No, trust me, we don't. We can't ever forget it, because people keep reminding us.What we constantly forget is that, when adapting a character to the screen, you need to do all you can to make him/her look convincing in the real world.
JAK®;20828349 said:No, trust me, we don't. We can't ever forget it, because people keep reminding us.
JAK®;20828349 said:No, trust me, we don't. We can't ever forget it, because people keep reminding us.
Isn't that the truth...
I think the issue with the TDK suit is that it wasn't "Batman" enough because it became segmented. That hasn't been done in the comics. All the other suits--even the Schumacher ones--still looked relatively like your generic comic book Batman suit. But TDK brought the segmentation, and that was something practical, yet quite different. While I understand why it was done, I'm not sure I like that it was done. I'd prefer if we went back more towards the BB suit.
Why is Batman's cape stapled to that building like that?
I think Joker played a prank on him, and Batman can't get off the roof. So now he's stuck there in badass pose because he doesn't want to be embarrassed.
And Batman did look like that.
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In both movies.
If I was the head of the design team for TDKR, I'd say this: Design a suit with the theatricality of the BB design, and the practicality of TDK design.
...a nearly impossible task, it seems.
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Here's my favourite look for a new suit. This manip was done by someone here on the Hype, but I honestly can't remember who did it. Hopefully someone here does remember so I can give credit where it's due...
To those wanting some sort of spandex-like material to stretch over the pads, do you guys have any idea what it would look like? Or how it would work?
This^^^^^^
A simple change in color tones makes the suit look so much better. Making the bodysuit a uniform gray and making the chest symbol more prominent tones down the harsh effect of the extremely symmetrical plates. Sure, it's still got the jagged look, but at least it's toned down. And to be honest, in motion the TDK batsuit's checkerboard pattern was less apparent. But do a simple color adjustment like the above manip, and it would be nearly invisible in motion.
THat particular approach would not work, IMO. The suggestion came from fans who are desperate to give some kind of justification for Batman to look like Batman. They are fed up with the black rubber and want big screen superheroes and supervillains to look like their comic book counterparts at any cost. Much as I would like this to happen, I fear it's too late where Batman is concerned. The rubber Batsuit has become permeated in the public consciousness, as 4 actors have worn some variation of it over the last 6 movies in 22 years. Hollywood doesn't believe Batman can wear cloth without looking like Adam West.
In my mind, that's more or less what he wears in the comics, underneath a layer of kevlar/nomex fabric.
still looks better than this
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Despite their inherent aesthetic flaws, the Schumacher suits were really terrible because they in no way represented the people that were wearing them. Batman's suit is supposed to be a second layer of skin, it's supposed to reveal the Bruce Wayne few people ever see.
His movies' suits didn't do that. They were flashy, but they didn't sell because Batman doesn't wear his suit to look cool (though that is a side effect when it is done right), he wears it to look menacing. Look at those suits again...who would be scared of that? If you want to design a suit for Batman, you need it to look like it creates another persona...basically, it needs to look like a creature.
Tim Burton's films had a decent bat suit, but, in my opinion, it lacks the shape of an other-worldy creature. It had that quality Halloween look to it: It looks kinda cool, it's a bit intimidating, but you couldn't imagine being taken seriously in it. The cowl, especially, was far too rectangular in its design.
Of all of the interpretations of Batman's suit, at least in film, I'd say that the Batman Begins suit is the best interpretation. No particular detail, no more than one or two colors. Just the cowl and the cape. Christian Bale said it best when he felt that, wearing the suit, he was a panther of sorts. A hunter. That is exactly what Batman's suit needs to feel like.
Nolan's design team doesn't get enough credit with the cowl. Unlike Burton's design, Nolan's cowl is subtle yet multi-faceted. You can see the pain and expression of Bruce Wayne manifest itself onto the brow, the eyes, and the nose. The ears aren't too big, but they are still prominent.
Another reason why the BB suit worked so well was the physique of Bale himself. The way his face is structured, the amount of effort he put into training and fitness, it all paid off when you saw him in the suit.
So what happened in The Dark Knight? Nolan's design team kept the cowl and cape, but they decided that Batman needed to be more flexible. Batman needed to turn his head. He needed to be faster. As far as the reasoning goes, I understand completely. What we constantly forget is that, when adapting a character to the screen, you need to do all you can to make him/her look convincing in the real world. Nolan's suits worked so well because they blended into the real world while, at the same time, existing just outside of reality.
It's not about looking cool, it's about being believable.
Then again, I found both the BB and TDK suits to still be very cool...I don't see why they are bashed on so much (especially TDK suit). One main reason why TDK suit probably didn't translate well to people is because we saw a lot of it in the light, and Batman's suit works the best in darkness. We also didn't get to see a lot of it...period.
If I was the head of the design team for TDKR, I'd say this: Design a suit with the theatricality of the BB design, and the practicality of TDK design.
...a nearly impossible task, it seems.
Barely.
I honestly don't have all that much problem with the foam latex (or whatever they're made of) suits, I'd just like to see them adopt a color pallet a little closer to the traditional comic look. Normally I'm a fan of superheroes in darker colors...but I'm just bored of seeing Batman in a relatively similar look in all his movies. I'd like them to try something new in terms of visual athletics.
Though, technically TDK did try something new....just not the direction I wanted the "new" to go in.
You can say that all you want. I have no doubt that if you saw a truly well-made cloth Batsuit, given all the time and effort that Acheson gave to designing Spider-Man, the result would be you reenacting that moment in "She's Out Of My League" right before Molly's parents walked in.
Exactly. It's a suit designed to allow for more movement for a longer period of time than a movie suit that they only do 10 to 20 minute takes on. I'm not saying it looks great but it's not as bad as you noob hangers are making it out to be.Considering the kind of show Batman Live is aiming to be, I wouldn't look at any of their costumes with movie costume eyes. Hell, look at how they butched Harley Quinn's image.
JAK®;20828349 said:No, trust me, we don't. We can't ever forget it, because people keep reminding us.
![]()
Here's my favourite look for a new suit. This manip was done by someone here on the Hype, but I honestly can't remember who did it. Hopefully someone here does remember so I can give credit where it's due...
This^^^^^^
A simple change in color tones makes the suit look so much better. Making the bodysuit a uniform gray and making the chest symbol more prominent tones down the harsh effect of the extremely symmetrical plates. Sure, it's still got the jagged look, but at least it's toned down. And to be honest, in motion the TDK batsuit's checkerboard pattern was less apparent. But do a simple color adjustment like the above manip, and it would be nearly invisible in motion.
That manip is not only a simple colour adjustment. You'll notice that it's a hybrid of the Begins and TDK suits. The subtlety of the amalgamation is one of my favourite things about that manip. Whoever did it is quite talented.
I also think that it's pretty damn close to what most of us want to see; A compromise between theatricality and function that fits with the template Nolan has put down for his version of Batman and is also not too far removed from the look of the comics.