Batman gets another brand-new Knight Terrors costume

Knight Terrors is racing toward its finale, but not before the book manages to surprise fans with one more Batman look. This time, Batman’s new Batsuit incorporates parts of Deadman’s costume.

DC Comics’ Knight Terrors event has been a surprise for anyone who enjoys character exploration. The series has used the concept of a villain invading the dreams of heroes to really explore what makes these heroes tick. 

While the event has been a line-wide DC affair, Batman has been a focal point across the story. In his nightmare, he faced the trauma relating to his parent’s death. The result was a tender moment of a young Bruce admitting he’s proud of him. 

Despite being asleep, Batman has still been fighting Insomnia with help from Deadman, a dead former acrobat who cannot be seen in his ghost form but can possess and control living beings. In Knight Terrors #3, Deadman uses his possession of Batman to venture into his own dreams, giving fans a brand new Batsuit that incorporates elements of Deadman’s costume. 

Knight Terrors introduces a new Deadman-inspired Batman costume

In Knight Terrors, the villain Insomnia is seeking the Nightmare Stone for reasons that aren’t entirely clear yet. However, the Stone can’t be found in either the waking world or the nightmare world. Deadman and Robin surmise it must be between the worlds and venture into a state of half-awake and half-dreaming with help from Sandman (the original Justice Society version, not the Neil Gaiman creation). 

Deadman being a spirit, he has to possess Batman’s body to enter the dream world. This results in Batman and Deadman’s looks being merged while they’re together. While the new Batsuit retains Batman’s general aesthetic, it takes on Deadman’s white-and-red color scheme and adds a giant D and his trademark flared collar. 

It’s the latest of multiple instances where the event has toyed with Batman’s appearance to tell a story, though this one appears just to communicate that Deadman is in control. In Knight Terrors: Batman, Bruce spent much of the story trapped in his child form and later in the form of the mugger who killed his parents. He later donned a more sinewy, muscular Batsuit after embracing his trauma within the nightmare.

It’s another example of how the event is using appearance to play with reader expectations and explore character motivations in a way the main books cannot. Even Deadman gets some unexpected growth, revealing his death was much more painful than he implies. All that remains to be seen is if these stories will influence ongoing stories once Knight Terrors ends.

Of course, a new Batman design also means that toy collectors are rubbing their hands together over when they can add this one to the collection. If past releases are any indication, it’s only a matter of time before McFarlane Toys gets this mold on shelves.