The Dark Knight Rises The TDKR Batsuit Discussion Thread

[Saint]

Figured I'd bring this one back from the old thread. This is another perfect example of something that could be rendered in the Tron suit materials. Couple of things need to be reworked (neck, bat-thong, and some details are overly stylized), but this suit would fit pretty well in a Nolan movie, I think.

 

[Secret Fawful]

Personally, I'm a fan of a Batman that doesn't need a high-tech suit to crack skulls. You can not tell me that a man who can take a gun apart like Bruce did in TDK needs to wear armor to be Batman. Bad guys have guns? Simple. Grapple away and take them out one by one. Bad guy has a knife? Use martial arts knowledge to take it away. But...but...but you say, surely Batman can't just take the knife away or avoid the gunfire EVERY time. Well, sir, a huge point about Batman is that he's so skilled he CAN just take the damn knife away everytime or find a way to fight thugs with guns without getting shot every single time. What the hell was the point of the suit in TDK? To protect against gunfire or knifes? Well, that's nice. He's too skilled to need protection from knives, and even so, I never saw an instance in the film where he needed the suit for that. As far as gunfire, yeah, we saw how well that turned out in when he confronted Two-Face. So what else? Dogs? Good job, Bruce, you wussed out and decided to wear armor because you're afraid of some DOGS. You're Batman! You're highly skilled in martial arts! Are you seriously telling me you can't take on some damn dogs? Grapple them and hang the stupid pooches by their tails. Gas them and knock them out. You're Batman, protector of the night, who uses any means outside of murder to stop crime, not Dog's Best Friend. Especially not Dog Who Wants To Eat Your Flesh's Best Friend. The whole point of Batman is that he is so skilled he doesn't need to worry about knives and guns to take down crime. He's a SUPERHERO. And if the only argument there is to counter this is "but it's not realistic NOOOOOO nyah nyeh nyah!" save it because it doesn't fly in light of Bruce's "superior to everyone else" skills. There is a reason why Bane is the only man who can break Batman's back, because you have to have ultra-high intelligence, be at the peak of physical strength, and use means other than bullets and knives to do it.

 

[Bruce Malone]

We just did - designing and color balance. Siegel and Shuster had a great eye. The costume is basically divided by 3 and the sections are matched by the same color resulting in a perfect balance in both the design and color

That's not the explanation however as to why batman has briefs. The first superheros i.e. superman, batman had their looks based upon the strongman performers of that day who had the underwear look going on.

Whether that look is still relevant today is debatable however.

 

[JAK®]

^ That's the justification Siegel and Schuster gave for using briefs as a colour balancing device, but it's about good colour design first and foremost. As for Batman, he wears briefs because Superman did. Therefore, it works in the same way.

 

[Saint]

:::shameless self promotion:::

hey guys...just showing some concepts i made through the years. they don't exactly fall in line with what Nolan's been doing, but i figure there might be 1 or 2 elements from these designs that you might like. if anything it could give y'all something to talk about...

[YT]8V6ZNLH8YZI[/YT]

Man, some of those bring back memories from years ago, haha.Can you post some of the full images? I'd like to get a better look at some of those.

The one where the armour has this really sharp, curvy look to the lines was one I didn't like way back when you originally posted it, but seeing it now, I think it would make a great costume for a move with more of a stylistic edge, where Batman has some style to him and wants to appear like a ghost or wraith.

 

[Saint]

^ That's the justification Siegel and Schuster gave for using briefs as a colour balancing device, but it's about good colour design first and foremost. As for Batman, he wears briefs because Superman did. Therefore, it works in the same way.

Well, I don't think we're really in a position to say whether it was colour or circus outfits that motivated them more one way or the other.

As for the topic of trunks in general, when it comes to the comics, the trunks look good and make sense as a design convention in that universe. They also give artists an excuse to draw that area of the costume with less definition than the rest, so bonus.

Since the costume on film doesn't have that problem, and because it's all black, trunks are irrelevant. Even if the costume were grey, the trunks are less of a concern, since the costume is dark anyway, and you're going to see much less of it than you do with Superman (for whom I think trunks are definitely needed on film, unless one thoroughly redesigns the entire costume). Still, Nite-Owl proved that trunks can work in the right sort of movie and the right sort of design--and there are always alternatives, like harness straps, or a more flexible material in that area that just happens to be darker.

I guess my verdict is that, if it works with the style of the movie, go for it. If not, no big loss.

I also think that simply making Batman's lower body black--while his upper body remains grey--is a fine solution, like in this old look of mine (which I love posting because I know it drives Earle nuts):

 

[JAK®]

I agree that actual, Superman-style trunks on a Batman costume is unnecessary. But your Nite-Owl example has reminded me of how the trunks never looked stupid on that costume.

 

[TerryMcGinnis]

I hate that theyre angled inwards in stead of straight up, ridiculous I know, but if they were straight the cowl would look so much better.

