The Batsuit Thread

[The Batman]

That whole "The Blue was supposed to be Black" is a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue, IMO.

Batman is recognized as wearing blue on his suit. Whether that happened by accident or not does not change the fact that Batman has worn blue instead of black during his 70+ history. Hell, he's probably worn blue MORE than he's worn black, so stop whining about it.

[Boom]

Blue blends in better at night than black.

[Mr.?]

I love the black it's just Ide rather see blue just for a change of pace and I think it could work well.

[The Batman]

Originally Posted by Boom

Blue blends in better at night than black.

There you go.

If they use black again, great, but if they use blue and pull it off, no one should be pulling their hair out, cause blue is comic accurate

[Batman, Inc.]

Originally Posted by The Batman

That whole "The Blue was supposed to be Black" is a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue, IMO.

Batman is recognized as wearing blue on his suit. Whether that happened by accident or not does not change the fact that Batman has worn blue instead of black during his 70+ history. Hell, he's probably worn blue MORE than he's worn black, so stop whining about it.

This post makes me wish these forums had a 'Like' button.

[Ultraman Nexus]

Originally Posted by Batman, Inc.

You could use a very dark midnight blue which, as others have pointed out, is actually better nighttime camoflauge than solid black. And then, as you suggested, use certain kinds of lighting in different scenes in order to make it appear more of a deep blue at times(and closer to black at other times).

Exactly!

[Batman, Inc.]

Originally Posted by Ultraman Nexus

Exactly!

[Young Superman]

Originally Posted by The Batman

That whole "The Blue was supposed to be Black" is a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue, IMO.

Batman is recognized as wearing blue on his suit. Whether that happened by accident or not does not change the fact that Batman has worn blue instead of black during his 70+ history. Hell, he's probably worn blue MORE than he's worn black, so stop whining about it.

Well said.

[The Boy Scout]

I'm down for blue if they can make it work. But I prefer black.

[Young Superman]

I like both the black/grey and blue/grey Batsuits.

[dushan]

here is black version , Yeah I realy think this cowl design should be used in the next live action batman

[regwec]

It looks much too feline to me. I would prefer to see a slimmer face and longer ears. BB/TDK/R decided to emphasise the militaristic aspects of the Batsuit; I would like to see the next movie focus on Batman's daemonic silhouette.

[Two-Face]

Meh for me, I don't like short ears.

[The Boy Scout]

I like it, but yeah, the ears should be longer.

[BatScot]

Originally Posted by The Batman

That whole "The Blue was supposed to be Black" is a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue, IMO.

"A weak attempt" or actual fact? A rhetorical question, of course, as it is well known the historical evidence supports it as fact.

[BatScot]

Originally Posted by Batman, Inc.

Hey guys. This is my first post in these forums and I know this is slightly off topic but I just wanted to say this...

Thank you all. Seriously. I have read through this entire Batsuit discussion(yes, including all 40 pages of the old thread) and I have to say its been a FANTASTIC discussion. You've all(save for perhaps one snarky idividual who doesn't seem to contribute much) offered great and interesting insights at one point or another so major props. This discussion made me want to register so I could participate.

I am honestly proud to call you guys my fellow Batfans. I look forward to contributing.

If you think that was fun, you should've seen the '40,000 pages' of the old old thread(s)!

[747]

Originally Posted by BatScot

"A weak attempt" or actual fact? A rhetorical question, of course, as it is well known the historical evidence supports it as fact.

It's also a fact that with time blue took over and became the dominant color while black was used for highlighting.

Neither blue or black is anymore legit than the other if you go by fact.

Personally though I couldn't care less about what's more legit, accurate or real when it comes to the Bat-suit, it's all about context and execution for me.

[747]

With that said, I love this tribute to grey and blue from The Brave and the Bold. Which in that context fits perfectly.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[BatScot]

Originally Posted by 747

It's also a fact that with time blue took over and became the dominant color while black was used for highlighting.

A fact is something that is actually the case, a conceit is an extended metaphor. The 'blue' Batman is a conceit. This is not to say blue is not 'legit' in some fashion, but to dismiss the argument that 'blue is meant to be black' is to dismiss Bob Kane's own belief, i.e., "blue is symbolic of black". If your preference is a 'blue' Batman, fine. But to say 'Blue was supposed to be Black is [nothing but] a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue' is to deny the fact that "blue is symbolic of black" is a perfectly sound and evidentially supported argument.

[The Boy Scout]

Originally Posted by 747

With that said, I love this tribute to grey and blue from The Brave and the Bold. Which in that context fits perfectly.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

That was awesome.

