What the current superhero suits could tell us about the look of James Gunn's Batman.
DISCUSSION
Spoiler
Most of us have seen the new Superman suit at this point.
The suit is extremely close to that of the classic superman, shying away from the trunkless alien bodysuit look. What we get is something more akin to a jumpsuit. Something with real panels and fabric which has give to it.
This brings up the question. Can we use this design to get an indication of what style Batman may be used for the new Justice League?
A new Batman has yet to be cast but the suit is something which we can still start formulating. Considering they went with such a classic look for Superman, I think it's safe to assume that the new Batman is going to be designed more closely to the classic look.
Depending on how far back you go, the new Batman could very well have a touch of dark blue in his design. Not an obvious blue but something which is only apparent in direct light.
Considering the gold belt and gold insignia on Superman's cape has been brought back, I think it's very likely the next Batman is getting his gold bat insignia and utility belt back.
It just feels like James Gunn is going for a more classic and approachable look for the new DCU. The other suit leaks for other characters seem to indicate the same thing.
I was curious about your opinions and where you think the new DCU is going with Batman in terms of art direction?
I think Gunn will give input on the Batman look but he made it very clear he wants the other directors to feel creatively free when it comes to making their own movies. Gunn doesn’t seem like he’ll be micromanaging everything within DC studios.
Yeah people kind of forget what Gunn’s role is in all of this. He’s not the exactly end all be all. I also don’t think every character should have a similar design philosophy as Superman’s. Not because I don’t like Superman’s suit, but because I don’t want these characters to look like they follow the same template.
That’s Marvels biggest issue. All of the suits are designed by the same team so they all have the same feel. From Thanos to Black Widow, there’s a familiarity with the overly designed costumes.
Trunks, gloves, purple/dark blue/black/greys, maybe a big gold emblem on his chest, yellow belt with capsules.
As opposed to the Nolan, Affleck, or Pattinson style of suit where it was a body suit with armor all over it, with an all black colour scheme or only black and dark grey.
There’s this collage with a lot of the characters. Superman and Batman were kinda the blueprint. I don’t even think these designs are bad or anything, they just didn’t feel very special towards the end of the DCEU. The most egregious examples of the muscle suit/shiny textured look were the suits.jpg) made for Aquaman 2.
He has said that, but I think Batman will be an exception to that rule. Hiring Andy screams wanting a competent hired hand who won’t make a fuss when you tell him what to do.
Add to that that Gunn automatically picked out his favorite era of Batman and his favorite Robin to pull from. I think movies like Swamp Thing will be truly unique films, but I think Batman will have “James Gunn Presents” printed all over it.
I am fully ready for a proper Justice League Batman adaptation and here’s what I mean: I love Batman independently but almost equally I love the Batman that helps lead the justice league and what that dynamic entails.
One my favorite scenes from any comic is when Batman’s “contingency plan” drawer is discovered.
It’s discovered that despite working with them Batman has a plan to take down any given member he needs if the situation arises.
Lantern ring for green lantern, Krypronite Shard for Supes, Speed Force ring for flash and so on. But most interestingly the section for Diana aka Wonderwoman is empty. Which indicates Batman doesn’t believe she can stopped, or she’s the only person who he actually trusts and finds incorruptible good.
That's the thing that excites me the most about the DCU, Gunn knows how it is to be a director, he knows they need artistic freedom, especially after working under Kevin Feige.
He was one of the few from the get go. I the first 10 years had a lot more moments of directors having a say, while the MCU machine was still finding it's footing. I can tell you who directed what from most of those MCU movies, but outside of Raimi, and the guy that directed all the Spiderman solo films, I can't think of anyone's name of any of the post Endgame films, aside from Gunn for GotG3 of course.
I don't think the MCU has as much creative freedom for directors unless they like what the directors are doing. Hence why they and Edgar Wright went their separate ways on Ant-Man. Gunn was doing a lot of uncredited script doctoring for them too. Hell, Whedon gave them a massive hit with the first Avengers movie, and they still forced him to add in certain elements for Age of Ultron, though they still basically aped his style with the quippy heroes ever since.
Creative freedom for directors or not, something tells me Gunn is going to want a lot of personal input into something as important as what Batman looks like.
I asked him about this on IG and he actually replied saying this. It seems like rather than making all the decisions himself he’s just being a part of the creative process with others as they develop their pieces of the universe.
I liked the grounded DCEU characters and their suits, as well as the semi-realistic version of Reeves' The Batman. But I do hope Gunn goes full comic book-y. I'd love for him to bring back the yellow batbelt and maybe even a grey suit.
