BvS The Batsuit Thread - - - - - - Part 29

[lujho]

If I am not mistaken.. Clooney's main suit was actually the same suit Kilmer wore.. New cowl, gloves, boots, and belt. and a paint job.

More or less. The chest emblem is different too.

Eevryone goes on about how bat the nipples were (and yeah they were) but I feel like the weird abdominal musculature is almost as bad. I've never understood why it was sculpted that way. It's weirdly stylised, with the sixpack seemingly too small and too high on the body.

Something more like the 89 torso but a bit more refined would have been cool.

 

[lujho]

I wasn't sure. Or that serious. Hence the Insidious reference.

Haha, yeah I wasn't really replying to you specifically, just the general idea of long arms.

 

[lujho]

So, a question for the fabric-ites (of which I am also one): say we hadn't got a fabric (or pseudo-fabric) suit this time around, is there a rubber suit you would have been happy with?

I've personally never been dead-against a rubber suit (although fabric was my preference), just the style they've usually been done in. If a rubber suit had subtle musculature, with separations between the muscle groups for flexibility and to eliminate the buckling problem (i.e 10-20% of the bodysuit's surface would be the under-fabric showing through) and no silly stylization or "tech/roboticness" I would have been cool with it. That's what I think the Begins suit should have evolved into.

For an idea of what i mean, look at this art. I know it's not real, but it's a fairly realistic painting and looks like it would be a rubber suit. It also unfortunately doesn't give a good look at the torso.

But look at the realistic musculature on the arms and legs, and the way they seem to be separated, with fabric showing through. They look quite similar to the Begins suit's arms and legs, just with the aforementioned separation. I never minded the arms, legs or chest of the Begins suit, just the abdominal area. So I would have loved to see that suit evolve into something like this rather than the TDK suit, which was stylisically almost the opposite direction.

 

[MrsKent26]

^ A rubber suit really isn't my preference, but I would never rule out the creation of one that is more visually pleasing than what has been done before. I could have lived with the suit in that picture. The main unpleasant aspect of TDK suit for me was the complicated puzzle look of it. If they could make a rubber suit that was more stream-lined, I could handle it (but would still dream forever of a fabric suit, lol).

 

[lujho]

^ A rubber suit really isn't my preference, but I would never rule out the creation of one that is more visually pleasing than what has been done before. I could have lived with the suit in that picture. The main unpleasant aspect of TDK suit for me was the complicated puzzle look of it. If they could make a rubber suit that was more stream-lined, I could handle it (but would still dream forever of a fabric suit, lol).

Yeah, if we had got something like that in this movie, I would have rolled my eyes and said "not again", but would have admitted that I liked it and it was way better than every previous rubber suit.

But had we got something like that in TDK and TDKR I would have jumped for joy at how much of an improvement it was over Begins.

 

[Bathead]

Actually, I believe I read on a Batman costuming forum that the "regular" Clooney suit, even though it was supposed to be the one suit, came in two versions. One that was black, and another that had metallic blue powder in it.

So it's fair to say that the main Clooney suit was dark metallic blue, but didn't always look that way.

Well, like I said, I remember it being black, and though it did look blue in some scenes, I figured it was due to lighting. Having two suits colored differently could explain that.

 

[lujho]

You know, come to think of it, Schumacher was obviously not afraid to be colourful, it's kind of surprising he didn't try the blue/grey or black/grey back then. I guess the idea that Batman was all one colour was too entrenched.

I wonder what the Sonar suit would have looked like with the cape/cowl etc black, but the bodysuit the same metallic grey.

 

[Angel0fDeath]

That's the problem with rubber suits - they're restricting the actor's movements. That's why they made the "puzzle" suit, so Bale can move a bit more freely, but doesn't look very nice. You either go for looks or mobility. There's always a downside, so it's best to stay away from them for a while.

 

[Proximo]

Actually, I believe I read on a Batman costuming forum that the "regular" Clooney suit, even though it was supposed to be the one suit, came in two versions. One that was black, and another that had metallic blue powder in it.

So it's fair to say that the main Clooney suit was dark metallic blue, but didn't always look that way.

Not true. All the "regular" Clooney suits, stunt and hero were painted the same. There were no black ones. The reason the color look so different depending on lighting is because of the EM powders which are metallic.

 

[Casval]

I wonder what the Sonar suit would have looked like with the cape/cowl etc black, but the bodysuit the same metallic grey.

I don't know...

 

[WitchTrialz]

I didn't like the look but bales suit is certainly the most plausible of them all. As in, if a batman exsisted in our world. You just have to remember that nolans movies were else worlds tales.

