The Caped Crusader has enjoyed one of the most prolific careers in his tenured comic book history. The Batman is the creation of Bruce Wayne’s own torment – the rich celebrity Gothamite who’s parents met a tragic demise before his very own boyhood eyes. As with most superheroes, the persona of Batman, his offensive approach to crime, and his extensive preparation for the most unlikely scenarios are underpinned by Wayne’s personality.
This is a man driven by a cynical worldview of an individual’s tendency for criminal behavior. While dark colors, a brooding demeanor, and the mission to prey on the fears of criminals – mostly through painfully brutal fighting tactics – are a staple of the character, Batman has ventured outside of his traditional element on multiple occasions. This includes donning a plethora of unique suits over the years on various occasions.
10 Batman of Zur-En-Arrh
This clash of red, purple, yellow, and black was originally introduced to the Batman mythos in the 1950s. In this classic tale, this suit was actually donned by another Batman from the planet, Zur-En-Arrh.
However, Grant Morrison’s Batman R.I.P. series revamped the origin of the suit. Bruce Wayne wore these colors after his mind was compromised. Zur-En-Arrh was the name given to Batman’s back-up persona in the event that his mind was ever manipulated or compromised. Once this persona took hold, Batman put together a suit with the colors of the 50s classic.
9 White Lantern
Fans were able to capture a brief glimpse of Batman taking the form of a White Lantern. Deadman was given a White Lantern ring by the Life Entity and was tasked with finding a champion to wield it.
Batman was that champion in his eyes. For a time, Batman used the ring the best way he knew how. But after a brief tenure as a White Lantern, the ring – in its own sentient way – determined that Batman wasn’t the proper bearer of the power.
8 Batman Beyond
Of course, Bruce Wayne isn’t typically associated with the futuristic suit from Batman Beyond which originated as an animated TV series and would later be adapted for the comic book format. That honor, however, goes to Terry McGinnis.
However, fans of the show will remember that Bruce Wayne did wear the advanced suit for a brief period in the first episode before he learned the harsh reality that he was too old to be Batman any longer. Terry Mcginnis – a typical teenager mixed up in the drama of Gotham City – wins the attention of Bruce Wayne and becomes the Dark Knight of Gotham’s future.
7 Armored Suit
Famously, this is the suit Batman used to defeat Superman in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. In this alternate Batman future, Superman has become a lap dog for the President of the United States. Bruce resents the Kryptonian for becoming a federal “enforcer” of sorts.
At the height of the Cold War, an EMP brings down the power grid. Batman manages to rally Gotham together to ensure the safety of its citizens. This hurt the government’s ego and they sent Superman to take Batman out of the picture. Batman, of course, prepared for the confrontation. That preparation included this suit, some Kryptonite, and a well-thought-out strategy that resulted in Superman’s defeat.
6 Rainbow Batman
The Silver Age of comic books was chock full of bizarre stories that riffed off an era of cheesy storytelling and theatrics. Rainbow Batman was one idea that originated from that era. In this particular story, Batman wore a series of brightly-colored costumes in order to distract the media from Robin’s noticeable arm injury.
It’d be perilous for someone to put two and two together if Dick Grayson were to ever be seen with the same injury as Robin. The solution was obvious all along – grab the spotlight with psychedelic costumes so no one notices Robin!
5 Knightfall
This suit was never worn by Bruce Wayne. However, it was worn by the man who replaced Bruce Wayne as Batman during the Knightfall storyline. In this famous story, Bane breaks Batman’s back. Bruce Wayne then commissions a man by the name of Jean-Paul Valley to take his place as Batman. For a time, Valley used this armored suit outfitted with lethal gadgetry and weaponry to combat Gotham’s criminals.
He became increasingly more violent as his occupation of Batman went. Eventually, Wayne had to confront Valley and remove him from his seat of power as Batman. Valley became too reliant on the superiority of his suit that his instincts as a fighter were diluted and Bruce Wayne was able to defeat him handily reclaiming the title of Batman.
4 Red Son
The Red Son storyline envisions a world where Superman crash-landed in the Soviet Union instead of the U.S. In this story, Superman becomes a champion for the Soviet Union. Batman, however, becomes somewhat of a Soviet terrorist. As a child, his parents were murdered by the KGB and joined forces with Lex Luthor in an attempt to topple the communist Kryptonian.
In this darker take on the DC Universe, however, Batman doesn’t succeed and, instead, ends his own life to avoid becoming a prisoner of the communist regime and potentially lobotomized. Batman’s suit is very reminiscent of Soviet-era garb with a Batman flair.
3 Gotham By Gaslight
Gotham By Gaslight gave us a look at Batman during alive during the Victorian age. Much like other stories from this time in history, Batman leaned heavily into the detective attributes of his superhero persona.
The story followed Batman as he solved the case of a serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. Like any good detective story, there a few great twists and turns. Batman’s costume was also a real winner. The cloak with the popped collar really brought the look together.
2 Damian Wayne
The son of Bruce Wayne has enjoyed some time as the Batman in the pages of comic books. However, he didn’t exactly follow in his father’s footsteps. Trained by the League of Assassin’s from birth, Damian exhibits tendencies for more lethal tactics – something his father heavily disapproves of.
Many times throughout Damian’s reign as Robin, Batman has had to suppress Damian’s violent nature. In one-off futuristic glimpses of Damian’s time as Batman, we see that he has fully embraced lethal force as a method for combating crime. He certainly does in style as well with a slick-looking long coat to boot.
1 Pirate
It’s hard to say that this is one of Batman’s more eccentric outfits when he does have a history of wearing rainbow-inspired colors. But there is no way one could talk about Batman’s alternate suits without mentioning that brief moment when he was a pirate!
Following the Final Crisis event where Batman was seemingly killed by Darkseid’s Omega Sanction, it is revealed that he is actually thrown through space and time back to the dawn of man. Caught in a timestream, he eventually lands in the 18th century where Bruce Wayne interacts with Blackbeard. Blackbeard assumes that Bruce Wayne is a legendary pirate and thus, Pirate Batman is born. The suit is markedly one of the best.