There’s something that’s bothered me ever since I saw the first Tim Burton Batman – Batman apparently wears black eye shadow. Lots of it. And it magically appears or disappears as needed.
Take a look at these mug shots:
O.k., see the eye makeup? It’s pretty clear, because the mask can’t go all the way to the eyes and since no one has invented the Bruce Timm Batman mask that makes the lens covered eyes show expression, you kind of need to see the actor’s eyes. Also, if you think about it, tactically it would make sense – if the cowl is yanked off at least Batman has the equivalent of a domino mask on. Hey, it works for his sidekick!
But no, check out what happens after Bats yanks off the cowl (tearing it like an old sweater):
No eye shadow! Where did it go? Did the cowl absorb it? Is the eye shading made of sophisticated nano-bots? Are we meant to overlook this? Well, yes, clearly we are. I mean, we accept that a man dropped into a vat of chemicals turns into a criminal mastermind and isn’t, you know, riddled with tumors and dying painfully in a hospital bed, what’s a little magic eye shadow?
And I could honestly leave it at that except for the fact that, as you can see above, the eye shadow persists into the Nolan-verse. Why is that important, you ask? Because Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale are fucking sticklers about everything actually working. The Tumbler? It really can make ramp-less jumps. The Bat-Pod? Sure there’s some CGI to it, but the damn thing really works and you DRIVE WITH YOUR SHOULDERS! The grappling gun works, the hydraulic assist thing from the beginning of the Dark Knight works. The goddamned ejecting forearm fins work! Granted the bat vision didn’t (but was an attempt at Timm-vision) work as shown, but the lenses did work and did light up and make his eyes look white while Bale could still see.
Seriously, Christian Bale doesn’t fuck around with fake stuff for his films.
So I have to ask myself, why is it still there? It is possible to make a Batman cowl without it…
O.k., I retract my complaint…magic eye shadow it is. Better that than a Batman who looks like he might have Downs Syndrome.
The Mask of Reason 
lol christian bale in batman is hot with or without eyeshadow!
I always thought they should absolutely acknowledge the eye shadow. If Batman tears off his mask and has smeared, runny black makeup around his eyes, that’s a cool image.