The Dark Knight What colour scheme do you want for the Batsuit in TDK?

[Miranda Fox]

This grey doesn't look bad at all - and it's not a manip.

 

[regwec]

This is my Neal Adams style

That is a thing of genuine beauty. Is there anyway I could persuade you to try a blue/grey scheme?

 

[batsone]

That is a thing of genuine beauty. Is there anyway I could persuade you to try a blue/grey scheme?

let me get that to you thursday. I had started on the blue& grey and my program crashed.... but no problem.

 

[regwec]

You're the man!

 

[Sun_Down]

Here's a question, and I'm honestly not trying to start a fight. Many have stated that grey makes better urban camoflage, but wouldn't his whole suit have to be grey for that to work? And on that same note, wouldn't the advantage of grey only apply during the day, since everything looks more or less black in the dark? Again, not trying to start a flame war, I'm just starting to like the grey suit idea a bit more.

BTW, I really like your manips, batstone

 

[COMPO]

Oh, its on now.LOL.

 

[BatScot]

As some are wont to say... it's all for the effect:

... and you just can't get that from all black.

 

[COMPO]

grey adn black does look good with those manips.

 

[lujho]

Here's a question, and I'm honestly not trying to start a fight. Many have stated that grey makes better urban camoflage, but wouldn't his whole suit have to be grey for that to work?

Not neccessarily. Black and grey could appear as a jumble of different shapes that may blend if with an area of "messy" shadow - shadows of different darkness levels - and be harder to identify as the shape of a man. I'm not claiming that's really a strong argument though - I've always maintained that there's not going to be much difference visibility wise between all black, all dark grey or a combo of both. All 3 possibilities would be better than the others in different situations, so visibility is really irrelevant to the choice - better to go by aesthetics

And on that same note, wouldn't the advantage of grey only apply during the day, since everything looks more or less black in the dark?

I don't think darkness really makes things as black as people seem to think it does. Yes, it makes a lot of things "more or less black" emphasis on "or less" - shadows don't REALLY make things black unless that's their true colour already, or it's just so damn dark that ANYTHING would be black. But real urban night-time conditions will have a whole range of lighting levels, and different shades of colour clothing will blend in better or worse with those varying levels. You're never going to be wearing a colour that will blend in with every environment, and in many cases, black is going to be the colour that will stand out the most.

Unless Batman's costume actually intelligently changes colour via some kind of technology (which is quite plausible in the near future, really), he's never going to be able to have maximum camouflage.

Better to just pick the look you like and use cinematography to have him be hidden or visible as you require. That scene where he's in scarecrow's drug hideout and is a silhouette that blends in to the shadows - he would have been just as much a silhouette had he been wearing dark grey, and blended in to the surrounding blackness just as well.

 

[Sun_Down]

Not neccessarily. Black and grey could appear as a jumble of different shapes that may blend if with an area of "messy" shadow - shadows of different darkness levels - and be harder to identify as the shape of a man. I'm not claiming that's really a strong argument though - I've always maintained that there's not going to be much difference visibility wise between all black, all dark grey or a combo of both. All 3 possibilities would be better than the others in different situations, so visibility is really irrelevant to the choice - better to go by aesthetics



I don't think darkness really makes things as black as people seem to think it does. Yes, it makes a lot of things "more or less black" emphasis on "or less" - shadows don't REALLY make things black unless that's their true colour already, or it's just so damn dark that ANYTHING would be black. But real urban night-time conditions will have a whole range of lighting levels, and different shades of colour clothing will blend in better or worse with those varying levels. You're never going to be wearing a colour that will blend in with every environment, and in many cases, black is going to be the colour that will stand out the most.

Unless Batman's costume actually intelligently changes colour via some kind of technology (which is quite plausible in the near future, really), he's never going to be able to have maximum camouflage.

Better to just pick the look you like and use cinematography to have him be hidden or visible as you require. That scene where he's in scarecrow's drug hideout and is a silhouette that blends in to the shadows - he would have been just as much a silhouette had he been wearing dark grey, and blended in to the surrounding blackness just as well.

Excellent post. I'll toss my hat in the grey/black corner.

 

[mjbull23]

Good points raised by Lujho. Personally for me, I prefer the large black chest emblem (never was a huge fan of the yellow oval), the dark grey suit and the black hood/cape attachment.

