Early BvS Batman suit concept art depicts a shiny, chrome-laden crusader

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Oh Batman, how is it that the Gotham fashion police have never come a'knockin' at your door? In 1989, Tim Burton had you fighting crime in a jet-black suit that didn't allow for you to turn your neck. In 1997, Joel Schumacher pitted you against Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) while your bat-nipples stood erect with a longing for justice. The list goes on, but I think you get the point.

Fast-forward to modern times, and there've been some stylish improvements to the bat suit, including the grey and black getup worn by Ben Affleck's Caped Crusader for BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. While the minimalist design managed to please several bat-fans, concept artist Jerad Merantz has recently revealed that, for a short time, Affleck's suit almost looked entirely different.

You can take a look at the concept art below, and then we'll discuss:

 

Believe it or not This was a very early pass on the #batmanvssuperman #batsuit . Before we got the note to do a classic #Batman I was exploring futuristic and techy options. I think the exploration only lasted for about a week and was so excited when we were told to do a classic Batman suit. #dcuniverse #photoshop #zbrush #bat #conceptart #

A post shared by jsmarantz (@jsmarantz) on Feb 2, 2018 at 2:35pm PST

Now, as Merantz points out, the idea to use the above-posted design only lasted about a week. While I personally think the suit looks rather cool, I don't know that it would have landed well on-screen. That's a lot of chrome for old Batsy, and if I'm not mistaken, the tech-heavy design looks rather similar to something you'd find in the Batman Arkham games series. Upon further inspection, I can see why Merantz went back to the drawing board, and chose to present the character with a much more "classic" look for the blockbuster film.

With all of this being said, I'm sure that we haven't seen the last of Batman's keen fashion sense up on the big screen. After all, the character is always evolving, so it's natural that his suits would as well.

Do you have a favorite Batman suit from the past several years? Would you have been cool with The Dark Knight sporting this look for BVS? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.