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It's been a staggering 28 years since Michael Keaton burst on the big screen as Batman. While the suit has gone through some alterations, the initial idea of a latex body suit remains consistent to this day. With regards to that initial look (and with all deep respect to Adam West) what has been your favorite suit from that new frontier in the Batman spectacle? Mine is Batman Returns. I absolutely adore that suit. In fact, I just got my Hot Toys Batman Returns/Bruce Wayne set and I can not take my eyes off either figure. But I digress.

I like the Returns look because they really streamlined the outfit, not to mention the cowl. And he absolutely looks as much like the classic version as I can imagine in real life. I like the big neck on the mask and the comic accurate Bat-emblem plus the industrial abs on the suit. At least we can say Tony Stark had nothing to do with this technology, right? But I think he looks the most menacing, yet superbly stylized to capture that ideal look of Batman, for me. What are your choices and why?

The Batman Returns cowl is definitely the most aesthetically pleasing. No actor has ever looked as good in a superhero mask as Keaton did in that movie.


I love both of the Burton suits, largely because they're black armoured variants of the Bronze Age costume drawn by artists like Neal Adams and Marshall Rogers. You've got the long ears on the cowl, the yellow oval around the chest emblem, the scalloped cape that drapes over the shoulders, and the yellow utility belt featuring cylindrical capsules instead of pouches.


I think the sonar and arctic suits from the Schumacher films were the best shaped and proportioned of all the Burton/Schumacher costumes. None of the nineties Batman actors were muscular, but the sonar and arctic suits helped create the illusion they were.


The Batman Begins suit is visually great, but suffers from the same mobility issues as its predecessors. If the Burton suit is an all-black version of the Bronze Age costume, then the Begins suit is an all-black version of David Mazzucchelli's Year One costume. It's got the shorter ears on the cowl, the black chest emblem without the oval, and the yellow utility belt with pouches instead of cylinders.


I've always thought the V-taper on the torso of the Begins suit (which reflected Bale's underlying shape) was similar to that of the B:TAS Batman.


The Dark Knight costume was great in terms of functionality, but lost much of its theatrical oomph. It was clearly a man in body armour, rather than a mythical bat-beast. And I felt that undermined the psychological purpose of the bat motif. But if nothing else, the TDK outfit topped all the previous costumes in terms of flexibility.

If we're excluding the Adam West costume, I'd probably say the Affleck suit was my favourite. It was a little too bulky in BvS, but other than that it's a damn near perfect fusion of The Dark Knight Returns and New 52 costumes. Despite the bulkiness, the overall shape is balanced and organic looking. It's got the grey and black colour scheme from the comics – which I love – and retains the flexibility of the TDK costume. If you saw this guy swooping down on you from a rooftop you could be forgiven for believing the urban legends about a bat monster stalking the streets of Gotham.


I just wish the ears were a bit longer and that they incorporated the trunks from the classic comic book design (I know I'm in the minority there). Of course if we're counting fan films, my favourite live action Batman costume ever would still be the version worn by Clark Bartram in Batman: Dead End.

My favorites are the Batman Forever suits. The regular one combined what I liked about the first two movies' suits, and the Sonar suit and Robin's costume were just effing cool in general lol. I love pretty much all of the Batsuits except the TDK/TDKR ones. They were ok but they just didn't do it for me, same as the Tumbler and everything else.

The Batman Returns and BvS suits are my top two.

(https://i.imgur.com/ppPYUNX.png)

The BR suit is the best of the Burton/Schumacher era template.
The BvS suit went for a completely different aesthetic, but one that is so common in the comics.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Thu,  5 Oct  2017, 02:00
The Batman Returns and BvS suits are my top two.

(https://i.imgur.com/ppPYUNX.png)

The BR suit is the best of the Burton/Schumacher era template.
The BvS suit went for a completely different aesthetic, but one that is so common in the comics.

^This right here. I'll go even further by saying the Burton costumes reminded me of the the comics of the 1970s and 1980, but tinted black. The good thing about Bob Ringwood's design for the cowls is it reminds me of how Neal Adams and Jim Aparo would draw them, and it's a design that's carried over into the Schumacher films.


The BvS Batsuit is definitely more faithful to the comics and the best in terms of allowing actors to look rugged but flexible during combat.