As it stands, the cowl in TDK is the wrong shape for completely straight ears. It's too round.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

Personally, I'm a fan of a Batman that doesn't need a high-tech suit to crack skulls. You can not tell me that a man who can take a gun apart like Bruce did in TDK needs to wear armor to be Batman. Bad guys have guns? Simple. Grapple away and take them out one by one. Bad guy has a knife? Use martial arts knowledge to take it away. But...but...but you say, surely Batman can't just take the knife away or avoid the gunfire EVERY time. Well, sir, a huge point about Batman is that he's so skilled he CAN just take the damn knife away everytime or find a way to fight thugs with guns without getting shot every single time. What the hell was the point of the suit in TDK? To protect against gunfire or knifes? Well, that's nice. He's too skilled to need protection from knives, and even so, I never saw an instance in the film where he needed the suit for that. As far as gunfire, yeah, we saw how well that turned out in when he confronted Two-Face. So what else? Dogs? Good job, Bruce, you wussed out and decided to wear armor because you're afraid of some DOGS. You're Batman! You're highly skilled in martial arts! Are you seriously telling me you can't take on some damn dogs? Grapple them and hang the stupid pooches by their tails. Gas them and knock them out. You're Batman, protector of the night, who uses any means outside of murder to stop crime, not Dog's Best Friend. Especially not Dog Who Wants To Eat Your Flesh's Best Friend. The whole point of Batman is that he is so skilled he doesn't need to worry about knives and guns to take down crime. He's a SUPERHERO. And if the only argument there is to counter this is "but it's not realistic NOOOOOO nyah nyeh nyah!" save it because it doesn't fly in light of Bruce's "superior to everyone else" skills. There is a reason why Bane is the only man who can break Batman's back, because you have to have ultra-high intelligence, be at the peak of physical strength, and use means other than bullets and knives to do it.

I would've agreed with you if this wasn't Nolan's movie. I'm sure Bale can fit in well in that Dead End costume. But all the same the suit is meant to give him an edge over his foes. Even in the comics he's wearing kevlar, it makes sense in the film that he's wearing someothing that's state-of-the-art. I'm not a big fan of Batman's gadgetry myself, but it does work well with his characterisation. In TDK they did it even better than BB, where the possible tech became so out-reaching that standard morality is questioned. Also, this Batman evolves. I don't mind the idea that he's willing to use multiple suits to achieve his ends. The dogs... forget that, he got side-tracked once but he really punched the pooch bad. I like the TDK suit because it reminds me of the one he wore in DARK KNIGHT RETURNS while facing Superman. Now, I don't want Nolan to change his style and give us a Dead End Bat-suit. He's already gone past that. I'm guessing we'll be getting the clothes-treatment in the next film franchise.

 

[Two-Face]

I'm a big fan of the Batman Begins suit, it felt like he looked better in that movie. In TDK he looked like Iron Man.

 

[RustyCage]

I don't really care for Alex Ross' Batsuit design, but he's very talented on a technical level.

Niiiice! It's like BTAS Batman meets Begins Batman. That logo! Perfect! I'd love to see not only a movie adaptation of this (maybe with a slightly differently colored belt), but especially a serious comics translation.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

I'm a big fan of the Batman Begins suit, it felt like he looked better in that movie. In TDK he looked like Iron Man.

It's funny how I've been saying that exact thing even after TDK came out. The suit in Begins looked massive and the black was very well placed. Compared to that I didn't like the way the neck looked in TDK. But now, in retrospect, I'm in love with the TDK suit. It's Batman from DK:R fighting Superman, not Tony Stark or Solid Snake's gear.

 

[JAK®]

I would've agreed with you if this wasn't Nolan's movie. I'm sure Bale can fit in well in that Dead End costume. But all the same the suit is meant to give him an edge over his foes. Even in the comics he's wearing kevlar, it makes sense in the film that he's wearing someothing that's state-of-the-art. I'm not a big fan of Batman's gadgetry myself, but it does work well with his characterisation. In TDK they did it even better than BB, where the possible tech became so out-reaching that standard morality is questioned. Also, this Batman evolves. I don't mind the idea that he's willing to use multiple suits to achieve his ends. The dogs... forget that, he got side-tracked once but he really punched the pooch bad. I like the TDK suit because it reminds me of the one he wore in DARK KNIGHT RETURNS while facing Superman. Now, I don't want Nolan to change his style and give us a Dead End Bat-suit. He's already gone past that. I'm guessing we'll be getting the clothes-treatment in the next film franchise.

Nobody should wear the Dead End costume, because it's awful.

