Simple answer: it's hard to make pure black work in printing, especially against dark backgrounds, so the shiny black of the cape and cowl was accented in blue and the matt black of his bodysuit was accented in grey, and the colour choices stuck.
Exactly! Merely blue highlights on black, in two-dimensional comic book art. Batman's cape & cowl was never supposed to be interpreted as blue, just as Superman's blue-highlighted hair was never supposed to be interpreted as blue.
@@kevinmacmullin6892 just like with the Hulk. he was supposed to be grey but their were issues with a grey hulk coloring at the time. . so he became green.
Norm Breyfogle for me, but yes. Batman isn't just about terrorizing socially acceptable victims for his wrath. Batman is about not letting any other child suffer what he did.
The yellow symbol is to actually draw enemy eyes and gunfire to his chest because it's actually the most armored part of the suit, so if he does get shot it'll minimize harm
@@TheInfiniteSheldonthe jaw is super small, and the spread would make it miss. also the yellow is prolly reflective, making it brighter than the jaw in the darkness of goth ham sitting.
Any dark color would work for stealth. The CW version of Green Arrow and the Netflix Daredevil are great live action examples of showing characters in dark green and red blending into shadows. My favorite version of Batman's costume is midnight blue and dark gray.
That's what it originally was, then someone back in the 1960's took too much LSD and actually colored it blue. The only person to ever see a blue bat had to be on an acid trip.
I mean this has happened in older comics originally the blue on Spider-Mans costume was black and the 2099 suit was black and everyone thought it was blue now that's a permanent part of the costume (even though the black would look better)
@@RyanGP1203_MemeLord I like that they actually made the radioactive spider blue and red in the Toby Maguire Spider-Man movie. I think the blue works with Spider-Man just fine. Batman, not so much. I mean when has anyone ever seen a blue bat? lol Also, a colorful suit just doesn't fit Batman's personality. I kinda loath the blue cape and cowl. The Zur-En-Arrh Batman suit is horrendous as well.
In Spider-Man, Green Goblin's suit has a purplish hint to it when it's in the light. I like the idea of whatever material Batman's cowl/cape is, it would reflect some blue in the light, while still being black.
If I'm not mistaken, Batman wearing all black started with the 1989 Batman movie. The original 1939 comic book colors were black mask and cape with grey tights. Later came the blue and grey.
I have always just seen the blue as representing the light hitting the black parts of the suit. Much like Spider-man 2099 who was always described as being black in the original run of comics despite being blue most of the time.
@@thomasjohnson1885 It’s literally artists misintepreting what his colors are. Batmans cape and cowl are black, but comicbook shading often makes it blue when it touches the light (not real light mind you, but in the comic story).
The reason he suit is often originally seen as grey and blue is because blue was the only available color at the time to add depth to black. Same with Spiderman's original suit, and supermans hair. It was thought so widely to be the color of his suit the just went with it same as why spiderman has a blue suit to this day. It was originally supposed to be black
I love the Rebirth suit, the black belt with yellow outlines, the batsymbol with golden outlines too, and that purple inside cape really does it for me
🎵 Grey and blue, Grey & Blue. The man from Gotham, wore the Grey & Blue.🎵 🎶 He fought the vilest of villans to numerous to list. Rendering his verdict with bat wing covered fist.🎶 🎵 descending from the night sky, his Sapphire cape would flow. Those who broke the law deserved the punches he would thrown.🎶 Batfleck bat suit from both BVS and JL, JL: Snyder cut.
Bob Kane & Dennis O’Neil have both stated that the blue is canonically black. That’s why there’s comics of Batman wearing bright blue on the page but the dialogue describing it as black.
In the field, black makes lousy camouflage. The color black rarely appears in nature, but in the city, in manmade landscapes, it's an advantage, especially at night when we see more in black and white than in color. At night when Batman is usually operating, blue would be seen as a dark shade of grey.
Ninja’s supposedly wore blue outfits, and not black as we normally think they would, because moonlight is a blue light, so therefore a blue suit blends in better when outdoors than a black one. However, that probably wouldn’t apply to Batman operating in a modern city, where most of the nighttime lights are electric lights that cast harsh, bright lights and produce dark, black shadows. Overall I do have a strong affinity for the blue and gray. It cuts a striking look. But also pretty much anything he wore in the Arkham games is overall my favorite Batman costume I’ve seen yet.
There's a tie-in comic to the Brave & The Bold cartoon that explains Batman changed to blue because he was scaring people he was trying to save (in that case a kidnapped little girl) with the all black look, so the blue could still care the criminals but not the people he saves. I think the change was done in the Silver Age for a similar reason, to look more heroic to the kids reading the comic. I'm admittedly biased because I grew up with the blue & grey but I do prefer that costume for similar reasons. The right treatment could make for a dull enough finish to not be reflective. He does look more heroic with the blue (the grey was part of his original costume in the Golden Age to make it easier for the readers to see) to me, but as you say, there might be times where black is better. What I find interesting is that Gaijin Goombah, another YT channel, suggested that Batman wore black because it worked better in the city at night, nothing that ninja wore blue because it actually worked better in the days before all the electric lights in the big city. So the opposite of your theory. I wonder if anyone actually tested Batman's various colors to see what would work best?
