Batsuit (Burtonverse)

Batsuit


Alias(es)	Panther Suit Sonar Suit Arctic Suit
Creator(s)	Bruce Wayne
Owner(s)	Bruce Wayne
User(s)	Bruce Wayne
Function(s)	Protective suit/armor
Status	Active
Appeared in	Batman Batman Returns Batman Forever Batman & Robin

The Batsuit is the protective suit and armor that Bruce Wayne wears when fighting crime as Batman.

History[]

Designs[]

The Batsuit is the suit Batman wears to inflict fear into criminals that he would otherwise be unable to do as Bruce Wayne. Doubling as body armor, the suit is first seen onscreen as Bruce Wayne extends its wings to frighten two thugs who had just performed a mugging on a family attempting to get home from the theaters. As demonstrated, the suit can easily defend its wearer from multiple point-blank gunshots, although the force of the impact still knocks the wearer off their feet. It is also apparently able to not only protect Batman from physical attacks, but also injure the person who attempted to physically attacked him in the process, as evidenced when the Joker attempted to punch Batman after spitting his teeth out, only for him to react as though he significantly injured his hand afterwards with a distinct snapping sound upon impact.

Other armored points are the gauntlets, which can be used to deflect bullets away from the wearer or to protect the wearer from sword strikes, the boots seem to posses similar capabilities. The cape, textured to resemble bat wings, can also be unfurled to give the silhouette of a giant bat to complete the "Batman" effect.

Giving the impression that Bruce had been using this suit for some time, the suit is worn by Batman to do battle at Axis Chemicals against Jack Napier's men and used throughout his encounters with the Joker and his men, resulting in it being heavily damaged during the climatic skirmish at the Gotham Cathedral near the film's end.

When not in use, the suit was shown to be stored inside a large vault in the Batcave across from Bruce's work station. The impression is given that this was the only suit he currently had for use.

Batman Returns[]

At some point after the events of Batman, the suit is updated to a more angular version, with industrialized lines overrunning its previously organic curves. This new version has shown to posses weak points in the armor, particularly around the sides of the torso as demonstrated by Catwoman. However, the suit still retains its defense against subjects such as bullets, although, again, the impact of the bullets knocks the wearer of their feet.

The suit's bat emblem is redesigned (looking more similar to the DC comics emblem than the previous suit's) and the cape now possesses the ability to solidify into a paragliding harness.

The introduction of an industrialized design has probably enabled the suit to be more easily mass-produced than its predecessor, as shown in a scene where Bruce enters the suit's vault to select and assemble from multiple suit-pieces now present.

Batman Forever[]

Two Batsuits are featured (both dubbed the "Kilmer-suit" due to Bruce Wayne/Batman being played by Val Kilmer) the first of which, known as the "Panther Suit", focuses on a more stream-lined anatomical design than the Keaton-suits and a black utility belt instead of a yellow one. Like in Batman Returns, this Batsuit features numerous suit-pieces to be chosen and assembled by Bruce in the Batcave.

A notable feature of the "Panther Suit" is a button on the utility belt which causes a fireproof coating to excrete from and cover the cape, allowing Batman to wrap it around himself as a shield from extreme fires.

After the regular Batsuits are destroyed by the Riddler, Bruce is forced to use a prototype "Sonar Suit", an iridescent silvery-black suit that possesses a more armor-like design than the "Panther Suit". The suit features a new bat symbol that is spread across the chest instead of being confined within an ellipse like in previous Batsuits. This new Batsuit utilizes lenses that slide automatically over the cowl's eyeholes to display a sonar-generated image of Batman's surroundings to him, allowing him to see with more accuracy in extreme darkness or glare.

Batman & Robin[]

As in the previous film, two Batsuits are featured (both dubbed the "Clooney-suit" due to Bruce Wayne/Batman being played by George Clooney). Noticeably bluer in tone, the film's first suit is similar to the "Panther Suit" in design with a different utility belt and the exclusion of yellow from the elipse bat symbol. Notably geared towards ice combat, the suit's boots posses pop-out ice skates for traversing icy floors.

The film's second Batsuit, the "Arctic Suit", possesses silver armor pieces as well as an enlarged bat symbol much like the "Sonar Suit's" in Batman Forever. The suits were controversially received as the suits featured nipples and an almost comically enlarged codpiece.