Summary The Batman – Part II will feature an upgraded Batmobile, weapons, and suit, breaking the trend of poorly received superhero costume upgrades.
The first installment of The Batman sets up a new Batsuit for Pattinson’s Batman organically, with his suit becoming damaged throughout the film.
The sequel is breaking the trend of superhero movie sequels not justifying their costume upgrades, as the damaged Batsuit gives a valid reason for a new suit in The Batman 2.
The Batman – Part II will surely see Robert Pattionson’s Dark Knight upgrading his Batmobile, weapons, and suit, and with the latter’s new design, The Batman 2 would be breaking the worst supersuit trend. After Ben Affleck’s Batman failed to connect with the audience, Warner Bros. brought a new version of the Caped Crusader in a universe separate from the DC Extended Universe thanks to Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Now with Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, The Batman focused on a younger Bruce/Batman than in previous adaptations, one that at the time of the events of the movie, was on his second year of crime-fighting in Gotham City.
The Batman followed the Dark Knight as he teamed up with James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and the Gotham City Police Department to catch a mysterious serial killer known as The Riddler (Paul Dano). This also led Batman into Gotham’s criminal underworld, meeting characters like Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Colin Farrell), and Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), but the Riddler was, ultimately, the one who triggered the near-destruction of Gotham City. As this is a younger Batman, he doesn’t have the same high-tech resources as past versions (yet), and his Batsuit was pretty damaged by the end of The Batman – and this is actually beneficial for the upcoming suit upgrade in The Batman 2.
Related: The Batman 2 Theory Explains How Batman Gets A New Mask
The Batman Set Up A New Batsuit For Pattinson Organically
Although Batman and the GCPD captured The Riddler and sent him to Arkham State Hospital, none of them counted on The Riddler leaving everything ready to cause massive destruction in Gotham City. The Riddler had planted car bombs around the city and his online following planned to assassinate mayor-elect Bella Reál. Unfortunately, Batman and the GCPD couldn’t stop the bombs and they destroyed the seawall around Gotham, flooding the city. In the end, Batman and Selina Kyle stopped the assassination attempts on Reál, and the Dark Knight was seen aiding recovery efforts.
By then, Batman’s suit was battered and damaged, as he fought The Riddler’s followers and the flood also caused considerable damage to his Batsuit. In his final scenes in The Batman, the Dark Knight’s suit wasn’t damaged anymore, so it’s understood that Bruce either had a spare one or repaired his suit, but everything he went through in The Batman surely taught him a lesson on the strengths and weaknesses of his suit. This sets up a new Batsuit for Pattinson’s Batman in The Batman 2, and it does it organically as he will have a real reason to update the design and present an improved version.
Superhero Movie Sequels Never Justify Their Costume Upgrades
By now, it’s expected that superheroes will get new costumes in every movie, but an in-universe reason is rarely given for these upgrades (and they are also rarely questioned by the audience). Batman has been part of this trend since Tim Burton’s movies, and except for Affleck’s tank armor in Batman v Superman, there’s never a reason to justify the Dark Knight’s costume upgrades. By showing how damaged Pattinson’s Batsuit was at the end of The Batman, the sequel will have a good reason to introduce a brand-new suit, which is also fitting with Pattinson’s Batman still being in his first years of vigilantism.
This isn’t the only trend that The Batman 2 is breaking so far, as its title is also breaking a decades-long trend. The Batman 2 is the first-ever numbered Batman movie sequel, with all previous ones having more detailed titles (like Batman Returns, Batman & Robin, and The Dark Knight Rises) instead of a number. The Batman – Part II might continue breaking trends as more details are revealed and once it’s released in theaters, but for now, it’s already ending with the worst supersuit trend.