Dark Knight Batsuit – Bulletproof of Bulletworthy?
In 1966, Bruce Wayne, played by Adam West wore gray leggings with his trademark mask to portray the original Dark Knight, Batman. Since then, the Dark Knight Batsuit has undergone many transformations. The new Batman, played by actor Christian Bale is so restrained inside of his batsuit that he had trouble breathing in it and could barely turn his neck or head around.
If you are familiar with the batman movies, you know that the actor who plays Batman and dons the Dark Knight batsuit must be able to turn his head back and forth and jump into action to wage battle on his arch nemeses. Since Christian Bale had such a difficult time moving inside the newest batsuit, Lindy Hemming, the noted costume designer for Batman Begins, took out the neck columns from the suit and a new and improved, more modern and comfortable batsuit was created.
Some diehard Batman fanatics are not fans of the new and improved Dark Knight batsuit. Some claim that the suit takes away some of the fantasy of the original Caped Crusader. Some argue that the classic "grey tights" look should make a comeback to show that Batman is more like its original character. Others argue that the execution of the armored look on the newest Dark Knight version is too busy. Those who believe that the look should be updated each time a new version of the movie comes out think the new suit is great and thinks that it reflects a real-world concept of what the modern-day Batman would really look like.
For the "classic" dispute you have the fact that the Dark Knight batsuit should look like the comic book Batman that inspired the movies. Some fans say that if it worked in the comics it should be good enough for the movies, and it's disrespectful to the creator of Batman to make radical changes to such a symbolic costume. There is also the argument that having a Batman that is not trussed in armor only adds to the mysterious aura of his reputation among criminals. However, one could argue that in the Gotham City setting that Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan created for the film, wearing nothing more than a thin garment would not be realistic or believable. For a non-super-powered hero to go around Gotham, fighting the bad guys and psychopaths with automatic weapons, he has to be more prepared physically, as far as his batsuit is concerned, than the original comic book character. The suit from Batman Begins, although appears as if it is rubber, was probably the closest in overall look to the comic book versions than in any other Batman movie. Regardless of your opinion, one look at the next Dark Knight batsuit and it has "Intimidation" written all over it!
by Matt Murren
Gloss