Blue is also a color that, according to color theory and the effects of different hues on the human brain, a deep, cobalt blue elicits a sense of calm power.
Neat fact: Batman was depicted as "blue" and grey in older comics of Batman because the sky and background were often black, so without white outlines you wouldn't be able to see the character and shade them. So they decided to use the color Blue to represent the black on his suit while the real blacks are used for shadows and details. Later Batman films would ignore this detail and just found his suit kinda cool when it's blue and more light hearted. Bonus fact, Batman before the blue was Black and Grey. He also worked during the day more rather than strictly night so they didn't have the black on black issue.
Batman has a myriad of suits for specific types of situations and missions. Personally, I grew up with the blue and gray suit in the 80s and 90s. But I do love all of his costumes!
I like how Miller started Batman off with his blue, grey and yellow oval bat symbol/target costume, then switched it to the black one he'd used in Year One. I think that Batman started off with the black and grey and no yellow oval due to his role as a vigilante ala Year One. Then, as he transformed into the "hero" role, working with others like Superman, Green Arrow, etc., he switched to the Blue, since it was more "public friendly." In other words, it was a PR move when society regarded him as a hero. However, once he came out of retirement, and the blue one got messed up, he reverted back to his original role of lone vigilante, and hence the black, no yellow oval, made a comeback. At least that's how I think of it.
Something to consider is the animation color choice. In the comics, the night sky is dark blue whereas in live action, it is black. Dark blue is the best color choice of black in the comics. If you look into the color of black hair for Robin and Batman, both are black with the same color blue highlights as the Bat suit. So, what you are seeing is just an artistic choice for a lighter color of black and not the literal blue itself. It not only makes the black shine through, but it’s much more beautiful artistically than gray.
A lot of his appearance does uses symbolism. iirc the rebirth bat symbol is meant to invoke hope. My ideal classic style batsuit would be a black or navy blue cape and cowl with medium sized ears and caped shoulder spikes, a gray suit base that looks like spandex but conceals armor, and either a scary-looking black bat symbol or a Batman-returns style yellow circle bat symbol. For the belt, a bronzed look is best.
Pretty sure it’s just artistic tradition for how Batman has most often been portrayed in the comic book medium through most of his history, not some cue to portray hope or to look like a cop or to not be too stealthy in Gotham.
I grew up on the blue and gray. It’s just so cool. My favorite would be that, with the yellow background don the symbol. Tall ears, long fins on the gloves and a cape that just wraps him up.
As I understand it, the blue costume came from limits in printing technology during the Silver Age, hence blue highlights in characters with black hair. The blue and grey were likely cemented in our minds because of the 60's sit-com and it wasn't until Tim Burton's movie that the black became popular again. From what I can tell, anyway. That being said, I prefer the all-black outfit. The blue just looks goofy to me.
Personally I like the blue cape with Grey suit and plain black bat ...no yellow . I'm still waiting for them to do live action blue / Grey with white eyes.
The original Animated Series suit is my personal favorite outside of comics. I also like the modern black cape and cowl with a grey suit but with the bat symbol outlined in yellow.
Black is actually a bad color for stealth, as nothing is going to be actually black in the dark (unless total darkout, in which case NO color will be visible) sobblack items end up sticking out like a sore thumb due to the silhouette black objects give off. That is why grays and blues are more often used by professionals when it comes to stealth.
Side note; the yellow symbol has a heavy armor plate behind it. The idea is to give his enemies a highly visible target to shoot at, but ultimately ineffective.
Although blue and grey in the original comics. It's supposed to be black and grey. Much like the Hulk was supposed to be grey originally, dark colors were tough to print and changed to a brighter color( green ) for better printing. Printers had a color sceme palet they could use in printing. Blue with heavy shadows and ink work to simulate black. Really the only reason for the blue. It just simply printed better.
I do love the blue and grey suit myself, absolutely iconic. ut if Batman is to be a stealthy boy, he needs black and grey. It kind of depends on what story is being told, the right suit for the right scenario.
Dark Knight returns, and Ben Afflacks adaptation is the best suit, I wish they let Ben create his own batman movie, he easily had the greatest fighting style for Batman, and the Anger that Bruce feels after losing Jason the way that he did.
