The Dark Knight new news: fabricky costume for TDK

[DavidTyler]

Slimmer would be better. Getting rid of the clasps would be best. And I'd love to see the cowl and chest emblem flocked like the cape so that it appears black against the grey appearing rubber bodysuit. If Nolan does that, then everyone gets what they want. The Rubber bodysuit would still be black but would appear to be a charcoal grey if the cowl and emblem matched the cape.

BTW, the clasps don't actually make sense. The scene in the cave where Bruce takes the cowl off implies that the cowl sits over the cape. With that in mind, the clasps shouldn't even be visible.

 

[comic_guy04]

Yeah I was thinking about that the other day when i popped my DVD in. I think the clasps look dumb anyway. I'd prefer the cowl and cape be attached like TAS but i know that wouldn't really work on film.

 

[comic_guy04]

double post sorry. My PC is a piece of ****.

 

[dark_b]

Slimmer would be better. Getting rid of the clasps would be best. And I'd love to see the cowl and chest emblem flocked like the cape so that it appears black against the grey appearing rubber bodysuit. If Nolan does that, then everyone gets what they want. The Rubber bodysuit would still be black but would appear to be a charcoal grey if the cowl and emblem matched the cape.

BTW, the clasps don't actually make sense. The scene in the cave where Bruce takes the cowl off implies that the cowl sits over the cape. With that in mind, the clasps shouldn't even be visible.

 

[lujho]

but isnt this fabricky suit just a rumour?arent they gonna keep the real suit with just minor changes,but i want a fabricky suit

We definitely know that they have a guy sourcing new stretch fabrics for the suit. That's more than just rumour AFAIK.

Just how different that means the suit will be, no-one knows.

 

[Matt.S99]

oh so it will be a fabric suit?well i honestly cant wait

 

[BatJeff7786]

I seriously doubt it will as different as everyone is thinking it will be. It probably won't be THAT different. They went through all the trouble of explaining every detail of the suit in the last movie, no way they would just disregard it all.

 

[Crooklyn]

They went through all the trouble of explaining every detail of the suit in the last movie, no way they would just disregard it all.

That's a bit of an exhaggeration. It took all but 20 seconds to mention the suit was strong & durable. Hardly an "explanation". Take those same 20 seconds for the sequel, mention improvements made on the concept...bam! You're done. Move on.

 

[Keyser Sushi]

That's a bit of an exhaggeration. It took all but 20 seconds to mention the suit was strong & durable. Hardly an "explanation". Take those same 20 seconds for the sequel, mention improvements made on the concept...bam! You're done. Move on.

I love it when somebody says the truth and I don't have to.

 

[lujho]

This is a little snippet of something I'm working on. Just an example of torso shape and how a fabric suit CAN look tough if you can see what's underneath, and how the overall shape doesn't need to be that complicated.

 

[Nepenthes]

Looking forward to seeing the finished pic ^

 

[Fenrir]

I was going through the thread and have to say I am in complete agreement with this post:

OK, having read this thread, I think a lot of people who have been criticizing the Begins' suit need to see the film again and pay more attention.

Exactly. What people can't seem to realize here is that the only restricting element in the BB suit is the cowl. The fact that he can't seem to move his neck a whole lot makes his movements look a bit clumsy. But the suit itself is very mobile and flexible:

^ Most people would have trouble lifting their leg that high in normal clothes, let alone in a "Robocop" suit.

As for Bale's comment about him not being able to raise his arms
"particularly high", it might very well mean him not being able to raise his arms completely. As these screencaps show, he can raise them pretty high, not to mention the fact that these were taken from fight scenes where not only did he have to raise them but he had to raise them fast -

Not to saying that the suit is completely flexible or anything...the shoulders seem to have thicker padding that might not allow him to fully raise his arms effortlessly, but it definitely does not hamper his mobility in the way many posters are suggesting. Especially when he can strike poses like this:

And if you still have trouble accepting the fact that the actor/stuntman has great mobility in the Begins' suit, watch this. The actor/stuntman can easily run, jump, crouch, kick, block, punch and hang on to ledges while wearing the Begins bodysuit.

I think the advancements they've made with the suit have come so far that with a few more improvements to the Begins bodysuit, it won't really make a big difference whether it is fabric or neoprene because they'll be both flexible enough for Batman to move like he should.

In response to the point made by Saint earlier about the awkward bomb throw in Begins, the awkward movement was because of the stiff cowl, not the bodysuit itself. I suggest you try mimicking that same motion but without turning your neck and then you'll get it.

Really, when it comes to discussing the suit, all arguments are almost aesthetically based, which is entirely subjective. One thing I believe we can all agree on is that they definitely need to improve the cowl, or more specifically, the neck area of the cowl by making it more flexible to allow free movement of the head. Although I will admit I have greatly despised lujho's ideas for the cowl (especially the translucent lens and the cowl collar) ever since I saw them first on these boards more than 2 years ago now and my opinion on it hasn't changed a bit.

