SEEKERS OF THE BAT

It’s always fun to see a Keaton era costume in person. A big weakness of these film costumes was obvious: the actor playing Batman couldn’t turn his head. This was lampshaded in The Dark Knight when Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne asks for a less bulky suit so he can finally turn his head.  The new headpiece was built more like a motorcycle helmet over neck armor versus a one piece rubber neck sock as in years past. The rest of the suit followed er… suit. Instead of a solid rubber suit molded to the actor’s body, the new batsuit was built as a series of armored panels connected by elastic mesh. And still, no rubber nipples.

This picture of Heath Ledger and Christian Bale allegedly goofing off during the filming of The Dark Knight has been circulating online a bit. Ledger is known to have some skateboarding skills, and video does exist of him using a skateboard on set.  Unfortunately, this is just a clever photoshop job.  Here is the original, retouched photo.

Much as with James Bond, fans have often argued which is the best movie incarnation of the Batman. Mad Magazine gave us this great panel that skirts the issue by announcing that every movie Batman (Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and Christian Bale so far) is still trumped by the animated Batman from Mask of the Phantasm, created for the animated series and voiced by Kevin Conroy. No argument here.

Batman pitches in with the ubiquitous ‘Got Milk?’ advertising campaign. Surprising, because it’s quite difficult to strike fear into the hearts of criminals with a milk mustache.

Batman is quite literally, a ninja. And one of our favorite tropes is how he can disappear into the shadows at will, often leaving people talking to themselves. Is it a conscious effort to perpetuate the aura of mystery around him? Or is he merely rude? Of course his disappearing act can’t work EVERY time, can it?

Christian Bale brought a growling intensity to the role in Batman Begins