I've always thought the Black cape and cowl with the grey bodysuit to be the best look for Batman. But the guy is honestly so smart and rich that I wouldn't be surprised if he's developed a type of super fabric that can change color whenever he wants, changes from pure black to black and grey to blue and grey and back again.
its a lighter color, he also got the kid sidekick around that time, and the reason was said perfectly by bats himself "lets just say i set out to scare Criminals, not Children"
To be honest, as a artist…the gray and blue makes him stand out more on panels …also that yellow circle behind the Black bat on his chest…looks like more of a marketing strategy but in the Comics…the yellow circle was used as psychological tool to draw gun fire to his chest because that was where the most armor was!
The answer is that Bill Finger didn't like the predominantly red outfit Bob Kane initially devised and suggested more somber colours and replacing the domino mask with a cowl. They settled on grey and black, but in 1939 things coloured black in comics were given dark blue highlighting to avoid a black and white effect in full colour panels. As years went by, the black areas were inked less and less (to save ink and time?) and so became mainly dark blue. A later example is Spider-Man, designed by Ditko to be red and black in 1962, but now always red and blue.
It would be cool if he had in a live action film a black, iridescent cowl or suit where you could see shades of dark blue or purple, depending on the angle he is viewed
My favorite Batman is Christian Bales all black Dark Knight Batman costumes but I would like to see them bring back the blue and gray costume at some point in the future 👍🏻
My theory on why he had yellow on his chest is it calls attention to the eye and some people might instinctively aim for that with their gun instead of his face
i mean.... the cape covers the big yellow symbol on his chest when he wants stealth, plus it's been well documented that the yellow symbol is to trick people into shooting it as a target as it is the MOST armored part of his suit. personally my favorite suit is the rebirth batsuit grey with black cowl and cape as well as a black symbol with a yellow outline as well as a yellow belt with black filling alot of it and instead of a bright blue he has a deep purple on the inside of his cape for stealth in the dark but visibility to his allies when he wants it.
The Arkham Asylum and Arkham Cuty batsuits are blue and grey. The boots, gauntlets, cowl and cape look black but they’re actually blue if you look at it in certain lighting. It works perfectly for stealth imho
People have to remember, Batman has been around since the 1930's or so. The colors of his costume were a reflection of what was technologically possible at the time. A character with an all black costume would have been impossible for artists to depict, back when he was a black and white, newspaper comic. Then when color came along, they had a very limited pallet to choose from, so grey and dark blue where the best somber colors they had available at the time. The same goes for early color TV shows. It's only since the late 80's that it became possible to portray Batman in a black costume, with a resolution high enough that readers and watchers could easily see what was going on. Myself, I prefer the costume from the 90's animated series. For a dude in the more colorful version of the costume, he flat out seemed to appear out of nowhere, many times.
My head canon is that blue is reserved for justice league appearances. Like not even for missions but just for when the justice league has to talk to the press so he can be a symbol for hope instead of a symbol of fear
Honestly, the black suit looks great for tactics, but you can always make it a navy blue. This is hinted at as what Batman's suit might really be with how even in his black cape and cowl, it seems to have blue highlights. A Navy Blue Bat suit makes the most sense as it offers the most flexibility for adaptability. Between low-light conditions in both urban and rural areas. Blending in with the night sky if need be. It looks black in poorly lit areas, but blends great with the night sky. In urban areas, it'll help blend with shadows, but when in daylight, it makes Batman look striking. The balance that he's both a symbol of justice, and a champion for the innocent. If we could combine the traits like the armored style for Christian Bale's interpretation, with the rubber-style of Michael Keaton, with the bulk of Ben Afleck's take, we'd see a great design of Batman. The rubber would be ideal for crime scene investigation, and it'd be a great way to stay warm. If I were in a Batman suit design team, I'd make sure it had internal water cooling so that in warm weather, Bruce Wayne isn't dying of heat stroke, but it'd be insulated so he's not freezing his ass off in the winter.
The yellow symbol is a bullet deterrent. Batman uses it to keep his limbs free while people with guns focus on the obvious target. It's why he has so much armor on his chest everywhere except in comics, most of the time (because of visuals), but you already knew that... I hope
There are a couple of canonical reasons actually that were explained in shows and comics 1. His mood/mission. For more lighthearted or run of the mill thugs or villains, he'll wear lighter colors like blue and yellow as he doesnt need the fear effect as much 2. Children. In one animated movie, his classic black suit scared and traumatised a kid so bad he wouldnt go near batman to be rescued. So he switched to blue to appear more friendly to younger victims.
Gaijin Goomba has a show called Which Ninja. They covered Batman and said that blue is typically preferred for stealth as it better matches the true color of the night sky. However, the sharp shadows of Gotham do give Batman a pass for wearing black.
Count me in the camp of a Black Cape & Cowl on a grey suit. That said, I will make a slight favor to the blue being there...somewhat. As seen in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman wears the black & Grey, however there are blue highlights spread throughout the black portions of his suit, which I believe was the original intention of the comics artist back in the late 30s/40s, but at some point the artists got lazy with the black and just made Batman wear blue instead. The same thing happened to Spider-Man in the 60s, as Steve Ditko originally drew Spidey in a Red & Black suit with blue being a slight highlight to showcase his muscles. As time wore on, Ditko dropped the black portion in favor of the more famous Red & Blue look.