I know many people in here don't like rubber but I doubt a "fabricky" costume would make any significant difference at this point. And I am with the posters who want Batman to have a little more mass. Problem is that we've never seen a good angle, wide shot of Batman standing in proportion to other people to make out just how big he was in Begins. I was just watching the HD-DVD of Batman Begins the other day with the picture-in-picture feature enabled and there were some production pics of Bale as Batman standing right beside Nolan and he was looking unreal. And it really made me fond of the Begins cowl because of how intimidating he appeared to be.

And ever since I saw how someone as big as Brandon Routh appeared to be less built in the costume than he actually is in real-life has made me wary of "fabricky" or "Spiderman"-esque materials for the Batsuit. Even though Keaton couldn't do a damn in his rubber costume, you gotta admit the sculpting on his costumes actually made him look a lot more tougher and bigger. Same goes for Bale's suit as well. And now that Phaser has shown how mobile and flexible the Begins costume actually was, I am not in favor of ditching it for a more "fabricky" costume.

 

[DorkyFresh]

Even though Keaton couldn't do a damn in his rubber costume, you gotta admit the sculpting on his costumes actually made him look a lot more tougher and bigger. Same goes for Bale's suit as well.

on the contrary imo. Bale looked huge in the scenes where he was wearing a tight shirt or no shirt at all. there are stills scattered all over the internet with clear shots of the suit. the suit makes his head appear bigger than it really is and a bigger head always make the body look smaller...that's why comic book artists put small heads on huge characters.

 

[Fenrir]

on the contrary imo. Bale looked huge in the scenes where he was wearing a tight shirt or no shirt at all. there are stills scattered all over the internet with clear shots of the suit. the suit makes his head appear bigger than it really is and a bigger head always make the body look smaller...that's why comic book artists put small heads on huge characters.

I don't think that has anything to do with the suit itself. The Begins cowl has an unusually weird design to it that occasionally makes it look bigger (or "puffier" )from certain angles. Of course, the increased thickness of the cowl is balanced by the padding in the bodysuit. There are literally thousands of stills with Batman looking perfectly normal, proportionately speaking.

 

[Mr. Socko]

The worst thing about the costume was by far the cowl.

1st off, the cowl, especially the cheeks on the cowl, looked puffy. Like a bee stung the cowl in the jaws. 2ndly, they need to expose his chin in the costume(like in the comics) instead of having his mouth and eyes the ONLY thing you can see. The front part should stop at the bottom of the nose.

 

[Nepenthes]

Socko and DorkyFresh are right about the cowl. It's the only thing that makes the suit look 'unflexible' and its thickness throws the rest out of proportion. And too many rounded angles.

 

[Saint]

It's hardly the only thing that makes the suit look unflexible. The real problem is the chest/shoulder area.

 

[MechaOrga]

I think the ony real problem I had with the suit from the first movie is the fact that it seemed unreasonably thick when you have an actor who is more or less built like batman for once.

Im sure they may have tried different approaches and found the black rubber suit to look most intimidating on film.

The thing about it is, once his neck is made bigger to allow movement, you have to broaden the shoulders with more material, so he doesn't look weak with narrow shoulders. Then once you do that, you need to broaden the chest from the side so his chest doesn't look sunken in.

I do believe these are the reason's for the bad creases we see in an otherwise very cool suit in begins.

I also believe there is a good middle ground to be found between rubber and stretch material.

just my 2 cents....

 

[Polux]

The worst thing about the costume was by far the cowl.

1st off, the cowl, especially the cheeks on the cowl, looked puffy. Like a bee stung the cowl in the jaws. 2ndly, they need to expose his chin in the costume(like in the comics) instead of having his mouth and eyes the ONLY thing you can see. The front part should stop at the bottom of the nose.

Why would someone who´s trying to hide his identity expose more of his face to begin with ? I always found ridiculous (sp?) how big was the mouth opening in the comics and the movies (every actor was so easily recognizable), but in Begins the opening is just perfect, it´s there, so people can´t complain about Nolan changing completely the cowl (without a mouth opening as someone once suggested), but it´s small enough so you can´t recognize who he is.

That´s what I love about Bale and Routh playing Batman and Superman, they´re the only two actors I´ve seen in a superhero movie that make the whole secret identity believable from a phisical point of view. For example, Routh looks completely different when he´s Supes and when he´s Clark, thus making the whole glasses-to-hide-who-he-is more believable; and Bale, well, when he´s in the suit sometimes he looks like Guy Pearce to me - specially in the first pic the released - and sometimes like someone else, unlike previous bat-actors.


Polux

 

[DA Harvey Dent]

Why would someone who´s trying to hide his identity expose more of his face to begin with ? I always found ridiculous (sp?) how big was the mouth opening in the comics and the movies (every actor was so easily recognizable), but in Begins the opening is just perfect, it´s there, so people can´t complain about Nolan changing completely the cowl (without a mouth opening as someone once suggested), but it´s small enough so you can´t recognize who he is.

