BvS The Batsuit Thread - Part 7

[regwec]

I feel the same way. It is my favourite suit since the Bronze Age classic.

 

[lujho]

That's the thing though..
Spiderman's eye's are part of his mask.
It's never been debated that they were anything other than that.
You can just throw lenses on a mask and it will look right because that's what they're supposed to be.

What you're seeing on batman are his actual eyes.

The cowl, more often than not, is explicitly said or shown to have lenses in the comics for the last decade or two. I believe the idea that batman specifically has reflective lenses has been around quite a while indeed.

 

[lujho]

I think the white eyes can and should be done...
Just show that the cowl has clear lenses over it..under normal lighting you can see his eyes..under dark lighting the lenses catch light or just reflect a little of the ambient light creates the white lenses effect..thus you get the dramatic batman looks people crave so much.

Absolutely. Clear or semi clear/semi reflective.

How could bats possibly motorcycle or glide without some sort of "goggles" anyway?

 

[DKDetective]

Absolutely. Clear or semi clear/semi reflective.

How could bats possibly motorcycle or glide without some sort of "goggles" anyway?

 

[Kevin Smith]

I agree, but I think that ship has all but sailed at this point.

I'd love it if somewhere down the line someone had the stones to make an all-out retro adaptation of these characters, complete with 100% faithful costumes. The things I would do to see a DC movie that looked anything like the artwork in Kingdom Come are unspeakable.

I would be happy with just that color scheme at this point as that is the EXACT color scheme I'd want on Superman costume; it looks like a flag, bold, visceral, and yes, masculine. But I'd love to see the suits done like that. It still bugs me that Snyder had all this talk about "embracing" the character and being "unapologetic" with the character....that to me is saying to the world you like the character so much you are going to give him a hug, not give him a hug so you can steal his underwear from him, and I feel that's kind of what Snyder did. It's not really embracing the character and doing an "unapologetic" version of it to show the world what is so great about Superman and why fans like him when the first thing you do is go and change core things about him. Seems kind of counterproductive to me. The "problem" with Superman was not his "underwear", his secret identity, or the fact that he didn't kill, the problem is the people telling the stories don't believe in him enough to let him fly on his own.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Man, I love Batman: TAS. But the eyes have always been drawn white in comics and animation for the most part because it's difficult to show pupils all the time and looks cool visually. Having lenses in live action would look bad for Batman, IMO. The eyes in the films have always served as a point of expression for Batman and been one of the consistently good looking aspects of the Batman suits for me. Never got the love for the white lenses or the indication people got that they were actually white lenses .

 

[Astro13Zombie]

I think the white eyes can and should be done...
Just show that the cowl has clear lenses over it..under normal lighting you can see his eyes..under dark lighting the lenses catch light or just reflect a little of the ambient light creates the white lenses effect..thus you get the dramatic batman looks people crave so much.

This would work pretty well I think.

 

[roach]

Ugh. A million no's to any CGI to the Batman mask. GL's mask in that movie did not look good at all.

Two different movies with two different effects teams….I think the guys that had Superman's cape CGI 90% of the time could make a convincing Batman mask.

 

[Shikamaru]

Man, I love Batman: TAS. But the eyes have always been drawn white in comics and animation for the most part because it's difficult to show pupils all the time and looks cool visually. Having lenses in live action would look bad for Batman, IMO. The eyes in the films have always served as a point of expression for Batman and been one of the consistently good looking aspects of the Batman suits for me. Never got the love for the white lenses of the indication people got that they were actually white lenses .

Though it varies from writer to writer, the vast majority of the time they are actual white lenses. They're meant to make him look less human, more like a creature of the night and more sinister.

I really hope they find a way to pull them off in the movies. Batman doesn't fully look like Batman without the eyes IMO. It really makes him feel threatening when all you see in the dark are those white eyes staring at you. So far, the scariest shots of Batman in live-action were the ones in which you couldn't see his eyes (because they were covered with a shadow).

