Favourite Schumacher Batsuit?

[Silver Nemesis]

The Panther Suit:

The Sonar Suit:

The Nipple Suit:

The Arctic Suit:

Choose wisely.

I like all of them to an extent. I really like the overall shape of the sonar and arctic suits. None of the nineties Batman actors were muscular, but these costumes boosted their heights and lent their frames an imposing outline. Even Clooney, who was arguably the skinniest Batman actor, appeared jacked when wearing the arctic suit.

But I also like the simplicity of the panther suit. It's basically a sleeker, more anatomically detailed version of the 1989 costume. And the nipple suit was sleeker still. Clooney's fight double in that movie was Chris Casamassa, who is perhaps best known for playing Scorpion in Mortal Kombat. The lighter and more flexible suit allowed him to pull off some martial arts moves that the earlier, heavier costumes would likely have prohibited. So even that costume had its strengths.

They all have merits in my eyes. But if I had to pick one, it would probably be... the sonar suit. I like the fact it was armoured without being overly busy like the TDK costume. And it made Kilmer look like a beast. The only thing I don't like about it is how stiff the neck and cowl look. But other than that, I think it's one of the best costumes from the Burton/Schumacher series.

[The Dark Knight]

It's a tough call between the panther and the sonar suit. Both are good. But I ultimately went with the sonar suit. With the sonar, Schumacher totally deviated from the Burton aesthetic and did his own thing. And to me, he looks more intimidating.



The standard nipple suit is oaky, but the panther suit is better. I don't think much of the arctic suit, but I appreciate what Schumacher established with these secondary suits. The idea that Batman has equipment for different situations. Much like the mech suit in Dawn of Justice, and now the tactical suit in Justice League.

[Edd Grayson]

The "Panther Suit" for me.

[Silver Nemesis]

I don't think much of the arctic suit, but I appreciate what Schumacher established with these secondary suits. The idea that Batman has equipment for different situations. Much like the mech suit in Dawn of Justice, and now the tactical suit in Justice League.

While I like the idea of each Batman actor having their own 'signature' costume – a default outfit that they wear for most of the film – I also think the character should have access to a variety of suits customised for different scenarios. It's been that way in the comics since the Golden Age. Even the New 52 Batman has an insane number of outfits for different situations. So I'm looking forward to seeing how the new tactical suit comes into commission in Justice League.

Regarding Clooney's arctic suit, I think one of the reasons it received so much flak was that it does kind of look like an action figure. I think I read somewhere it was made from a repurposed sonar suit. They just painted it and added some extra ice-themed embellishments.

They should have kept the scene explaining its imperviousness to Freeze's gun. It's in the script:

547   INT. OBSERVATORY - TELESCOPE

Batman flips himself back up onto the wildly spinning
telescope, advancing on Freeze and the control console.

      BATMAN
   Millions will die so you can save
   on air conditioning.  Isn't that
   taking self help a little too far?

548   Freeze draws his pistol.

      FREEZE
   We aim to...
      (fires)
   ...Freeze.

Batman deflects the blast with his suit armor.

      FREEZE
   That's new.  Let's swing.

It's in the comic adaptation:

And apparently they filmed it:

The explanation might have helped justify the costume change and made it seem less gimmicky.

The "Panther Suit" for me.

I recently found an old thread on SuperHeroHype where it was pointed out that Clooney can be seen wearing the cowl from the panther suit during the museum fight. Though he's only wearing it in certain shots. Someone posted this image to highlight the difference:

All these years, and I never noticed that.

[thecolorsblend]

Regarding Clooney's arctic suit, I think one of the reasons it received so much flak was that it does kind of look like an action figure. I think I read somewhere it was made from a repurposed sonar suit. They just painted it and added some extra ice-themed embellishments.

Not to sound sarcastic or anything. But I guess I assumed the repurposed sonar suit thing was common knowledge. Basically Ringwood or somebody took some of the old Batman Forever sonar suits out of storage, gussied them up with new paint jobs and presto! There's your Ice Suit for Batman & Robin, hoss.

The reason I like that is because it's a redone sonar suit. The idea I had was that Batman had been developing a snazzier, more powerful outfit for anything that might require prolonged exposure to underwater conditions, extreme heat, extreme cold, pitch darkness. He started the project some arbitrary amount of time before Batman Forever... and only finished some arbitrary amount of time before Batman & Robin.

Incidentally, I've been accused of overthinking things.