The Returns costume. That design and color scheme coupled with the mobility of the BvS suit would be my ideal. I'm fine with a slimmer Batman, myself.

I like all of them.

Except that's a cheap answer.

So I'll say I adore the panther suit from Batman Forever. Ringwood took the core elements of what worked in the previous Burton movies and added an extra sheen of gloss to it. Yeah, the nipples. But whatever, the suit just looks awesome and Kilmer was probably the most physically appropriate specimen of the 90's movies. Everything about both Kilmer's performance and his suit gives off a bit of a Bronze Agey vibe for me.

As SN says, the Bronze Age thing is evident in the other movies but the tone of and the lead actor's performance in those films don't really strive for the Bronze Age. But it's more apparent (at least to me) in Batman Forever. There are moments in BF where Batman in a weird type of way looks drawn onto the celluloid rather than photographed.

Plus, there's the nostalgia angle where the panther suit was the last suit to include a yellow oval. I don't understand why the yellow oval has been removed since it was a major element of Batman's outfit for over thirty years. But here we are.

Quote from: Wayne49 on Wed,  4 Oct  2017, 21:21
I like the Returns look because they really streamlined the outfit, not to mention the cowl. And he absolutely looks as much like the classic version as I can imagine in real life. I like the big neck on the mask and the comic accurate Bat-emblem plus the industrial abs on the suit.

I totally agree - the BR suit was a good compromise between functionality and theatricality. The shape of both the cowl and the body armor seemed conceived to give Batman both an imposing figure and a beast-like appearance, in order to increase the intimidating factor. Also, I personally find that the batsuit highlighted Batman's male features (i.e. the pectorals and the industrial abs), while simultaneously featuring some insidious flaws, most notably when Catwoman managed to find its weak areas and exploited them to puncture him.

My personal favorite is the 1989 suit. I know it has it's imperfections, but for me it's perfectly imperfect. I really do love the all black look with the yellow emblem and belt. I'm not sure why, but I didn't like the suit's armored plating in Batman Returns as much as the "muscled" ones in 1989. Although, I think both suits are my top favorites as far as the movies go.

Quote from: GoNerdYourself on Tue, 10 Oct  2017, 04:07My personal favorite is the 1989 suit. I know it has it's imperfections, but for me it's perfectly imperfect. I really do love the all black look with the yellow emblem and belt. I'm not sure why, but I didn't like the suit's armored plating in Batman Returns as much as the "muscled" ones in 1989. Although, I think both suits are my top favorites as far as the movies go. y tast

What I love about the B89 suit is the less glossy and more textured look it has. Almost gives the impression of a real bat to it.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Tue, 10 Oct  2017, 21:34

Quote from: GoNerdYourself on Tue, 10 Oct  2017, 04:07My personal favorite is the 1989 suit. I know it has it's imperfections, but for me it's perfectly imperfect. I really do love the all black look with the yellow emblem and belt. I'm not sure why, but I didn't like the suit's armored plating in Batman Returns as much as the "muscled" ones in 1989. Although, I think both suits are my top favorites as far as the movies go. y tast

What I love about the B89 suit is the less glossy and more textured look it has. Almost gives the impression of a real bat to it.

It's very theatrical and embodies the atmosphere that surrounds it. Furthermore, I just noticed my had a typo at the end, probably from removing a sentence. D'oh!

I like all suits from 1989-1995, plus Begins and BvS, but if I had to pick only one, it would be BR.

That's probably the best shot of the BR suit I've seen. There's something about it I really like.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri, 13 Oct  2017, 01:55
That's probably the best shot of the BR suit I've seen. There's something about it I really like.

As much as I love the BR suit, I think it would probably rank higher on my list if it used the same chest symbol as B89. The symbol it uses looks a little Halloween costumey to me.

