The Dark Knight Rises The TDKR Batsuit Discussion Thread

[Comics N' Toons]

I didn't really like the blue hues in the Batman&Robin batsuit, although there were elements of the suit sculpt that I would put on EVERY BATSUIT ever created.

I like the way the suit overall is a hyper stylized Neal Adams batsuit. I like the cowl, the chest is decent (without the nipples) and I like the boots and the legs. I think placement of the chest emblem and some other elements need work

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Like the huge codpiece Bats is packing.

 

[El Payaso]

Bill Finger disagrees with Batman being entirely black. He designed a grey batsuit with black cowl, cape, gloves, boots and underoos. And Bob Kane designed him with Superman's costume but without the \S/. So far, that is 100% of Batman's creators designing him not entirely black. Burton is the only person who has done that, and I really enjoy that Nolan used 85% grey for most of the suit.

It's clear that Nolan's intention was to depict Batman black, not grey (or maybe he thought a grey cowl was great for Batman?)

Not only that, Nolan kept the whole black full-armored Burtonian bat-suit concept.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

It's clear that Nolan's intention was to mdepict Batman black, not grey (or mauybe he thought a grey cowl was great for Batman?)

I'm sure if Nolan wanted a black batsuit he would have one. And the cowl is black isn't it?

Not only that, Nolan kept the whole black full-armored Burtonian bat-suit concept.

Fine with that. Batman wears armor.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Okay, so you didn't get my point at all--or maybe you got it and just decided to rant anyway. Whatever.

I got your point and was responding to it till i got carried away with my rant.

Like you said, the director arbitrarily chooses what to throw out of the window. I dont have much of a problem with that (discussed more below), my problem is mostly with the post-Nolan batman fans who analyze everything to death. Post Nolan everything you do must have a practical application as if there are no impracticalities or unrealistic elements on his suits.

About the director's choices, well i do have a problem when said logic affects the visuals. If you re being arbitrarily realistic, why not be arbitrarily realistic to suit your visuals more?

 

[Godzilla2014]

I didn't really like the blue hues in the Batman&Robin batsuit, although there were elements of the suit sculpt that I would put on EVERY BATSUIT ever created.

I like the way the suit overall is a hyper stylized Neal Adams batsuit. I like the cowl, the chest is decent (without the nipples) and I like the boots and the legs. I think placement of the chest emblem and some other elements need work

Disagree.

I'm sure if Nolan wanted a black batsuit he would have one. And the cowl is black isn't it?

It is black. It just looks gray in some pictures due to lighting.

Fine with that. Batman wears armor.

I agree. Batman wears body armor, and I have no problems with it showing.

I got your point and was responding to it till i got carried away with my rant.

Like you said, the director arbitrarily chooses what to throw out of the window. I dont have much of a problem with that (discussed more below), my problem is mostly with the post-Nolan batman fans who analyze everything to death. Post Nolan everything you do must have a practical application as if there are no impracticalities or unrealistic elements on his suits.

About the director's choices, well i do have a problem when said logic affects the visuals. If you re being arbitrarily realistic, why not be arbitrarily realistic to suit your visuals more?

I can concede your points about the Nolan Batman films not completely adhering to realism, though I think that what the Nolan films have that people like is plausibility. The glider-cape supporting the combined weight of Bruce Wayne, the Batsuit, and all his equipment, may not be realistic, but it is plausible the way it is presented in the film. See what I mean?

 

[Blue Sugar]

jigsaw looking bodyarmor > rubber bodymuscle look

 

[Godzilla2014]

jigsaw looking bodyarmor > rubber bodymuscle look

Agreed. The rubber muscle suit look makes Batman look like a dude in a ridiculous costume, not the badass crimefighting genius he is.

 

[Travesty]

Agreed. The rubber muscle suit look makes Batman look like a dude in a ridiculous costume, not the badass crimefighting genius he is.

Hehe, what?

 

[Godzilla2014]

Hehe, what?

Maybe I misspoke. What I mean is that the BATMAN & ROBIN Batsuit makes Batman look more like he's entertaining children to me, while THE DARK KNIGHT Batsuit looks like the outfit of a man who kicks the asses of criminals and uses its appearance as a symbol that instills fear in the hearts of his enemies. Make more sense?

