Straight outta the Batcave, here comes Ethan Hawke as Gotham City’s latest Caped Crusader in the new animated series Batwheels. Yahoo Entertainment has your exclusive first look at Hawke’s Batman and his sleek Bat-ride in an action-packed clip from the half-hour special Secret Origin of the Batwheels, which premieres Sept. 17 — aka Batman Day — on Cartoonito on HBO Max. (Watch the scene above.)
Secret Origin is the prelude to the ongoing Batwheels series that launches this fall on Cartoonito on Cartoon Network and Cartoonito on HBO Max. Aimed at car-crazy preschoolers, the show follows the adventures of the Bat family’s various vehicles — including the Batmobile (voiced by Jacob Bertrand), Robin’s Redbird (Jordan Reed) and Batgirl’s Bibi (Madigan Kacmar) — after they become sentient crimefighters themselves.
The circumstances surrounding their evolution are revealed in Secret Origin, which finds Batman, Robin and Batgirl being captured by Gotham’s notorious rogues. With the human heroes out of commission, that Batcomputer brings their vehicles to life and they roar off to save the day. But wait! They also have to contend with the Legion of Zoom, a line of villain-centric cars ranging from Harley Quinn’s Jetstah to the Joker’s Prank.
Speaking of the Joker (Mick Wingert), he’s front and center in this Secret Origin clip, as Batman pilots the Batmobile through the streets of Gotham in pursuit of the Clown Prince of Crime. And it turns out that Batman isn’t the only one with wonderful toys — the Joker reveals his ride’s various tricks, including oversized Jack in the Boxes that literally knock the Batmobile into the sky. “Pop goes the weasel,” boasts the grinning villain.
Naturally, Hawke’s Batman keeps his cool. “You’ll have to do better than that,” says the Moon Knight star, who equips a parachute to bring his car back down to Earth and then unleashes his own counter-attack: a Batarang cannon that takes out one of the Joker’s devices. “You never could take a joke,” Batman says as he speeds off to his next destination. Looks like the Joker just learned firsthand why reality bites.
Secret Origin of the Batwheels premieres Sept. 17 on Cartoonito on HBO Max. Batwheels premieres later this fall on Cartoonito on Cartoon Network and Cartoonito on HBO Max.
