What Are Costume Features for Batman?
Batman first appeared in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. The character is appealing; he takes crime into his own hands but resists killing the criminals. He's a vigilante, but also a detective. He's a superhero, but he has no super powers. To instill fear into the hearts of criminals, Bruce Wayne chooses a symbol he himself fears: a bat. The most basic elements of his costume are the cowl, cape, body armor and utility belt.
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Cowl
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Batman's cowl combines a hood and a mask. Designed to hide Batman's features---and his identity as Bruce Wayne---the cowl is one of the most recognizable pieces of his regalia. Aesthetically, it's designed to mimic the head of a bat; in some incarnations, the pointed ear pieces feature antenna to help Batman stay in contact with his allies. The mask reaches to the middle of his face, leaving his lower jaw and mouth exposed. Movie renditions often include dark makeup on the skin around the eyes. The entire piece is made of latex.
Cape
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Batman's cape mimics bat wings. The cape is common to many superheroes, but on Batman, it's a part of his symbolism. Connected to the cowl, it serves several purposes. Because he works mainly at night, the cape helps him to blend in with the darkness. It plays on the psychology of criminals by making Batman appear larger than he really is and, because this is a comic book character, it sometimes doubles as a personal glider for those leaps from tall buildings.
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Body Armor
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Body armor adds to the mystique of the Dark Knight. Though the television Batman from the 1960s had only a tight-fitting body suit, the modern Batman is protected by state-of-the-art body armor. The central unit of this is a form-fitting chest plate that allows the Caped Crusader to survive or even deflect fists, blunt instruments and bullets. The chest plate nipples included in some earlier movies have been discarded, but the armor still clearly defines Bruce Wayne's mighty physique. Ideally, the armor blends seamlessly together.
Utility Belt
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Batman's utility belt holds everything a vigilante could need. What began as a way to hold up Batman's pants soon developed into storage for his high- and low-tech equipment: the utility belt. In it, Batman stores a plethora of bat-themed items, including batarangs (bat-shaped boomerangs), bat-cuffs, bat-bolas and a bat monitor. More "mundane" items include a grapple gun and grappling hook, a first aid kit, a laser torch, night-vision goggles, a rebreather, smoke pellets and miniature smoke grenades, cryogenic capsules and thermite grenades.
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