In my headcanon, Burton's Batman had only been around for a short time by the start of B89. Bruce had travelled the world and collected various antiques, as seen during B89 when Vicki and Knox look through Wayne Manor. He created a batsuit and fought crime for a while, wearing that prototype chest emblem. Perhaps he wasn't using the Batmobile during this time, and it's use during the Museum escape was its debut? After all, he was an urban legend at this point skulking around rooftops and creating a reputation. So I'm thinking the bat emblem evolved since his original debut in the costume, as evident on the Batmobile wheels. By the time of BR, he adopted that design not just for the batsignal, but for his chest.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri, 13 Oct  2017, 21:33
In my headcanon, Burton's Batman had only been around for a short time by the start of B89. Bruce had travelled the world and collected various antiques, as seen during B89 when Vicki and Knox look through Wayne Manor. He created a batsuit and fought crime for a while, wearing that prototype chest emblem. Perhaps he wasn't using the Batmobile during this time, and it's use during the Museum escape was its debut? After all, he was an urban legend at this point skulking around rooftops and creating a reputation. So I'm thinking the bat emblem evolved since his original debut in the costume, as evident on the Batmobile wheels. By the time of BR, he adopted that design not just for the batsignal, but for his chest.

I wouldn't call it head canon, I thought that was exactly how it was implied. Batman telling the goon "Tell all your friends about me" reads as if not everybody, let alone the criminal underworld, is aware of his existence. You had the police trying to keep Batman's presence quiet from the media, specifically from Alexander Knox who pressed on hard trying to get answers from Eckhardt and Gordon, and Vicki Vale coming to Gotham City to check out whether or not Batman exists. And of course, once the Joker's violence escalates, Batman becomes more visible in the public spotlight, with the news questioning whether he's a friend to the community, or a threat.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Fri,  6 Oct  2017, 22:50


So I'll say I adore the panther suit from Batman Forever. Ringwood took the core elements of what worked in the previous Burton movies and added an extra sheen of gloss to it. Yeah, the nipples. But whatever, the suit just looks awesome and Kilmer was probably the most physically appropriate specimen of the 90's movies. Everything about both Kilmer's performance and his suit gives off a bit of a Bronze Agey vibe for me.

As SN says, the Bronze Age thing is evident in the other movies but the tone of and the lead actor's performance in those films don't really strive for the Bronze Age. But it's more apparent (at least to me) in Batman Forever. There are moments in BF where Batman in a weird type of way looks drawn onto the celluloid rather than photographed.

Plus, there's the nostalgia angle where the panther suit was the last suit to include a yellow oval. I don't understand why the yellow oval has been removed since it was a major element of Batman's outfit for over thirty years. But here we are.

Same here, the "Panther Suit" is great. I like it best.

I don't think anyone here has mentioned this on the forum, but the B89 emblem was initially sculpted onto the BR Batsuit. The second photo is taken from a DVD featurette talking about the creation of the costume.

(https://i.imgur.com/0NkNb3t.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/ZHdEUvq.jpg)

I liked both emblems, but I do prefer the sequel's design. Only because it looks sleeker and resembles closely to both movies' posters. I guess the costume designers thought they might as well go all the way while they were updating the Batsuit on screen.

For the hell of it, I edited these pictures below to see how the original emblem looks on the new Batsuit.

(https://i.imgur.com/HXrTJ2k.jpg)

The Tim Burton suit's are my favorites. They look cool plus they have the yellow oval which is my favorite look for Batman.

I know this forum already covered these early Batsuit designs from the third Burton Batman film that never happened, but I noticed how this DeviantArt mock-up of how Keaton could've looked in costume is very identical to B89.

(https://i.imgur.com/HJjlbtn.jpg)

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/get-a-look-at-the-michael-keaton-batman-3-costume/

I'm not very keen of the belt. I prefer the original belt design from the two Burton films.

If Keaton does come back, I wonder if they will recreate this Batsuit for a cameo costume appearance in The Flash?

Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Wed,  1 Jul  2020, 15:00
I know this forum already covered these early Batsuit designs from the third Burton Batman film that never happened, but I noticed how this DeviantArt mock-up of how Keaton could've looked in costume is very identical to B89.

(https://i.imgur.com/HJjlbtn.jpg)

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/get-a-look-at-the-michael-keaton-batman-3-costume/

I'm not very keen of the belt. I prefer the original belt design from the two Burton films.

If Keaton does come back, I wonder if they will recreate this Batsuit for a cameo costume appearance in The Flash?

I'm missing something here. Did the third Burton movie get as far as costume design? Or is that Schumacher's Panther suit with Keaton as the presumed actor?

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Wed,  1 Jul  2020, 15:34
I'm missing something here. Did the third Burton movie get as far as costume design? Or is that Schumacher's Panther suit with Keaton as the presumed actor?

