The DC Thread

[murs47]

I love it! They dropped the outer-underwear and it doesn't stray far from the current look. Well played DC.

[daglob]

So... they put seams in the material to show us it's real, but then his veins show through to show us how impossibly thin it is?

[bat1987]

Sigh. The logo on the chest and belt buckle is redundant. Also, the classic Batman design does not work minus the blue/black trunks. You think they would have learned that after the last time they tried and failed with it. Idiots.

Couldn`t agree more. Most people dont like trunks, but without them the colors are monotonous.
My favourite bat costume is his current blue and grey with trunks sans the oval. This is more or less his post Knightfall/No Man`s Land costume. The only difference is the redundant bat on the buckle. Its a boring costume IMO.

[thanoson]

But Bat's has to know who's belt he's picking up. Without it, he could accidently pick up Nightwings' by mistake.

[Podmark]

I find it kinda looks a bit like the Arkham Asylum costume. Not sure about it. It's not horrible, but I thought Bruce's previous costume was pretty much perfect.
On the other hand the yellow bat is unacceptable.

[Courtnall6]

I find it kinda looks a bit like the Arkham Asylum costume. Not sure about it. It's not horrible, but I thought Bruce's previous costume was pretty much perfect.
On the other hand the yellow bat is unacceptable.

I thought the  same thing to about similarities to the Arkham Asylum costume...but they were smart enough to keep the trunks...which makes that armoured version work. If DC really wants to get rid of the trunks they have to either completely redesign the costume or make him one solid colour like in the movies. Removing a key piece from the classic design was the wrong move...but like the new Wonder Woman outfit...Bats will be back in his proper attire sooner or later.

As for bringing back the yellow oval....I grew up with both the yellow oval and the switch to the black bat...they both work for me.

[Blkcasanova247]

I really hope to god that the "trunks" NEVER come back! I think it's high time to shake up all the costumes/uniforms...no more trunks and swimsuits. I'm all for change so long as it works and done well. I think what would make that new design work better is darkening the gray in the suit IMO and I'm also not a fan of David Finch. Now I'm about to really blaspheme and say I hope that Superman is next.

[Courtnall6]

The same thing goes for Superman. You can't just remove the trunks from his classic look...it looks wrong...like he left the phonebooth too soon. DC would have to redesign his look completely. Hopefully they keep Jim Lee away from any new look Superman. His prior attempt was awful...

Spoiler

[Xenolith]

I'm not sure what the opposite of Wow is, but it applies to that Superman picture.

[Blkcasanova247]

That's just gawdawful! What's with the short sleeves and the single wrist bracer. Looks like he just threw a bunch a stuff on him...it's not iconic and a really poor design. I really got disenchanted with Jim Lee a long time ago and now I see why.

[murs47]

That's a pretty poor Superman design. Perhaps Cas should start another contest similar to his Wonder Woman one.

[AfghanAnt]

I really don't see what the big deal is. It's the same costume with some darts and seams minus the underwear pervert motif. I think the bat symbol would work better without the yellow behind it but either way, it's a nice modern twist to the classic costume.

For those complaining about Bruce's new costume, when is the last time you purchased a Batman title? No offense to the older readers but this whole "blasphemy" argument seems to come up every time a company does something that's not circa 73 through 89. Just saying...

Edit:

C6 isn't that costume design from an early to mid-90s insert in Wizard when everyone loved Jim Lee's "hip" designs. Its a little unfair to judge an artist or even a redesign over 10 years later and expect to stand up to "modern" designs. Case in point: Spikey Metal Robo Batman = Fail

One more thing isn't that just that Ultimate DC Batman costume is some slight tweaks?

[Podmark]

As for bringing back the yellow oval....I grew up with both the yellow oval and the switch to the black bat...they both work for me.

Yeah I grew up with the yellow bat too and I was fine with it. I hated the black bat when I first saw it, which I believe was the Gotham Knights era of TAS, but after a short while I grew to love it. Now the yellow bat just doesn't work for me at all. I think my mind connects it to Adam West Batman.

[GhostMachine]

For the record, I prefer Batman without the yellow oval, despite growing up with it. However, I prefer Batman with the trunks and a yellow utility belt that isn't bulky. He's had some utility belt designs that have either been a different color, too bulky, or both. Never should have gotten too far off from the old yellow belt with capsules look.

Batman is my favorite DC hero and I hate it when his costume is messed with too much.

[bat1987]

For those complaining about Bruce's new costume, when is the last time you purchased a Batman title? No offense to the older readers but this whole "blasphemy" argument seems to come up every time a company does something that's not circa 73 through 89. Just saying...

I`ve been reading Batman for a long time, even the recent storylines. He had a lot of costumes over the years which is fine and all, and I don`t mind the change if its for the better, and IMO its not the case here.

[Blkcasanova247]

I really don't see what the big deal is. It's the same costume with some darts and seams minus the underwear pervert motif. I think the bat symbol would work better without the yellow behind it but either way, it's a nice modern twist to the classic costume.

For those complaining about Bruce's new costume, when is the last time you purchased a Batman title? No offense to the older readers but this whole "blasphemy" argument seems to come up every time a company does something that's not circa 73 through 89. Just saying...
Edit:
C6 isn't that costume design from an early to mid-90s insert in Wizard when everyone loved Jim Lee's "hip" designs. Its a little unfair to judge an artist or even a redesign over 10 years later and expect to stand up to "modern" designs. Case in point: Spikey Metal Robo Batman = Fail

One more thing isn't that just that Ultimate DC Batman costume is some slight tweaks?

I agree with you whole heartedly on the Baman thing. But I would have hated that Superman design even back when Jim Lee was the "mack"! It just looks dumb.

