The Dark Knight Capes and Cowls - New Batsuit Discussion Thread

[Saint]

Except for the whole disguise aspect. A domino mask has never really struck me as an effective way to mask your identity.

If I can buy Clark Kent's glasses, I can buy domino masks.

 

[afan]

Interesting that these drawings, all of which are excellent by the way, give Robin a serious demeanor. Isn't the core, in both manner and appearance, of the character meant to be in direct contrast to the dark and solemn nature of The Batman? He is the bouyancy that allows Bruce Wayne to resist drowning in his crusade.

 

[regwec]

Exactly right; such a character would immediately be dismissed as "gay" by the McG generation, however.

 

[bunk]

Robin still takes his crime fighting seriously.

Though I'll have to admit, the idea of a child beating the s*** out of someone while cheerfully laughing the whole time is actually pretty frightening.

 

[regwec]

Tim is more serious than the previous Robins, but in general afan is right: Robin's purpose is partly to humanise/lighten Batman.

 

[afan]

I was focussing my comments though solely on Dick Grayson. Whose unusual (for a child) upbringing and career in the circus prior to the muder of his parents, lent him a carefree and playful personality.
Tim was reared in a more "normal" environ, and hence lacks Grayson's entrenched showmanship. He is the more normal adolescent of the two.

 

[afan]

Exactly right; such a character would immediately be dismissed as "gay" by the McG generation, however.

That depends largely on Grayson's / Robin's age at his introduction. If he is in his late teens yes, but if introduced just pre-teen, not at all.

 

[Crook]

Tim is more serious than the previous Robins, but in general afan is right: Robin's purpose is partly to humanise/lighten Batman.

That doesn't necessarily have to be reflected in his costume.

 

[afan]

That doesn't necessarily have to be reflected in his costume.

Of course it does.
Can you imagine James Bond in ragged overalls, never, he is the epitome of international sophistication and his wardrobe / costuming must always be representative of his character core.
A character's costuming must always be consistent with his individuality.
By the way, the serious demeanor of the drawings is evident in the facial expressions as well as the costuming.

 

[Crook]

So how would you have done the costume? There's nothing in those above drawings that would lead me to believe that a somewhat light personality wouldn't be there. They're all pretty faithful adaptations of the Robin suit.

I'm not in favor of green underwear and little pixie boots.

 

[nameless_hero]

but pixie boots are so comfortable

 

[afan]

So how would you have done the costume? There's nothing in those above drawings that would lead me to believe that a somewhat light personality wouldn't be there. They're all pretty faithful adaptations of the Robin suit.

I'm not in favor of green underwear and little pixie boots.

Really
Every one of the facial expressions is frowning.

Bunk's is a very good design, but in order to lighten the tone, I would brighten the colors a bit, use a shorter solid yellow / gold cape, eliminate the hood(tho functionally as protection from the elements it makes a lot of sense), add green to the gloves and boots, and soften up the gauntlets, losing the Batman-esque spiking detail.

 

[Sandouras]

This is Tim's costume. Even though dick's was kinda cheesy and colourful they have kept it intact. Tim's is more modern and besides, its nice to see that the suit evolved through time and according to the person that wears it. Of course i prefer tim's suit, but i would like Dick's to be left intact. It would be nice to see something from the comics unchanged for once. No plates or armour on robin plox!

I was thinking about the idea of Robin in a movie and did a quick sketch. He really has to have his head covered I think. I imagine him wearing something to protect his head with the hood over top. I also thought the design should be decidedly robin-bird theme, or Robin Hood themed. Rather than being a mixture of both. Turns out that's kind of hard to do... Also the birds tend to have white in them and that doesn't really work. I was never a fan of green in the suit though, so I dropped that. The cape could look cool with some "feathering" at the bottom instead of straight across, but I forgot.

 

[Compi716]

This is really good. Out of curiosity, could you make the pants a dark green, just for arguments sake?

Thanks.

 

[Sandouras]

I dont know how it pays homage to the comics. In any case, i would prefer if we dont start Nolanising or filmising other suits. Robin's suit is cheesy. Leave it as it is. And why the hell cant i use my cursor on the reply page? Goddamnit this is infuriating.

I'm really digging this look Bunk, I may incorporate the hood into my suit. It looks sweet and pays enough homage to the comics

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I like the few Robin suit concepts Ive seen on here, but Im sure I wouldnt want to see Robin in a Nolan Bat-film.

 

[Sandouras]

Except for the whole disguise aspect. A domino mask has never really struck me as an effective way to mask your identity.

What about glasses?

