Batman’s New Suit Is A Poor Imitation Of One Of His Best

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is on the cusp of launch, especially with three-day early access via the Deluxe edition, and it recently took a big shot to the leg when it was revealed that the game’s PC version would be quite demanding specs-wise and feature Denuvo DRM. Having a potentially poor LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight PC port is nothing new for a Batman game, but it is unfortunate nonetheless and could blemish an otherwise fantastic and cheerful LEGO game.

However, this is not all that plagues it. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight skins do their best to faithfully adapt the costumes they have drawn inspiration from, though not every single suit will be a one-to-one adaptation; for example, the Absolute Batman skin is phenomenal in every regard, minus its cape, which is a standard cape and not a series of opposable tethers and hooks. Likewise, one Deluxe edition costume arguably fails to impress.

Showcased more closely in a new trailer shared on YouTube, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s Deluxe edition includes a Batsuit, inspired by Terry McGinnis’ in Batman Beyond, that leaves much to be desired. Most egregiously, the Batman Beyond skin’s cowl headpiece has a mouth opening, resulting in a mask that looks more like a random, bulky cowl with a distinct silhouette.

It is certainly bizarre that Terry’s mouth can open and expose teeth through the mask, but Batman Beyond only works so successfully and effortlessly in animation and Bruce Timm’s art style. Therefore, being animated is a strength LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight should have wielded to its advantage. Instead, for whatever reason, it seems as if this design chose to favor realism, as opposed to what would match the actual aesthetic.

Moreover, part of what makes Batman Beyond’s costume design so alluring is its simplicity: a limited, bold color palette (black, red, and white), and a sleek sparseness. Legacy of the Dark Knight’s Batman Beyond suit, on the other hand, has details in it to accentuate muscles.

It is odd design choices like these that amount to a disappointing skin in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. It must have been difficult for TT Games to try to adapt so many iconic looks within the rigid parameters of what shapes and styles are achievable for LEGO figures, yet the Batman Beyond-themed DLC pack seems to have drawn the short end of the stick.

There have been a lot of wild Batman Beyond skin interpretations in Batman games, such as the ‘realistic’ and heavily armored version from Batman: Arkham Knight, though the one in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is doubly confounding when considering that Fortnite’s LEGO Batman Beyond skin is better and simpler in every way.