→ Character and concept design exploration

The Bat

This is an open conceptual exploration project, around the figure of Batman, creating a complete alternative framework that will gradually expand.

Last update: January 2024

General setting

"1940. Brooks Twain, Gothric City criminologist and medical forensic receives a mysterious package from the future: a helmet created with impossible technology, run by a program (AI-fred) that seems designed to facilitate his investigations. Armed with this valuable tool, he decides to adopt a secret identity as a special freelance investigator: The Bat." Note: According to some sources, the meaning of the Twain surname is 'divided in two'.

The protagonist, with and without the mask/helmet

This 'Batman' has a different background than Bruce Wayne. He knows how to handle a fight, but is not a martial arts master. He will avoid physical violence whenever he can but will be effective and direct when he needs to confront someone.

He is a top-level investigator and an expert in criminalistics and criminology, as well as a forensic doctor. His is, ultimately, a more intellectual profile, solving cases through investigative means, generally from the shadows, although the GCPD tolerate his incursions due to his effectiveness. He is unofficially considered a special agent of the city.

Graphs defining this 'Batman''s skills and profile

The Bat & Brooks Twain

Profile

Who is he? Brooks is an experienced man. His loneliness has been linked to forensic rooms and the (unofficial) investigation of horrible crimes. So his personality as the very discreet Dr. Twain tends to be somewhat sad, grim and pessimistic.

However, when he plays The Bat, he is much more intense, confident and excessive. This identity allows Twain to contribute to improving the world that he has seen crumble due to crime. His purpose and drive translate into a personality that combines supreme perception, mixed with an eccentric attitude.

Brooks with his regular suit, with & without his cardigan and mask

In his identity as The Bat, Brooks wears a gentleman's costume of his time, sober and simple, using a dark trench coat outdoors, leather gloves and a briefcase in which to carry his research tools.

What does he want? Eradicate crime from Gothric City. His entire career and activity as a researcher and as a doctor have been linked to criminal activity in the city. Few people have been able to observe and study it as much as he has. On the other hand, the arrival of the mask from the future fills him with questions that he intends to resolve while he uses it for his benefit.

What does he fear? Twain is an intelligent person but emotionally anaesthetized by a life of loneliness around death and darkness. As an individual, silence is his company. And as The Bat, all of this is replaced by an intimidating euphoria that doesn't seem to fade away at anything. His greatest fear is to end up completely losing his identity and his humanity.

Different expressions as Dr. Twain, his detective look before the mask and in a complicated situation...

[More Profile data soon]

The mask

The mask is a sophisticated gadget packed with digital tools. It is both the Bat Computer and Alfred. A perpetual Watson and an ideal complement to Twain's capabilities. The visor is capable of identifying fingerprints and comparing them (based on its 21st century databases), offering all kinds of important information about a crime scene.

Analysis of an fingerprint/sample (UI)

Results of the analysis (UI)

The mask can also do calculations, create voice simulations, and make all kinds of thermal or chemical scanning at Twain's request. AI-Fred can also suggest measures of action or alternatives to the protagonist's deductions. Its character seems to be based on a somewhat more jovial version of Alfred Pennyworth, retaining his common sense and his spare humour.

The mask's special weapons

But the mask is not only an analytical tool. It also has special defence mechanisms, such as the emission of sound waves that damage the ears of its enemies or the possibility of activating thermo-optical camouflage that facilitates the protagonist's secret raids. He can also use this device to project a different appearance onto himself, allowing him to impersonate other people at a certain distance.

[IMGs pending]

The mask's real capabilities are unknown even to Brooks, who will discover its potential as new challenges and situations appear in his path.

Objects and gadgets

As it could not be otherwise, our protagonist uses all kinds of gadgets that help him in his daily life. However, as an investigator, Brooks possesses his intellect and the mask, so most of his usual objects are:

All kinds of chemicals to treat the samples found at the crime scene.
A personalized brass knuckle, in case he encounters unexpected situations of physical violence.
Cigarettes for moments of tension.
His Special Agent Bat plate.
His leather gloves, always necessary to avoid contaminating samples.

Among others...

Vehicles

The Bat's main vehicle is a modified version of a conventional car of its time, with an elongated front part and multiple details on the body that emulate the aesthetics of its mask. Although the vehicle is conventional in its features, the mask allows Brooks to have databases of all the city streets, digitized maps, night vision and a series of advantages that make it a unique vehicle in the 40s (when driven by him).

[IMGs pending]

Villains

Profile 1 — R. K. Langstrom (Man-Bat)

Little is known about Langstrom. The records preserved of him are vague and incoherent. The identity of at least four people who respond to the same name has been registered in the last 150 years, the last of them is that of a supposed scientist whose activity remains extremely active. However, The Bat Man connects the dots to establish a connection between Langstrom and a whole series of horrible crimes, in which the victims appear completely bled, if not dismembered.

Langstrom is a vampire of unknown age who has been feeding on the city's inhabitants for as long as it has existed. His real origin is unknown, but he does not seem to age nor does his bloodlust subside.

[IMGs pending]

(Temporary) thoughts

The purpose of this project is to establish a creative playground around Batman, without too many established rules, which even go a little against the grain. A voluntarily unrealistic proposal. It intends to ask: What if we made Batman an actual detective series/film, closer to a Poirot or Holmes case, but seasoned with some science fiction and fantasy elements? One episode → One case → One villain.

An opportunity for narrative and formal experimentation and an ongoing project that I will continuously update, adding additional characters, backgrounds, props and other elements. Come back occasionally or subscribe to my newsletter for regular info!

Roadmap

General Setting
The Bat & Brooks Twain
- Profile
- The Mask
- The Mask's special weapons
- Objects 1
- Objects 2
- The Bat's HQ
- Vehicles
The City
- Mood
- Sample 1
- Sample 2
- Sample 3
Allies
- Ally 1
- Ally 2
- Ally 3
Criminals
- Criminal 1
- Criminal 2
- Criminal 3
- Criminal 4
- Criminal 5
- Criminal 6
Animated opening (concept)