Why the Black Suit?

[Gotham]

Yeah but I still don't like the Black suit but a new generation does..
My Girlfriend got me the set of 40's Serial Batman DVD's they are a hoot! I can see where the Cliff hangers came from.. Glad they got rid of the tufted SOX ears LOL, I do like the Original Black Bat for
the Emblem,
Who was your Favorite Superman?

[AndyFish]

George Reeves is my favorite Superman.

[Yellow Oval]

It's just pure Hollywood lack of imagination. "A black suit is tough, dangerous, sinister, it means business, blah, blah, blah..." I don't know - what is it? Did something get subconsciously implanted in the viewing public watching Happy Days? You know, Fonzie was the only one wearing a black leather jacket so that means "tough"! Any other color and you're by default a doofus? Note in all the comic hero movies how many are in black.

Batman is blue and gray - even in the old comics. Yes, I've heard the shading argument regarding blue and black, but if you look at Bob Kane's Joker's hair you'll see the same thing. Mainly black with shades of green the same as Batman's black with shades of blue. So what is the result - Joker's hair was supposed to be slick black that shined green in the light? I mean, come on...

The same as the argument over whether Batman's chest logo should or should not have a yellow oval. In the beginning it didn't, but I attribute that to Bob Kane's lack of artistic flair and comprehension of symbols. The yellow oval emphasizes the bat and mimics the look of the Bat-signal, hence, his yellow ovalled bat represents the light Batman brings to the darkness of Gotham. Then the argument starts (with special thanks to Frank Miller - NOT!) that it's distractive. Well, guess what? SO IS HIS YELLOW BELT! On top of that, at the last Ottawa ComicCon in May I had a great talk with Neal Adams about this in that the unmasked part of Batman's face is the biggest detriment to the "camouflage theory" because his exposed facial skin would shine in the night like a full moon. So much for that weak argument.

Then I look at Nolan's completely black suit and wonder what was even the point? You can't see the Bat symbol at all, the cape has no scalloped edge and looks more like just a black curtain, amongst other complaints. The mask was all wrong. He looked more like Sparrowman than Batman.

My point - blue and gray, yellow-oval Silver Age Batman was as good as it's ever going to get.

[SprangFan]

The same as the argument over whether Batman's chest logo should or should not have a yellow oval. In the beginning it didn't, but I attribute that to Bob Kane's lack of artistic flair and comprehension of symbols.

While I certainly wouldn't disagree that Kane was a lousy artist, I always thought addition of the yellow oval in '64 came down to a more practical, real-world motive. Namely, it's easier to put a copyright on a more stylized symbol. A bat is a bat, but a bat in a yellow oval is a unique composition that you can market and legally protect.

This would prove a handy distinction during the height of 60s Batmania (though it still didn't prevent a ton of bootleg "bat" items from being cranked out). And yes, I know the oval pre-dates the show (and its related merchandising blitz) by two years, but I still think it factored in. That and, yes, Infantino was a better designer than Kane and must have known a spot of yellow on the chest would balance out the yellow of the belt (and keep the belt from being the only yellow on the whole outfit). Even today, surprisingly few people understand the importance of color placement to overall design, as evidenced by the recent tendency to ditch Superman's (and Batman's) trunks. It may look "less silly," but it's also visually off, and dull.

[BilltheBat]

The blue was always meant to be a shiny highlight on black- you can see that plainly in the early art. Since color sold comics, things got set in a very stylized way afterwards as the blue took over and the black shadows shrunk to allow more open artwork. Thanks to Bill Finger, at least it wasn't black wings, trunks, and domino mask on a red-suited Bruce Wayne.

Practically speaking, dark blue or brown is better for stealthy clothing (ninjas didn't go for black until they were the subject of stage plays much later, where stage handler black-illusion costumes became the norm).

For an urban vigilante in low light, something that breaks up the silhouette is more useful. I always thought it should be a flat navy blue or black with charcoal gray for the bodysuit.

[BilltheBat]

And you can thank Julius Schwartz for the yellow oval of the bat emblem.

[Yellow Oval]

And you can thank Julius Schwartz for the yellow oval of the bat emblem.

Oh I do, I do! And no way in the universe will I thank the "geniuses" at DC Comics who took it away.

[Sugar Nick]

Most Batman costumes in the comics are either blue and grey or black and grey. Even now Batman wears the black and grey. There was a few times when Batman where a Keaton/Burton style suit in the comics though but that was in the 90's.

I love the Keaton costume as far as Modern era Batman. At least it was reminiscent of the comics with the yellow oval and the yellow belt. Keaton was good.

Bale's suits were pretty terrible I think.

But Adam was the silver age batman come to life. He was the most comic book accurate.

[Lou Szabo]

. Even today, surprisingly few people understand the importance of color placement to overall design, as evidenced by the recent tendency to ditch Superman's (and Batman's) trunks. It may look "less silly," but it's also visually off, and dull.

If you go back to the 30s, the trunk with belt is common, at the beach or circus.

http://www.redboots.net/comics/powers_costume.htm. Interesting read, and while the focus is a different hero, it applies here too. Even Captain America had them. Note that many characters created in the 1960's and beyond don't have the trunks, but will have a belt!

For fun, here's the bat suit history