Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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antman67
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Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by antman67 »

This may have been asked before? I was wondering, they created the 60s show and based the batman & robin costumes off of the comic books.
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Batman & Robin are pretty much spot on to the comic, but the comic book version of Catwoman
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she whore Green but Julie appears in a black catsuit. I wonder if they tried her in green but realized it didn’t work?
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Now that I think of it, Batgirl's costumes was not purple in the comic either so I’m just wondering if anyone knows more?
Seems like a lot of the traps and story lines are the same as the comic books (which I like) though.
I'm a fan of Batman 1966 and other Batman movies too
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AndyFish
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by AndyFish »

That Green suit was the comics version of the TV Series Catwoman costume. It came after the show.
In those days of primative comic printing they tinted black-- that's why Bruce's hair is blue. They opted to have Catwoman's suit tinted green. When filmation did their cartoon (again, after the show) they dropped all shadows and therefore the suit is just as green as The Riddler's.
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clavierankh
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by clavierankh »

I believe in the comic book and maybe on the Filmation cartoons Batgirl carried a purse (red?) instead of a utility belt.
Chief OHara
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Chief OHara »

I have always wondered why comic book villians in the 60s and 70s always had purple, green or both colors in their costumes. Lex Luthor, Joker, Riddler, Two Face, Catwoman, The Parasite, Green Goblin, Mysterio, The Lizard, Doc Ock, The Vulture, Dr Doom, Brainiac, Poison Ivy, Black Spider, Penguin had a purple hat, Killer Moth, Mr Mxy, Toyman,Sandman, Scorpion, Electro, Kingpin had purple pants, I could go on and on

maybe thats why the hulk was green and purple , so people would be scared of him
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Jim Akin
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Jim Akin »

Conventional wisdom goes that white and the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) are heroic (hence Superman, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man). Conversely, black and the secondary colors (purple, orange, green) are supposedly villainous (hence the army of baddies you listed).

There are of course numerous heroic exceptions (Black Panther, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, etc.), but they all tend to be second-tier champions in their respective universes -- with one big exception (the one some say proves the rule): Batman is a hero in the garb of a monster, a white-hat who wears black -- one of many contradictions that help make him one of the most popular and enduring heroes.

When the TV show revived her, Catwoman had been dormant since the early 50s. She'd last been seen in a dark-purple slit skirt, knee boots, cowl-like mask and a green cape with a Dracula-style high collar. (A stylized, color-shifted version of this look was the basis for the Catwoman depicted in the "rogues gallery" in the 1966 series' animated opening.) Ms. Newmar, apparently having none of the dowdy comics costume, designed her own slinky update.

The green comics costume first appeared in the fall of 1966 (in a Lois Lane comic, no less), six months or so after Ms. Newmar's debut as Guest Villainess. It'd be interesting to know if the comics creators deliberately altered the TV costume, or if, knowing Catwoman was going to be resurrected, they created their own modernized costume before seeing the TV version.

Cheers,

QQ
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Hecate1966
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Hecate1966 »

The green comics costume first appeared in the fall of 1966 (in a Lois Lane comic, no less)

Not quite. If you're thinking of Lois Lane #70/#71 (Nov '66/Jan '67) Catwoman wore a purple catsuit and cowl with a blue belt and green cape. The green suit appeared in Batman #197 (Dec '67) and #201 (May '68). By Batman #210 (March '69) it had already been replaced by a dark blue sleeveless leotard (c/w cat-tail) worn with opera gloves, light blue tights and 'pirate boots' .
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AndyFish
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by AndyFish »

Purple and Green were popular at that time at both Marvel and DC because they were colors that printed vibrantly with the flax process, and pretty much came out the way you expected them to. In those primative printing days of cheap paper too you would often get bizarre results.

Just prior to the show the bat-villains had pretty much been retired. They were nowhere near as prevalant as they are today-- and Batman had just come out of his outer space period where his comics tried to mimic Superman's-- giving him essentially a family of characters.

In '64 Julie Schwartz was given the task of saving the character from cancellation-- and since he had successfully revived The Flash, Green Lantern and The Justice Society (now called the JLA) it was natural to put him on Batman and for him to rethink the character and make him more 'realistic'. They wanted less cartoony villains and more mystery type elements, which soon gave way to the camp craze when the show hit.
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Jim Akin
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Jim Akin »

Thanks for the correction on the green costume's debut date, Hecate. I knew Catwoman returned in a Lois Lane story, but I never read the tale; I'd assumed she was in the green outfit that appeared in '68. I should've known better.

I knew the green outfit was short-lived, but (I guess because of the cartoons), I still thought it must have been around longer than it was. Again, I should've known better.

Thanks again,

QQ
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Hecate1966
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Hecate1966 »

I'd assumed Catwoman's catsuit was green to avoid it looking too similar to the black suit the comic book version of Batgirl wore at the time.
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High C
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by High C »

One thing I've noticed in the old comics when I've seen reproductions--the henchmen didn't wear color-coordinated stuff, or have wacky names stenciled on the front of their shirts. In fact, they often wore loud sport jackets.
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Shemp
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Shemp »

Hecate1966 wrote: Lois Lane #70/#71 (Nov '66/Jan '67) Catwoman wore a purple catsuit and cowl with a blue belt and green cape.
And, the visual...
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Shemp
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Re: Question about Batman Costumes on the show vs the comics

Post by Shemp »

clavierankh wrote:I believe in the comic book and maybe on the Filmation cartoons Batgirl carried a purse (red?) instead of a utility belt.
Carmine Infantino designed the costume with both, from her debut in Detective Comics 359 (Jan. '67), and as also seen here on the cover to Batman 197 (Dec. '67), with green-suited Catwoman's first Batman appearance in the Silver Age.

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In 1969 when Neal Adams and other newcomer artists came in, the purse began disappearing, [not] seen here in Adams' cover to Detective Comics 385 (Mar. '69). I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure once Batgirl received her own backup feature in Detective, Gil Kane and Don Heck also ignored the purse.
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