Batsuit

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Batman's current costume, as shown in the Hush story arc. Art by Jim Lee.

The Batsuit (also Bat-Suit) is the costume of the DC Comics superhero, Batman. It is most often depicted as consisting of a scalloped cape, a bat-like cowl, a pair of gloves, boots, a yellow utility belt, and dark briefs over a tight-fitting body suit with the image of a bat emblazoned on the chest.

[edit] Origin and Development

A revised incarnation of the "New Look" Batman costume by Neal Adams.

[edit] Origin

While brooding in his study over how to be a more effective crime fighter, Bruce Wayne saw a bat crash through his window and perch on the bust of his father. Realizing that "criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot," Bruce adopts the persona of a bat in order to conceal his identity and strike fear into his adversaries. Subsequent origin tales have had Bruce terrified by bats as a child, and observing a bat costume worn by his father at a costume ball, but the primary impetus of his decision to adopt the bat persona has always been the incident of the bat crashing through the window of his study. It is as a result of this incident that the batsuit was developed.

[edit] Color scheme

It is a basic convention of comic books that black needs a highlight color (usually blue) in order to show detail and give the illusion of three-dimensionality. Thus artists renditions depict the costume as black and gray or blue and gray. The bat symbol on the chest has alternated from a simple black bat to a bat design on a yellow ellipse. The yellow ellipse was introduced in 1964 as part of the "New Look" Batman stories, and was meant to be a connection to the Bat-signal. In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns it is revealed that the yellow ellipse design was deliberately meant as a target, attracting a potential gunman's aim to the heavily armored chestpiece, and away from Batman's unarmored face. Other elements, such as the utility belt and the length of the cowl's ears, have been changed by various artistic teams.

[edit] Basic suit

The basic suit, and its similarity to the costume of Superman, is shown here. Note the black-colored section contrasting with the rest of the unitard. Art by Alex Ross.

The basic foundation of the Batsuit is a tight-fitting bodysuit, similar to many superheroes. In early depictions, contrasting briefs are worn over a unitard, similar to the garb of early 20th century circus performers. In modern depictions, the briefs are integrated into the main costume, so that section of the costume constitutes only a seam and color change from the rest of the suit. The body suit has varied in color and style as depicted by different artists: grey tights with dark blue briefs, light blue tights with peacock briefs, all black bodystockings with a black bikini bottom, etc.

[edit] Cape

As different artists have taken over the responsibility of drawing the character, the details of the suit have changed considerably. The original incarnation of the cape was a wing-like structure inspired by drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci. This eventually evolved into a more cape-like design of varying length. Artists will occasionally draw the cape with protrusions on the shoulders, likely representing the "thumb" part of a bat's wing, though this is not a consistent addition. In film adaptations the cape has also incorporated Nomex fire-resistant/retardant material (as demonstrated in the film Batman Forever) and a Kevlar weave to slow the impact of bullets. In the 2005 film Batman Begins, the cape was also used as a sort of hang glider; when an electric current was applied to the cape, the shape-memory fibers aligned into a semi-rigid form resembling a bat's wings, allowing Batman to glide over the streets and rooftops of Gotham. A more primitive version of this hang-glider concept was presented in Batman Returns, in which a harness folds out of the cape to make it a rigid wing-like structure, then folds back when the wearer rolls forward on the ground after landing.

[edit] Gloves

In the earliest Batman stories of Detective Comics, the costume featured a few curiosities before it evolved in to its more or less standard style. The first gloves were purple in color, ordinary looking, and lacked any sort of scalloped fins or other stylings, and only came to the wrists. The second Batman adventure depicted the character wearing no gloves at all. A few issues later the gloves became longer, and by 1940 the familiar fins were added (these pieces were originally meant to be miniature, scalloped bat wings, but eventually became three simple triangular fins). In most later incarnations, the scallops are attached to a separated "gauntlet" of sorts worn below the glove. In Batman Begins the scallops on the gauntlets are ridged metal weapons, inspired by similar attachments to the costumes of the ninja sect Wayne trained with. Traditionally the scallops serve a defensive purpose and are used to defend against bladed weapons, such as swords or knives. Additionally, the knuckles of Batman's gloves contain a small amount of lead shot to give his punches more stopping power.^[1]

[edit] Armor

Batsuit with bullet resistant armor. Art by Scott McDaniel

The Batsuit has been repeatedly updated in order to reflect advances in technology. Originally the costume contained no protective armor, since the creative talent felt that it made Batman seem too powerful to see him shrug off bullet hits. However, the real world advent of various forms of personal protective materials like Kevlar and the realization that being shot while wearing such protection still should be avoided, has led to the costume being re-imagined with varying forms of bulletproof protection.

