Can The Batman 2’s Batsuit Top Pattinson’s Perfect Costume?

Robert Pattinson’s suit in The Batman is perfect, which poses a problem for upcoming sequels of the film. The mark of a superhero is their suit. While these change from one adaptation to the next, memorable features remain the same. For someone like Batman, his cowl, emblem, and cape are a big part of his identity. In live-action superhero films, tweaks to suits are made for many reasons: it could be to showcase the growth of the character, the arrival of new enemies that either destroy the hero’s original costume or force them to update it, or even the passage of time to highlight how far technology within that world has come.

Pattinson is a slim figure compared to previous iterations of the character. His Batsuit is bulky in design with its more home-made build giving Pattinson the volume and grit to convincingly tower over criminals. The cowl keeps the signature long pointed bat ears, which is something that Ben Affleck’s version tones down in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. With this, The Batman proves there can still be a little bit of intimidation in that cartoony aspect of the hero’s design. Pattinson’s cape is perfectly shaped for the signature batwing glide, wrapping around his neck to emphasize the broadness of his shoulder.

In all senses of the word, this Batsuit is perfect. The Batman is set two years into Bruce Wayne’s tenure as the Caped Crusader, focusing more on his detective side and the darker tone of the character. The suit’s practicality is also a huge bonus: the metal plates that make up his armor are bulletproof but the suit still looks edgy and rough enough to pass for a Batman who’s still quite new to the crimefighting business. The cape obviously suits the bat aesthetic and also enables him to glide through roofs, while the detaching feature allows this Batman greater movement in close combat. Every part of the Batsuit has a use, from the blades in the arms to its belt. However, if the timeline for future films remains within the early years of Batman, it would be nonsensical to jump from this less polished design to something completely sleek and new. This poses quite the problem for The Batman sequels.

Pattinson’s suit in The Batman also embraces the symbolism of the character. One theory suggests that the bat symbol is artistically made of pieces from a gun, in grim celebration of how Bruce’s parents died. This takes the concept of wearing things that hurt him so they can’t be used against him – which has always been part of the Batman origin – to a whole new level. Everything the suit represents heightens the stakes, especially for Pattinson’s version of the Dark Knight. The early years of Gotham without Batman prove to be even more crime-riddled, a backdrop that pairs well with the death of his parents. And frankly, removing these aspects which perfectly highlight the catalyst of Bruce’s decision to take on the cowl might suggest a character regression. Sequels will have a hard time trying to smooth these designs out without completely demolishing the symbolic value of this suit.

As the films progress, there will be changes made to the Batsuit as that is usually the case for every superhero franchise. While the growth of Pattinson’s The Batman character can still be measured with some new, innovative design, this suit embodies the detective thriller tone that is perfect for a hero of Batman’s stature. After all, he is famously known for being the greatest detective, and his stories tend to be darker than some other superheroes’. Wherever the sequel films go from here in terms of reinventing Pattinson’s costume, the new design will always pale in comparison to everything the original Batsuit has to offer.

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