 

[Nathan]

If we can have Dredd without ever seeing his eyes, I think we can have Batman with white lenses.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Though it varies from writer to writer, the vast majority of the time they are actual white lenses. They're meant to make him look less human, more like a creature of the night and more sinister.

I really hope they find a way to pull them off in the movies. Batman doesn't fully look like Batman without the eyes IMO. It really makes him feel threatening when all you see in the dark are those white eyes staring at you. So far, the scariest shots of Batman in live-action were the ones in which you couldn't see his eyes (because they were covered with a shadow).

Are they really white lenses though? Maybe I don't read enough of the current stuff, but in as many comics as I've read, I never found that to be the case. And while I do agree that some of the scariest and coolest shots of Batman, especially in the awesome looking '89 film, have ones where his eyes are in shadows, there are many great and awesome looking scenes, particularly in the Keaton film, both actually, where he only looks as awesome and intimidating as he does BECAUSE you can see his eyes. They totally bring the character to life in a way that having them covered definitely wouldn't have done.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Neal Adams and other artists have even drawn Batman with pupils in certain shots.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Most actors don't like having their eyes covered when they are trying to well...act. I'd be surprised if the eyes were white. I honestly don't care one way or the other, either way will be fine if Superman's excellent MOS costume is anything to go by.

 

[Shikamaru]

Are they really white lenses though? Maybe I don't read enough of the current stuff, but in as many comics as I've read, I never found that to be the case. And while I do agree that some of the scariest and coolest shots of Batman, especially in the awesome looking '89 film, have ones where his eyes are in shadows, there are many great and awesome looking scenes, particularly in the Keaton film, both actually, where he only looks as awesome and intimidating as he does BECAUSE you can see his eyes. They totally bring the character to life in a way that having them covered definitely wouldn't have done.

A lot of writers and artists have shown the white eyes on the suit while not being worn or have done damage to the suit in which at least one of the white lenses is ripped/gone. So I always assumed they were always there due to that. I wish I had some scans on my computer to show that.

However, what the white eyes are tends to vary from writer to writer and artist to artist. Some see them as lenses whereas others see them as just material part of the costume that Bruce can see through. Personally, I always saw and preferred them as the latter as opposed to something made of glass such as lenses.

Neal Adams and other artists have even drawn Batman with pupils in certain shots.

As I said, it varies from writer to writer so it's not always set in stone. But the vast majority of writers draw him with the white eyes.

Neal Adams drew Batman without pupils for the majority of his time on Batman though.

 

[HUMANIMAL]

just why has batman to see the world in jj abrams style?

 

[HUMANIMAL]

i think most look too much into it and interpreted the white eyes as lenses or a seethrough material on the cowl itself...
too me it is a just an artistic choice for much more contrast and intensity...cause those are drawings
and its just looking more impressive when leaving the pupils away...
like on a car for example...
i dont believe the first decison to make only white eyes was the thought to add any eye covering to the mask at all

 

[BatFan1979]

Two different movies with two different effects teams….I think the guys that had Superman's cape CGI 90% of the time could make a convincing Batman mask.

Exactly! And its just an option. I hope they at least do a screen test of it...and if not have it in the movie, then at least as an BTS featurette on the DVD/BluRay. I'd love to see what they come up with.

Like have a real cowl up to his hairline and then down around to under his chin, leaving his face completely unmasked. Then they could place those facial expression capture dots on his face in order to render the facial part of the mask in 3D (with texture and lighting added of course). This would give them the range to make the eyes white (like in the comics and animated material) and would allow the mask to mimic his facial movements completely, posing no hindrance to Ben's acting (scowls, raised eyebrows, etc.). I think they could really do this well and it would look great!

I mean, do we really need this?

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

personally, i would love to see the yellow oval on the Bat logo return

especially if it looks like the Batman INC suit

 

[HUMANIMAL]

I mean, do we really need this?

 

[Kevin Smith]

A lot of writers and artists have shown the white eyes on the suit while not being worn or have done damage to the suit in which at least one of the white lenses is ripped/gone. So I always assumed they were always there due to that. I wish I had some scans on my computer to show that.