[edit] Cowl

Batman's cowl does more than just conceal his features and strike terror to the hearts of his enemies. Occasionally, the cowl is depicted as having defense mechanisms such as electric shock or stun gas in order to prevent unauthorized removal.^[2][3] In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne must mail order via a maze of untraceable shell companies the materials to build it. To avoid suspicion, Wayne must order large quantities of 10,000, each part sent to different location, and under different aliases. Because some metahuman criminals have the power to see through solid objects, Batman must line the cowl with lead to protect his identity.^[4] The cowl also contains shifting lenses that identifies suspects identities, weak points through medical records, while avoiding the possibility of eye identification, although it appears that special visions, like night and thermal,can only be used by seperate goggles.^[5][6] The suit has also carried on different occasions a re-breather device, flash and gas grenades, explosives and a detonator, lockpicks, a signaling device for the Batmobile, electronic surveillance equipment, a forensic kit for gathering crime scene evidence, a medical kit, and, in early incarnations, a pistol in a holster. On any occasion where Batman anticipates encountering Superman, he has also carried (in a lead case) a Kryptonite ring given to him by the Man of Steel as a weapon of last resort.

[edit] Variants

Batman keeps variant costumes for dealing with extraordinary situations; for example, he has been shown in a SCUBA variant of his costume, a fireproof version for fighting his enemy Firefly, as well as others. Many future versions of the hero, including those shown in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, Batman Beyond and Batman versus Predator, show him swapping his cloth costume for a suit of powered armor.

[edit] Jean-Paul Valley's Batsuit

Jean-Paul Valley in his Bat-man armour.

Jean-Paul Valley redesigned the batsuit during his tenure as Batman. Valley created an armored suit that contained more gadgets, including a shuriken launcher, flamethrower and other, more lethal weapons. This suit has often been seen as a reaction to occasional fan criticism that the batsuit was not high-tech enough for the modern age.^{[citation needed]} In the end, the suit became Valley's vulnerable point, as Bruce realized that his replacement had become too reliant upon the suit's gadgetry. In their final confrontation, Wayne, in his traditional bat costume, tricked Valley into discarding the armor. Upon seeing Wayne revealed in his batsuit under blinding daylight, Valley's fragile mind collapsed and he acknowledged Bruce Wayne as the true Batman.

The gauntlets from this costume are now being used by Kate Spencer, the current Manhunter, who obtained them from a LAPD evidence room. They had been used by a small-time crook who unsuccessfully robbed the safe of a Gotham lawyer who keeps information on all his supervillain clients' loot.

[edit] Other appearances

[edit] Television

[edit] 1960s Batman

Adam West in the 1960s Batman costume.

The Batman television series of the 1960s featured a blue-purple and gray version of the batsuit with a noticeably shorter cape and tiny ears. There were also white eyebrows painted on the cowl. In keeping with the campy nature of the series, the devices on the utility belt were often used as gags, with one of the most bizarre items being a thermos for storing alphabet soup. In one episode Bruce Wayne carried two capsules that when dropped in a glass of water became full-sized costumes for Batman and Robin, complete with utility belts. In the crossover episode featuring The Green Hornet, Britt Reid refers to Batman's costume as a "goofy purple cape."

[edit] DC animated universe

Batman's animated costumes.

In 1992's Batman: The Animated Series, the costume lacks any armor qualities, instead being merely a body suit with no apparent special features. (One episode featured Batman putting a protective pad under his costume to protect him from a ninja's 'death touch.') It often becomes torn in serious fights. The utility belt is unchanged, however. The costume is occasionally seen packed in Bruce Wayne's luggage or in his vehicles, and it is made clear that he has numerous spares. Some changes in the design over time (the coloration, the chest emblem) were made, for both budgetary and aesthetic reasons.

Later, the appearance of Batman and his batsuit(s) changed depending on the animation style of series Batman appeared in, though there was rarely a canonical explanation for these changes. In 1997's The New Batman Adventures, whose animation style was based on that of Superman: The Animated Series, Batman's physical appearance changed to match Superman's somewhat. The batsuit's colors became darker overall and the utility belt used pouches instead of capsules or cylinders. Batman was again redesigned for 2001's Justice League, where the Batman regained a more bright appearance. A bluish color was used for the suit's shine and Batman's pouch belt, was given a much lighter, yellow color, similar to the original.