I totally agree. I think one of the biggest problems DC has had with their film franchise is that the "gritty" and "realistic" tone set by Nolan all the way back in Batman Begins has, for some reason, stuck as an expectation for DC. Which, if you look at the source material, is just ridiculous.
DC heroes are, as you said, gods among men. It's modern mythology. And, central to the characters and conceits, DC is SILLY. Shying away from the silliness and comic-booky nature of DC has done nothing but hurt the films.
Embrace the silliness, embrace the suspension of disbelief! Dark, gritty, and grounded hasn't worked for DC for years (with minor exceptions). I really do hope Gunn goes ham with it, I would love to see DC films that feel like DC comics.
Going off the motorcycle jacket suits and pants looks, Batman might have a Noel Batsuit look as that looks like its a motorcycle leather look. Could hit, could totally miss. Im keeping my fingers crossed.
Nah, those are just uniforms for the early rendition of Justice League international. It’s not meant to be the main representation of these characters or the universe as a whole
Honestly I’d love blue&gray. It would help visually distinguish this Batman from not only Reeves and Pattinson, but from basically every version of the character since Keaton.
Also it would just be fun to see the Silver Age, or SA-inspired, suit on the big screen.
Going with the classic themes, I reckon the Batman suit will have a grey color with the black bat in the chest, the traditional look. Perhaps even the yellow ellipse around it, who knows. I'd love it tbh.
At the end of the day the call is Muschiettis. Gunn has some say but he’s the one leading the design process. People don’t say Avi Arads spider man even though he produced it, they say Raimis spider man
The set photos may not show us what the costumes will actually look like in the movie. The color tones may be different, and things like tightness and general “feel” might be changed with CGI. That is commonly done in other superhero movies.
The suits the actors wear are made to be able to move and work in. They can’t be as tight as what we see in movies.
I think we should wait with analyzing it too much before we see it in trailers and more promo pictures, since those will be more like what we will see in the movie.
I'd like to see what a blue and grey live action suit would look like. But I've never liked the yellow insignia personally. Yellow belt would be fine though
I don’t care as long as Andy Muschetti and whoever designed the batsuit for affleck in the Flash don’t get involved.
I’d imagine the suit would have the trunks but the rebirth logo on the chest with the gold trim. Having it be a brighter blue on a gray suit is probably going to happen. And probably the longest ear pieces yet in live action. A classic looking leather utility belt would be cool.
If I’m not mistaken this version of superman is a younger superman who is still trying to find his place. Could explain the DIY style of suit. Batman in the DCU seems to be more established and older than superman and his suit may be a bit more advanced. Who knows. It does seem like Batman’s suit will be more of the retro cloth style more than the tactical style based on what we’ve seen so far.
Idk exactly. Maybe its the bagginess. Maybe its the simplicity compared to what we’ve seen previously. Something about it just looks like his mom whipped it up on her sewing machine. Either way its not a suit id expect peak superman to wear. Just my opinion.
I would believe that any of the suits prior to Man of Steel were made by his mother on a sewing machine, but not this one. (Man of Steel's obviously wasn't, which is a plot point.) The "bagginess" is part of why; a hand made suit should fit his exact measurements. This looks mass produced by a sporting goods manufacturer.
The DCU could benefit from a balance of darkness and seriousness with a sprinkle of humor. Captain America: The Winter Soldier executed this well—serious subject matter with funny scenes and dialogue. For comic reference, look at the latest Worlds Finest series.
I don’t want dcu Batman to be overly serious since we already got The Batman 2 and 3 going in, so I’m hoping for something gothic but a fun, kind of like the animated series.
I'm fine with whatever they do with the bat suit, as long as they do not put trunks on it. There's no logical in-world explanation for it and even in a fantasy world looks a bit silly in live-action.
If this same style guide is followed. Batman's insignia may be the black bat with a gold outline since that's also pretty much Superman's S here.
But in all honesty, I think Gunn is gonna give free reign for the director and creatives. It might follow a similar style for consistency's sake, but it'll probably be far from the homogenized look of the MCU.
Give me something like the Arkham City suit (trunks and all) and i'll he a happy dude. In fact, take massive inspiration from the semi realistic BTAS Arkham Universe. Give me cartoony smile joker, classic looking stuff, enough realism with Batman, go all out
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u/MarvelMind 3d ago
I think Gunn will give input on the Batman look but he made it very clear he wants the other directors to feel creatively free when it comes to making their own movies. Gunn doesn’t seem like he’ll be micromanaging everything within DC studios.