One of the most interesting aspects of the first episode of Batwheels, aptly titled Secret Origin of the Batwheels, was how much the animated series played up the comedy factor.
It truly differentiated itself from so many Bat-properties, which come off a bit bleak at times. Despite having kiddie energy to it, the premiere made sure to stick to its main premise — high-octane action.
This made it more balanced — attractive not just for children and teens, but also for young adults and mature, longtime DC fans. In the process, Batwheels paid tribute to a couple properties engine-heads would love.
Make no mistake, this showed how badass the Dark Knight’s crew could be when it came to burning rubber on the road and improvising to catch villains on the mean streets of Gotham.
Batwheels Homaged 2 Fast 2 Furious’ Reverse Stunt
When the Bat-family chased Harley, Penguin and a bunch of other rogues through Gotham, Robin pulled off a stunt that paid tribute to Paul Walker’s Brian from 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Robin, in his Redbird sports car, ended up in between Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn’s vehicles after crashing through Freeze’s ice wall in the tunnel.
This version of Robin — Duke Thomas — flipped the Redbird around and drove in reverse through the tunnel, goading Harley into knocking Freeze out with her mallet.
This threw fans back to when Brian did the same move to impress Eva Mendes’ Monica on the highway, angering a jealous Roman (Tyrese Gibson).
Brian pulled if off with aplomb, building up Monica’s crush on him, despite her being an undercover fed. In Robin’s case, though, it wasn’t about style. Duke was all about being efficient,
getting Harley to take her partner out, before setting up the Redbird to rope Harley around a lamp post. It showed how genius the Boy Wonder was.
Batwheels Honored 2 Fast 2 Furious’ Bridge Jump
In 2 Fast 2 Furious, Tej (Ludacris) orchestrated a street race early on in Miami, lifting the bridge as part of the climax. This was the showpiece for the big bettors, which brought in the big bucks for Tej, as he tried to build his monopoly on street racing.
Only Brian and Suki were able to land the jump, though, barely making it to the finish line with their busted-up vehicles. Tej ended up gleaming over his empire of expert drivers, realizing he needed more antics like this to make more money.
Admittedly, this was the one of the first truly ridiculous sequences in the series, as the first film was more grounded in terms of stunts. Well, Batwheels nodded to this ridiculous behavior when Batgirl had to chase Penguin in his duck.
He shot an umbrella at the bridge control button, lifting it, thinking he was stranding Batgirl on the other side. However, Cassandra Cain was resourceful and made the jump with ease, coasting in the night sky just like Brian and Suki did.
Granted, Cass on a bike landed with more poise and grace to continue her hot pursuit, but it was still a tricky mission.
Batwheels Had a 2 Fast 2 Furious Ramp Jump
In 2 Fast 2 Furious’ finale, Brian and Roman got their act together and used a ramp by the docks. They sped off, flying through the air with their car as it crashed into the yacht being driven by Carter Verone.
It once more foreshadowed the daredevil nature the series would soon start to follow, making Brian feel more like Evil Knievel. Batwheels nodded to this when Robin turned his car into a ramp, gifting Batgirl a crowning moment of glory.
Batman then ramped up his gear and pushed Cass’ bike with his high-speed car, giving her epic velocity and momentum to speed up the ramp and launch herself through the air.
Cass’ bike landed on the pier afterward, giving her an easy opportunity to hook Penguin, whose duck turned into a boat and tried to speed off via the water.
It illustrated brilliant teamwork and gave Bruce’s charges confidence, which is ironic because this is the kind of finale that made Roman cocky in the Fast & Furious movies.
Ultimately, this victory would set up the Bat-family to be kidnaped, leaving the Batcomputer as the main brain behind the plan to rescue the heroes.