[marhawkman]

I liked that Superman idea... Sort of.  I can't visualize them keeping it for long.  The concept is fine, but it'd be better for a different character.

[yell0w_lantern]

Its a little unfair to judge an artist or even a redesign over 10 years later and expect to stand up to "modern" designs.

I thinnk that's a good argument for not changing from classic, iconic designs - the changes will just look dumb in hindsight.

[murs47]

Pouches, trunks, swimsuits, etc. are all products of their era's design trends...aka poor design. Take away the trunks and he still looks like Batman. Take away any other element and he doesn't. Case in point, the trunks were thrown in by the artist because it followed that era's trend of superhero design. Almost every golden age hero had trunks, I don't see how they can be so iconic when they were so common. If anything, they're an iconic representation of golden age super hero design.

[BentonGrey]

Pouches, trunks, swimsuits, etc. are all products of their era's design trends...aka poor design. Take away the trunks and he still looks like Batman. Take away any other element and he doesn't. Case in point, the trunks were thrown in by the artist because it followed that era's trend of superhero design. Almost every golden age hero had trunks, I don't see how they can be so iconic when they were so common. If anything, they're an iconic representation of golden age super hero design.

I disagree.  Something I noticed from playing with different designs in Champions is that most DC characters have really simple costumes.  There are only a few elements, really.  The characters that I created were all ridiculously over designed in comparison, but I just couldn't make anything that looked nearly as good as they did with such an economy of color or accent. 

Without the trunks to break up that gray body suit, it looks TOO simplistic to me.  It is just more visually boring.  It's kind of like removing the black from Green Lantern's costume.  As it is, they only have a few colors on them, and when you start taking elements away, they very quickly become visually monotonous.  The era of their original creation is obviously behind their original look, but the reason that the designs have endured for so long is usually because they simply "work."

That isn't to say I hate it, just that I find it less intresting.  The yellow oval is fine by me, but so is the black bat.

[marhawkman]

He has a belt.  That certainly helps.  In the better costume versions the belt is a more prominent feature.

[murs47]

It is just more visually boring.  It's kind of like removing the black from Green Lantern's costume.

Oh Benton, I heart your soul. Taking out the black from Green Lantern's costume is not even close to taking the trunks off Batman. Colors and accessories are two different things. That's like saying taking the red out of Superman is the equivalent of removing Bat's trunks.

[BentonGrey]

Well Murs, it is indeed similar.  What is the function of the trunks these days?  It isn't because we expect someone who is acrobatic and wearing tights to wear them like it was when the characters were originally created.  The function these days is to break up Batman's design a bit.  I don't care whether they are depicted as trunks or not, with the fuction that implies, but what matters is their color, just as the black in Green Lantern's costume is a design element, and just as the red in Superman's trunks is as well.  Trunks or no trunks, it doesn't really matter, what matters, in my mind, is color.

[deano_ue]

i don't mind the missing trucks, it's not something i think about when i think of bats design. to me the main features are the logo and cowl.

but again what do i know for years growing up to me this was the iconic batman image

Spoiler

[yell0w_lantern]

Pouches, trunks, swimsuits, etc. are all products of their era's design trends...aka poor design. Take away the trunks and he still looks like Batman. Take away any other element and he doesn't. Case in point, the trunks were thrown in by the artist because it followed that era's trend of superhero design. Almost every golden age hero had trunks, I don't see how they can be so iconic when they were so common. If anything, they're an iconic representation of golden age super hero design.

I'm not arguing specifically about the trunks. I'm taking AA's assertion to its logical conclusion.

If it's not going to hold up in 10 years, why redesign it?

[murs47]

If it's not going to hold up in 10 years, why redesign it?

You're absolutely right. But, will it not hold up because it's a poor design or because of a certain group of fans who dislike change? On top of that, DC and Marvel are businesses so they'll shake things up a bit to re-invigorate their brand. That can also be a reason for character costume changes.

[Podmark]

If it's not going to hold up in 10 years, why redesign it?

Lots of reasons.
Such as story specific reasons where the character might be going through a mood change (such as current events in Daredevil), or the character entering a new era (like the upcoming Batman Inc.).

Business reasons could be to increase interest around the property especially when you're about to start a new era. It could also be to create corporate synergy trying to tie the comic into another media such as movies, TV shows, or video games (me and C6 both noted similarities to the Batman Arkham Asylum costume).

You could also be taking advantage of a new artistic talent (Dave Finch) you've acquired. This happened during Johns' run of Avengers years ago with Olivier Copiel. You may also be trying to link with current real life trends/events.

So there's lots of reasons to change costumes for short term periods. In general I have no problem with costume changes, I just want them to look good, not necessarily better but good.

[daglob]

AA:

It's not whether we read the comics or not; if we read them for a time, many of us still have an emotional investment in them. They remind us of our childhood, or some special event, or it's just we remember the feeling of getting this month's issue and seeing what the heck is happening behind that outrageous cover. Sometimes we were rewarded, other times we were shortchanged, but the good feelings outweighed the bad.

I haven't read any recent Batman comics in years, but I read some reprints just last week.

Oh, it's still recognizably Batman; the cape, the bat, and the cowl are the most consistent parts of any Batman design. I don't much like it, but that's a personal opinion that the art is 'way too busy and the seams and veins are overdone.

[Blkcasanova247]

I don't much like it, but that's a personal opinion that the art is 'way too busy and the seams and veins are overdone.

That's Dave Finch all over. I think I'm not such a fan of this "new" design because of the Finch pencils...I'd like to see it done by another artist.

[bat1987]

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/08/batmaninc001000.jpg

Yanick Paquette`s cover for Batman INC.1 featuring the new costume.
Doesn`t look that bad in action, still prefer his current look though.