What inspired Robert Pattinson’s costume for The Batman? A recent test video released by The Batman director Matt Reeves provided the first official look at what Robert Pattinson will be wearing when he brings the Caped Crusader to life in the upcoming film; the glimpse of the new suit revealed it is full of references and comic book connections. The video doesn’t give a full-body preview of Pattinson’s Batsuit, but it does give fans a good look at the bat symbol, the armor, and the cowl.

Set for a June 2021 release, The Batman features a star-studded cast headlined by Pattinson. The new movie, which is the first solo Batman film since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, leaves behind the supporting Batman cast established in previous DCEU movies by bringing in Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon and Andy Serkis as Andy Serkis. As for the villain, Bruce Wayne will have his hands full with not one, but several prominent members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, including Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Riddler (Paul Dano), Penguin (Colin Farrell), and potentially more.

There are a number of influences and references than can be found in the suit Robert Pattison will be donning for The Batman. The armor plating on the chest looks like it may have been inspired not by the comics, but by Batman’s appearance in Rocksteady’s Arkham video games, specifically the last installment in the series, Batman: Arkham Knight, and the shoulder pads are reminiscent of his look from Arkham Origins. The size and shape of the bat symbol looks similar as well, but what’s within the symbol is believed to be inspired by a 2019 Batman comic, Detective Comics #1000. In the comic, it’s revealed that Batman melted the gun that killed his parents and put it in his armor underneath his bat symbol, and based on the symbol in the test video, it does indeed look like it may have been made from melted gun parts, but this hasn’t been confirmed. Then there’s the cowl, which has stitching that draws comparisons to his look in the Batman: Earth One graphic novels from 2013 and 2015.

Also, it should be pointed out that the new Batsuit isn’t just drawing inspiration from recent releases like the Arkham games and Detective Comics #1000. There’s a strong Golden Age vibe coming from the costume. Judging by what can be seen of Batman’s mask, it could be that the bat ears on the cowl will point outward, like Batman’s original appearance in Detective Comics #27, but unfortunately the video doesn’t show the length of his ears, so it’s hard to tell. But, one detail from the first comic cover does appear to be present in the new costume. The original bat symbol and Robert Pattinson’s bat symbol both lack the classic bat ears, which is present in nearly every iteration of the costume.

Due to the high number of redesigns Batman has gone through in the comics and the sheer volume of animated, video game, and movie adaptations there have been over the years, there’s no telling how many influences and references are packed into Robert Pattinson’s Batman costume in The Batman, and it will be much easier to pinpoint all of them once a full look at the Batsuit is released.

More: Why Robert Pattinson’s Batman Looks So Much Like Daredevil

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