As the book explores, that was a purposeful alteration aimed at putting Bruce Wayne in the heart of his city for a change. The Batman breaks from tradition by making Bruce Wayne’s base of operations not stately Wayne Manor, but a grungy, abandoned train station beneath Wayne Tower.
That eco-friendly Batmobile was built specifically for shots that needed more special effects, where a noisy, gas-guzzling engine might get in the way. Three of them had the sort of high horsepower engines you’d expect from a muscle car, but the fourth one was actually an electric car. It turns out that no fewer than four Batmobiles were built for the film’s production. As imposing as this armored-up muscle car is, it’s also designed to be just grounded enough that Batman can drive around Gotham without attracting too much attention. The Four BatmobilesĪs you might expect, The Art of The Batman devotes an entire chapter to the new Batmobile. The idea is that every tool in this Batman’s arsenal is very practical and similar to ones used by actual police officers and military personnel. That glowing green substance Batman injects himself with during the climax of the film isn’t Venom, as some fans have speculated, but simple epinephrine. The book even settles one of the bigger questions surrounding the film. We also learn that those rods on Batman’s gauntlets are actually throwing darts. The Art of The Batman gives us a much better look at the inner workings of the Batsuit and its hidden gadgets, including the spring-loaded grapple gun that Dillon reveals was directly inspired by Robert De Niro’s character in Taxi Driver.
Pattinson’s new Batsuit is crammed full of wonderful toys, only some of which he actually unleashes during the course of the movie. The Batsuit may look bulky, but there’s a flexible core underneath all that armor. Costume designer Glyn Dillon also reveals that the Batsuit was inspired by two very practical items - a Russian pressure suit and equestrian vests. Reeves confirms that Lee Bermejo’s artwork in graphic novels like Joker and Batman: Damned was a huge source of inspiration for Robert Pattinson’s tactical suit.
They may not have cracked the code in the Tim Burton movies, but director Matt Reeves and his team seem to have figured it out. One of the biggest challenges in translating Batman into live-action has been creating a Batsuit that, you know, actually allows Batman to move and fight.