The Dark Knight Rises The TDKR Batsuit Discussion Thread

[DavidTyler]

Photoshop fun. Nothing major but I'll leave this here. Obviously I made the ears longer and straightened them a little. I gave the cowl somewhat of a meaner look, made the cowl thinner and obviously opened the mouth area.

Arkham Asylum Batman was flawless. I'd like to see Batman looking like that in live action. Under the suit he should have a flexible body armor. You know, so it can give Batman a bulky look and because it makes sense. The closest Batsuit is the costume from the fan made mini film Batman Dead End. However I'm not a fan of skin tight fabric. Something like the same material used in AA would look better.

I agree.

Agreed. I liked the BB chest logo, always wondered why it wasn't anywhere else in Nolan's world.

I like TDK suit but just feel this one was more intimidating.

The cape needs to be the same tone of black as the suit, or vice versa. It doesn't look as bad in the film but the contract between the two blacks is jarring and doesn't mesh well. That's one thing Schumacher got right, the cape felt like an extension of the suit. Here it looks like Batman put a large velvet blanket on his back as an after thought.



Agreed, it's a great pic. Only thing I don't like are the clasps.

Here's what I want... I want the TDK suit with the BB emblem and I want the cape to have the scalloped edge. And I want the chest emblem to stand out by being darker or shinier or whatever they need to do to make it stand out.

As to the two toys - where did you find them? I'd love to pick them up.

 

[Soapy]

If Bruce left the "nomex survival suit" as it was (aside from adding a bat symbol) instead of painting over it, I'm 99% sure that would have been my favorite batsuit.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Here's what I want... I want the TDK suit with the BB emblem and I want the cape to have the scalloped edge. And I want the chest emblem to stand out by being darker or shinier or whatever they need to do to make it stand out.

As to the two toys - where did you find them? I'd love to pick them up.

I googled "Young Justice Batman" so i guess you could search the shops for that.

The cape needs to be the same tone of black as the suit, or vice versa. It doesn't look as bad in the film but the contract between the two blacks is jarring and doesn't mesh well. That's one thing Schumacher got right, the cape felt like an extension of the suit. Here it looks like Batman put a large velvet blanket on his back as an after thought.

Agreed.

 

[JBElliott]

I've talked about this before, but the mouth opening isn't that impractical. Soldiers don't wear gas masks except for in NBC situations, and SWAT teams usually only wear an unarmored baclava to conceal their faces. Most (if not all) training for police and military (people for whom potentially having to shoot another person is in their job description) teach them to aim for center mass (the torso and hips), not the head. In THE DARK KNIGHT, the cape can be retracted into a backpack if necessary, thus addressing that point. Finally, in-universe, the Batsuit is a kevlar bodysuit with ceramic plating, the same armor technology that protects our soldiers from enemy fire, from pistol cartridges to full-sized rifle cartridges. That comes in handy if the bad guys pull out assault rifles, a scenario becoming increasingly likely as submachine guns are being rendered obsolete by assault rifle carbines.

There was a report released in the past year or two that showed more criminals who shot at cops shot at their heads since a lot of cops are wearing bullet proof vests. Given that, and given the obvious armor of the Nolan bat suits, it's clear that criminals who shot at Batman would shoot for his head and easily hit him in the face if they used automatic weapons.

The impracticality of capes was made very clear in The Incredibles. Retractible or not, there's no valid, real world argument that cape is practical.

With regard to in-universe assumptions, those are a two way street. It could be shown that in-universe, Batman wears some armor under a cloth looking suit that is really a high-tech kevlar weave that is bullet proof. One can use in-universe arguments to make any point desired.

 

[JBElliott]

The Batman and Robin Batsuit makes him look more like a BatMAN to me. He doesn't look like a nonhuman creature, it makes him look like a dude in a silly expensive Halloween outfit. THE DARK KNIGHT Batsuit looks like something much more fitting to the character. He looks like he is here to kick ass not entertain children. The TDK Batsuit just looks more threatening and intimidating than the B&R one.

Those are your opinions and that's all.

The Nolan bat suits don't look intimidating at all to me. If I was going against that Batman, I'd arm myself with several automatic weapons and shoot directly at his head. The Nolan bat suits look more like expensive motocross suits than anything else and are completely un-intimidating. The Nolan suits make it clear that Batman is just a guy trying to wear some armor, so the best option is to shoot him in the face.

On the other hand, if a guy shows up wearing a Dead End style suit and shakes off some gun shots, one would have to wonder whether he was human or hiding some armor under the cloth. That doubt would lead to intimidation and fear.

 

[JBElliott]

^Tights will never translate well into live-action, even with armor underneath. Some things just look better drawn out.

Given the right costume designer and enough money, tights will translate brilliantly to live-action.

 

[Gianakin_]

On the other hand, if a guy shows up wearing a Dead End style suit and shakes off some gun shots, one would have to wonder whether he was human or hiding some armor under the cloth. That doubt would lead to intimidation and fear.

This is also your opinion. And the part in bold doesn't make sense. Your argument is that Nolan's Batman is obviously a guy in armour, whereas the Dead End Batman is... maybe a guy in armour? I don't get it.