I think, as far as film goes, Blue and grey makes sense as a daytime armor as seen in the Flash. Blue and Grey may blend in better with concrete and steel during the day. Black stands out more in full sunlight (Dark Knight Rises). In the limited color pallet of old comics the blue and gray offered more contrast.
As far as blue and grey goes, Jim Lee's Hush suit is my definitive version. Also, would you consider the BTAS suit blue and grey, or black and grey with blue highlights?
Yeah, I don’t mind Batman’s blue and gray suit, because I grew up with that version back when I was a kid, and I like all of his suits by the way💁🏻♂👍🏻👍🏻💯.
There is no need to over think this. Batman wearing blue and grey is simply the result of what the comic book artist thought looked cool at the time. Bright colors symbolizing good against evil. Hope and optimism. By the time we get to Batman 1989, a shift had occurred. The bright colors were ditched in favor of an all-black suit. This was done to show this was not going to be your dad's campy 1960s Batman. All superhero costumes nowadays have received darkened color schemes. Bright colors are simply not cool anymore. In other words, if you want to be taken seriously your costume needs to be as devoid of bright colors as possible.
As far as the classic look i personally think it only looks good for the comics, the closest thing to that that worked in the movies was pattensons suit and that was still mostly charcoal and dark grey tones, my favorite live action suit is the dark knight hands down.
Batman wears blue and gray because he should wear black and black🦇, but old comic book characters have to be colorful, otherwise children won't like them 😅
If Gotham’s night sky is red like in BTAS (or more reddish purple) then blue will appear black under that light. Black would just look red or reddish purple
Blue just looks more exciting on a comic page. The black live action bat-suits just look drab and lifeless. I thought they had the right idea with Adam West's cape and cowl having a navy blue tint. It just looked more visually appealing. Batman is pure fantasy. If I wanted realism, I'd watch the TV documentary series COPS.
Simple answer: it's hard to make pure black work in printing, especially against dark backgrounds, so the shiny black of the cape and cowl was accented in blue and the matt black of his bodysuit was accented in grey, and the colour choices stuck.
Exactly! Merely blue highlights on black, in two-dimensional comic book art. Batman's cape & cowl was never supposed to be interpreted as blue, just as Superman's blue-highlighted hair was never supposed to be interpreted as blue.
I think you guys are bang on with your observations.
@@kevinmacmullin6892
Your observation is bang on.
@@kevinmacmullin6892 just like with the Hulk. he was supposed to be grey but their were issues with a grey hulk coloring at the time. . so he became green.
Someone who understands the Artform, nice.
I very prefer blue and grey, I loved the Neal Adams illustrations of the dark knight
Norm Breyfogle for me, but yes. Batman isn't just about terrorizing socially acceptable victims for his wrath. Batman is about not letting any other child suffer what he did.
Being black all the time is dull.
@@Critic_Chris90210
100% man!
The yellow symbol is to actually draw enemy eyes and gunfire to his chest because it's actually the most armored part of the suit, so if he does get shot it'll minimize harm
Indeed. Punisher had the same concept with the skull logo. Draws the eyes and fire right to his plate.
Yup. That and when he wants to be seen he just opens up his cape to show the symbol.
arkham knight explains this well in the beginning of the game
This was the original take by Miller in DKR.
The yellow is a target, it gives enemies something clear to shoot while he stands in the darkness, only for the upper body to have the strongest armor
so that means batman has cock armour, because of the yellow belt.
Or they could aim at his jaw, which also stands out in darkness and happens to not be armoured.
which comic artist/ comic book is the picture art 3:50 taken from? does anybody know?
@@TheInfiniteSheldonthe jaw is super small, and the spread would make it miss. also the yellow is prolly reflective, making it brighter than the jaw in the darkness of goth ham sitting.
@@PlaceHolder007YT "the spread would make it miss" Many weapons use spread to make it easier to hit. Like shotguns.
Any dark color would work for stealth. The CW version of Green Arrow and the Netflix Daredevil are great live action examples of showing characters in dark green and red blending into shadows. My favorite version of Batman's costume is midnight blue and dark gray.
Blue, grey and yellow. Nothing beats a classic
Absolutely! Even though that wasn't his first look, it quickly became his quintessential iconic colour scheme.
I always thought it was black, blue being just a coloring technique in comic books
That's what it originally was, then someone back in the 1960's took too much LSD and actually colored it blue. The only person to ever see a blue bat had to be on an acid trip.
