Batman fully revealed!

[Ranger REG]

Makes sense to me. While it may be interesting to see a cloth costume it doesn't make sense with all the tech that Wayne has available. Maybe if it was set 40 years ago...

In the 1960's? What kind of mil-tech did we had then, that Wayne Industries (or subsidiaries) would have produced?

 

[John Crichton]

In the 1960's? What kind of mil-tech did we had then, that Wayne Industries (or subsidiaries) would have produced?

I have no idea.

I'm sure we have better "stuff" now compared to what could have been produced 40 years ago. That's why I said a cloth suit would have more sense further in the past. There is too much tech floating around these days to not use it.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

When he was preparing for his run on Batman, Jim Lee did a sketch of how the bat-suit looks underneath the gray-and-black exterior. He added the layers of bullet- and fire-proof material, radio antennae inside the "ears", night-sight and flare-resistant lenses inside the hood, extra-thick protection under the soles, hard metallic covers for the forearms and shins, environment-support-material (cooling gel, etc.) throughout the suit.

It pretty much looked like the Bale batsuit.

I can understand this concept, but it clashes in my mind with what is, IMO, one of Bats' most central character traits. Flexibility. As a combatant, Batman is a martial artist, a street fighter, not a walking armored tank. It was my one gripe about the first Batman movie (an otherwise excellent film). Batman looks blocky and stiff and so slow that a true martial artist or street fighter could have easily taken him down. Now we have a new suit that looks just as unwieldy as the previous ones.

That...and why have a cloth cape, if the rest of the suit is going to be rubber? I'm baffled by this choice. A cloth cape with a cloth/spandex suit, great. A rubber cape for a kevlar/armored suit, good. But a cloth cape with a rubber suit? It looks...mismatched, IMO.

 

[Morrus]

While I do have high hopes for the movie, I have to admit that the costume really doesn't work for me. Those "squarish" lines look too artificial; and the bat-symbol either needs the yellow oval or a much larger contrast between the shades of the bat and the suit itself. It's not visible enough.

 

[ddvmor]

I, too am somewhat diappointed by the lack of innovation on the outfit. It looks cool, but then so did Tim Burton's version... because it was the same! Seems too heavy and restrictive.

Still, I think I'll wait to see it in action before I get too judgemental.

 

[Ranger REG]

That...and why have a cloth cape, if the rest of the suit is going to be rubber? I'm baffled by this choice. A cloth cape with a cloth/spandex suit, great. A rubber cape for a kevlar/armored suit, good. But a cloth cape with a rubber suit? It looks...mismatched, IMO.

Aesthetic reason, though I doubt it will be cloth but it will be a very soft pliable material. Plus, it has a way of concealing your figure, mainly your torso, the largest and also fragile body part to target.

(Why do armed forces trained you to shoot the torso rather than the head is beyond me.)

As for the martial arts part, I don't see Batman as being an overly ambitious, brash fighter like in those Hong Kong martial arts film, or in Jackie Chan films, for that matter. I'd like him to be so experienced in martial arts that he'll only move when he has to move to block and counterattack. I mean, take the first film, where one thug tried to show off his martial arts with the double machetes, and all he got was a boot from Batman. He didn't move, he wasn't even fazed by his opponent. Other than the lack of white hair and long fu-manchu mustache (the archetypal "Boss" in martial films), he's a badass.

 

[Felon]

(Why do armed forces trained you to shoot the torso rather than the head is beyond me.)

Because it's a larger target. In sniper school, of course, they do go for head shots.

As for the martial arts part, I don't see Batman as being an overly ambitious, brash fighter like in those Hong Kong martial arts film, or in Jackie Chan films, for that matter. I'd like him to be so experienced in martial arts that he'll only move when he has to move to block and counterattack. I mean, take the first film, where one thug tried to show off his martial arts with the double machetes, and all he got was a boot from Batman. He didn't move, he wasn't even fazed by his opponent.

Batman is not one of the more acrobatic martial artists out there. In most writer's conceptions, he's more of a boxer than anything. OTOH, that scene you describe from the movie had more to do with the mobility limitations of being in a stiff, inflexible suit than anything else, which is pretty much the previous poster's point I think.

This outfit seems pretty lame. Same stiffness of the original, plus a cloak that looks like it's made of felt and has no real fullness to it. It detracts from the imposing image, rather than enhancing it. And I don't get what the deal is with all of the lines around the abdomen area.

I'm glad the golden oval is gone. They don't even use that in the comics anymore.

 

[Felon]

...Why do they keep mistaking Batman for Bondage Fetish Man? Its supposed to be cloth. Not armour, not rubber... Cloth. Come on, if Batman: Dead End can get it right for less budget than Bale's Deli Tray Allotment, why can't Hollywood?

I suspect it's at least partially because Hollywood needs a Batman that looks like it can sell lots of action figures and accessories. The big budget means it's more likely to be big, blocky body armor, not less. They certainly don't want Bats associated with the campy cloth outfit of the 60's.

And I don't know why you insist the outfit's made of cloth. There is no single authoritative source, just what various writers and artists have conceived from one version to the next. Many have conceived the outfit as body armor, particularly in the last decade.

 

[Klaus]

One reason for cloth-like cape instead of rubber is that cloth (or rather, woven material) absorbs light while rubber reflects it. The blackest rubber will still bounce light, while the fabric of woven material reduces incoming light considerably (this I learned from Lawrence Lewellyn-Bowen's "Design Rules"! )

And yes, Batman is far from acrobatic. He's the efficient fighter, not the flashy one. Nightwing, otoh, uses all sorts of acrobatic maneuvers.

 

[The Serge]

I wonder if we're going to see computer enhancements with the cape... That was my first thought when I first started seeing the cloth look.

As for the costume, the only thing I don't care for is the lack of a more prominent symbol. I have no qualms with the molded look since this is supposed to be a form of body armor rather than a "spandex" outfit. I've read that Bale's able to move freely in this outfit inspite of the appearance.