It’s the 75th anniversary of Batman comics, and as part of their celebration at Comic-Con, DC Comics has a display of Batman suits throughout the ages—including Ben Affleck’s new costume from Superhero Face Punch. Well, part of it. All that’s on display is the cowl and the cape, but even just that does tell us something about our new Batman. First, it’s not blue, so we’re throwing the comic book design out the window. Some nerds are already unhappy about this, but that’s not a huge deal to me. Zack Snyder is horribly overrated, but he does have a good eye for visuals (he should be a cinematographer). So what if his batsuit isn’t blue—it will look cool regardless.
Second, it’s all one piece. This is slightly worrisome. The batsuit has never been the most athletic or agile superhero costume, but this harks back to Michael Keaton’s rubber suit, in which he could not turn his head at all. This doesn’t look nearly as heavy as Keaton’s suit, but now I’m wondering if we’re going to be treated to a lot of scenes in which Affleck is constantly rotating his body forty-five degrees in order to make eye-contact with other characters.
We also have a new image of Affleck in the suit. It’s a headshot, in profile, with his butt-chin prominently displayed. It’s dark and brooding and SUPER CEREAL, because there’s no light or joy in Gotham. It is forever night and despairing, and the caped crusader with his immobile neck must ponder the divided nature of his damaged soul. He must also pose in fading beams of light that are perfect metaphors for the loss of hope as humanity decays in excess and moral turpitude. Much grimdark. So Batman.