I mean this has happened in older comics originally the blue on Spider-Mans costume was black and the 2099 suit was black and everyone thought it was blue now that's a permanent part of the costume (even though the black would look better)
@@RyanGP1203_MemeLord I like that they actually made the radioactive spider blue and red in the Toby Maguire Spider-Man movie. I think the blue works with Spider-Man just fine. Batman, not so much. I mean when has anyone ever seen a blue bat? lol Also, a colorful suit just doesn't fit Batman's personality. I kinda loath the blue cape and cowl. The Zur-En-Arrh Batman suit is horrendous as well.
That’s what I always thought
Because if his cape and cowl was blue, then so is superman and wonder woman’s hair in those old comics!
@@RyanGP1203_MemeLord In the case of SpiderMan I disagree, I think the colorful suit suits his upbeat persona
Blue & gray with the yellow bullseye to keep the badguy's focus off of shooting him in the face.
Peak Batsuit design IMO
which comic artist/ comic book is the picture art 3:50 taken from? does anybody know?
Yup ... a more practical Batman would have an ironman helmet.
A grey suit with black cape and cowl and a black bat symbol always favourite...
In Spider-Man, Green Goblin's suit has a purplish hint to it when it's in the light.
I like the idea of whatever material Batman's cowl/cape is, it would reflect some blue in the light, while still being black.
Hush Batsuit is my favorite, either in dark blue or black.
Blue and Gray is the definitive depiction of Batman. All black is the Dark Knight.
If I'm not mistaken, Batman wearing all black started with the 1989 Batman movie. The original 1939 comic book colors were black mask and cape with grey tights. Later came the blue and grey.
You are CORRECT my friend
I have always just seen the blue as representing the light hitting the black parts of the suit. Much like Spider-man 2099 who was always described as being black in the original run of comics despite being blue most of the time.
exactly
Yep the same way they use blue to make black hair to look like it's shining sometimes
But like it’s been literally blue
@@thomasjohnson1885 It’s literally artists misintepreting what his colors are. Batmans cape and cowl are black, but comicbook shading often makes it blue when it touches the light (not real light mind you, but in the comic story).
Blue and grey is my favourite type of bat suit
The reason he suit is often originally seen as grey and blue is because blue was the only available color at the time to add depth to black. Same with Spiderman's original suit, and supermans hair. It was thought so widely to be the color of his suit the just went with it same as why spiderman has a blue suit to this day. It was originally supposed to be black
I love the Rebirth suit, the black belt with yellow outlines, the batsymbol with golden outlines too, and that purple inside cape really does it for me
🎵 Grey and blue, Grey & Blue. The man from Gotham, wore the Grey & Blue.🎵
🎶 He fought the vilest of villans to numerous to list. Rendering his verdict with bat wing covered fist.🎶
🎵 descending from the night sky, his Sapphire cape would flow. Those who broke the law deserved the punches he would thrown.🎶
Batfleck bat suit from both BVS and JL, JL: Snyder cut.
Bob Kane & Dennis O’Neil have both stated that the blue is canonically black. That’s why there’s comics of Batman wearing bright blue on the page but the dialogue describing it as black.
In the field, black makes lousy camouflage. The color black rarely appears in nature, but in the city, in manmade landscapes, it's an advantage, especially at night when we see more in black and white than in color.
At night when Batman is usually operating, blue would be seen as a dark shade of grey.
Ninja’s supposedly wore blue outfits, and not black as we normally think they would, because moonlight is a blue light, so therefore a blue suit blends in better when outdoors than a black one. However, that probably wouldn’t apply to Batman operating in a modern city, where most of the nighttime lights are electric lights that cast harsh, bright lights and produce dark, black shadows.
Overall I do have a strong affinity for the blue and gray. It cuts a striking look. But also pretty much anything he wore in the Arkham games is overall my favorite Batman costume I’ve seen yet.
There's a tie-in comic to the Brave & The Bold cartoon that explains Batman changed to blue because he was scaring people he was trying to save (in that case a kidnapped little girl) with the all black look, so the blue could still care the criminals but not the people he saves. I think the change was done in the Silver Age for a similar reason, to look more heroic to the kids reading the comic.
I'm admittedly biased because I grew up with the blue & grey but I do prefer that costume for similar reasons. The right treatment could make for a dull enough finish to not be reflective. He does look more heroic with the blue (the grey was part of his original costume in the Golden Age to make it easier for the readers to see) to me, but as you say, there might be times where black is better. What I find interesting is that Gaijin Goombah, another YT channel, suggested that Batman wore black because it worked better in the city at night, nothing that ninja wore blue because it actually worked better in the days before all the electric lights in the big city. So the opposite of your theory. I wonder if anyone actually tested Batman's various colors to see what would work best?
I cant even lie, I'm a huge fan of the Rebirth Batman suit. The purple on the inside of the cape just looks so cool.
Blue is also a color that, according to color theory and the effects of different hues on the human brain, a deep, cobalt blue elicits a sense of calm power.
