DCU Batman Needs What The Batsuit Has Been Missing For 60 Years

The Batsuit is one of the most famous costumes in all of cinema history. For 60+ years, actors have been donning versions of Batman’s comic book costume in major productions. Actors ranging from Val Kilmer to Adam West to Michael Keaton to Robert Pattinson (among others) have all put on this outfit. Some of them couldn’t move their necks; others found it constricting to their acting talents. All of them, however, have joined rarefied company in being the rare movie stars to actually put on this outfit that’s transfixed the public’s imaginations for nearly 100 years.

However, across the decades and countless recastings of Batman, there’s been one element of the Batsuit that’s been distressingly missing for ages now. With the DC Universe now prepping to drop its live-action vision of Batman with The Brave and the Bold, it’s time for the next version of the Batsuit to rectify this problem and leave audiences feeling a little blue.

Bright Color Is What the DCU Batsuit Needs

When Batman first appeared in the pages of Detective Comics in the late ’30s, he fought crime in an outfit with a decidedly black exterior and a blue interior. From there, blue became a core component of Batman’s Batsuit. By the 1940s, the Batsuit was regularly painted to have a bright blue tint. This color became so synonymous with Batman that it informed the outfit Adam West wore in his beloved 1960s TV show and its 1966 theatrical feature film. Blue, grey, and black were the colors of this Dark Knight.

However, once Michael Keaton began wearing the cape and cowl in Batman (1989), darker hues began dominating the Batsuit. Tim Burton’s version of the Batsuit was painted in all black (except for a bright yellow Bat-symbol on the chest) to reflect the director’s grimmer vision of this comic book character. Even when Joel Schumacher took over these Batman movies, the black Batsuit endured as a way to contrast Batman against colorful, over-the-top baddies like The Riddler and Poison Ivy. One could argue there are dark blue hues on one of Batman’s Batman & Robin suits (combined with a white Bat-symbol insignia and codpiece), but it’s certainly not the same as the character’s classic blue Batman outfit.

From there, the toxic fan reception to Batman & Robin made “grounded” the name of the game for Batsuits from here on out. Christopher Nolan’s Batsuits were all black, and Zack Snyder’s first two takes on Batman had a similarly dimly-colored Batsuit. Ben Affleck’s final Batman appearance in The Flash saw the actor donning a Batsuit with a blue-ish cowl and cape, but it still didn’t approximate the blue from the comics (in addition to generally being a terrible costume). Throughout the years, Batsuits have gotten close, but never quite the blue Batsuit seen in so many comics and animated TV shows. That’s where the DC Universe could come into play.

[RELATED: DC Celebrates 75 Years of Batman With A Look Back At 75 Batsuits]

The DCU Could Finally Give The World a Proper Blue Batsuit Again

So far, the DCU Batman has only been briefly seen in a shadowy Creature Commandos cameo. There’s no telling what visual aesthetic or influences this character will draw from when he finally shows up in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s shared universe. However, there are already positive signs that the next iteration of the Batsuit could take a more classical approach. For one thing, David Corenswet’s Superman is wearing his red trunks, an element ditched from the DCEU version of the character, suggesting that Gunn favors the more classic DC aesthetic, down to the new throwback-style logo for DC Studios.

Restoring that key aspect of Superman’s costume is already a positive sign that the DCU incarnation of Batman could also have an outfit that hews closely to the comics. The very classical takes of Guy Gardner and Mister Terrific glimpsed at in Superman promo material – not to mention Gunn’s willingness to embrace bright colors – are all positive signs that this Batsuit could finally be appearing in post-1960s Batman media. If Javelin could appear in The Suicide Squad with a brightly-colored outfit ripped straight from the comics, why not have Batman also show up on the big screen in his blue attire?

Plus, giving Batman his blue Batsuit could instantly give this new take on the vigilante a distinct new aura and appearance compared to the countless past movie versions of Batman. If you’re going to do this well-worn cinematic character as a theatrical cinema star again, you need to do something new and unique. Embracing a blue Batsuit that hasn’t been seen since the days of Adam West would be a great way to instantly differentiate the DCU’s Batman from Robert Pattinson’s The Batman. Plus, seeing a glorious blue-tinted Batman on the big screen would just be a long-overdue beautiful sight. The benefits of bringing this Batsuit back to movie theaters for the first time in decades are truly endless.

1966’s Batman is now available to rent or purchase from digital retailers.