Either way he's human. If you're a criminal and you aren't sure there's armour under the cloth, then.... you shoot him in the head anyway.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

well any real life killer, or any smart killer would aim for an area on the body they know is more vunerable or a "sure hit".

But that's just not the case most of the time in films, tv or comics. For some reasons criminals are usually pretty dumb or a "bad shot" in those mediums.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Given the right costume designer and enough money, tights will translate brilliantly to live-action.

Maybe a non rubber suit but I'm sorry nothing can makes tights look brilliant.

 

[JBElliott]

This is also your opinion. And the part in bold doesn't make sense. Your argument is that Nolan's Batman is obviously a guy in armour, whereas the Dead End Batman is... maybe a guy in armour? I don't get it.

Either way he's human. If you're a criminal and you aren't sure there's armour under the cloth, then.... you shoot him in the head anyway.

You don't.

As stated ad nauseam here, the Dead End suit is clearly "spandex". So imagine you shoot at a guy wearing "spandex". Since it's "spandex" you just shoot at his chest, no reason not to since it's clearly "spandex" and not armor. But the guy doesn't die and shrugs it off and kicks your ass. Now of course you think he's wearing a vest, but it sure didn't look like it so you've got a doubt in your mind whether it was armor or whether it was something else.

The Nolan suits take away any possibility of doubt.

 

[JBElliott]

well any real life killer, or any smart killer would aim for an area on the body they know is more vunerable or a "sure hit".

But that's just not the case most of the time in films, tv or comics. For some reasons criminals are usually pretty dumb or a "bad shot" in those mediums.

James Bond wears tuxedoes and routinely gets out of fire fights without being killed. There are more Bond movies than Bat movies and no one really cares that Bond doesn't wear armor, just that the movies are good. The same would be true if Batman wore a more comic accurate suit.

 

[JBElliott]

Maybe a non rubber suit but I'm sorry nothing can makes tights look brilliant.

That's your opinion and thus not necessarily true. Rami's Spider-Man suit was essentially tights, very comic accurate and looked great and the audiences seemed to like it since they spent so much money on seeing the movie. Similarly, Donner's Superman suit was successful.

We're talking about the look of the suits here, not the characters. Both those suits proved that comic accurate, tights can work on film and be in good movies.

 

[Boom]

All Batman needs to do is line his costume with spider-silk or liquid armor (to stop bullet and knife penetration), and have additional padding in vital areas (to stop bruising). Fun fact: that is real technology that actually exists.

I want a fabric-based suit so badly, it's bordering on desperation. I am done with rubber. Assuming the trend continues with TDKR, we will have had fourteen rubber suits (including Robin and Batgirl) for seven feature films spanning twenty-three years. Just let that sink it for a minute.

Fourteen rubber suits.
Seven feature films.
Twenty-three years.

That is absolutely pathetic.

Hopefully the director of the next franchise can do us all a favor and think outside the ****ing box.

 

[EliteF50]

Maybe a non rubber suit but I'm sorry nothing can makes tights look brilliant.

I think this looks pretty amazing (except for the ears).

 

[Savage]

James Bond wears tuxedoes and routinely gets out of fire fights without being killed. There are more Bond movies than Bat movies and no one really cares that Bond doesn't wear armor, just that the movies are good. The same would be true if Batman wore a more comic accurate suit.

Wow, that is an excellent point. Just comparing Daniel Craig's James Bond to Christan Bale's Batman, why can't Batman do any of that?

 

[Boom]

In b4 "James Bond uses a gun and kills people" argument.

 

[Yurka]

I think this looks pretty amazing (except for the ears).

Anorexic middle-eastern Batman.


Cool suit though (ears are a little tall)

 

[Soapy]

That's pretty much the last thing I would ever want to see on screen in a Batman movie.

 

[Yurka]

That's pretty much the last thing I would ever want to see on screen in a Batman movie.

An anorexic middle eastern Batman? Or the suit?

 

[Soapy]

Pick one.

 

[Gianakin_]

You don't.

Oh, but you do. You go for anything that'll save your little life. And in the the Nolan movies (and every Bat-movie, really), criminals shoot Batman in the torso or chest anyway, so your argument is kinda moot.

If you really wanna apply your rules to real life, a guy who wants to save his life and who doesn't lose his calm will aim for the head. Otherwise, if he's scared, he'll be shooting all over the place.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

don't get me wrong I love the Donner Superman suit and the Raimi Spidey suit, but I just don't think a similar suit will fit the tone of Nolans films.

 

[EliteF50]

don't get me wrong I love the Donner Superman suit and the Raimi Spidey suit, but I just don't think a similar suit will fit the tone of Nolans films.

Of course not. When people say they want a more comic-accurate Batsuit, they mean for a new series.

For example, if Zack Snyder made the next Batman movie, there would definitely be a comic-accurate Batsuit in it.

 

[B.A. Baracus]

I think this looks pretty amazing (except for the ears).

Very Kelley Jones.

Plus my eyes keep being drawn to his offal.

 

[B.A. Baracus]

Of course not. When people say they want a more comic-accurate Batsuit, they mean for a new series.

For example, if Zack Snyder made the next Batman movie, there would definitely be a comic-accurate Batsuit in it.

What makes you say that Watchmen had suits that were far removed from the comic.