Christopher Nolan successfully redefined Batman for an entire generation. To pull off a good Batman movie, you need some great Bat-Tech. And boy did they deliver- across his three movies, Christian Bale had some insane tech at his disposal. From a sleek and stealthy Batsuit to his own mini flying machine- The Bat, Bale’s Batman had it all. So let us break down his entire Bat-tech.
Nolan took inspiration from a variety of source material
Bale’s Batman was inspired by multiple runs of The Dark Knight. There were storylines from The Long Halloween, Batman Year One and Year Two and finally a bit of No Man’s Land in The Dark Knight Rises. To create this grounded version of Batman, director Christopher Nolan tasked costume designer Lindy Hemming to create Batsuits for the entire trilogy.
Bale’s Batsuit evolved with his Batman
“Both Chris Nolan and I wanted to make a different kind of Batsuit for Batman Begins,” remembers Hemming of early Batsuit iterations for Bale. Taking inspiration – like Lucius Fox (portrayed by Morgan Freeman) – from military hardware, the pair worked to construct the garb, although, admits the costume designer, “my ideas were a bit over-ambitious”.
Perhaps fittingly, its evolution would end up mirroring Bruce Wayne’s innovations on-screen. “I was wanting to do more-or-less what we did when we got to The Dark Knight, which was to transform the heavy rubber suit and make it much more modern.”
Bale’s Batsuit reflects that it looks like what Lucius Fox would develop with Bruce and other engineers at Wayne Enterprises. As Bruce gets more experienced as Batman, his Batsuits also show some variation.
The suit it Batman begins is seen as a military developed Batsuit but with Bruce’s own touch on it- like the signature Black paint. The Dark Knight features a suit that takes a step forward and transforms the heavier military suit into a lighter leaner one for Batman to manoeuvre easily.
And in the final film, The Dark Knight Rises the Batsuit is a very light suit according to the designer, as most of the weight is removed from the torso. “It’s been completely redesigned for him to be able to move his head,” explains Hemming regarding the changes done for The Dark Knight Rises. “All the bulk’s gone.”
Christian Bale had some incredible Bat-Tech
Accompanying Bale’s Batsuit was an incredible array of Bat-Vehicles. Bruce Wayne was shown as the billionaire playboy he is and that is reflected in his Bat-persona as well.
He had a Batmobile which was essentially a mini-tank, providing him armour during fights with the rogues of Gotham and some much-needed firepower. He had a Batpod which was a bike designed for him to make a quick getaway, and that was probably the most useful Bat-vehicle as Catwoman used the turrets on it to finish Bane.
And finally, the incredible flying machine which was named ‘The Bat’ and as Lucious Fox says – it does come in black. The Bat was quite possibly the best thing Batman had in his arsenal, with the ability to fly as well as hunt down the criminals in Gotham.
The Dark Knight Rises celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, which was originally released in July 2012.
