After waiting more than a year to see what Ben Affleck looked like as the new cinematic version of Batman, director Zack Snyder finally released the first still of Ben Affleck as Batman, and goodness it was worth the wait. Not only did it show what the new suit looked like, but it gave us our first glimpse of the new cinematic version of the Bat-mobile as well. Both look incredible.
Affleck looks great as Batman. You can tell that he has been putting in the time and effort at the gym working out to fill out the Bat-suit, and he is by far the most intimidating and strongest looking Batman ever. This is great news for Batman fans, not only is Affleck huge, but he is working his butt off to not just get into great shape for the role, but to prove to fans that he will make his Batman memorable. After Affleck was cast as the Caped Crusader, there was a ton of negative reaction to his casting as the world's greatest detective. After this picture was released, I think that Affleck won over many people who with just how big he has gotten for this role. It takes a lot of time and a lot of dedication to get that large, not only do you have to watch what you eat, but you have to work out daily. If he is willing to dedicate his life to owning this role, by getting as big and strong as he possibly can, then indeed he will work his butt to give fans one of the best acted and most memorable versions of Batman the world has ever seen.
The suit itself looks amazing! Snyder with the help of Costume Designer Michael Wilkinson did such a wonderful job of making this suit something fans have always wanted to see, which was the gray Bat-suit from the comics. Now, the picture is in black and white, so you cannot tell if it will have a blue or a black symbol or cowl, but either way, finally we get the gray suit. The logo is fantastic as well, you can definitely see the Frank Miller inspiration in that logo, but with the rest of the suit you get an amalgamation of other inspirational work too. The suit seems to be a cross between Jim Lee's work, with some help from the great Greg Capullo. There seems to also be a pinch of Michael Keaton and Christian Bale's Bat-suit. But this Bat-suit is able to stand on its own and be apart from previous incarnations of the suit.
The only thing that I found slightly disappointing and this is not a knock at Affleck, Snyder or Wilkinson, just with my own personal preferences, I would have liked to have seen the cowl's ears to be slightly longer. However, this in know way shape or form takes away from how amazing this suit is. My only question about the suit going further is will Affleck be able to move his head? Finally in The Dark Knight you were able to get a Bat-suit that let Batman turn is head, hopefully the designers were able to make that happen again. Just from our knee jerk reaction from looking at the suit it doesn't look like he will, just how the cowl sits is not separate from the cape.
So far Snyder and company have me impressed with the suit, and don't forget there are suppose to be two versions of this Bat-suit, and that will be just as impressive if not more so than what was released earlier this week. Snyder has me completely invested in this cinematic version of Batman. 2016 cannot get here soon enough.
