May 05, 2004

Meet The New Batman: Bigger, Blacker And Ready For Action

By Robert Mancini (MTV.com)

If it's true that clothes make the man, then the outfit that actor Christian Bale is rocking for the upcoming Batman Begins makes him one serious badass.

Warner Bros. has unveiled the new Batsuit that Bale -- who plays millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne by day and vengeful vigilante Batman by night -- is currently filling out for the caped crusader's long-awaited return to the big screen. True to the spirit and story of the film - which captures Batman during his first days as a crimefighter - the new Batsuit is a crude, do-it-yourself model. Bale's Batsuit eschews the codpieces and protruding nipples of past Bat fashions in favor of simple lines, shorter "ears" and a cloth cape.

Oh, and it's also black ... very, very black. The look calls to mind the Batman of Frank Miller's lauded Year One comic series from the late '80s, a run that also focused on Bruce Wayne's rather unique decision to moonlight as a nocturnal crimefighter.

Fans got a first taste of the DIY vibe of Batman Begins earlier this year, when Warner Bros. unveiled the new Batmobile, a crude urban-assault vehicle unlike the sleek wheels Batman rode in his past on-screen adventures.

Director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) is currently shooting Batman Begins in Iceland with stars Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and Ken Watanabe. The production will eventually move on to London and Chicago, and the film is expected to hit theaters in the summer of 2005.