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

It is black. It just looks gray in some pictures due to lighting.

No, they're both around 85% grey. He's both Batsuits under white light, with no filter.

Batman Begins:

The Dark Knight:

It's easier to see on The Dark Knight suit as there are more area where black and grey are visible together. With Batman Begins suit, you can see the contrast with the gauntlets, boots, cape, belt center and Bale bust.

I agree. Batman wears body armor, and I have no problems with it showing.

I don't mind it showing, but it should be more subtle like in Batman Begins.

I can concede your points about the Nolan Batman films not completely adhering to realism, though I think that what the Nolan films have that people like is plausibility. The glider-cape supporting the combined weight of Bruce Wayne, the Batsuit, and all his equipment, may not be realistic, but it is plausible the way it is presented in the film. See what I mean?

Nolan presents absolute BS and explains it using pseudo-science. If he were to use the Lazarus Pit he could explain that the combination of chemicals in the Pit encourages a cellular regeneration and causes Telomorase to regrow within the body, meaning aging regresses. BS, but using real science to explain it.

 

[Saint]

Like you said, the director arbitrarily chooses what to throw out of the window.

No, that's not what I said at all. In fact, what I said was that those choices are the exact opposite of arbitrary.

 

[Godzilla2014]

No, they're both around 85% grey. He's both Batsuits under white light, with no filter.

Batman Begins:

The Dark Knight:

It's easier to see on The Dark Knight suit as there are more area where black and grey are visible together. With Batman Begins suit, you can see the contrast with the gauntlets, boots, cape, belt center and Bale bust.

The Batsuits are made of different materials. While making BATMAN BEIGNS, Christopher Nolan wanted to redesign the technology of the Batsuit, but he didn't have time to. When it came time for THE DARK KNIGHT, he got his opportunity, and took it.

I don't mind it showing, but it should be more subtle like in Batman Begins.

The thing is that the suits are constructed differently. In BATMAN BEGINS, the Batsuit is mostly the same material, a soft, supple rubber that still limited Christian Bale's mobility, yet didn't really look much like body armor. In THE DARK KNIGHT, the Batsuit is a mesh bodysuit with hard pieces attached to it and crumple zones in between. Thus, the armor stands out more.

Nolan presents absolute BS and explains it using pseudo-science. If he were to use the Lazarus Pit he could explain that the combination of chemicals in the Pit encourages a cellular regeneration and causes Telomorase to regrow within the body, meaning aging regresses. BS, but using real science to explain it.

There's not a lot of psuedo-science, at least for the Batsuit. The memory fabric that Batman's cape is made of in the films? It's under development by the Defense Advance Research Projects Adminstration (DARPA). I'll concede that Kevlar and Nomex are fabrics, but they are real. Some things may not realistic, but, to me, they are plausible. His explanations for aspects of Batman are certainly plausible to me.

 

[itsthebatman]

No, that's not what I said at all. In fact, what I said was that those choices are the exact opposite of arbitrary.

Yeah. I don't think Christopher Nolan does arbitrary.

 

[gillberg2k1]

The only reason the suits are gray is because of the material used. You can only get the foam rubber so black before it loses it's durability. I recommend watching the special features on the Begins DVD/Blu-Ray, they spell this out pretty clearly.

 

[Godzilla2014]

The only reason the suits are gray is because of the material used. You can only get the foam rubber so black before it loses it's durability. I recommend watching the special features on the Begins DVD/Blu-Ray, they spell this out pretty clearly.

Pretty much. For BATMAN BEGINS, they wanted the foam rubber to be supple enough to allow Batman to crouch and move around a lot more than the previous Batsuits of the Burton/Schumacher series.

 

[Boom]

The batsuits are black. Like gill said, the only reason they appear grey in contrast to the cape and gauntlets is because of the difference in material.

Black foam latex looks lighter than black cloth/felt.
Black foam latex looks ligher than black metal.

