As people became more vocal about the reveal of the Batsuit in the wake of the Batmobile teaser, I felt compelled to tell everyone to chill and be thankful. The film is two years away depending on how optimistic you are with your math, and If you get the suit now, then what? But before I could form a complete thought on getting the suit too early and the boredom and demystification it might cause the suit.... it was already here. Not only was it here, but the Batmobile itself, which seemed to be the focal point of the tease, still remains some what of a mystery as we can't see it on a whole.
Am I upset about the Batsuit being dropped on us? Hell no! Let's review.
The Cowl appears to be smooth, uncomplicated and right to the point. Its texture would suggest a leathery material and other than what appears to be some neck and
Trap muscle embellishments, I don't discern much skull molding or feel of armor- although the forehead could indeed house a protective frame underneath.
Then, there's the ears. I'm a fan of the longer ears but was never opposed to the shorter ones. At first glance they're a little jarring but Affleck under the hood is undoubtedly channeling a look consisitent with the comics. Probably more so than his predessessors who have taken to screen in the mask. It is quite astonishing and reminiscent of Frank Miller's 'THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS' which is more than likely the intent given that the film was announced with that story being an inspiration. As of now, Affleck looks fierce in the cowl and he is very much the Batman, and without a full color version to appraise, I'm giving it a 7.5 until further notice.
7.5
Basically attached to the cowl, the cape appears to be made in the same leathery material as the mask. I prefer this over a more cloth or rubbery look tho it does lean towards the rubber family. Whether CGI will play a part is unknown at this point. The capes connection to the upper torso of the suit is new, and while I can't discern how its connected or comes off, it is sleek in its style. If you look at the cape over his shoulder you'll notice that the cape can fall over his arms in classic Batman fashion. As if now, 7.5
7.5
Batman's gloves are quite exceptional here. They are sleek, tactical and consistent with the cape and cowl texture. But I do believe the gloves are too far up his arm for my taste which is a very small gripe if any. Batman has been drawn with his gloves meeting the bend of his arm, but I think a more common look has the gloves wrapping the bulk of the forearm at the middle mark, a quarter before the bend in the arm. The lines and partitions give the gloves a new52 feel which make them even more appealing.
8.0
The belt is yet another nice touch to bringing a comicbook Batman to live action. This time, it would appear that the usually golden or military brown belt is now black- a color that is some times drawn in the newer comics depending on the artist. I like the black belt but wouldn't mind if it was the colored version. But the black belt and the grey suit accents the contrasts between the colorful Man of Steel and brooding Dark Knight. Very good call. Also the design for the belt is excellent.
8.0
The Bat symbol was a tricky one for me to evaluate. I'm excited about because, like the ears, it seems to be a nod to Miller's Dark Knight. But in simple terms, I like a more stylized and sleek symbol. But the raised, metal-shield-like design gives us a defined symbol which was missing in Nolan's Bat suits. It doesn't appear to be black tho, but the same shade of grey as the rest of the suit. People have made some pretty nice photoshop coloring of the suit, but the Bat doesn't seem to match the cape, cowl, belt and gloves. But I'm hoping those scratch marks are from knife attacks.
7.0
THE SUIT
For the first time since Tim Burton applied the unwritten rule, we have a Batman that is not covered in black rubber. For the first time on the big-screen, we're getting a comicbook version of the character wearing a grey suit. This suit however seems to have a pattern on it. Its hard to tell if its a pattern or the material itself, but the look is too similar to Superman's suit which is covered in a pattern. You can tell it was rolled out from the same production. I don't think it would have hurt to go with a more smooth and less busy pattern. Superman's suit was unique in that regard because even tho we've never seen Superman in a suit like that, its wild texture and pattern was consistent with something alien.
But overall, when judging the suit and Ben in it, we have the biggest Batman and most definitely the most visually comicbook Batman to date. I think this will only improve with color reveals of the suit and at different angles.
8.5