Some killer batsuit concept art is going around — artist unknown, tag them if you know them — and imagining the DCU Batman looking like this is easy. It’s sick. The color especially: there’s real blue in there, and the DCU Batman is absolutely going to have some blue in him.
One problem. The trunks.
The Superman defense doesn’t work here
James Gunn almost didn’t give his Superman trunks. The reason he did? David Corenswet made the case that this Superman doesn’t want to be intimidating — he wants to be inviting to kids, to look almost like a wrestler. Okay. Weirdly, that logic holds. That’s how you justify trunks on Superman.
Now try it on Batman.
“How can you justify giving Batman trunks? You just can’t.”
Batman’s entire operating principle is intimidation. The silhouette is the weapon. Trunks don’t survive contact with live action — it doesn’t make any sense.
Where I land
Love the art. Love the blue. Keep the trunks in the comics where they belong: no trunks for the DCU Batman.
Your turn — trunks or no trunks? Wrong answers get quoted.