That´s what I love about Bale and Routh playing Batman and Superman, they´re the only two actors I´ve seen in a superhero movie that make the whole secret identity believable from a phisical point of view. For example, Routh looks completely different when he´s Supes and when he´s Clark, thus making the whole glasses-to-hide-who-he-is more believable; and Bale, well, when he´s in the suit sometimes he looks like Guy Pearce to me - specially in the first pic the released - and sometimes like someone else, unlike previous bat-actors.


Polux

I agree.

I think this is the first Batman where its difficult to tell Bruce Wayne is underneath the suit. I like the small opening and the puffy cowl. It distorts his facial features, something that Wayne would purposely want in order to protect his identity.

 

[DAVIDYR1]

I think the ony real problem I had with the suit from the first movie is the fact that it seemed unreasonably thick when you have an actor who is more or less built like batman for once.

Im sure they may have tried different approaches and found the black rubber suit to look most intimidating on film.

The thing about it is, once his neck is made bigger to allow movement, you have to broaden the shoulders with more material, so he doesn't look weak with narrow shoulders. Then once you do that, you need to broaden the chest from the side so his chest doesn't look sunken in.

I do believe these are the reason's for the bad creases we see in an otherwise very cool suit in begins.

I also believe there is a good middle ground to be found between rubber and stretch material.

just my 2 cents....

Those of you who find the suit thick, all the more power to you. Personally, I didnt.
I loved the flow of it all, the cowl especially and the neck is fantastic...however...sure, not all of us agree.

What I dont agree with in the above post is with regards to bigger areas and better movement. Costume making doesnt work that way. If you give an even wider neck on the cowl it'll make movement even more difficult. Even if the neck area of the cowl is thin, and underneath it is a bunch of empty space theoretically allowing for better movement well...it doesnt work that way. That's not going to improve the movement of the neck area. The closer the rubber areas are to the human form the better movement you're going to get. If the cowl was glued to Bales head like a lot of prosthetics then you'd get the movement you're looking for. Empty areas wont allow for that kind of movement.

The other thing about the chest creases....which we really dont see in the movie anyhow...but again, it seems to be a point of concern with some fans....the thing with the creases is because of how the suit itself is made. Not because of the thickness or lack there of the costume. The begins chest is actually pretty thin. It's glued over top of another muscle suit, the one we see in the behind the scenes DVD being run through the press to get the moisture out. That muscle suit is first glued to the wetsuit, THEN the actual begins chest is glued over that. This technique allows for much better movement but can sacrifice the look in some flex points giving us those creases we see in stills from the film....stills....that in the film happen in a blink of an eye so they're virtually unseen.

I'm not interested in changing anyone's opinion on the creases or movement...heck, I'm always for improving things but with regards to those issues I think it's important to understand why they do or dont happen...then keep then in context because throughout the whole film when do we really see flaws in the costume???

I dug how the neck and cowl looked and swayed and moved. When Keaton was in the Batmobile the cowl mouth opening would bend outwards when he tilted his head down. When Bale does that it looks awesome. When Bale was in Gordons back yard area and he swayed his head around I thought that was cool and new for a Batsuit.

I think it'll be even better for DKR...but dont expect to see a fabric suit for the next one guys....the batshop people looking for stretchy fabrics may not neccessarily be looking for what you think.....

David

 

[Nepenthes]

Im sure they may have tried different approaches and found the black rubber suit to look most intimidating on film.

Now that is the truest and most important thing I've read on this thread. Of course they considered spandex, of course they tried grey, they probably experimented with things that would be far beyond our scope. They put shiiiiitloads of work into finding the right suit and then we sit here and go 'oh it should be like comics....'

I do believe these are the reason's for the bad creases we see in an otherwise very cool suit in begins.

except you don't even see the creases on film. And if you do well then you're not watching the movie you're watching for creases.

 

[Crooklyn]

Now that is the truest and most important thing I've read on this thread. Of course they considered spandex, of course they tried grey, they probably experimented with things that would be far beyond our scope. They put shiiiiitloads of work into finding the right suit and then we sit here and go 'oh it should be like comics....'

The suit designer said on the DVD that there were other materials out there that were better, they just didn't have the time to fully experiment...

 

[Cobblepot]

Like David just opted, if they made the cowl (partly) a prostetic with a "thinner" neck would allow for ultimate movement. I think that the cowl in "Dead End" was part prostetic aswell and it's movement was great. With a little tinkering in both designs we could end up with a great looking cowl that's sleak and doesn't give Batman the large head he has in al of the movie cowls.

 

[Nepenthes]

but then he needs thick rubber in the forehead area to create the angry expression on the cowl. that is essential. so you then you need to bulk out the rest of the head, then the neck, then the chest...



maybe they should just spray paint him after all