 

[Sandouras]

I like the few Robin suit concepts Ive seen on here, but Im sure I wouldnt want to see Robin in a Nolan Bat-film.

Nolan is afraid to tackle such a difficult subject as Robin, but i believe that he would handle him very well if he tried.

I would like to see a few films with batman alone. Let some realism off the window and introduce Croc, Clayface, Ivy, even Harley.

Then introduce Robin. Give him the green/red suit he had in BTAS, not the medieval one with the naked legs (thats....you know...).
One or two films after that Dick goes away and Bruce finds Tim (No Jason for the love of God!). Then Dick returns. He and Tim get along great, Dick helps Tim handle Bruce and Tim helps Dick reconcile with him, via reminded him that Bruce has a heart and that he took him because he missed Dick. All this was handled masterfully in BTAS, so if you would excuse me, i am off to rewatch it.
No little Red Robin Robots for me, thanks! I dont want his pants to look like real pants, his suit to have 3-4 layers or masculature matching seamwork. Just give him his suit, maybe darken the green a bit to Superman Returns saturation. Say that its a special weave that stops knifes and have him do acrobatics all over town! Realism would kill Robin. I mean, do you see Nolan having a kid fight crime. "OH HELL NAW! Its teh unrealisms! We better give him Ironman's suit to help him out!"

OMG....I am turning to the comics side......Well.....so be it! Who wants to see Batman and Megaman?

 

[Comics N' Toons]

i love Robin He's great

 

[Comics N' Toons]

i would imagine if Robin was in the trilogy, the R on the chest may not for realistic sake even exist but i like the Red Costume that is currently worn by drake.... if we were to see any other color on the suit besides red, a light BROWN might work well (TO MIMMICK THE ORIGINAL mEDIEVIL costume)

 

[Axtech]

If I can buy Clark Kent's glasses, I can buy domino masks.

The glasses being able to disguise his identity has always been one of the more laughable elements of the Superman mythos, in my opinion. I'd never argue that Clark Kent is sufficiently disguised, and the same applies to Robin. Sure, the domino mask looks cool, but I've always thought it a rather foolish way of keeping someone's identity concealed.

Obviously decades of comic history isn't going to get changed to fix something that's been accepted by comic fans at large, but these flimsy disguises have always kind of irked me.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

if done right, IN DARKNESS, the domino mask conceals his identity JUST FINE because it pulls attention away from the rest of the face/head... besides Robin's hair is usually amess and Tim's or Dick's hair is styled!

 

[Axtech]

if done right, IN DARKNESS, the domino mask conceals his identity JUST FINE because it pulls attention away from the rest of the face/head... besides Robin's hair is usually amess and Tim's or Dick's hair is styled!

Why rely on darkness? In that case, scrap the mask and just stay in the shadows. Same difference. Robin should be trying to hide his identity at all costs, to protect not only himself, but those in his personal life as well. A tiny mask surrounding his eyes is not going to stop everyone from identifying him all the time, which is the whole point of wearing a mask while fighting crime. And do you really think a slight change in hairstyle is going to fool, say, the Riddler?

 

[Sandouras]

Why rely on darkness? In that case, scrap the mask and just stay in the shadows. Same difference. Robin should be trying to hide his identity at all costs, to protect not only himself, but those in his personal life as well. A tiny mask surrounding his eyes is not going to stop everyone from identifying him all the time, which is the whole point of wearing a mask while fighting crime. And do you really think a slight change in hairstyle is going to fool, say, the Riddler?

This is a superhero character we are talking about. This kid is fighting villains like Clayface and Croc.
Superman can catch bullets with his hands, Batman has a cape that hardens when you put a current through it, trucks turn into robots AND ROBIN'S MASK IS YOUR PROBLEM?

 

[Axtech]

This is a superhero character we are talking about. This kid is fighting villains like Clayface and Croc.
Superman can catch bullets with his hands, Batman has a cape that hardens when you put a current through it, trucks turn into robots AND ROBIN'S MASK IS YOUR PROBLEM?

Holy crap, calm down. Is it such a big deal that I'm saying a domino mask isn't a great disguise? Never thought I'd cause such a commotion stating what I thought was obvious... We've been discussing Robin designs, and people were talking about whether he could/should wear a hood or even a cowl. I don't know why it's coming as such a shock that I'm saying a domino mask isn't going to disguise him.

So really, what's your point? Because comics (and movies) have supernatural elements or technologies that go beyond what exists today, I'm not allowed to say that Robin isn't well enough disguised? You make it sound like I'm arguing against superheros as a whole (why else bring up such random points about Batman and Superman), which is not the case, and is a ridiculous conclusion to jump to based on the very simple opinion I've been stating.