 

[Godzilla2014]

I think one of the biggest improvements to be made to the Batsuit of THE DARK KNIGHT is to make the chest symbol bigger. I think that the Bat-symbol should be about as wide as Batman's pectoral muscles, so that it could also function as an extra layer of armor to cover Batman's heart and lungs. I always liked that particular explanation of the symbol on the chest in comics, and I thought its size was great in BATMAN BEGINS.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

The only reason the suits are gray is because of the material used. You can only get the foam rubber so black before it loses it's durability. I recommend watching the special features on the Begins DVD/Blu-Ray, they spell this out pretty clearly.

I did not know that. That explains why the symbol is grey and not black. Was the suit originally intended to be black? I imagine they kept the grey on mk. II to keep continuity then.

 

[Godzilla2014]

I did not know that. That explains why the symbol is grey and not black. Was the suit originally intended to be black? I imagine they kept the grey on mk. II to keep continuity then.

It's black foam rubber that looks grey. The gray on the THE DARK KNIGHT Batsuit is there to provide a bit more contrast so that Batman isn't a black blob on screen.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

It's black foam rubber that looks grey. The gray on the THE DARK KNIGHT Batsuit is there to provide a bit more contrast so that Batman isn't a black blob on screen.

They really need to change the name of the material then. Black foam rubber looks grey because it is grey.

 

[El Payaso]

I'm sure if Nolan wanted a black batsuit he would have one. And the cowl is black isn't it?

Black or grey, the mask was the same color as the suit, gloves and boots.

And well, the suit IS greay. Problem is that the cape was even darker so it made the suit look a lighter color. And it made the whole suit look like one thing and the cape an absolutely separate item. Not good.

Agreed. The rubber muscle suit look makes Batman look like a dude in a ridiculous costume, not the badass crimefighting genius he is.

Yeah, spandex and underwear over it makes you look like a badass crimefighter genius.

 

[EliteF50]

Yeah, spandex and underwear over it makes you look like a badass crimefighter genius.

It sure looks a lot better than a black rubber muscle suit.

This

Sure looks a lot better than this, imo...

Or this...

Or any other Batsuit from Hollywood (except for the Returns suit).

 

[Godzilla2014]

Black or grey, the mask was the same color as the suit, gloves and boots.

And well, the suit IS greay. Problem is that the cape was even darker so it made the suit look a lighter color. And it made the whole suit look like one thing and the cape an absolutely separate item. Not good.

Like I said earlier, I don't have too much of a problem with it, because the cape would have different material requirements from the rest of the suit. I know some people don't like the feeling that they are separate item, and that that kind of logic should go out the window, I'm just stating why it doesn't bother me.

Yeah, spandex and underwear over it makes you look like a badass crimefighter genius.

What I mean is that the Batman & Robin Batsuit's musculature looks ridiculous.

 

[Mr. Earle]

No, that's not what I said at all. In fact, what I said was that those choices are the exact opposite of arbitrary.

Regardless of your original point, the bar is set where the director wants to set it. From then on i assume that there's a certain tone they need to stick to, i mean i dont expect to see boomtubes at this point, but i'm sure that Nolan could come up with some BS to justify even the grey suit with the black panties.

I mean people are already buying that the suit that allowed him to beat 4 ninjas and Ras himself is too heavy for him to deal with some lowly thugs.

"Three buttons is a little 90ies Mr Wayne."
"I need to be even faster. I got beat up by an old lady last night."
"Spandex suit Ross style it is then."

FANBOYS: OMG NOLAN IS A GENIUS. THE SPANDEX SUIT ROCKS. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT? ITS SO FAAAAAST AND REALISTIXORZS. IT HAS A PURPOSE THAT MAKES TOTAL SENSE TO ME.

I think one of the biggest improvements to be made to the Batsuit of THE DARK KNIGHT is to make the chest symbol bigger. I think that the Bat-symbol should be about as wide as Batman's pectoral muscles, so that it could also function as an extra layer of armor to cover Batman's heart and lungs. I always liked that particular explanation of the symbol on the chest in comics, and I thought its size was great in BATMAN BEGINS.

But you re fine with the jigsaw pants?