Michael Keaton Justified Batman’s Most Controversial Costume Change 30 Years Ago

Michael Keaton’s Batman costume had one change from the comic books that turned out to be controversial, but he perfectly justified it 30 years ago. Although Batman made his film debut in the 1940s with two serial movies, it wasn’t until Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 that the Caped Crusader found great success on the big screen. Batman introduced Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and saw him come face to face with his comic book archenemy the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson.

Batman takes place during the early years of the Dark Knight’s war on crime in Gotham City, and though it’s not exactly an origin story, it explores Batman’s origins through flashbacks and a plot twist involving the Joker. Batman was key in the character’s film history for different reasons, including the design of the character’s suit. Keaton’s Batman suit kept a comic book vibe without looking comic bookish, but its most important (though controversial, at least back in 1989) change was that it didn’t feature white eyes as in the comic books, a choice Keaton justified a couple of years after the release of Batman Returns.

Michael Keaton Explained Batman’s Controversial White Eyes Choice In 1995

There are various elements in Batman’s suits that make him unique and stand out from other comic book characters, mostly his cowl. In the comics, the cowl gives Batman white eyes, leaving him pretty much expressionless, with only his mouth uncovered. As mentioned above, Keaton’s Batman kept many details from the Caped Crusader’s classic comic book suits, but he left the white eyes behind. In an interview with Film Review magazine in August 1995, Keaton explained that his Batman didn’t have the white eyes from the comics because “you express yourself through your eyes”, so it was important that the character had that chance.

Keaton’s Batman not having the white eyes became a trend for all Batman actors and costumes that came after him, though this has raised questions of why no one recognized Bruce under the cowl. Instead of white eyes, all Batmen have had to paint their eyes black to blend with the cowl, but allowing their eyes to be uncovered has been key in their performances. The only Batman who has had white eyes was Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as the armored Batsuit had a titanium helmet with night-vision lenses that gave him (bright) white eyes. In Affleck’s case, the white eyes in the armored Batsuit were justified, and he didn’t have them in his other suits.

Will The New DCU Batman Have White Eyes?

While Robert Pattinson continues to play Batman in the universe of Matt Reeves’ The Batman (and also without white eyes), the DC Universe will introduce a new Batman in the upcoming movie The Brave and the Bold. This new Batman movie has no projected release date yet, so there are no details of any kind about it, but given the history of the Batsuits so far, it’s unlikely this version will incorporate white eyes. Not only would a cowl with white eyes make the suit look too comic bookish, but it also takes away a lot of personality and expression from the character. Surely, Batman isn’t the most expressive superhero and he usually keeps a serious expression, but as Michael Keaton explained, the eyes are a key element in how an actor expresses himself.