See Ben Affleck’s new Blue And Gray Batman Suit For The Flash Up Close
Get a closer look at Ben Affleck's new blue and gray Batman costume in The Flash.
Last night’s Flash trailer finally gave long-time Batman fans what they’ve been waiting for, a comic-accurate blue and gray bat suit. A still from the trailer shows Ben Affleck wearing the new Batman suit up close, and it has what appears to be a dark blue cowl and cape. This new suit will mark only the second time Batman’s classic color scheme has been featured in live-action.
The first two bat suits to make it to the silver screen were both in black and white, making them black and gray by default. The suits were otherwise what you’d expect a bat suit to look like, horned cowl, utility belt, trunks, etc. Interestingly, neither suit had an oval around the chest symbol, something the Batman from the comics at the time was also missing.
The next bat suit to make it onscreen was the closest to this new Ben Affleck Batman version. Adam West played the caped crusader for three seasons on TV and in one big screen outing. In all those appearances, he was clad in a blue and gray ensemble with the first yellow oval bat symbol.
West’s suit was some kind of skin-tight spandex material that lacked the sculpted muscles of some of the later costumes but was otherwise comic-accurate.
By 1966, the live-action Batman and the four-color iteration were rocking the now iconic yellow oval with the rounded batwings on their chest. This tradition would continue with Batman’s next live-action appearance in Tim Burton’s Batman. Unfortunately, Burton’s Batman would set a dark precedent for the hero’s costumes going forward: no blue, no gray, just black.
Michael Keaton’s bat suit was the first to be all black–except for the yellow oval and gold utility belt–and more armor-like. This bat suit ditched the spandex for a sculpted rubber look complete with its own muscles. This look would continue until 1997’s Batman & Robin went full monochrome with a dark blue/black armored costume that featured a symbol the same color as the rest of the suit, something Christian Bale’s bat suit would continue to emulate.
Meanwhile, the comics stayed mostly blue and gray for decades, minus a couple of Elseworld costumes. It wasn’t until the New 52 event that rebooted DC comics continuity that the comic book batman switched to a black and gray costume, something echoed by the first Ben Affleck bat suit from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Affleck’s BVS suit was a fan’s dream come true, two colors instead of just black and a kevlar fabric that didn’t look like BMX gear. Ben’s suit featured a chunky bat on the chest in homage to the classic Batman graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns.
As great as Ben Affleck’s previous suit was, this new suit is even better! It’s hard to tell from the picture if the new suit has yellow around the still very much chunky chest bat, but the cowl and cape are definitely blue. Not only that but other stills from the trailer show that Batfleck‘s blue and gray number isn’t the only suit in The Flash with that color scheme.
A quick shot of Michael Keaton’s armory shows that the Burton Batman also had a blue and gray suit, this one complete with the yellow oval around the classic bat symbol! That’s right, fellow DC fans, we’re getting not one but two blue and gray suits in The Flash! Despite dominating the box office for over a decade, superhero films don’t always do the best job of portraying characters’ comic-accurate costumes on screen.
It’s nice to see DC taking the lead and ushering in a new era of superhero costumes in live-action.
Now if we can just see Hugh Jackman in a blue and yellow Wolverine costume, complete with the mask, I can die a happy man.
