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The Flash is among the most anticipated superhero outings of 2023, and one of the main reasons for that is the number of Batmen appearing in the film. Ben Affleck’s Batman is returning one last time, and so is Michael Keaton’s.
The film is loosely based on the Flashpoint storyline from the comics. So, two Batmen were always going to be in it. Instead of bringing Batman v Superman's Jeffrey Dean Morgan back to play Thomas Wayne’s Batman, director Andy Muschietti is continuing the story of Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader.
After 1992’s Batman Returns, this Batman has been through a lot over the last three decades. He is old and aloof from the rest of the world. He has long hair, and the trailers made it seem as if he hasn’t been Batman for a while.
However, he’s still in fine shape to battle. But what’s interesting is his armory of Bat suits shown in the trailer. His seven suits tease his adventures between Batman Returns and The Flash. The following are all the Bat suits in The Flash.
The Flash: Every Batsuit in the movie
1) The Flash Suit
The suit in the center is one that Keaton’s Bruce Wayne will wear throughout The Flash. This is the most sophisticated Batsuit Keaton has ever worn. This is an improvement on the suits we’ve seen in the past. As one could make out in the trailer, the suit has more padding.
It has stronger Kevlar because it is completely bulletproof. Bruce was able to glide into gunfire thanks to a more streamlined cape that allows him to not only go down but also glide up. The neckline on the cowl should have been altered over time because Keaton literally couldn’t move his neck in the past. But it has only received a slight improvement.
2) Year Two Suit
Two-gun holsters are visible on the suit to the left towards the left. So, it’s similar to the Batman Year Two suit from the comics. It has been added as an Easter Egg, but it clearly indicates that even Keaton’s Batman resorted to using firearms at some point in his career.
Since the name in the comics suggests that it’s the Year Two batsuit, maybe Bruce could have worn it between Batman 1989 and Batman Returns. He could have picked up the idea of using guns but then dropped it soon after. But since this suit wasn’t seen in Batman’s armory back in 1992, maybe Bruce took up guns after Batman Returns.
3) The Blue-Grey Suit
Even though we’ve mostly seen Batman in his black and gray attire in the comics, dark blue and gray bat suits have also been iconic. This color scheme of Batman became pretty regular after the 40s. Batman didn’t just have it in his Year Two story, but he wore the same suit in many stories.
The Batman from DC Animated Universe sported a dark blue and grey suit in Batman Hush. And it’s no surprise that Keaton’s Batman also switched from all black to this classic color scheme at some point in time.
4) Batman ‘89
As you can clearly see, the bat symbol on this one is different from the others. So, this is clearly the suit that Keaton wore in Tim Burton’s first Batman movie. Since Batman was a rather new development in Gotham back in Batman ‘89, it’s presumed that this was the first suit that Bruce came up with.
It was pretty advanced for its time as it also featured subpar body armor and even a glider. But all these features have been greatly improved in the latest Batsuit.
5) Batman 1992
This was the suit that Bruce wore in Batman Returns. The 18-year-old Barry Allen also wears this suit after he gets his powers from Older Barry, as he needs a suit that’s abrasion and heat-resistant.
But since he didn’t have his powers in this timeline, a Flash suit hadn’t been created till now. Hence, this young Barry uses the closest thing to it, which is the old Batsuit from 1992. He cuts off the ears on the bat cowl and spray paints it red and yellow to match the older Flash’s suit.
6) The Scooba Suit
Till now, we’ve seen the DCEU’s Batman come up with a mech suit to give him some protection against Superman. In Suicide Squad, we saw him use a rebreather, which allowed him to breathe underwater. But Keaton's Bruce came up with a hybrid, as we'll be seeing a live-action underwater Batsuit for the first time.
Upon a closer look, one could make out that this suit is as bulky as an underwater diver’s suit. It has night vision goggles and an oxygen supply mechanism to allow for deep-sea adventures.
7) The Desert Suit
Looking at the goggles and the hood, the suit is clearly designed for a mission in the desert. It also matches the suit in Batman: Gotham By Gaslight. But its apparent counterpart is the Knightmare Batsuit that Ben Affleck wore in the Batman v Superman desert sequence.
So, it would be safe to say that since Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne are multiversal variants of each other, they think alike.
8) Ben Affleck’s Blue & Grey suit
Another example of Keaton and Affleck’s like-mindedness is the latter’s new suit in The Flash. Like Keaton, who has a blue and grey suit in his universe, Affleck also came up with one in the DCEU. It has the classic yellow belt to complete the color scheme.
It is an upgrade on Batfleck’s tactical armor from Justice League, as it has mesh armor plating. The Bat symbol also divides and moves to allow better movement.
All these suits will prove to be the final ones that Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton wear as Batman. That’s because The Flash will set up the arrival of a new Batman in the newly announced movie, The Brave and The Bold.
The Flash is set to release on June 16, 2023.
