Why the Black Suit?

[Gotham]

Has anybody ever explained why they changed the Batman Costume into the Black Rubber Ducky
suit in the 80's?
I for one HATE it!
Especially the Clooney bat Nipple Suit YUUUK!
I guess there will always be ONE Batman in my mind.. I got a chance to shake his hand and talk to him for a few (glorious) minutes while he was in Sioux City ia, at a car show in the mid 70's...
what a thrill. He was so perfect for the times.
Who else saw him at a car show, or in person?
Larry

[AndyFish]

Keeping in mind that his stories often changed to suit the occasion, Batman co creator Bob Kane said in an interview at the time that he always envisioned the suit as being all black, but that was not possible with the printing of the time. That doesn't hold water since The Black Terror rocked a black suit during the golden age.

I think the real reason is the designers were intentionally trying to set it apart pop from the other live action versions of the character, and the all black design is slick.

I like the black design myself, but I don't like the rubber suits at all.

[Gotham]

Thanks Andy, well Black without the rubber might be OK...
Just like Superman, I saw some of the proposed artwork for the new look and some are down right awfull.
I personally think the reboot of Superman should go back to the origonal, get rid of the laser eyes and cold breath. The things that, whenever he got in trouble, they just invent a new power.
He was supposed to just be a regular person from another planet that our Yellow Star enhanced
his abilitys.. hence Leap tall buildings..
At least our man in the pointed ears uses Tech, not a new morph..

[AndyFish]

Yeah I agree, going to back to the original Superman with less powers would make for a much more interesting movie.

[clavierankh]

I hated the rubberized Superman suit of the movies.

Batman wearing a Kevlar suit makes some sense.

[Gotham]

Yeah I agree, going to back to the original Superman with less powers would make for a much more interesting movie.

The Doomsday Death junk kind of did it for me.. All about making money, Dead? No problem, lets just make him come back again,thats just like Superman.
Just not interesting any more. I think I still like the 50's Superman series better than all the movies, except perhaps the first Christopher Reeve movie.
Kevlar makes more sense I agree, but there is something more compelling with him being mortal.
I still think Batman would outsmart Superman and disable him..
You think anyone will listen to us?

[dell]

Black is more along the color scheme of a real bat than blue and light grey. I still think the Adam West Batman costume looks the best.

[Steve Rosinski]

Hey Larry, my first brush with Adam and Burt was at a Heinz Auditorium Car Show in Boston back in the late 70's. I was there to see the Dynamic Duo while my sister was there to meet Scott Baio. I kept getting back in line so many times to meet them again and again that Adam said, " Robin, it looks like Steven is becoming a pain in the...er... utility belt." I was in heaven.

[RuxieCat121]

Now that is an awesome photo!

I hated the rubberized Superman suit of the movies.

Batman wearing a Kevlar suit makes some sense.

I'm going to have to agree on both counts. Batman would need the kevlar. I never cared for the rubbery-like Superman suits. They just bug me. They don't look right at all to me.

I personally think the reboot of Superman should go back to the origonal, get rid of the laser eyes and cold breath. The things that, whenever he got in trouble, they just invent a new power.
He was supposed to just be a regular person from another planet that our Yellow Star enhanced
his abilitys.. hence Leap tall buildings..

Exactly my feelings! I was discussing this with someone the other day. A lot of fans may not agree with me, but I don't like how a truckload of CGI and new amazing powers and whatnot has been given to heroes like Superman and such. That was one of my main problems with the recent film. Way too much technical junk, like character bonus features. I liked it better when Supes was simple. Just my two cents... or few dollars.

~Heather

[SprangFan]

The thinking was that you can't take colors like blue and gray "seriously," so we should make Batman all black. And we can't risk seeing any flab (or in Keaton's case, a slight build), so give the suit rubber muscles. And even though we're casting a comedian, lets make the character humorless, because that's the way to make him seem "legitimate."

So how did it turn out? Well sure enough, in the Summer of 1989, the world was in love with one character, the man of the hour, the guy everyone everywhere was talking about all the time.

That's right, the Joker. The funny, portly, over-the-top scene-stealer in the brightly colored costume.

It took a room full of Hollywood geniuses to do it, but they figured out a way to make Batman a bit player in his own movie.

[RuxieCat121]

^^^^^ THIS.

~Heather

[John Mack]

My my how times have changed. I never "fell" for any of the hype in the new movies. I went with Wally's '"Adam West" song and never looked back. All the people I spoke to in the card shops and other geekly places swore that the new Batman was awesome and went completely against "our" Batman.

They all said, "We want Batman to be black and dangerous like he was in the early comics." I always argued that Batman's suit was NEVER black and only his attitude was black. The funniest thing I ever heard was when the new 66 merch was coming out, was a long time friend of mine who said, "Man, it's good to see some color come back to Batman and not take things so seriously. Hence, the Joker's line: "Why so serious?"
ROFL!!

Yes, it looks like people have finally come back around to our way of seeing things. I spent many years being the butt of jokes for my liking of the 66 Batman, but I never left this place in my mind, spirit or soul. Nope. Never left. God bless and AMEN! So to people of the "dark" I say, Welcome to our Gotham City. A place of sunshine and helpfulness. A place where your dreams really do come true--BLUE!

John

[Gotham]

I couldn't Imagine saying it better any possible way
Here is to,Our Man In Blue!

[Gotham]

^^^^^ THIS.

~Heather

HOLY Wolf...er... CAT Call!!!

[Mr. Comic Book]

I think a more practical reason to not use gray and blue in live-action boils down to special effects necessity. Yes, you could shoot Batman against greenscreen in solo scenes, but what happens when you have him in the same FX shots with Robin, the Joker, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, or Killer Croc -- characters who have green in their color schemes? Or, if we're talking team-ups with other heroes, what do you do if Batman needs to be in the same FX shots as guys like Martian Manhunter or Green Arrow? At that point, gray and blue becomes a liability. You pretty much have to go with gray and black or even solid black just to make it work.

Granted, the real reason the WB movie Batmen wore solid black WAS to make as much of a break from the Adam West version as possible. That's a matter of public record. But even setting that aside, there are legitimate reasons for abandoning the gray and blue in live-action, and effects work is a big reason.