water balloon ends up flooding the Batcave, the Batwheels are forced to temporarily stay at a parking garage until it dries out, a situation which none of them are happy with.
11
11
"Scaredy-Bat"
Andrew Guastaferro
November 14, 2022 (2022-11-14)
November 8, 2022
111
N/A
Bam has to learn to take the high road after Prank continues goading him into reckless actions, before things take a turn for the worse.
12
12
"Riddle Me This"
Ryan Toyama
November 14, 2022 (2022-11-14)
November 8, 2022
112
N/A
With Quiz up to no good, the other Batwheels have to find him and stop his plan, but Redbird's inability to speak up for himself ends up putting the entire mission at risk.
Having had enough of losing to the Batwheels, the Legion of Zoom decides to try the one tactic that leaves the Batwheels victorious every time: teamwork.
Feeling left out that he can't rev his engine as loud as the others, Redbird asks for the removal of his stealth tech, but his new noisy engine ends up foiling Robin's efforts to catch Catwoman.
While the Batcomputer recharges, the other Batwheels find that operating the Batcave is much harder than she makes it look, which becomes problematic when they have to help Batman catch Harley Quinn.
When Bam brings M.O.E. out on his night patrol, the pair find themselves dealing with Poison Ivy's rampaging plants, and M.O.E. finds fieldwork to be far out of his league.
17
17
"Holidays on Ice"
Scott Gray
December 5, 2022 (2022-12-05)
December 6, 2022
117
N/A
Frustrated with the other Batwheels getting distracted by the holidays, Batwing decides to go solo to catch Mr. Freeze, but quickly comes to miss the companionship of the others.
Wanting to even out the teams for his newly invented ball game, Bam convinces M.O.E. to bring Catwoman's car to life. Unfortunately, the newcomer quickly becomes a handful.
A robbery with Harley Quinn as the main suspect comes under scrutiny when Bibi and Redbird find clues that don't correlate to her at all, and the pair set out to find the real culprit of the crime.
Self-conscious about his tendency to accidentally break everything, Buff begins taking measures to improve his gracefulness so he can help Batman stop the Riddler.
21
21
"A Tale of Two Bibis"
Craig Fernandez
May 1, 2023 (2023-05-01)
May 2, 2023
121
N/A
Bibi ends up in a tight spot due to her impulsive nature and has to think things through when Jestah disguises herself as her to infiltrate the Batcave.
The Gotham Grand Prix ends up having both the Batwheels and the Legion of Zoom as participants after the latter sabotage the original racers, but their cheating ways prove to be difficult obstacles to overcome.
23
23
"When You're a Jet"
Sarah Eisenberg & Becky Wangberg
July 3, 2023 (2023-07-03)
July 4, 2023
123
N/A
Green Arrow visits Gotham and Batwing, ecstatic to have another jet as a friend, brings it to life, but the new best friends have to face the reality that the newcomer has to return with Green Arrow to Star City.
24
24
"Ride Along"
Ryan Toyama
July 10, 2023 (2023-07-10)
July 11, 2023
TBA
N/A
After Kitty saves him, Bam has her join him on his night patrol to recruit her potentially, but the playful car is too easily distracted to pay any notice.
25
25
"Wheels Just Want to Have Fun"
Jennifer Heftler
July 17, 2023 (2023-07-17)
July 18, 2023
TBA
N/A
Bibi learns the hard way that rules are for safety after Jestah keeps tempting her to have fun by doing so.
26
26
"Tough Buff Blues"
Andrew Guastaferro
July 24, 2023 (2023-07-24)
July 25, 2023
TBA
N/A
After stalling the Riddler on his latest mission, Buff finds himself uncomfortable after the other Batwheels saddle him with the nickname "Tough Buff", leading him to sit out of the next mission.
27
27
"Wheel Side Story"
Andrew Guastaferro
July 31, 2023 (2023-07-31)
August 1, 2023
TBA
N/A
A hit from Ducky's latest device leaves all of the Batwheels only able to sing instead of speak, complicating their ways of communicating.
A nighttime trip to play fetch leads Ace, Bam, and Buff on a mission to stop Poison Ivy from building her own vehicle, but her antics force Buff to improvise after she steals much of his equipment.
Thinking herself to be more than capable of going solo, Wing leaves Buff behind when the two are partnered together to stop Jestah and Snowy, which proves to be a disastrous mistake.
Bam is forced to rely on A.D.A.M., Batman's first Batmobile, to help rescue the other Batwheels from the Legion of Zoom, and both Batmobiles learn that each of their methods have their own merits.
33
33
"The Dark Night"
Ryan Toyama
November 6, 2023 (2023-11-06)
September 16, 2023
133
N/A
A city-wide blackout caused by Poison Ivy forces Bam to face his fear of the dark, hampering his efforts in helping Batman.
34
34
"License to Joke"
Craig Fernandez
November 7, 2023 (2023-11-07)
September 16, 2023
134
N/A
On his first solo patrol, Redbird goes undercover to find the man behind several scooters becoming able to drive on their own, but has to learn that going solo doesn't always mean being alone all the time.
The Penguin captures Batman and holds him hostage underwater, and Wing is upgraded so that she can dive under and rescue him. However, her decision to not practice before using her upgrades ends up biting her in the back.
The Batwheels swap bodies with each other to prove that they can use each other's specialties, though they quickly find out that they can't, hampering their efforts to stop the Legion of Zoom.
In October 2020, it was announced that an animated preschool series centered around the Batmobile was in development at Warner Bros. Animation, set to premiere on Cartoon Network's then-upcoming preschool block Cartoonito and HBO Max.[2] According to Tom Ascheim, president of the now-defunct Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, the series was greenlit due to its concept being fit for the studio's focus on preschool projects.[2] Michael G. Stern serves as developer and co-executive producer, with Simon J. Smith as supervising producer, and Steven Fink and Caroline Karmel producing.[13][14] Stern was brought into the project early in development, as WB explored ideas for preschool-oriented DC shows, while Smith was brought after Stern wrote the first scripts for the series.[15] In December 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, with Stern and Smith being promoted to executive producers.[16]
Writing
While writing the series, Stern wanted to avoid "kiddifying" the characters, as he felt children should be introduced to the characters through faithful portrayals and was also requested to respect the characters.[15] For Batman, he wrote the character to stay faithful to most interpretations, with only his violence being toned down.[15] He also wrote the villains with "a lane" that stayed faithful to their classical portrayals while still fitting the target audience, such as portraying Harley Quinn as a fun-loving prankster.[15]
When creating the Batwheels, the writers wanted them to be perceived as "lovable" and "fun" characters for the audience, in order to avoid the children only watching the show for Batman. In order to accomplish this, they tested the personalities for each character with a test group, who received the characters positively.[15] The writers also wanted to avoid portraying the Legion of Zoom as mere copies of their owners, to which they gave each vehicle their own characteristics, such as portraying Prank, the Joker's van, as "a surfer dude".[15]
Music
The series' score was composed by Alex Geringas, while the theme song was performed and produced by Andy Sturmer,[14] who previously composed the themes for the series The Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Sturmer also co-wrote the theme alongside Stern.[14]