[747]

Originally Posted by BatScot

A fact is something that is actually the case, a conceit is an extended metaphor. The 'blue' Batman is a conceit. This is not to say blue is not 'legit' in some fashion, but to dismiss the argument that 'blue is meant to be black' is to dismiss Bob Kane's own belief, i.e., "blue is symbolic of black". If your preference is a 'blue' Batman, fine. But to say 'Blue was supposed to be Black is [nothing but] a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue' is to deny the fact that "blue is symbolic of black" is a perfectly sound and evidentially supported argument.

So just because Bob Kane believed that the dominant blue color that was developed with time is symbolic of black, that's the one true fact? Why don't just everyone color him with black anyway? What's the symbolism of black being colored as blue? Sorry but I'm lost here.

I'd say it's way more of a fact that the actual dominant color of the inking sometimes is blue, it's hard to deny that, if you're not color-blind.

[Bruce Malone]

I don't deny the prevalence of blue in batman's comic history i just don't feel blue would make much sense in the context of a film suit.

Comic and film are different mediums. Even today black is not the easiest color to work with and artists often like the visual pop that a blue shading adds as opposed to an all black look.

With film being 3 dimensional you don't need that pop as much coming from the 2d pages. Also yes a dark blue may blend in better at night but that's not the point of batman he doesn't dress as a bat to blend in does he?

No, he wear black for the intimidation factor, he is the night, he is a bat. Regardless if any bats are truly black i know for sure none of them are blue.

[regwec]

Originally Posted by BatScot

A fact is something that is actually the case, a conceit is an extended metaphor. The 'blue' Batman is a conceit. This is not to say blue is not 'legit' in some fashion, but to dismiss the argument that 'blue is meant to be black' is to dismiss Bob Kane's own belief, i.e., "blue is symbolic of black".

Bob Kane didn't design Batman's costume, and the design that he did reproduce quickly became defunct. There comes a point in the artistic history of Batman where cops are shown wearing black uniforms highlighted with blue, and Batman is shown wearing a blue uniform highlighted with black. At that point, Batman is clearly supposed to be wearing blue. I submit that whatever "metaphorical" aspects that might have been attached to Batman's design in its early history were lost when his costume was redesigned entirely, and he gained the yellow oval on his chest.

Originally Posted by BatScot

If your preference is a 'blue' Batman, fine. But to say 'Blue was supposed to be Black is [nothing but] a weak attempt at trying to undermine the use of blue' is to deny the fact that "blue is symbolic of black" is a perfectly sound and evidentially supported argument.

I don't know what "evidentially supported" means, but if you mean "supported by evidence", then you need more evidence than the words of someone who wasn't responsible for Batman's design, and you need to address the fact that the design was constantly revised and changed after the brief period in which Bob Kane had any involvement with the publication of Batman comics.

When colorists worked on Batmen pencilled by Neal Adams or Jim Aparo, they worked in the knowledge that the cape and cowl were blue.

Originally Posted by Bruce Malone

I don't deny the prevalence of blue in batman's comic history i just don't feel blue would make much sense in the context of a film suit.

Comic and film are different mediums. Even today black is not the easiest color to work with and artists often like the visual pop that a blue shading adds as opposed to an all black look.

With film being 3 dimensional you don't need that pop as much coming from the 2d pages. Also yes a dark blue may blend in better at night but that's not the point of batman he doesn't dress as a bat to blend in does he?

No, he wear black for the intimidation factor, he is the night, he is a bat. Regardless if any bats are truly black i know for sure none of them are blue.

There are a few points here: firstly, I think the rather tired "WWIC/WWIF" ("what works in comics won't work in film") argument has had its day. I don't like any Marvel movies, but I don't have any problem with the costumes used therein: one just takes them at face value.

Secondly, I don't accept that black is inherently intimidating. Black takes on the context in which it is presented. So do other colours. Bane looked pretty intimidating in TDKR, but didn't wear black, while Catwoman wore black and looked more sensual than scary. Other colours work the same way. Red looks intimidating on the devil, and fun on Mario.

I think a midnight blue could look very effective, paired with a steely grey.

Finally, I don't think the colour scheme has ever been chosen to make Batman look like a bat. Bob Kane wanted him to wear red, after all.

[Saint]

Originally Posted by regwec

There are a few points here: firstly, I think the rather tired "WWIC/WWIF" ("what works in comics won't work in film") argument has had its day.

Indeed. In fact, the costume argument ended over ten years ago when the first pictures of the Spider-Man costume surfaced--sadly, many fans are simply a decade behind the curve. Also, this year, any remaining vestiges of "It won't work on film" were obliterated by The Avengers.

Time for a movie in the spirit of BTAS. Also, Robin.

[The Boy Scout]

What he said.