JKKS085
Sidekick
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- Nov 14, 2005
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I still don’t think we’ve gotten a definitive cowl yet for the dark knight. Which is your favorite?
Super long response with a lot of unnecessary details.
Burton
Batman 89: Super fan of the design. It’s big, clunky, perfectly impractical. Amazing. I love the rough casting of the foam latex that gives it a lot of character and the attempt to blend the bottom of the cowl with the texture of cape. The sculpt is asymmetrical, unpolished. It’s the Vader ANH of Batman cowls. A testament to the artists who had to make due and chart new ways forward. And it’s huge, like insanely big in person.
Batman Returns: It’s a refined version of the previous design brought to life with sharper, more polished technique. Less interesting to my eye (I’m partial to the handmade feel of the 89 cowl) but an excellent design overall that works perfectly with the rest of the redesigned suit and the cleaner aesthetics of the film.
The Flash: Good modern day translation of the classic design. A few unnecessary details here and there but nice work on the texture. Neither really memorable nor particularly jarring.
Schumacher
Forever: Still within the framework of the Batman 89 and Returns design but shinier. Not a fan of the wider eye cutouts but props to the design team for creating a cowl that works perfectly with Kilmer’s features, that is less bulky and more form-fitting. The true departure is with the sonar cowl with which they attempted something different in terms of color, texture, shine and detailing that unfortunately doesn’t translate all that well in the movie but is quite visible in person. It’s over designed of course but surely not the worst design choice in this movie.
Batman & Robin: The first cowl is a retread of the Kilmer design that doesn’t work with Clooney’s face/acting choices. The second cowl is a ridiculous repaint of the sonar cowl design from Forever that frankly looks like ****.
Nolan
Batman Begins: Whatever you think of the design of the Nolan films one thing that was made clear from the beginning is that behind every choice there is purpose and a willingness to visually communicate the underlying story. I personally love the Begins cowl with its softer, more subtle features coupled with the huge neck and mat texture broken up by the darker velvet-like cape. I think it’s a brilliant design that worked perfectly within the context of the film.
TDK/TDKR: This is where it gets tricky, I understand the reason for the change but I would dispute the execution. The TDK/TDKR cowl retains the main features of the Begins cowl within a 2-piece design that improves mobility giving the director and actor more options but I can’t get past the bobblehead/motorcycle helmet look and the way it affects the silhouette of the character in these movies.
Affleck
BvS: I really don’t like it. From the small ears to the excessive texturing, to the exaggerated features and wrinkles all the way through the bulkiness and the way it works with the suit giving the illusion that Affleck doesn’t have a neck, I find it to be a very weak design proposition with nothing much to say beyond perceived comic accuracy. In my opinion it makes all the wrong choices. However huge props to the wizards at Ironhead who managed to make a one piece cowl with neck mobility which to this day remains a mind blowing engineering prowess to me.
Justice League: Same criticism as the cowl above but somehow a worst take. Slightly more pleased with the overall design of the cowl for the armored suit (and I didn’t hate the idea of googles).
The Flash: Obviously someone got out of bed one morning saw the second Batman & Robin cowl and said, "I'm going to make the worst Batman cowl of all time." I’m not entirely sure what went wrong yet but it looked so, so bad.
Pattinson
The Batman: Best of the bunch. An intimidating, yet subtle design that allowed the actor to convey a range of emotions I have never seen before in a live action Batman. Excellent engineering to allow mobility within a tight form factor, tremendous work on textures, detailing, painting and weathering throughout the film. Works perfectly with the rest of the suit and overall design of the film, creates a great silhouette. A tour de force.
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