 

[Anchor_Content]

Personally, I'm a fan of a Batman that doesn't need a high-tech suit to crack skulls. You can not tell me that a man who can take a gun apart like Bruce did in TDK needs to wear armor to be Batman. Bad guys have guns? Simple. Grapple away and take them out one by one. Bad guy has a knife? Use martial arts knowledge to take it away. But...but...but you say, surely Batman can't just take the knife away or avoid the gunfire EVERY time. Well, sir, a huge point about Batman is that he's so skilled he CAN just take the damn knife away everytime or find a way to fight thugs with guns without getting shot every single time. What the hell was the point of the suit in TDK? To protect against gunfire or knifes? Well, that's nice. He's too skilled to need protection from knives, and even so, I never saw an instance in the film where he needed the suit for that. As far as gunfire, yeah, we saw how well that turned out in when he confronted Two-Face. So what else? Dogs? Good job, Bruce, you wussed out and decided to wear armor because you're afraid of some DOGS. You're Batman! You're highly skilled in martial arts! Are you seriously telling me you can't take on some damn dogs? Grapple them and hang the stupid pooches by their tails. Gas them and knock them out. You're Batman, protector of the night, who uses any means outside of murder to stop crime, not Dog's Best Friend. Especially not Dog Who Wants To Eat Your Flesh's Best Friend. The whole point of Batman is that he is so skilled he doesn't need to worry about knives and guns to take down crime. He's a SUPERHERO. And if the only argument there is to counter this is "but it's not realistic NOOOOOO nyah nyeh nyah!" save it because it doesn't fly in light of Bruce's "superior to everyone else" skills. There is a reason why Bane is the only man who can break Batman's back, because you have to have ultra-high intelligence, be at the peak of physical strength, and use means other than bullets and knives to do it.

Peeps need to get laid

 

[Secret Fawful]

Peeps need to get laid

You're absolutely right. If you're a girl, I'll be happy to be your first time. Don't worry. I'll be gentle.

 

[Savage]

I think I'd like the suit in TDK more if the gray was more apparent. The costume itself is in fact gray but with the way it's lit in the movie you really have no way of knowing. If they're going to light it that way they might as well use a lighter gray.

It just wasn't that clear or obvious in the movie. It came off like bland black tech.

 

[JAK®]

It just looks like an over designed piece of crap to me.

 

[Savage]

I think they're heading in the right direction. It reminds me of the armor that goes underneath the costume in the comics. If they can take that material, that texture underneath it and put it on top and make it tight I think it would look great. It actually looks thick and armored and not cloth. It'd almost look like Batman is wearing chainmail in the modern age.

 

[RustyCage]

Peeps need to get laid

This guy has said this exact thing several times in several threads, why is he still around?

 

[Anchor_Content]

You're absolutely right. If you're a girl, I'll be happy to be your first time. Don't worry. I'll be gentle.

Glad you know how to take a joke... and give some back... unlike Rusty... who needs to... you know....

 

[C. Lee]

Glad you know how to take a joke... and give some back... unlike Rusty... who needs to... you know....

You've said it in 5 of your last 9 posts...sounds like trolling to me. How about you worry about your sex life and let everyone else worry about thiers. It's getting old real fast.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

I want armour just because Batman wear armour. The spandex goes on top of it.

 

[Anchor_Content]

You've said it in 5 of your last 9 posts...sounds like trolling to me. How about you worry about your sex life and let everyone else worry about thiers. It's getting old real fast.

Geez... alright

 

[Mr. Earle]

My biggest beef with the classic costume is that Batman is wearing his underpants outside of his clothes. Can someone please explain to me why that look is superior to an all black suit and how it better reflects Batman's character?

Well i wouldnt mind an all black batsuit if it wasnt made of pads and straps and riot gear. So for me a black "cloth" suit would be fantastic.

I hate the Dead End costume. It's a perfect example of how NOT to adapt Batman's costume. It's spandex, for a start, and that grey is practically white. It's only a few steps above halloween costume.

Agreed.

 

[The Red Hood]

I think there is a core issue being missed in this debate, and that is, namely: why would Bruce Wayne as realized in a film set in modern times simply wear tights?

Let's look at the history of The Batman for a minute. National wanted a hero that would capitalize on the success of Superman, so a year later, Bob Kane is tapped to create a character with a look very similar to that of Superman. Thus, the tights with trunks look.

That's all fine and good for comics, and I'm a life-long comic book fan and fan of The Batman. I think the suit looks great in Dead End, but that's a fan film, made for fans, by fans.

The issue Ringwood addressed in his concept of the suit was-and still is-a viable one in a movie adaptation of the comics: why would a man with virtually unlimited resources simply wear tights and no protection while going up against armed criminals? The precedence of Superman's costume, which doesn't have to be protective at all, doesn't apply to a non-comic book, thus wider audience approach.

Most of us comic book fans would love it if Batman was wearing the tights in a film. The non-comic book reader would be immediately taken out of the film. It just doesn't make sense, and yes, because of realism. I know that word is overused and sometimes abused (I hope for a more Gothic take in the next series of films) but it applies fully to the suit.

And if you're going to counter with, "well, the costume is symbolic," that's absurd. The Batman is the ONLY character in all of comic book history (and probably the history of literature) whose silhouette/appearance IS the same as his symbol. Thus, the main body suit isn't that important; it's the cowl, the ears, and especially the cape. That's why I personally dislike the lack of a scalloped cape and why I wish the Nolan cowls were more animal-like and primal, like the Burton cowls. They look like skin covered muscle, giving the appearance of a terrifying human bat.

So let's end the argument over the tights. They simply won't work in the films. Now, if you want to have tights over armor, or armor over tights, that's one thing. But simply tights? Nope. Not going to work, at least not in mega-budget films targeting mainstream audiences.

-Hood