Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Ironhead Studio: Meet the man who created the costumes for 'Batman v Superman' (video)

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May 2, 2016

Most Batman News readers know Michael Wilkinson, the credited costume designer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But what about the person who actually creates the costumes? That man's name is Jose Fernandez, and he's the founder of Ironhead Studio. His company has been creating superhero costumes for decades, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was the 4th Batman movie that he's worked on. Fernandez also worked on Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin.

For Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ironhead Studio created both Batsuits and Wonder Woman's costume. But unfortunately Jose Fernandez didn't get screen credit for his work, something that happens all too often. This prompted Fernandez to set up a booth at Monsterpalooza, a convention where artists can show off their movie magic, to help spread the word about the great work he's done.

Tested caught up with Fernandez for a fantastic interview at Monsterpalooza, which you can watch in the video above. Fernandez talks about how things have changed since he worked on Michael Keaton's Batman costume to now with Ben Affleck's, and lots more! You can also check out a preview of behind-the-scenes images of the Batman and Wonder Woman costumes. Head on over to Ironhead Studio's website for lots more!

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61 comments

JaymusYawsley
May 2, 2016
It's always cool to see the hard work that goes into a movie. His joy when talking about finally being able to make a cowl that moves was great, too.
1. Alan Conn
  May 3, 2016
  Indeed you can tell he really loves his job!
2. The Dark Knight
  May 3, 2016
  The cowl was fucking perfect. No live action Batman has come close to wear the cowl and look that good.
Memorian
May 2, 2016
That's a damn shame he didn't get credit for his work. I sew and design a lot of clothes too so that's just atrocious to hear. He put in just as much work if not more to make these visions come to life. He's basically an artist.
1. Memorian
  May 3, 2016
  They should still get credit. Just like an artist working on a comic book would, they're putting images to the writers words. It's not right :/
Worlds Finest Comments
May 3, 2016
That is one massive bat-dic- I mean logo. Yes, bat-logo.
1. OmegaCorleone
  May 3, 2016
  Have you seen Gone Girl? Since that explains that the Batsuit is pretty accurate, everywhere lol
Connor Potasse
May 3, 2016
I remember in the Dark Knight bonus material, there was an entire segment dedicated to the team (I believe it was primarily a woman) who designed Bale's plated armour suit. They discussed the why and how of the suit upgrade. Yet BvS didn't even credit the man who did the same job? I hope he doesn't work for WB again. That company just gets shadier and shadier in my eyes. The folks down at Legendary were great at shaping WB movies for them, but from what I've heard, they had a falling out.
1. Alan Conn
  May 3, 2016
  It would be ridiculous for him not to. Its still a job and he still gets paid. QUITE WELL i imagine.
Andrew
May 3, 2016
I love the models of Batman, he looks a lot slimmer then in the film. Affleck over did the muscles in some scenes.
1. TheSomeGuy
  May 3, 2016
  The muscles was all Affleck, which is impressive
  1. Seb
    May 3, 2016
    Dude... While Affleck was big, he was no where near as big as the suit made him out to be. That suit is 90% padding, 10% Affleck.
    1. OssamNin
      May 3, 2016
      Yes, this is completely true, and I'm fine with it as the suit is really armored, as you could see in the scene where he goes to save Martha, bullets only scratched him and knives even made sparks when in contact with the suit. But yeah the muscles in the suit are all padding, and it's made so it looks pretty obvious, unlike Supe's costume which has padding but it's more "hidden"
      1. Seb
        May 3, 2016
        I wouldn't mind if it was "armor" but why would he sculpt armor in the shape of muscles? Makes no sense. Frankly, it just looked too big if I'm honest.
      2. OssamNin
        May 3, 2016
        It's for intimidation, in the dark criminals won't be able to see that it's armor, all they'll see is this huge guy with huge muscles that moves extremely fast and is sure going to send them to the hospital with broken bones... Look at the scene where he goes to Lex's jail cell, he looked damn scarry there, also it serves the purpose of people not relating him to bruce wayne for having similar body frames.
      3. Seb
        May 3, 2016