Neat fact: Batman was depicted as "blue" and grey in older comics of Batman because the sky and background were often black, so without white outlines you wouldn't be able to see the character and shade them. So they decided to use the color Blue to represent the black on his suit while the real blacks are used for shadows and details.
Later Batman films would ignore this detail and just found his suit kinda cool when it's blue and more light hearted.
Bonus fact, Batman before the blue was Black and Grey. He also worked during the day more rather than strictly night so they didn't have the black on black issue.
Gray, dark blue and brown, muted dark hues are generally better than black for blending in in the dak as well as most other situations
Growing up i never thought of it as blue. Similiar to black Spiderman suit or Black Panther, blue is sometimes used for highlights.
I personally love the Batman Beyond suit the best.
All that Technology and the Enhanced capabilities
Batman has a myriad of suits for specific types of situations and missions. Personally, I grew up with the blue and gray suit in the 80s and 90s. But I do love all of his costumes!
Some shades of blue become invisible in moonlight, the grey blends in with the concrete colours of buildings
I like how Miller started Batman off with his blue, grey and yellow oval bat symbol/target costume, then switched it to the black one he'd used in Year One. I think that Batman started off with the black and grey and no yellow oval due to his role as a vigilante ala Year One. Then, as he transformed into the "hero" role, working with others like Superman, Green Arrow, etc., he switched to the Blue, since it was more "public friendly." In other words, it was a PR move when society regarded him as a hero. However, once he came out of retirement, and the blue one got messed up, he reverted back to his original role of lone vigilante, and hence the black, no yellow oval, made a comeback. At least that's how I think of it.
Something to consider is the animation color choice. In the comics, the night sky is dark blue whereas in live action, it is black. Dark blue is the best color choice of black in the comics. If you look into the color of black hair for Robin and Batman, both are black with the same color blue highlights as the Bat suit. So, what you are seeing is just an artistic choice for a lighter color of black and not the literal blue itself. It not only makes the black shine through, but it’s much more beautiful artistically than gray.
"brave and the bold" as I call it such a classic color
A lot of his appearance does uses symbolism. iirc the rebirth bat symbol is meant to invoke hope.
My ideal classic style batsuit would be a black or navy blue cape and cowl with medium sized ears and caped shoulder spikes, a gray suit base that looks like spandex but conceals armor, and either a scary-looking black bat symbol or a Batman-returns style yellow circle bat symbol. For the belt, a bronzed look is best.
Pretty sure it’s just artistic tradition for how Batman has most often been portrayed in the comic book medium through most of his history, not some cue to portray hope or to look like a cop or to not be too stealthy in Gotham.
I grew up on the blue and gray. It’s just so cool. My favorite would be that, with the yellow background don the symbol. Tall ears, long fins on the gloves and a cape that just wraps him up.
The BatFleck will be one (if not the), BEST Batman ever.
Which horror villain would you think would be better at going up against Batman and why?
Freddy. Because he could play on Batmans biggest fears. Similar to scarecrow, but without needing a toxin, using his sleep.
Would Arkham be able to hold Freddy @@thebatcave111
@@thebatcave111Nice idea.
@@thebatcave111kinda like Doctor Destiny in the Justice League episode
As I understand it, the blue costume came from limits in printing technology during the Silver Age, hence blue highlights in characters with black hair. The blue and grey were likely cemented in our minds because of the 60's sit-com and it wasn't until Tim Burton's movie that the black became popular again. From what I can tell, anyway.
That being said, I prefer the all-black outfit. The blue just looks goofy to me.
Personally I like the blue cape with Grey suit and plain black bat ...no yellow . I'm still waiting for them to do live action blue / Grey with white eyes.
It is actually better night camo then black. Black is only good if completely covered by shadows or hidden in them.
The original Animated Series suit is my personal favorite outside of comics. I also like the modern black cape and cowl with a grey suit but with the bat symbol outlined in yellow.
I always thought that it was black with blue being used for highlights (at least with how older comics were colored).
Black is actually a bad color for stealth, as nothing is going to be actually black in the dark (unless total darkout, in which case NO color will be visible) sobblack items end up sticking out like a sore thumb due to the silhouette black objects give off. That is why grays and blues are more often used by professionals when it comes to stealth.
Side note; the yellow symbol has a heavy armor plate behind it. The idea is to give his enemies a highly visible target to shoot at, but ultimately ineffective.
Although blue and grey in the original comics. It's supposed to be black and grey. Much like the Hulk was supposed to be grey originally, dark colors were tough to print and changed to a brighter color( green ) for better printing. Printers had a color sceme palet they could use in printing. Blue with heavy shadows and ink work to simulate black. Really the only reason for the blue. It just simply printed better.
I do love the blue and grey suit myself, absolutely iconic. ut if Batman is to be a stealthy boy, he needs black and grey. It kind of depends on what story is being told, the right suit for the right scenario.
