On February 13th, 2020 the world bore witness to the brand new Batsuit for Matt Reeve's "The Batman" that's slated for release in 2021. The film stars the infamous Robert Pattinson - yes the guy from Twilight - as the caped crusader. While the film is 490ish days away, filming has begun in London. And while Warner Bros. has been keeping a tight leash on the whole project from getting leaks, some set photos have been able to make their way online. However, nothing too major (except for the photos that released on the 21st but that's a different story). The big talking point of the whole project has been the Batsuit. With every new Batman project, the question on everyone's mind is "what will the new Batsuit look like?!" Over the last eighty years, The Dark Knight has had a variety of costumes. From the traditional gray and black to the famous rainbow batsuit, Bruce Wayne has worn them all. Finally, however, as mentioned earlier Director Matt Reeve's Batsuit was showed off in a quick video released by the director himself.
The Batman (2021) Dir. Matt Reeveswww.youtube.com
The fun part now begins with analyzing the Batsuit. With the way the suit was shot, there is only so much that we the audience can go off of for now. A few things stand out that make it very different from other suits. Number one is the logo, which does not have the traditional Bat ears. While people on twitter will be quick to attack the suit, questioning how a costume designer could mess something like that up, there's actually some comic book context for the way the logo is shaped. It's based on the original Batsuit logo from 1939. Batman appeared in Detective Comics #27, May of 1939. Over eighty years ago, the "Bat-Man" jumped for the first time across a gothic rooftop. This Batsuit was made of simple cloth with purple gloves and very wide ears. Now the new Matt Reeve's batsuit had armor as a cloth suit would be very hard for modern audiences to suspend their expectations with.
What makes the logo extra special is that it's rumored to make of the gun that shot Bruce Wayne's parents. If you are uneducated in the story of Batman, it is fairly simple. It had to be for 1939, it was a different time. When millionaire - later billionaire - Bruce Wayne was eight years old he was leaving a movie theater with his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne. A mugger emerged out of the darkness demanding money and jewels. A struggle persuades and Thomas and Martha are shot in cold blood. From that day on Bruce Wayne would dedicate his life to fighting crime in his city to ensure no kid has to experience the same thing as him.
In the recent comic event of Detective Comics #1000 released in 2018 to celebrate Batman's 80th Anniversary, a short story was written where the concept of Bruce's logo containing the gun that killed him was made canon. For right now, it still remains a rumor if the film adapted the concept from the comic but it is very likely. On to other features of the suit, it seems to take inspiration from the "Zero Year" comic run from 2013. In the comic series, it depicts Batman's early years in Gotham with a more grounded Batsuit. Matt Reeve's suit takes that concept and applies it to an armored based. More needs to be shown to get a full understanding of the suit in that aspect but it does seem a lot of more modern comics will take influence on this film.
Finally, the red lighting has been compared online to be similar to the "Daredevil" TV Series from Netflix. While Batman and Daredevil have had their similarities in the past they are minute despite what everyone is trying to portray. The whole film seems to be based on the Long Halloween/Dark Victory storyline that started in the late 1990s. The comic cover features a Batman engulfed in Red light while hiding in the shadow. The hope for this film with many fans is that it will adapt more of Batman's world from the comics. With any luck, it seems very likely set photos seem to be trying to depict a timeless Gotham with the type of architecture and vehicles that are being used.
Overall, I am excited about this film and hopefully can be the film that leads DC into 2020 as everyone becomes sick of Marvel.
