But you really didn't prove anything. All you stated were reasons you thought the tights would be better than armor. You tried to say the same things on other forums as well. Just saying it doesn't make it so.
Okay. I didn't
prove anything. I just stated my preference. As for mentioning this on other forums. As I recall (and you'll please correct me if I'm wrong), I expressed this same sentiment on
one other website maybe more than a year and a half ago. As I said, i could be wrong.
Don't policemen and soldiers wear some sort of protection when they go out on patrol? Why wouldn't Bruce Wayne? Especially considering that BW has Wayne Industries at his disposal? It would be suicide otherwise. I know you describe Batman as this supernatural force, but he's not. he's a human being. Bullets and knives are going to hurt him, kill him, just like everyone else. Just because he's committed, doesn't make him crazy, or stupid.
My objection to the armor as it has been presented in movies is basically an aesthetic one. I think it looks stiff and constricting for a character that requires freedom of movement. I don't really have a problem with The Batman wearing a garment that looks like tights, but offers some ballistic protection (like in the comics).
Now if we're to talk about CONTEXT of ballistic protection as it applies to Batman movies, I have said (and maintain), that the NEED for this character to wear armor is based on a "real world" consideration which I personally have little use for when enjoying the exploits of a fantasy character. I see the Batman, no differently than James Bond, indiana Jones, or any of the main characters from "The Expendibles"... TONS of gunfire and explosions and they nary get a scratch... because they are
so good at what they do. Suspension of disbelief. That's the key. Yes soldiers and law enforcement officers routinely use ballistic protection,
but I consider The Batman something of a higher order than them. I never expect to see Bruce Lee, Jet Li or Ninja's (all in movies) wearing armor. Same with Batman. Guys like that, wearing armor just puts them on the same level of skill as, say, the average cop... and they should not be ordinary, they should be extraordinary... at least to me.
Contexturally, I have in the past also made the point that Batman armor in movies just seems to contradict itself. It supposedly offers "protection" but Catwoman can stab right through it with her simple press on fingernails. It supposedly offers "protection" but Bruce Wayne's bare back arms and torso are shown to be criss-crossesd with scars (in Nolan's trilogy of films).
But you think the armor is dumb, I get it. Take Lewis Wilson's costume (and I'm not even talking about the mask), it was cotton (maybe even wool, either way, spandex wasn't invented yet) and he wasn't in the best shape, but put that same suit on someone with a better build, it still wouldn't look good. Better perhaps, but put Michael Keaton's on pretty much anyone, and it would still look great, because it's made to.
Well you're right about that, Phantom. But that's kinda my issue too. See, with molded armor and muscles ANYONE can be Batman. He's not unique anymore. But with just tights only a really special, well trained, and exceptionally physically fit individual can pull it off.
Yes, Dead End (and your play) did have the traditional costume. But Batman isn't just about playing Batman, the actor also has to be believable as Bruce Wayne as well. Neither showed that.
Well what you say about Bruce Wayne in regards to Dead End may be true, but you've never seen my play to make that statement. And you are dead wrong.
FATHERS OF THE DARK KNIGHT features virtually all of the iconic comic book Bruce Wayne scenes that one might expect to see of a comic book translated to the stage. I cover the murder of the Waynes (with Bruce as a little boy), I cover (adult) Bruce Wayne's scuffle on the Gotham strip with a pimp and his prostitute, I present his injury by police officers, his escape, his return to Wayne Manor... I portray the iconic BAT through the window sequence that inspires his disguise... all right out of
Batman: Year One.
The play even features a sequence later in Act II where Bruce Wayne (wearing his Bat-suit but no cowl) has a dramatic argument with Alfred in the Batcave over the folly of including a young boy (11 year old Richard Grayson) in his "war on crime". The play also features semi-regular "News Reports" on projection screens throughout the show. In one of them, we get a short interview with Bruce Wayne as he steps out of a limo with two women for an evening at the Iceberg lounge. Wayne is asked for his opinion about the recent attack on Oswald Cobblepot by The Batman that has forced the closing of the lounge. Bruce smiles and winks for the camera saying that it sounds "awful", and that Cobblepot must have faced his... "worst nightmare" , jokingly echoing The Batman's final words before taking out Cobblepot in the previous scene (Re: I'm your worst nightmare!)
So you see, Bruce Wayne is actually VERY extensively covered in my play.
Also, I never compared them to Adam West, I said you both used the same kind of masks that Hollywood has been using since 1989, and gave them the same SUITS as Adam West, and you both did.
And I never said that you compared them to Adam West. What I said was that the only thing the 3 suits shared in common was the fact that they all utilized tights. Other than that, they look vastly different from each other. The Dead End outfit, and the one I put together for my play are NOT the same as suit as Adam West's. That's what I said and maintain.
But seriously, do you really believe either would work in a film?
I absolutely, whole-heartedly, and most eagerly DO. I would not devote this kind of time debating this topic with you if i did think so, and if I were not willing to stand by my assertion. Look, I just got through spending nearly $50,000 of my own money over the last 3 years to put my play on stage... with Batman IN TIGHTS. If I had millions instead of thousands, and If my play were a film instead, I would STILL produce The Batman IN TIGHTS!
Maybe if every scene had the cape draped around him, but that would get pretty boring in a 2 hour movie.
Couldn't possibly be more dull than Chris Nolan's take on Batman. Anyway you're the one with the shame for tights, not me. I wouldn't feel the need to keep them covered up. But I DO think that The character looks best with his cape draped closed on his shoulders, but then spreads open during action sequences. It was Adam West, Shumacher, and Nolan who presented Batman's cape flipped back behind his shoulders with his chest puffed out like Superman. Me, I prefer the animated series approach to the wearing of that garment... closed in front, until the action kicks off. One of the things that I actually appreciated about the design of the Michael Keaton Batman outfit was that the cape was kept closed in front. It had a beautiful, elegant drape and a "fanning out" whenever Batman walked. With that fanning out, i love that slight parting open of the cape that reveals a hint of the costume underneath.
One of the reasons Tim Burton thought that Keaton was a good choice was because he wasn't big. If he was, why bother with a costume? Which I agree with.
Then, once again, we'll agree to disagree. Understand, I didn't need a "big" guy (as in Arnold Schartzenegger build), but a guy built like Chris Reeve (6'2" - 6'4") with an athletic build, really handsome, square chin, that was what I hoped for. Instead, I got a short, balding, comedian.
Alec Baldwin wasn't big either back in '88, so I think that the reasoning would have applied to him as well.
Perhaps not, but he was physically much more appropriate to play Bruce Wayne / Batman than Michael Keaton.
If Bruce Wayne is the richest and biggest guy in Gotham, you wouldn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out he's Batman. Even if he put on an act that was Oscar worthy.
Which is one of the reasons i object to Batman wearing hi-tech armor, driving military sherman tanks, and flying around in Bat-Customized airplanes or areal combat assualt weapons platforms that look like a large flying insect... all of which could ONLY be obtained by a billionaire, ...and one who heads a research & development firm that puts together gadgets for the military. It all makes Batman's true identity pretty easy to figure out. None of this is really a problem when The Batman wears simpler garments.