 

[batsone]

here you go regwic

 

[BatScot]

Excellent post. I'll toss my hat in the grey/black corner.

Good man

 

[explode7]

The black and grey really looks good indeed. I wonder how a blue and grey one would look. Manippers get to work!!!

 

[lujho]

Blue, I think *could* work, but it'd have to be a really dark,dull, de-saturated, grey-blue, and it'd still have to be darker than they grey bit.

And you'd probably have to be making a slightly different sort of bat-movie... not neccessarily a more camp or silly one, but a different tone.

I think if you took batsone's blue and grey manip above and converted it to greyscale, the blue and grey would both be as light as eachother. It often seemed that way in the comics when Batman had the supposedly "all black" suit, which was clearly blue and dark grey. If the blue and grey are the same lightness, it looks a bit wrong. And the blue in it is too rich/deep too, IMO.

 

[Eros]

stick with all black please.

 

[Saint]

A hyper-stylized green-screen Batman movie--in the realm of Sky Captain, Sin City, or 300--with the mood and atmosphere of BTAS could feasibly make a blue/grey costume work. Personally, I prefer black/grey, but in that setting blue would be interesting, and maybe even the better way to go.

 

[Ibn]

I think anything but all black would look ridiculous and completely non intimidating. To me, the point of the suit, and the persona, is not to put on a fashion show but a horror flick. If a guy jumped out on me with a mostly grey suit that has what appears to be underwear at first glance, I am going to laugh his ass into oblivion, then take a swing. The all black IMO is the only way to go. However, I would like them to make it so someway somehow the symbol is more showcased. The Begins suit kinda looses the mystique of the character when the symbol becomes obscured. That's why I love the oval. It lets you see the symbol, which Bruce adamantly stressed in the first flick. What better way than to let your enemies get accustomed to actually being able to make out the symbol. Just my thoughts. Plus, since the gold belt works, I don't see some gold in a small symbol hurting at all, especially if it's the same color as the belt.

 

[Nepenthes]

I voted All Black/No Oval for the same reasons ^ except I disagree with Ibn on the oval. Sure it's mythic and everything but I don't think he needs it to intimidate or establish his legend among criminals, he's got enough going for him already and I'd prefer he aim for *complete* stealth instead of a visible icon. Other than that it just looks cheesy and too superhero-ish for me.

If he gets a grey costume I won't really mind. At least it'll be different and faithful to the comics. But I prefer black.

 

[regwec]

here you go regwic

There! That's it! The costume I want to see! Who do I bribe? How do I get Batsone onto the production team?

 

[Dirt Like Me]

A hyper-stylized green-screen Batman movie--in the realm of Sky Captain, Sin City, or 300--with the mood and atmosphere of BTAS could feasibly make a blue/grey costume work. Personally, I prefer black/grey, but in that setting blue would be interesting, and maybe even the better way to go.

Putting aside my feelings on a JLA movie, if WB ever goes that route then I think the blue and gray would work very well. That manip looks great, batsone. I'm impressed.

For the atmosphere of the Bale/Nolan franchise I think all black works best, though.

 

[itsthebatman]

There! That's it! The costume I want to see! Who do I bribe? How do I get Batsone onto the production team?

So, are you the one who voted blue and grey, oval?

 

[regwec]

Yes. I like to pretend my minority status makes me special.

 

[Ibn]

I voted All Black/No Oval for the same reasons ^ except I disagree with Ibn on the oval. Sure it's mythic and everything but I don't think he needs it to intimidate or establish his legend among criminals, he's got enough going for him already and I'd prefer he aim for *complete* stealth instead of a visible icon. Other than that it just looks cheesy and too superhero-ish for me.

If he gets a grey costume I won't really mind. At least it'll be different and faithful to the comics. But I prefer black.

t: true. But what about the belt. That kinda throws things in a loop for me as far as color scheme goes

 

[Ibn]

Yes. I like to pretend my minority status makes me special.

I don't ever want to see that on film. But I must admit, just seeing it tickles me fancyt: . Brings back memories of when I had the Batman coloring books, and they always use to be the Denny O'neal/Neal Adams model. Excuse me while I wipe tears of nostalgia.