 

[lujho]

That's the problem with rubber suits - they're restricting the actor's movements. That's why they made the "puzzle" suit, so Bale can move a bit more freely, but doesn't look very nice. You either go for looks or mobility. There's always a downside, so it's best to stay away from them for a while.

I think it's perfectly possible to make a "puzzle" suit that DOES look nice.

 

[BatLobster]

I never had a problem with the upper part of TDK's suit. It's really only the legs that felt like overkill to me, but that's mostly in promotional stills and not the actual movies themselves.

 

[Bruce Malone]

I never had a problem with the upper part of TDK's suit. It's really only the legs that felt like overkill to me, but that's mostly in promotional stills and not the actual movies themselves.

Exactly.

90% of people's criticisms of the TDK suit tends to come from the leg design and its appearance in still images.

In the actual film the legs were barely ever noticeable.

Either way before someone chimes in with "teh TDK suit sucks", I'm of the opinion that there are a multitude of styles of Batsuits that can work for the character and not just any one based on your specific preference.

 

[Travesty]

But teh TDK suit sucks, bro!

 

[Bruce Malone]

 

[Fallen Angel]

I don't know...

Truly the golden age of Superhero costumes.

 

[The Shape]

I didn't like the look but bales suit is certainly the most plausible of them all. As in, if a batman exsisted in our world. You just have to remember that nolans movies were else worlds tales.

All Batman movies are Elseworlds tales.

 

[lujho]

Exactly.

90% of people's criticisms of the TDK suit tends to come from the leg design and its appearance in still images.

In the actual film the legs were barely ever noticeable.

Yeah, but I don't think it's right that a Batman movie should be filmed in such a way that the legs are barely ever noticable. An action hero should have a lot of full-bodied action shots.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Yeah, but I don't think it's right that a Batman movie should be filmed in such a way that the legs are barely ever noticable. An action hero should have a lot of full-bodied action shots.

It's not that they avoided filming his legs. It's just that the patterns in general are hard to make out when in motion. And a superhero's legs when running or kicking are always going to be in motion and blurry.

There's a reason in general most superhero costumes have very basic leg designs not so much for simplicity but just because legs are almost never seen much in still focus.

 

[Bathead]

Exactly.

90% of people's criticisms of the TDK suit tends to come from the leg design and its appearance in still images.

In the actual film the legs were barely ever noticeable.

Either way before someone chimes in with "teh TDK suit sucks", I'm of the opinion that there are a multitude of styles of Batsuits that can work for the character and not just any one based on your specific preference.

For me, it was more than just the legs, it was the overall high tech look of the whole suit - way too "busy", IMO.
Also, I didn't really hate the suit, let's just say I was hugely disappointed that Nolan went that way. I was actually hoping he would "improve" the suit by making it more like what we've gotten in BvS, instead he went with the same old, same old.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Like I mentioned I'm pretty open minded when it comes to Batsuits. If I find them aesthetically pleasing and relatively true to the Bat motif I'm fine with it. With regards to the "techy" Batsuits I like, I'd also include the Arkham Origins and yes the Arkham Knight suit, which is arguably the most "techy" Batsuit to date outside of the BvS mech-suit.

On the other hand I do like the more classic comic book style as well, and I do like the BvS suit. I'm just a fan of Batsuits what can I say?

I'd say the only Batman movie suits I didn't like were the Schumacher suits. It wasn't just the nipples but the verging on fetish-wear overly-detailed muscle sculpts.

 

[lujho]

It's not that they avoided filming his legs. It's just that the patterns in general are hard to make out when in motion. And a superhero's legs when running or kicking are always going to be in motion and blurry.

There's a reason in general most superhero costumes have very basic leg designs not so much for simplicity but just because legs are almost never seen much in still focus.

True, but I always felt Nolan's films were also just really lacking in more static or less actiony "hero shots", the kind of shot where the suit is not just visible but really deliberately on display. The kind of thing the Marvel movies are full of.

 

[regwec]

I think you need some shots like that, but if they are too numerous the movie can develop a kind of visual hamminess.

 

[lujho]

Yeah, but I'm only talking about the amount of those shots that would be in a regular movie. It's like splash pages in comics - you should have one or two per issue, not every page.

I just don't think Nolan is a visual guy, really. I mean, he is and he isn't. But in terms of presenting a hero iconically, his sensibilities just don't gel with that.
Some people may say Snyder is style over substance, but he can at least present the characters visually really well.