[The Dark Knight]

I like the fact it's a repurposed sonar suit as well - for continuity reasons. The lead actor changed, but the general aesthetic of his technology didn't. As said, I'm not that keen about the arctic suit, mainly for some of the white sections. I could've done without the white on the arms, legs and crotch. It seems too busy in places for me. But in fairness, how else do you communicate the idea of an arctic suit without having the costume completely white?

[thecolorsblend]

I like the fact it's a repurposed sonar suit as well - for continuity reasons. The lead actor changed, but the general aesthetic of his technology didn't. As said, I'm not that keen about the arctic suit, mainly for some of the white sections. I could've done without the white on the arms, legs and crotch. It seems too busy in places for me. But in fairness, how else do you communicate the idea of an arctic suit without having the costume completely white?

Yes indeedy. I won't lie, it bugged the crap out of me when I was younger. But as a not-so-young anymore man, I really cherish it. An entire movie with the sonar/ice suit wouldn't have been welcome (to me at least) but they're fun as novelties.

As others have said, I like that Batman will have different uniforms in the upcoming movies. In fact, one thing I'd like to see at some point is the mini-museum in the Batcave featuring Batman's different uniforms. I think it's a crying shame that the panther suit is the last live action suit to feature the yellow oval. I'd like to see a yellow oval costume in the new movies, even if it's in a glass case and is never worn.

[The Dark Knight]

I'm sure they didn't want Batman skating around Gotham Observatory, but nonetheless - it would've made more sense to have had the ice skates on the arctic suit. So with that in mind, how would've people felt if B&R started with Batman wearing the arctic suit from the get go? A minor script rewrite would only be required. In the final cut, Batman only finds out about Mr Freeze when he's half way down the batcave driveway.

[Silver Nemesis]

Not to sound sarcastic or anything. But I guess I assumed the repurposed sonar suit thing was common knowledge. Basically Ringwood or somebody took some of the old Batman Forever sonar suits out of storage, gussied them up with new paint jobs and presto! There's your Ice Suit for Batman & Robin, hoss.

The reason I like that is because it's a redone sonar suit. The idea I had was that Batman had been developing a snazzier, more powerful outfit for anything that might require prolonged exposure to underwater conditions, extreme heat, extreme cold, pitch darkness. He started the project some arbitrary amount of time before Batman Forever... and only finished some arbitrary amount of time before Batman & Robin.

Incidentally, I've been accused of overthinking things.

The concept of using the sonar suit as a foundation for its successor was sound. And the idea of the latest costume inheriting design features from its predecessor – thereby creating continuity to emphasise their common ancestry – is also interesting. The problem with the arctic suit (from a filmmaking/production design perspective, not an in-universe perspective) is that it doesn't simply look like it evolved from the same template as the sonar suit – it literally is the sonar suit, just spray painted with some plastic icicles glued onto the crotch. For a movie with a production budget of $125-140 million, this seems lazy and unimaginative. It's like releasing the exact same action figure twice, but including one perfunctory alteration so you can pass the latest edition off as a separate model.

It may sound like I hate this costume, but I don't. A part of me is actually quite fond of it for nostalgic reasons. I appreciate that they tried to implement a binary colour scheme like the comic book costume, as well as the fact it's the only modern Batman movie suit to feature some variation of the trunks. And as with the sonar suit, I like the overall shape of it. I just think they could have done more with the concept.

As The Dark Knight suggests, it could have included skates or some other design features custom built for cold environments. The sonar suit had jets in the boots and a special targeting system with lenses in the cowl. The arctic suit contains no such bespoke features; not unless you count the freeze-resistant cape, which doesn't even factor in the final cut of the film. The sonar suit streamlined Batman's arsenal by incorporating the grapple launcher into his gauntlet. They could have done the same thing with his bat-laser in Batman & Robin, mounting it on his wrist for easier deployment. They could have given the cape an armoured texture to highlight its defensive capabilities. The cowl could have incorporated a mouthpiece or lens over his lower face to protect his lungs from pulmonary edema. There are lots of things they could have done with this design premise. Nite Owl's arctic gear in Watchmen offers a more interesting take on what might have been.

Instead we got sonar suit v1.1, minus the cool features the original sonar suit had. It was a good concept, but poorly executed. And the root of the problem wasn't a lack of money. It was a lack of imagination. And in a movie as vibrant and visually fanciful as Batman & Robin, there's really no excuse for that.

[The Dark Knight]

Exactly. The arctic suit could've had thermal hands - melting the frozen scientists that way instead of Batman using an external gadget. But I think at the very least, using the comic's idea of the suit being freeze gun proof was enough to justify its existence. As it stands, the suit just looks different but offers nothing unique.