Caped Crusader Rents Out Bat Mobile For Parties And Charity

OAK LAWN, IL — Oak Lawn residents don’t need to take the Warner Brothers Studio Tour to see the Batmobile. It is readily available for rent from resident Tom Repetny, owner of the replica automobile from Tim Burton’s 1998 film starring Michael Keaton. After purchasing the tricked-out vehicle from a Chicago Sun-Times ad 21 years ago, it changed hands in the mid-2000s before Repetny saw it again in 2011 on the History Channel series Pawn Stars and got the car back from its new owner.

The Batmobile can be rented out for parties, weddings and charity events. Though the Batmobile makes frequent appearances at local schools, businesses and festivals in Oak Lawn, it also travels around the state to meet renter needs. In the past year, the vehicle has travelled to a wedding in Rockford and Superhero Night at the United Center for the Chicago Bulls game. But the superhero heart of the Batman franchise is truly on display when Repetny uses the vehicle to raise money for worthy causes.

“A few years ago my 13-year-old daughter Emma got cancer,” Repetny said. “We did a charity event with the Batmobile [in my driveway] and raised over five thousand dollars for Make-A-Wish.”

Emma is 16 and doing great, earning high honors at Oak Lawn High School. The Batmobile also made an appearance at Oak Lawn’s Keyser Family Pediatric Cancer Center, which Repetny credits with saving his daughter’s life.

Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the First United Methodist Church of Oak Lawn car show on July 25, the Batmobile generates wide-ranging interest. “It’s awesome to see people of all ages get excited to see the Batmobile in person,” Repetny said. “When I drive it around town people shout and scream in excitement.”

Like Emma’s fundraiser, the character of Batman and all-things associated with the superhero has continually raised money for the cancer community. San Francisco’s resident cancer survivor Miles Scott, aka “BatKid,” created one of the largest and most elaborate Make-A-Wish projects in the company’s history in 2013. Thousands of volunteers, city officials and supporters lined the streets to give crime-fighting Scott the key to the city.

As remakes, revivals and retellings of this story are brought to the big screen, the love for this comic book hero continues to bring joy to residents far from Hollywood. “It’s interesting to see how people respond to the Batmobile when we tow it on the street,” Repetny said of the five-ton car, which is available to rent via Facebook or by calling 708-508-7993.