Dark Knight returns, and Ben Afflacks adaptation is the best suit, I wish they let Ben create his own batman movie, he easily had the greatest fighting style for Batman, and the Anger that Bruce feels after losing Jason the way that he did.
Meanwhile Robin out here catching strays
I agree with you!!!! Black cape and cowl and grey suit with black bat symbol. Definitely the Affleck suit my fav…..
Batman Hush suit is the best. Modern looking with the classic colors.
I've always thought the Black cape and cowl with the grey bodysuit to be the best look for Batman. But the guy is honestly so smart and rich that I wouldn't be surprised if he's developed a type of super fabric that can change color whenever he wants, changes from pure black to black and grey to blue and grey and back again.
its a lighter color, he also got the kid sidekick around that time, and the reason was said perfectly by bats himself "lets just say i set out to scare Criminals, not Children"
Gray and black, underside of cape and accents to cowl in bright blue. Illuminated yellow bat
To be honest, as a artist…the gray and blue makes him stand out more on panels …also that yellow circle behind the Black bat on his chest…looks like more of a marketing strategy but in the Comics…the yellow circle was used as psychological tool to draw gun fire to his chest because that was where the most armor was!
Don’t give me wrong, as much as I love the black and gray suits, I wish we got to see more of navy blue and gray Batman
The answer is that Bill Finger didn't like the predominantly red outfit Bob Kane initially devised and suggested more somber colours and replacing the domino mask with a cowl. They settled on grey and black, but in 1939 things coloured black in comics were given dark blue highlighting to avoid a black and white effect in full colour panels. As years went by, the black areas were inked less and less (to save ink and time?) and so became mainly dark blue.
A later example is Spider-Man, designed by Ditko to be red and black in 1962, but now always red and blue.
Blue and grey all the way. It adds to the classic comic book feel and makes his silhouette pop out more.
I like the blue cape with the yellow oval, but that's the one I grew up with. I do like the bat symbol without the yellow oval also.
It would be cool if he had in a live action film a black, iridescent cowl or suit where you could see shades of dark blue or purple, depending on the angle he is viewed
My favorite Batman is Christian Bales all black Dark Knight Batman costumes but I would like to see them bring back the blue and gray costume at some point in the future 👍🏻
Thanks for making this video because it’s more Batman content, but some of these explanations feel like more of a reach.
Love the video! and my favorite has to be Black Cape and Cowl with the Grey Suit and Black Bat Symbol
My theory on why he had yellow on his chest is it calls attention to the eye and some people might instinctively aim for that with their gun instead of his face
My favorite suits are the Arkham suits. Absolutely gorgeous
i mean.... the cape covers the big yellow symbol on his chest when he wants stealth, plus it's been well documented that the yellow symbol is to trick people into shooting it as a target as it is the MOST armored part of his suit.
personally my favorite suit is the rebirth batsuit
grey with black cowl and cape as well as a black symbol with a yellow outline as well as a yellow belt with black filling alot of it and instead of a bright blue he has a deep purple on the inside of his cape for stealth in the dark but visibility to his allies when he wants it.
The Arkham Asylum and Arkham Cuty batsuits are blue and grey. The boots, gauntlets, cowl and cape look black but they’re actually blue if you look at it in certain lighting. It works perfectly for stealth imho
I like Batman in black and grey. It’s just looks more menacing to me.
People have to remember, Batman has been around since the 1930's or so. The colors of his costume were a reflection of what was technologically possible at the time. A character with an all black costume would have been impossible for artists to depict, back when he was a black and white, newspaper comic. Then when color came along, they had a very limited pallet to choose from, so grey and dark blue where the best somber colors they had available at the time. The same goes for early color TV shows. It's only since the late 80's that it became possible to portray Batman in a black costume, with a resolution high enough that readers and watchers could easily see what was going on. Myself, I prefer the costume from the 90's animated series. For a dude in the more colorful version of the costume, he flat out seemed to appear out of nowhere, many times.
My head canon is that blue is reserved for justice league appearances. Like not even for missions but just for when the justice league has to talk to the press so he can be a symbol for hope instead of a symbol of fear
Did he say "BahMan"?... He totally said "BahMam".
Honestly, the black suit looks great for tactics, but you can always make it a navy blue. This is hinted at as what Batman's suit might really be with how even in his black cape and cowl, it seems to have blue highlights.
A Navy Blue Bat suit makes the most sense as it offers the most flexibility for adaptability. Between low-light conditions in both urban and rural areas. Blending in with the night sky if need be. It looks black in poorly lit areas, but blends great with the night sky. In urban areas, it'll help blend with shadows, but when in daylight, it makes Batman look striking. The balance that he's both a symbol of justice, and a champion for the innocent.
