Batman is one of the most iconic fictional characters in the entire world. When you see the bat symbol or his silhouette, you recognize who he is just as fast as any terrified criminal in Gotham. Batman’s design is iconic beyond words, but that doesn’t mean the Dark Knight hasn’t changed up his look over the years. After all, he’s been around since 1939, and fashion has evolved a lot since then. Batman has never been one to rest on his laurels either, because he’s determined to stand at the very top of everything he does, even fashion. Batman has worn plenty of suits, and so many of them are really awesome and instantly recognizable. So with that said, why don’t we take a look at the ten best suits that Batman has worn in comics?
10) Death Metal
Dark Knights: Death Metal was a Crisis-level event that shattered and remade the entire DC Multiverse, and in doing so, introduced us to our favorite characters with punk and metal redesigns fit for their crazed new world. This suit is almost disgustingly edgy with the metal bracers, chains and skulls on the belt, and jacket that should get Bruce entry into the Trenchcoat Brigade. And yet, this suit is just edgy and over-the-top enough to work for me. It combines the homemade look of Batman’s Zero Year suit with the experience of a much older, battle-hardened Bruce who is scraping together his suit with pure will and spite. It’s edgy in the best way possible, and I am so here for it. The collar really makes the whole suit pop.
9) Azrael’s Armor
The suit worn by Azrael during his brief time as the Caped Crusader is the epitome of way too much edge. It was designed to poke fun at the overly-designed, lethal looking and dark nature of the 1990s comic industry, but unfortunately they cooked a little too hard with this one. This suit is over-the-top in every single way, being a hulking suit of armor with massive claws and Bat-Shuriken launchers, but it goes so far past the line that it loops back around to being cool again. Even with its obscene amount of pouches and spikes, this suit speaks to the little kid inside of us that screeches with glee over ninjas and giant swords. This suit is just insane enough to be iconic, which is why it had to be replaced with way more dramatic power-armor to finally get the satire across.
8) New 52
This suit is very sleek and perfectly captures the mixed militaristic slash ninja vibe that permeated Batman’s New 52 run. I love this suit, with its design appearing very minimalistic without ever feeling sterile or uninspired. The enlarged gloves that resemble gauntlets and thick boots help communicate the idea that the Bat Suit is meant to be effectively a suit of armor, and recontextualizes the grey as thick padding instead of spandex. However, ultimately this suit is held back by its use of seemingly random lines all over it. I understand that they are meant to break up the large grey areas and give it some depth, but they just distract from the rest of the suit and look unnecessary. Much like with modern comic book movie suits, I am fed up with lines.
7) Batman Incorporated
Bruce designs this suit to work as Batman alongside Dick Grayson after his return from being thought dead. This suit looks like it was designed with the idea of being a suit Batman would make if he lived in our world. The pouches on the utility belt and the way the cape comes around to the front look beautiful and scream of perfected comic book realism, and it’s easy to see how this suit inspired the look in Batman: Earth One. This costume also saw the return of the yellow logo for the first time in a decade, and the armored plate pops out against the rest of the suit, really highlighting it in a great way. Overall, a great suit that I wish Bruce wore for longer.
6) Flashpoint
Thomas Wayne’s lethal take on Batman brought with it a much darker version of the costume. It replaced all of the usual yellow spots with red, which just gives the grim tone that this costume is going for. That coupled with the shoulder spikes, red lenses, and holsters that trail down his legs really make this costume stand out and scream that this Batman is going to be absolutely brutal. The bat in the logo is much bigger than the circle, making it appear like it’s bursting out from it and coming right for you, which is very much the effect Thomas would want. A great suit for a very interesting alternate take on our beloved Batman.
5) Original
Sometimes you just can’t beat the classics. Even though this costume only lasted for a single issue, it certainly stuck within the collective consciousness of all Batman fans. The ears are on the side of his head and much more rounded and his cape is spiked and curls around his body like a pair of wings, making him resemble an actual bat more so than any other costume. Of course, the iconic pink gloves add a splash of color that you don’t know the suit needs until you see it with them. This costume is different enough from modern interpretations to feel unique, but also similar enough to show that even though a couple details had to be ironed out along the way, Batman’s costume was a win from the very beginning.
4) Batman Beyond
With a character as popular as Batman, it’s really hard to pitch a total redesign that looks so different from what people expect. However, the Batman Beyond suit is the perfect example of when taking a big chance like that works. The suit itself is almost completely black, and there’s no cape in sight, but the suit still looks so cool. The giant red bat symbol pops so vividly, and the thin, sleek look perfectly matches the cyberpunk aesthetic of Neo-Gotham. The cowl perfectly flowing into the suit without any visible seams and outlining the wearer’s entire face only makes it so much more terrifying. This is a spectacular redesign, and totally worthy of being one of the best Bat Suits ever made.
3) Rebirth
The Rebirth suit was only used for a few short years, which is a travesty because it is the perfect modern redesign for Batman. It combines the sleek spandex look with hints of armored protection in the gloves, gives the best shape for any utility belt ever, and brings colors back to the Bat Suit in the best way possible. The purple on the inside of the cape is a genius highlight, and the yellow surrounding the bat symbol is the perfect mix between the two most classic designs for his chest. The sole complaint I have about this suit is that I wish the ears were just a little bit longer, because if they were this would be the most gorgeous Bat Suit hands down. I mean, the utility belt is shaped like an actual bat! That’s awesome!
2) Blue and Grey
This is perhaps Batman’s most iconic suit, and there’s hardly any room for debate with that. This is Batman’s longest lasting suit, debuting in Detective Comics #327 and going unchallenged as the Bat’s only costume for the next thirty years, being replaced by the all black variant in Batman #515. This suit introduced us to the yellow oval bat symbol, and the all blue look instead of black is such a wonderful color choice, letting Batman either fade into the darkness or strikingly stand out against it. Obviously this suit evolved over the years, but the main features remained the same for its lifespan, giving us the larger ears and billowing cape we know Batman for today. This suit casts a long shadow over the other designs, and I am so excited to see the blue color scheme make a return with Batman’s upcoming relaunch.
1) Hush
The Bat Suit that debuted in the classic “Hush” storyline is without a doubt the costume that many picture when they imagine the Dark Knight. It’s so simple, with the large black bat symbol on the grey and the return of the black trunks, but it fits Batman so well. The black and grey colors, looking like a deep blue in the right lighting, just looks great. This isn’t overly designed or trying too hard, and it just says that sometimes simple is best. There’s not much more else to say about this suit because it truly defined how Batman’s suit should look from the 2000s on, and looks great no matter which artist is depicting the Dark Knight. It’s just a perfect design for Batman, and it will never go out of fashion.
So there we fan the ten best costumes for Batman in comics. Obviously this list could be much, much longer, because the World’s Greatest Detective loves to design Bat Suits for every possible occasion, but these ten stand as the best of the best. At least, they do so far. I can’t imagine that Batman or his amazing artists will be content to not innovate and rework everything in the years to come, and I for one am super excited to see what they do. Which suit was your favorite, and what suit that isn’t up here do you believe deserves a spot in the top ten? Let us know in the comments below!
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