However, what the white eyes are tends to vary from writer to writer and artist to artist. Some see them as lenses whereas others see them as just material part of the costume that Bruce can see through. Personally, I always saw and preferred them as the latter as opposed to something made of glass such as lenses.



As I said, it varies from writer to writer so it's not always set in stone. But the vast majority of writers draw him with the white eyes.

Neal Adams drew Batman without pupils for the majority of his time on Batman though.

For closeups, and even chest-ups, Neal Adams always included pupils, but I agree, he did draw the "white eyes" most of the time - however, I still don't see that as indication that they were lenses, personally.

i think most look too much into it and interpreted the white eyes as lenses or a seethrough material on the cowl itself...
too me it is a just an artistic choice for much more contrast and intensity...cause those are drawings
and its just looking more impressive when leaving the pupils away...
like on a car for example...
i dont believe the first decison to make only white eyes was the thought to add any eye covering to the mask at all

This ^^. That even goes for some of those shots when the suit is just laying there.

 

[Kevin Smith]

personally, i would love to see the yellow oval on the Bat logo return

especially if it looks like the Batman INC suit

I would LOVE for the yellow ellipse to return! Batman TAS, Batman '89.....look, I don't care what you think of it on the suit, just as a piece of marketing merchandise, THAT logo IS superior. Just that alone on a poster is brilliant. I hope it does make a comeback, because I have missed it. It encompasses the epic-ness of the character, IMO, plus it is really, REALLY well designed. So even if they go the route where he has the black bat on his chest, they should still market the movie with the yellow and black ellipsed logo, IMO.

 

[LEVITIKUZ]

If we can have Dredd without ever seeing his eyes, I think we can have Batman with white lenses.

Because Dredd sells as much as Batman does...

 

[Bruce Malone]

I mean, do we really need this?

When exactly did we ever actually see that? If that's just a random freeze frame taken, you can make literally anything look silly if you freeze it at the right moment. I never saw the cowl ever appear like that while the film was playing.

As much as some people liked to rag on the TDK suit, I thought its facial cowl was the best we've seen so far.

 

[godisawesome]

Again, I.e. white eyes:

Or just use CGI to make his regular eyes glow. Scott Snyder has him using contacts to achieve that effect in the comics right now, and regardless of whether they uses prosthetics for his forehead or eyebrows, Bale and Keaton clearly demonstrated that the eyes can still emote quite a lot. Just make them glow and have his eyelids be able to squint, blink, widen, and of course narrow around his pupil.

I'm talking skip any actual additions to the costume and just use photoshop to make his regular eyes glow. Anybody see any huge disadvantages to this, considering Superman's cape was CGIed in Man of Steel half the time? You could basically toggle the glow on and off, throw in some lines about reverse engineering the Kryptonian helmet to get a hitch membrane, and look kickass at the same time.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Exactly! And its just an option. I hope they at least do a screen test of it...and if not have it in the movie, then at least as an BTS featurette on the DVD/BluRay. I'd love to see what they come up with.

Like have a real cowl up to his hairline and then down around to under his chin, leaving his face completely unmasked. Then they could place those facial expression capture dots on his face in order to render the facial part of the mask in 3D (with texture and lighting added of course). This would give them the range to make the eyes white (like in the comics and animated material) and would allow the mask to mimic his facial movements completely, posing no hindrance to Ben's acting (scowls, raised eyebrows, etc.). I think they could really do this well and it would look great!

^^ That is an interesting idea, but I feel it might be kind of funny looking. I mean we all know it is a mask and expect it to be as such. Kind of material that moves with your face might look a bit bizarre, but nonetheless, I'd love to see a test like this at least.

I mean, do we really need this?

Lol, no, but we do need this:

If there is one thing Burton got right, it's the imagery of Batman for sure, to say the least.

Also, I like how the eyes look in this image, but notice how there is a certain glow to them that I think would work well:

Now in this image here, the eyes shift between white and as they actually appear in the film, if they do go the white lenses route, I think something like how they look here when they are white, but a little more solid, would be awesome, and am totally on board:

That's ****ing Batman, right there. ^^