WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Before the Batman: An Original Movie Novel, on sale now.
In the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, one of the most disappointing aspects of the series was the fight sequences for Christian Bale’s Dark Knight. As a ninja, he held his own with stealth and speed, but as the Bat, mobility was a major problem. And it reflected on screen in his fights against numerous villains, which felt too slow.
It didn’t give the visual impression that Batman was the best fighter, and while the problem was sort of addressed in The Dark Knight, it wasn’t perfected, as seen in the fight against Bane. However, director Matt Reeves shouldn’t have that problem because, as the prequel novel to The Batman confirmed, Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader was worked on solving that issue before he hit the streets.
In The Dark Knight, Bale’s Bruce went to Lucius Fox to tell him he wanted the armor to be lighter so he could turn his neck. Fox joked it would help him back out the driveway, but he would be more vulnerable in battle, which wasn’t advisable because Joker’s thugs had guns, knives, bombs and big dogs. After some debate, the problem wasn’t solved, which detracted from the ensuing action sequences. Zack Snyder took notes and avoided this with Ben Affleck’s Batman, who moved pretty quickly with a thinner armor, and Reeves appears to have done the same.
It’s revealed in David Lewman’s Before the Batman: An Original Movie Novel that Bruce was inspired to fight crime because saving lives offered an adrenaline rush. But he needed more than black jumpsuits and cloth masks — he required armor. So, in his lab — the cave beneath Wayne Towers — he used his engineering expertise from schools all over the world to not just build a better muscle car but also a better suit.
Bruce worked day and night on calculations to make it strong enough to withstand bullets and mobile enough to move with efficiency. Sure, power was important, but speed was essential, especially because he learned martial arts from all over the world and needed a costume to help him integrate these styles.
And it all came together when Bruce finally started using his company resources, phoning into the research and material departments to perfect his vigilante outfit. He sought out strong, durable materials to transform himself into a soldier of the night, and once the suit was sleek and flexible enough, he took to the rooftops, lighting the signal to prepare for vengeance and war.
To see the new Bat-suit in action, The Batman hits theaters on March 4 before making its way to HBO Max on April 19.
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