[edit] Batman Beyond

In 1999's Batman Beyond, an extremely different variant of the batsuit is featured. The new costume does away with the traditional individual articles of clothing and appears to be a simple black bodysuit with a red chest emblem. However, this version is more than a simple costume. Form fitting and highly responsive, it's actually a "powered suit", similar to an artificial powered exoskeleton. Originally, Bruce designed the suit for himself and wore it to aid his aging body, as the series' storyline was set several years after Justice League. When Bruce gave up on being Batman permanently, Terry McGinnis replaced him and became the suit's primary wearer from then on. Giving Terry increased strength, and equipped with sophisticated built in gadgets like Jean Paul Valley's variant, it's unlike any other batsuit in the DCAU. Of its several features, the following are used with particular frequency:

• A retractable, wing-like cape and jet boots which, together, allow for flight.
• An active camouflage system which renders him nearly invisible.
• A two-way radio and surveillance system. With these functional and activated, Bruce Wayne can see/hear everything Terry does and give him advice.

[edit] Film

The batsuit created for Batman, worn by Michael Keaton.

The Tim Burton films feature a completely black batsuit (excepting the black-in-yellow field bat-emblem) with heavy armor placed on the chest, forearms, and boots, with the chest armor incorporating the bat-emblem. The basic design of the suit, done by Bob Ringwood, is essentially the Neal Adams version of the costume, which was still in vogue in the comics during the 1980s. This movie suit^[7] was notable for its introduction of the grapple gun, which was later adopted by the comics, and for the construction of the cowl, which made it impossible for actor Michael Keaton to turn his head while wearing it. The costume was constructed of heavy materials (solid rubber), instead of the thinner material seen in the comics. While Bruce Wayne is depicted as a muscular man in the comics, Keaton was not of the same physical build and the armor was designed to make Batman appear that way.

In Batman Returns,^[8] Bruce Wayne is seen choosing his Batsuit and accessories out of many spares from a large walk-in closet. The suit used in this film differs from the previous version in that it features a bat-emblem similar to the DC Comics emblem, and a more angular shape in the musculature. In the same film, Batman appears wearing a glider which folds out from his cape.

The Batman films of Joel Schumacher are notorious for their addition of rubber nipples to the Batman and Robin costumes. (On the DVD commentary, Schumacher claimed they were inspired by statues of the Greek gods.)In Batman Forever,^[9] Dr. Chase Meridian, the film's love interest for Batman, mentions the appeal of Batman's suit as she runs her fingers across the chest section. A "Sonar Suit"^[10] variant worn by Batman at the film's finale, lacks nipples.

In the second and final Schumacher film, Batman & Robin,^[11] Batman produces a credit card from his utility belt which has an expiration date of "Forever". This film also added pop-out ice skates to the costumes' boots.

[edit] Batman Begins

The costume in Batman Begins^[12] is given the most complete description ever seen in a Batman film. The suit is derived from Lucius Fox's Research and Development program, within Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Division, which had originally intended to design a suit for the military, but was considered, with its $300,000 price tag, to be too expensive for the United States Army and military in general.

Based on an advanced infantry armor system constructed from Nomex, the first layer of protection is an undersuit with built-in temperature regulators designed to keep the wearer at a comfortable temperature in almost any condition. The second layer of protection consists of armor built over the chest, calves, thighs, arms, and back. This armor features a kevlar bi-weave and reinforced joints and can stop slashing weapons and can also deflect any bullet short of a straight shot impact. The armor was then coated with a black latex material to dampen Bruce's heat signature, making him difficult to detect with nightvision equipment.

The utility belt is a modified climbing harness, containing a magnetic gas-powered grapple gun, an encrypted cell phone, batarangs, a medical kit, smoke bombs and other unspecified equipment. Batman's cape is made of "memory cloth", a material which is flexible in its normal state, but becomes semi-rigid in a fixed form (Batman's wings in the movie) when an electric current is passed through it. Bruce also adds metal gauntlets with scallops on the forearms, an innovation derived from Bruce Wayne's experience as a pupil of Ra's al Ghul's organization, the League of Shadows. Mainly used to block against knives or other stabbing weapons, Bruce even surprised Ra's al Ghul by breaking the latter's katana with these gauntlets.

Actor Christian Bale said of the Batsuit while filming Batman Begins: "It's hot, dark, and sweaty and it gives me a headache." This line was so popular that the costumers on the film had it printed on their t-shirts.^[13] The Batsuit will change in the next film "The Dark Knight" and "it's a major plotpoint as to the how and why this happens." ^[14]

[edit] References