        I think you're looking way too hard into this. I'm pretty sure Snyder (being all style over substance anyways) just wanted a big Batman to fulfill his Dark Knight Returns wet dreams. Sure, he looked intimidating, but it's pretty obvious the muscle tone is supposed to be Affleck, and not the suit.
      4. OssamNin
        May 3, 2016
        It's like in the Arkham games, take City for example, Bruce looks muscular without his Batsuit (at the beggining of the game) just as how Affleck looks muscular... But then when he puts his suit on he looks extremely big, waaaay more muscular than he really is, the same goes for Affleck... in some other media this is the case too, and I've always thought it's because there's a layer of armor or protection underneath the fabric of the suit, made in the shape of muscles to give it an intimidation factor
      5. Seb
        May 3, 2016
        It's a plot hole in the game... I remember early Batman Arkham Asylum interviews of Sefton Hill explaining how that was Batman at the height of his abilities, and his physique - although exaggerated - reflected that. It wasn't supposed to be "the suit". That was 100% Bruce Wayne. Heck, as the game progresses you can see his skin underneath the suit due to all the wear and tear, and you can clearly see his suit is actually paperthin. Same with Affleck. That suit was "supposed" to be Affleck's body but it just wasn't. It was all padding and it looked ridiculous.
      6. OssamNin
        May 3, 2016
        It didn't it just looked like he had armor beneath the suit, and for the Arkham point, have you seen concept art? they draw him without the suit's fabric and you can see "plates" of armor, and then they draw him with the fabric part....
      7. Seb
        May 3, 2016
        That doesn't change the fact that his suit was paperthin neither does it change Sefton's comments.
      8. OssamNin
        May 3, 2016
        looked paper thin because of the limitations of the consoles it came out on, and in his chest where Harvey shot him you could clrearly see the armor, and in his arm where a cut appeared somewhere down the story you can see the fabric of the suit, tehn a layer of armor which is also cut and then his skin
      9. Seb
        May 3, 2016
        Seriously dude... You're just making a ton of poor excuses to justify your logic. I'm done. Have a good day man.
      10. OssamNin
        May 3, 2016
        At least I'm giving analytical answers... you are just saying it is bad or wrong or that it looks ridiculous without any real analysis or facts of the probable "in-universe" explanation, but well... have a good day yourself too.
      11. Seb
        May 3, 2016
        The fact that Affleck looked clean cut and slim during the training scene (it was in the trailers) to then see him in a Batsuit that is literally twice his size is just unbelievable. Cavill's suit had padding, but it was mostly Cavill himself. You can't say the same for Affleck. How else do you explain the fact that Cavill was bigger than Affleck (not in height) yet actually looked slim next to Affleck while in their suits? Point is, there was waaaaaay too much padding and it didn't look believable.
      12. Seb
        May 6, 2016
        Of course it looked liked the comics. I fucking love Affleck's suit, just to be clear. I love how big he actually was. I just don't like the fact that it wasn't Affleck himself, but the suit. And THAT part I didn't like.
      13. OssamNin
        May 3, 2016
        For example, look at his chest it looks kind of angular, no chest looks like that, and even Wilkinson I think said that spandex or fabric over muscles don't look defined at all, that's why they add padding, even to superman but on his suit it is to make it look more natural, "less obvious", whereas in Bat's suit it is made to look more like the suit itself is his body or his "skin", making it obvious to us as viewers that it is padding
  2. The Dark Knight
    May 3, 2016
    Nah, there's deffo some padding. I'm fine with it but it was excessive near the stomach which made him look kinda fat
El Kano
May 3, 2016
This guy is a true hero :')
BW
May 3, 2016
I think that this is a little misleading. Michael Wilkinson IS the costume designer. He designed the costumes and looks of the characters. Mr. Fernandez builted the costumes, he fabricated them, he did not created nor designed them. He helped bring them to life and work them out, but it's still wilkinsons designs and creations.
Sense
May 3, 2016
Genius at work
Austin_Blueberry
May 3, 2016
Could it be??
1. OmegaCorleone
  May 3, 2016
  It's legit!
2. Alan Conn
  May 3, 2016
  Holy crap! That IS a good catch!!!
3. The Dark Knight
  May 3, 2016
  Shit I was terrified for a moment!
Kryptonian Knight
May 3, 2016
Wow! This guy's work is amazing! Very dissapointed in WB for not crediting a guy who help bring the best live action batsuit and cowl to the silver screen. His Apocalypse mold is Awesome, I like it much better than the one they went with.