If we could combine the traits like the armored style for Christian Bale's interpretation, with the rubber-style of Michael Keaton, with the bulk of Ben Afleck's take, we'd see a great design of Batman. The rubber would be ideal for crime scene investigation, and it'd be a great way to stay warm.
If I were in a Batman suit design team, I'd make sure it had internal water cooling so that in warm weather, Bruce Wayne isn't dying of heat stroke, but it'd be insulated so he's not freezing his ass off in the winter.
The yellow symbol is a bullet deterrent. Batman uses it to keep his limbs free while people with guns focus on the obvious target. It's why he has so much armor on his chest everywhere except in comics, most of the time (because of visuals), but you already knew that... I hope
There are a couple of canonical reasons actually that were explained in shows and comics
1. His mood/mission. For more lighthearted or run of the mill thugs or villains, he'll wear lighter colors like blue and yellow as he doesnt need the fear effect as much
2. Children. In one animated movie, his classic black suit scared and traumatised a kid so bad he wouldnt go near batman to be rescued. So he switched to blue to appear more friendly to younger victims.
I love that Moon Knight wears bright white cause he wants the bad guys to see him coming.
Batfleck suit
Ninjas, despite how they are usually portrayed, wore dark blue as it blended in better as most things are rarely pure black.
Grey and blue but afflecs is really really good too
Gaijin Goomba has a show called Which Ninja. They covered Batman and said that blue is typically preferred for stealth as it better matches the true color of the night sky. However, the sharp shadows of Gotham do give Batman a pass for wearing black.
Count me in the camp of a Black Cape & Cowl on a grey suit. That said, I will make a slight favor to the blue being there...somewhat. As seen in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman wears the black & Grey, however there are blue highlights spread throughout the black portions of his suit, which I believe was the original intention of the comics artist back in the late 30s/40s, but at some point the artists got lazy with the black and just made Batman wear blue instead. The same thing happened to Spider-Man in the 60s, as Steve Ditko originally drew Spidey in a Red & Black suit with blue being a slight highlight to showcase his muscles. As time wore on, Ditko dropped the black portion in favor of the more famous Red & Blue look.
For me, I like black and gray. It sooo fits that character. For the symbol? It don't really matter; I like both yellow and without.
I think, as far as film goes, Blue and grey makes sense as a daytime armor as seen in the Flash. Blue and Grey may blend in better with concrete and steel during the day. Black stands out more in full sunlight (Dark Knight Rises). In the limited color pallet of old comics the blue and gray offered more contrast.
Regardless of the question of efficiency and stealth, blue & grey will always be my favorite Batman color scheme. :- )
As far as blue and grey goes, Jim Lee's Hush suit is my definitive version. Also, would you consider the BTAS suit blue and grey, or black and grey with blue highlights?
Black actually solidifies the silhouette making stealth much harder. This is beyond 80's ninja movies and based in real life though.
Yeah, I don’t mind Batman’s blue and gray suit, because I grew up with that version back when I was a kid, and I like all of his suits by the way💁🏻♂👍🏻👍🏻💯.
There is no need to over think this. Batman wearing blue and grey is simply the result of what the comic book artist thought looked cool at the time. Bright colors symbolizing good against evil. Hope and optimism. By the time we get to Batman 1989, a shift had occurred. The bright colors were ditched in favor of an all-black suit. This was done to show this was not going to be your dad's campy 1960s Batman. All superhero costumes nowadays have received darkened color schemes. Bright colors are simply not cool anymore. In other words, if you want to be taken seriously your costume needs to be as devoid of bright colors as possible.
Blue, gray, and yellow for young Batman and black and gray for more seasoned and jaded Batman
As far as the classic look i personally think it only looks good for the comics, the closest thing to that that worked in the movies was pattensons suit and that was still mostly charcoal and dark grey tones, my favorite live action suit is the dark knight hands down.
I love and prefer batman wearing blue and grey
Blue, grey and yellow. my favorite Batman color
I remember when Batman had blue cape and cowl.
Batman wears blue and gray because he should wear black and black🦇, but old comic book characters have to be colorful, otherwise children won't like them 😅
Big fan of the all black 89 Batman suit.
If Gotham’s night sky is red like in BTAS (or more reddish purple) then blue will appear black under that light. Black would just look red or reddish purple
The Yellow Symbol on his chest served an important purpose.
GO LEARN ABOUT IT !!! CASUALS
Blue and gray is believe it or not more stealthy than all black. It matches the starlight in the night and blends better in urban backgrounds
Why? Because that's how Bill Finger designed him & everyone liked it & never gave it a second thought!
Thanks for the amazing video ❤
Blue just looks more exciting on a comic page. The black live action bat-suits just look drab and lifeless. I thought they had the right idea with Adam West's cape and cowl having a navy blue tint. It just looked more visually appealing.
Batman is pure fantasy. If I wanted realism, I'd watch the TV documentary series COPS.