Wait, Does Robert Pattinson’s Batsuit Have A Grim New Symbol Because Of Kevin Smith?

You’re probably aware by now that Matt Reeves pulled a Todd Phillips-esque move to reveal Robert Pattinson’s Batman screen test. Although this younger version of Caped Crusader wasn’t extremely visible, people still couldn’t get enough. Some fans quickly hatched a theory about the new (old) Batsuit. There’s a history there! As the very convincing theory goes, the Pattzman bears a symbol on his chest that appears to be forged from two pieces of a gun. And this seems to be Matt Reeves’ nod to the source material, given that in the Detective Comics #1000 story “Manufacture For Use,” Bruce Wayne reclaimed the firearm used (by Joe Chill) to kill his parents. He then melted down the relic’s metal to make the new symbol.

This greatly excited Kevin Smith for a few reasons, and let’s get the banal declaration out of the way first. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to reveal that the Fatman On Batman (uh, make that Fatman Beyond) podcaster did not disappoint with his initial enthusiasm. He’s King of the Nerds, after all, so his pleasure was palpable.

“My Bat Pole is fully erect…” the Askewniverse helmer tweeted.

We shouldn’t be surprised by that reaction, given that Smith watched Infinity War dozens of times within six months and grew similarly excited while hoping that “Little Ant-Man is gonna save the day!” Hey, Smith gets emotional over his comic book love, and he also claims to know the much darker original ending for Joker, but yes, let’s get down to why the Batsuit’s new symbol is probably due to Smith himself.

Smith actually wrote the “Manufacture For Use” story (which was illustrated by Jim Lee), and he’s really hoping that the suit’s new symbol is indeed forged from Joe Chill’s gun.

Yep, this second tweet arrived after Smith had a chance to sleep on (or toss and turn fruitlessly over) his excitement. More will certainly be revealed once Matt Reeves unveils brighter look at Pattinson’s Batsuit, but it’s sure looking like Smith’s vision may have made it into The Batman. Not unlike how a Mallrats Easter egg made it into Captain Marvel. Yep, Smith’s fingerprints are all over comic book movies, and he’s generally as surprised as everyone else to see them. It’s pretty rad to behold.

It must be noted, however, as grim as the prospect of the Caped Crusader wearing a “gun” symbol might be, this shouldn’t be confused with an alternate universe version of Batman who actually does wield firearms. Big ones. That story pops up in Dark Multiverse: The Grim Knight, and it’s a whole other rabbit hole to fall down another time.

Meanwhile, The Batman, which also stars Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), Paul Dano (the Riddler), Colin Farrell (the Penguin), John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), Jeffrey Wright (Commissioner Gordon), and Andy Serkis (Alfred), will arrive on June 25, 2021.