OGDickGrayson
May 3, 2016
The cowl looked really stubby on Affleck's face, but aside from that the costumes were all perfect.
1. OssamNin
  May 3, 2016
  In some scenes you can see Ben's face is fatter, making his cheeks protrude in a kind of funny way, but it's to be expected when an actor gains so much weight so fast
Name
May 3, 2016
Here's something for all you Snyderbots, Snyder would have had Batman raped in prison if he made Batman Begins and thinks unless heroes have are sex and killing each other it isn't for him.
You will find the quote at bleedingcool.com
Also I read a quote somewhere else but don't have the link where he states heroes shouldn't talk while suited up! There goes any chance of a deleted scene where Superman is actually given some character development and allowed to defend himself at the courthouse before it explodes!
More interviews I read from Snyder the less excited I'm for JL, I might just avoid his interviews altogether from now on.
1. D2daC
  May 3, 2016
  Shoo! Go away, vagrant!
2. Mark
  May 3, 2016
  There's a thematic reason Superman doesn't speak at the courthouse; it's an aspect of the Passion Play that is Superman's arc in the film.
  1. The Dark Knight
    May 3, 2016
    Or maybe sidelining a character in favour of another...
3. Ace20xd6
  May 3, 2016
  Or you could just read the original article where he said that. http://www.ew.com/article/2...
  1. Mark
    May 3, 2016
    Except he doesn't actually say those things. He says that a prison rape could have happened in his version of Watchmen; it was that sort of world, not that he would have included one in Batman Begins. And he didn't say "unless heroes have are sex and killing each other it isn't for him," he said unless _comics_ had that they weren't for him, back in the day (if you never read Heavy Metal you missed out). If you were first introduced to comics via Love & Rockets, Cerebus and (oh, what the hell) Cherry Poptart you probably wouldn't be giving half a glance to X-Men now.
4. 12stepCornelius
  May 3, 2016
  OFF-TOPIC! OFF-TOPIC!
5. Alan Conn
  May 3, 2016
  Yeah none of what u said makes sense. I must be a "Snyderbot"
Sergio
May 3, 2016
So, whenever you think in Clooney's batnipples think in this guy
1. OssamNin
  May 3, 2016
  Hand sculpting them...
2. Sergio
  May 3, 2016
  exactly, this guy was the one actually putting nipples in clooney's batsuit. with his own hands.... wonder if he pretended to be searching for radio stations during the whole process... lol
b o b o
May 3, 2016
I'll give his work 12/10
Flazhphone
May 3, 2016
One Word: Perfect
Pat Bateman
May 3, 2016
it'd be cool if this guy had a cameo in a comic
Luisbats
May 3, 2016
That Apocalypse looks more better that what I'm seeing in the trailers, I don't understand why the didn't use that version
Alan Conn
May 3, 2016
Amazing freakin work!!!
Alan Conn
May 3, 2016
This guy and his studio are absolutely amazing. This is just so fascinating. His apocalypse truly is awesome. Batman turning his head really is a bigger deal than most would realize. And the SpaceX spacesuit?!?!?! That is MONUMENTAL!!! Also ridiculous that his studio got no credit.
The Dark Knight
May 3, 2016
Hey only if WW's costume had that kind of red in the movie too. I wished it was a brighter red than the muted one used here
1. OssamNin
  May 5, 2016
  It looked just like that in the movie, take into account that the scenes where she appeared where at night, so it obviously look darker.
Bat-Mite
May 3, 2016
I love this man
Potterbat
May 4, 2016
Man, that Apocalypse design is just so much superior to what we're getting. What a trip this guy doesn't get film credit. Shit, he should be the designer too.
Potterbat
May 4, 2016
Yo, if stunt doubles and make up artists get credit, this guy should. Why the hell not? Is my question.
anterlek
May 5, 2016
I really can't explain why but the new costume reminds me of the Batman Beyond skin in arkham knight -
Again...I don't even know how to explain it...it's a mood thing. You can see it here: http://thebatmancollectible...
Yeah, I know, you don't agree but I see it!
adityo nugroho
July 26, 2016
Okay. some people said "oh it's normal that he didn't get more credits for his work, because the guy that created these costumes got very well paid and since he got really well paid for what he did, he shouldn't complains about it".
I think His company deserve more credits. Let's put it this way. "It's alright for not showing the name of Ben Affleck and Downey Jr on the credits for their role as a Batman and Iron man, because after all, they got very well paid to do their roles. So they don´t need to get the credits by Marvel and WB Right?,,,

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This is an archive of Batman-News.com from 2010 to 2025. For the latest news, check out BatmanNews.com