It’s been said that clothes make the man, and Batman definitely has enough Batsuits in his wardrobe to make him “The Man.” As a non-super-powered human being, Bruce Wayne has to put a lot of thought into what he wears to fight crime, to increase his effectiveness and decrease his vulnerability.
Wayne definitely has the bankroll to afford to suit up for any crime-fighting occasion, whether it’s taking down a rogue Superman or scouring Gotham Harbor for a meteorite. Which of Batman’s costumes worked best, from a functional or aesthetic standpoint? Find out as we explore Batman's best and worst costumes.
10 BEST: NEW GOD BATMAN
When the New 52 initiative was coming to its end, DC decided to cap it off with the Darkseid War, a Justice League storyline that pitted the Lord of Apokolips against the Anti-Monitor. During the course of the story, Batman assumed the New God Metron’s position on the Mobius chair, gaining access to most of the knowledge in the known universe.
Aside from learning the identity of the Joker and the fact that there were actually three of them, Batman received a change in his appearance, melding his costume with Metron’s. The change was slight, but noticeable, and visually appealing.
9 WORST: BATMAN OF ZUR-EN-ARRH
In the Silver Age, Batman was reduced to a lot of kid-friendly, science-fiction-type stories that wouldn’t offend the post-Wertham, Comics Code Authority-style sensibility of the era. When the Caped Crusader found himself on another planet called Zur-En-Arrh, he met the Batman of that world, Tlano. Unfortunately, Tlano was dressed in a garish costume of red, yellow and purple that made him look more like a walking Chiclet box than a superhero.
Fairly recently, the costume made a reappearance during Grant Morrison’s Batman R.I.P., as an alternate identity for a psychologically compromised Batman. Although the rationale for its reappearance in this story was ingenious, on an aesthetic level, it should have remained a relic of the Silver Age.
8 BEST: HELLBAT ARMOR
On the subject of Batman and the New Gods, Bruce Wayne designed a costume that functioned as armor and would enhance his abilities to meta-human levels should the need ever arise. Dubbed the “Hellbat” armor, Wayne donned it to retrieve his son Damian’s body from Apokolips after it was abducted by Darkseid following his death.
Powerful enough to put him on par with the abilities of several New Gods, the armor was also visually stunning and somewhat intimidating, looking like an amalgamation of Batman Beyond’s costume, Azrael/Batman’s armor, and Iron Man’s armor.
7 WORST: KNIGHTFALL AZBATS
When Bruce Wayne was crippled at the hands of Bane during the events of Knightfall, he appointed Jean-Paul Valley, the costumed vigilante known as Azrael, to succeed him. One of the first things Valley did was redesign the Batsuit, adding in a lot more offensive capabilities and making it more of an armor.
The redesigned costume is not without its visual appeal, but to say it was emblematic of the “too extreme” ‘90s is an understatement. As it evolved, this Batsuit would have been way too heavy for one man to wear, much less to fight scores of criminals in with any sense of fluid maneuverability. Also, all the jagged edges in the “cape,” shin, forearm bracers, and gauntlet would have assured some pretty severe nicks and cuts in Valley that would have necessitated the replacement being replaced.
6 BEST: DARK KNIGHT RETURNS SUPERMAN ARMOR
Batman loves to have contingencies for almost every eventuality he may face, and battling a rogue Superman is definitely one of them. In that instance, he has his trusty piece of kryptonite to help him even the odds. However, he also designed a battle suit to ensure he could use that ace-in-the-hole without being pulverized first.
The most famous instance in which he donned that suit was in Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, where he met the Man of Steel in a final showdown in Crime Alley. However, the suit has appeared in other story arcs and media, such as the film Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.
5 WORST: DEEP SEA BATMAN
Aside from crime-fighting, Batman has some outfits designed for operating in different types of geographic environments, such as jungles, deserts or underwater. He used one such a suit in Superman/Batman #8, to explore a crashed object in Gotham’s river that turned out to be Kara Zor-El’s space-pod.
The suit served its purpose, but looked like modified pajamas with pouches. The striped, corduroy-looking delineations on the arms looked comfy enough, but impractical, as was the fact that Bats had a full cowl on when diving. Also, the Cable-reminiscent multitude of pouches on the costume made Bats look more like a deep-sea scavenger than a superhero.
4 BEST: BATMAN BEYOND
Although he’s had a few stand-ins over the years, it’s hard to imagine anyone being Batman than Bruce Wayne. But in the far-flung future of Batman Beyond, the Dark Knight is Terry McGinnis, a young man who dons a high-tech suit to protect Gotham City from new and old villains.
The Batman Beyond costume is a wild departure from previous Batsuits, but is still instantly recognizable. It’s beautiful in its all-black and sleek simplicity, and although the costume lacks a cape, it makes up for it in extendable wing-like appendages that allow Terry to glide, as well as numerous other offensive and defensive capabilities that make it one of the coolest Batsuits out there.
3 WORST: KINGDOM COME APOCALYPSE ARMOR
By all accounts, Kingdom Come was an epic and gripping story that examined the state of the DC Universe in a not-too-distant future. Beautifully painted by comics legend Alex Ross, the four-issue mini-series was a generational conflict between younger and more ‘extreme’ anti-heroes and their older, more traditional progenitors.
The series was not without some less-than-stellar elements, though, and Batman’s armor for the climactic battle in issue four was one of them. It came off as clunky and awkward, and though having a wide array of offensive and defensive capabilities, was aesthetically unseemly. Also, its overall bulkiness seemed unsuited to the maneuverability needed for this type of battle.
2 BEST: ORIGINAL BATSUIT
The template from which all other Batman costumes were derived, the original 1939 Batsuit has classic appeal. The color schemes are dull and muted, as grey and dark navy are heavily concealable in the dark, and the black Bat-symbol confirms to those parameters as well.
The utility belt was compact and contained only necessities, and although bright yellow, was easily concealed by the cape. The classics never go out of style, and this one has remained virtually unchained for almost a century.
1 WORST: JIM GORDON BATMAN
When Jim Gordon took over the role of Batman after his disappearance in Endgame, he used a large and heavily armored exosuit to guard Gotham City in Scott Snyder’s Superheavy arc.
Granted, Batman has never shied away from using technology to craft his suits, but his designs always highlighted his original costume’s aesthetic and function, where this one clearly didn’t. Gordon’s Batsuit looked a Transformer and was way too heavily armored and chock full of offensive weapons to be considered “Batman.”