The new Batsuit
The new Batsuit for the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, was revealed in the latest issue of the Entertainment Weekly magazine. The costume designer, Lindy Hemming, also gets a chance to talk about the new suit’s features.
Sometimes, I really wonder why the f* can’t the movie makers just leave the Batsuit alone? This question of mine pretty much sums up the fact that I do not like the new Batsuit. Can you blame me, though? Just take a look at the new batsuit. Does it or does it not remind you of the horrible alternative Batsuits that Val Kilmer/George Clooney wore near the end of the Batman Forever/Batman and Robin movies?
HEAD GAMES
Ever wonder why movie Batmans rarely turn their horned heads? It’s because the cowls of past suits were firmly attached to the neck and shoulders of the costume — necessary to maintain that iconic silhouette and to prevent the actor from moving around inside the mask. The new headpiece — modeled after a motorcycle helmet — is separate from the neck, so star Christian Bale can now swivel his noggin side to side, or nod up and down. ”It was the hardest part of the suit to make,” says Hemming.CAPE FEAR
Don’t bother asking. ”It’s top secret,” says Hemming. Meaning…? ”Let’s just say things happen to the cloak.” Our guess: It’s also a picnic blanket!BLADES OF GLORY
The razors on Batman’s forearms are actually part of the suit. (His gloves tuck into the sleeves of the suit.) They’re retractable, and yep, they’re weapons. ”They shoot at people!” says Hemming with a Jokersesque laugh.RAW MATERIAL
The new suit is made of 200 individual pieces of rubber, fiberglass, and nylon and metallic mesh. Bruce Wayne’s work duds now have a stylish texture, suggesting they’re made with sophisticated new technology. ”I thought it would make it more interesting to look at and wonder about,” says Hemming, adding that the stretchy rubber lines also help bind the costume to Bale’s body.
Erm… OK, fine, whatever. A few things… :
The new suit is made of 200 individual pieces of rubber, fiberglass, and nylon and metallic mesh
The designers have totally over complicated the darn thing. It is just too armour-like. OK, maybe it is suppose to be because, afterall, the suit needs to deflect bullets and what-have-you to protect the mere mortal (amid a rich one) beneath the suit but still, the new Batsuit looks silly - too mechanical. What was wrong with the previous one?
The razors on Batman’s forearms are actually part of the suit. They’re retractable, and yep, they’re weapons. ”They shoot at people!”
You have got to be kidding me?! OMFG! That would suck bad! And I thought the cape changing into a glider was silly!
The Batsuits throughout all 5 movies have been messed with too much. Take a look at Spidey’s costume in the movies: it is literally taken right out of the comics and has never changed in all 3 movies (besides the spider logos on the front and back). Most importantly, it looks good and it works.
So, do you like the new Batsuit?
Just for the record, I absolutely adore the Batsuit from ‘Batman Returns’… it is a monument!
I agree with your sentiments on the bat suit, I guess at least it doesn’t have nipples and Bale can now turn his head. I don’t see what was wrong with the previous suit and why it needed much changing.
As an aside, there’s a site that also shows the new Joker car, which is quite interesting:
http://batman-dark-knight.moviechronicles.com/
Looks good to me.
I also wish they would stop changing the suit all the time.
I have the feeling they are trying to make this suit appear concurrent with the technology of today. Just a guess…
It’s ok for the suit to look futuristic. Wayne has always pushed his companies in the direction of high end technologies, so it’s expected that he would use that in his endeavors as the Batman.
Then again, I have never liked how they keep playing with the Batman history in each movie. I wish they would stop with trying to make the Batman a super hero, because he is not one.
It was suggested elsewhere that the suit keeps changing from movie to movie so that new toys can be sold.
they should just go back to the tv show batsuit with the drawn wiskers and brows and the grey tights. Know that was batman.
As bad as this one looks, I don’t think it’ll ever get as bad as the Clooney suit. The one with nipples? C/mohn, how lame and stupid can it get?!
