SubscribeNote: When a celebrated animation artist shows you a doodle he has for a redesigned Batman and Robin, you stop what you’re doing. And this design by animator Thomas Perkins (The Batman, Ben 10, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes) takes the dynamic duo to a throwback era that really kickstarts my imagination. Where was this Batman when Grant Morrison had Bruce Wayne skipping through time? And what kind of shenanigans would they be up to? And what does their Batmobile look like?. – Chris A.
frogjitsu
/ March 11, 2013Ho ho, this is awesome! I want more of this.
Bruce B.
/ March 11, 2013I appreciate the style a great deal. Great interpretation. Love it.
However, even within the bounds of quirkiness, a few details are still slightly distracting, particularly Robin’s pointy arm things and Batman’s black mask over an already full mask. I’m also curious about the staging of this scene and why they have sharp shiny throwing weapons ready after (apparently) knocking out the Riddler.
TBolt
/ March 11, 2013love this, been seeing it on DA and really dig the designs of these Bat-People.
Ren Malone
/ March 11, 2013I think my favorite part of this one would have to be The Riddler. The bit covering his mouth makes for a more mysterious villain, the kind of villain he should be, in my opinion. Plus, his coat with a big question mark is a nice compromise between the symbol-less, green suit and question mark-covered green spandex. And the purple trim on the bowler hat is a great touch. I’m not sure about the high-collared trench coat look for Batman, but it works in this style. I love the mixture of short gloves while also keeping the fins on the coat. It’s a cool blend of his debut costume and the more recognizable, modern look. I also really dig the double-masked cowl. I’ve always thought covering his face fully made more sense, and would like to see it applied to his costume in mainstream continuity. The thick sweater on Robin would work great for concealing body armor. Again, having the character’s face and head covered more completely makes more sense, and I really love the choices here. The hat would probably cause some trouble in real world crime fighting scenarios, but it should be able to work in the comics. The same goes for the scarf, but I can’t imagine it would be any more troublesome than dealing with a cape. I wonder if there was any particular Robin in mind for this interpretation. In response to Bruce B.’s questions, I think the blades are mostly on display for visual effect since we’re looking at a single image, rather than a panel-by-panel story. Robin’s “pointy arm things” are in the same vein as the current Robin’s costume, and the mask-over-mask look for Batman is most likely strictly a stylistic approach, which has been used on other characters before. Overall, these costumes look great, and I would definitely like to see more of Mr. Perkins’ work.
JSG
/ March 11, 2013I love Bat’s trenchcoat,it’s just so fitting to me ! The bat logo and that nice shade of blue just top it off for me.
Seamus Mac
/ March 11, 2013To me this version of Batman feels so… British. I could see an 80′s animated series commissioned by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and would expect this Dynamic Duo to team up with the likes of Danger Mouse, Super Ted and Banana Man. Awesome.
James W
/ March 13, 2013Really great, and two of Robin’s details are personal favourites: scarves as capes/masks, and Robins using BATarangs. I hate it when he gets “BIRDarangs” or “R-DARTS” or whatever stupid thing.
Jay
/ March 14, 2013I see these guys appearing in the RugRats cartoon…crossover!
Edwin
/ March 15, 2013This really is a nice reimagining. It’s colorful and whimsical with just the right amount of dark to say Batman. The two masks on Batman is really weird, but I can’t imagine it going any other way. Everything about this just works!
Wade Grimbrere
/ March 18, 2013I agree with Ren Malone, while the whole panel in engaging (it’s fun that you ask yourself “who else are they facing”) , and the D-Duo are fresh, Riddler stands out.
Edwin
/ May 9, 2013It says something that weeks later, this is STILL how I feel Batman should look.