I think your second guess would be correct, because the third Burton film never even got to development. I guess Keaton was still expected to reprise the role for a third time, but bailed after he got a better idea of what BF was going to be. He might've been disappointed that Burton wouldn't come back, but maybe he was willing to stay on as long as the sequel appealed to him. Maybe that's why the production designers started working on the costumes based on his likeness, and the earlier drafts of BF featured heavy Burton references.

But as soon as Keaton understood what BF was going to be, he decided it would be best to quit. Thus, that would explain why the script was rewritten to drastically downplay or outright remove the Burton references, and the costumes were probably reworked to fit Kilmer, with some design modifications.

Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Thu,  2 Jul  2020, 12:34

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Wed,  1 Jul  2020, 15:34
I'm missing something here. Did the third Burton movie get as far as costume design? Or is that Schumacher's Panther suit with Keaton as the presumed actor?

I think your second guess would be correct, because the third Burton film never even got to development. I guess Keaton was still expected to reprise the role for a third time, but bailed after he got a better idea of what BF was going to be. He might've been disappointed that Burton wouldn't come back, but maybe he was willing to stay on as long as the sequel appealed to him. Maybe that's why the production designers started working on the costumes based on his likeness, and the earlier drafts of BF featured heavy Burton references.

But as soon as Keaton understood what BF was going to be, he decided it would be best to quit. Thus, that would explain why the script was rewritten to drastically downplay or outright remove the Burton references, and the costumes were probably reworked to fit Kilmer, with some design modifications.

I don't tell this story very much because it's usually not relevant to anything.

But O'Donnell makes reference to an open nationwide casting call for Robin, which he was obviously puzzled by because he'd already signed on the dotted line to play the part. To this day, I have no idea what the casting call was all about.

However, I do know for a fact that the open casting call happened. Because a family friend auditioned for Robin. He submitted his pictures (I suggested wearing Robin's colors in his clothes because my opinion was actively solicited by the grownups since I was the resident comic book guy even back then) and then he got summoned for something in person. I don't know the details. But I would guess this was in the first quarter of 1994.

At that time, it was commonly assumed that Keaton would be coming back. I don't think Kilmer was cast until something like second quarter 1994 but I could be wrong.

Either way, the family friend was ultimately cut loose. And one reason that he was given is that he was "just too tall". My understanding is that Kilmer is right around six feet tall, just like the friend. But Keaton is obviously shorter. I think O'Donnell is shorter too.

So I'm operating under the theory that at least when the casting call happened, there was still hope for Keaton to come back. And nobody wanted a Robin who loomed over Batman. It doesn't explain the nationwide casting call (I still have no answers for that but I'm absolutely certain that they happened) but it does explain other things.

Anyway, hopefully you're getting some positive out of this.

That's a quite a fascinating story, thanks for sharing!

I gather the casting call goes to show the studio never had any interest in Marlon Wayans starring as Robin?

For what it's worth, Keaton announced his departure in early July 94, with Kilmer being announced as his replacement a week later. So that would make it third quarter.

https://ew.com/article/1994/07/15/val-kilmer-takes-over-batman-forever/

Mind you, this announcement was made less than a year before BF was released to the whole world, and the film's production didn't start until September 94. That sounds insane compared to how films are made nowadays.

Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Thu,  2 Jul  2020, 13:27
That's a quite a fascinating story, thanks for sharing!

I gather the casting call goes to show the studio never had any interest in Marlon Wayans starring as Robin?

For what it's worth, Keaton announced his departure in early July 94, with Kilmer being announced as his replacement a week later. So that would make it third quarter.

https://ew.com/article/1994/07/15/val-kilmer-takes-over-batman-forever/

Mind you, this announcement was made less than a year before BF was released to the whole world, and the film's production didn't start until September 94. That sounds insane compared to how films are made nowadays.

It does indeed. And I think it says a lot about how film production has changed over the years. BF had, what, fewer than 50 CGI shots in the movie? Maybe less than 30? Yeah, you can probably knock that many shots out in just a few months at most. The rest was mostly in-camera.

The other neat thing about doing films that way is that there's really not enough time for a lot of leaks and other stuff. So the movie starts shooting in September, maybe a paparazzi photo somehow hits the press in October or November or something, then comes the trailer and then the movie comes out. Such a rapid schedule was probably a good thing.