There are many reasons as to why they keep changing the batsuit, the first and most cynical is that a new suit means new action figures for kids. However i think it is more complicated than that.
designers and directors would want to expand upon ideas that they had previously,like try to make the suit more comfortable, more attractive, more functional etc. Also the in universe explanation could be Bruce Wayne tweaking the suits whenever new tech arose. Humans like to tinker with things that are perfectly fine already.
The broad movie going audience, would also never accept a “superhero” with no powers being able to do the things he does without some sort of hi-tech outfit. Most of these people can’t seem to get past the Adam West era of Batman. There are still some that believe,(as ludicrous as this may sound) that he was the true Batman .
Personally i would like to see the suit evolve a more streamlined, anatomical look, moving closer to what the comic book looks like but us geeks are still pretty much in the minority. The money men and public who don’t get the character will always be catered for, we can only be thankfull for directors like Nolan who try to steer the movies in a somewhat straight course.
I’m sorry if this waffled a bit as it’s late (2:25 gmt)and i’m tired.
I actually like this new batsuit. It has even more depth to it than the previous batsuit. I didnt like how the batsuit in Batman Begins had that awkward hump down the back of the neck, also the suit itself was a little too bulky for my taste. But my least favorite batsuit was the one used in Batman Returns …ugh too geometrical
I do agree with you Eddy, why the f* can’t the movie makers just leave the Batsuit alone?
I mean, cmon man, Nolan has done a great job bringing this dark knight into a more menacing one, more feared by criminal. But suddenly this stupid new costume appear on TDK movie, WHICH IS LOOK STUPID because it makes Batman seems vulnerable than the previous one. Batman are going to be less menacing with that suit. God, what are they thinking?
But perhaps they want to tell audiences about Bruce Wayne/Batman character development, maybe.
OR, the TDK story needs to make it seems vulnerable because Batman are going to meet the famous Joker. They want the Joker to look more scary even to Batman himself. Thats why they made that TOO PROTECTIVE stupid suit.
first time lookin at it. hate it. but after the 3rd look, i’m lovin it. the suit made more sense. it looks like an armor, and it looks very functional, which the previous batman suit doesn’t (except the belt).
From the head down to torso is PERFECT, batman won’t look fat anymore when shot frontally. but i still don’t quite fancy the suit from the waist down until the boots. it looks too complex.
I don’t understand why they keep failing to get the bat suit right. The problem begins with the head. He looks stupid. The head is way WAY too wide and round. It looks like a 1970’s motorcycle helmet (and not in a good way). The batman of the comic books wore a thin, tight fitting hood that conformed to his face dimensionally, and the ears were tall - not stubby. The result was an elegant, slender looking head - a head the was significantly taller than it was wide. In fact, it was not wide at all. I think if they can just get the head right the suit can be almost anything. As it stands the head looked so SILLY that I laughed out loud in the theater during The Dark Knight. Every time Batman had a close up he looked ridiculous and it ruined the scene.
Well send batman out in tights such a good idea. He’d be killed the first night out. The armor serves a purpose. I do agree with Dan on the fact that Helm was to rounded but it didn’t effect the movie to much for me. I liked the Begins suit but I really dig this one more. He no longer running around in rubber but instead in something that looks like Armor.
Nolan wants realism not over the top comic logic. Two different things. A realistic batman would wear armor not tights. A realistic batman would turn his head or he would be standing forward and his reflex time would be cut.
Also in the movie its a weaker version of the begins armor. Its lighter and more flexible. He sacrifices protection for mobility.
The Batsuit in this movie is not too far off the batsuit worn by Azrael when he took over in the comics after Bane broke Bruce Wayne’s back. It is more functional for the purposes of filming and for good ‘ol Bats anyway. It’s a step in the right direction as far as I’m concerned.
The mask is the best it has ever looked the body was pretty cool but a little too much. I liked the concept of the suit in Batman Begins but the mask didn’t look too great. They should have kept the suit and added the new mask.