Batman remains one of the most storied superheroes in all of comic book, film, TV, animation, and now video game history. His iterations are many, but they all feature one very important element: the iconic Batsuit. For the most part, many artists don't tweak the formula too much when it comes to The Caped Crusader.
But each version of The Dark Knight left its imprint on the hero. Each artist, director, and writer left their marks for fans to fall in love with or repeatedly skewer. Which versions stand out most? There may be too many to pick just one suit that helps sum up Batman's legacy.
Updated on March 6, 2022 by Scoot Allan: The debut of a new live-action Dark Knight in Matt Reeve's The Batman has introduced another new Batsuit into the overflowing wardrobe of Bruce Wayne. We've updated our complete list of his costumes with a few more Batsuits that have defined the character over the years.
85 May 1939: First Appearance By Bob Kane And Bill Finger
The original suit featured a black cape and speedo with a bright yellow utility belt. The ears on the cowl were quite pointy, almost sticking out to the sides. The utility belt also featured a rounded buckle and purple gloves.
84 1939: The Batsuit Began To Slowly Evolve In The Comics
This time, the Bat has black gloves, sharper and straighter ears that point up, and a cape that both swooshes and forms bat wings at times.
83 1940s: The Batsuit's Colors Were Lightened To A Familiar Blue And Grey
After his initial debut, Batman's suit featured 3 points on each batwing, a sharp nose on the cowl, and the classic blue, grey, gold, and black color scheme. The utility belt buckle was still rounded.
82 1943: Live-Action Batman Serial With Lewis Wilson
This screen adaptation took direct style notes from the original costume from the comics in the 1940s. Since the film was in black and white, it’s likely the costume was grey and black instead of blue.
81 1949: The Costume Continued To Change For The Serial With Robert Lowery
Similar to the previous Serial costume, but the ears were much pointier and the cape hung tighter around the actor’s shoulders.
80 1950s: The Logo And Costume Were Further Simplified In The Comics
In this run, the writers/artists adjusted the logo to have just 2 points on each batwing, changed the utility belt to have more raised features, and made the spikes on his gloves less weblike. But this wasn't always consistent.
79
This features an odd look for the Caped Crusader as he’s wearing what seems to be animal skin. Dubbed “Jungle Batman,” this was just one look that Bats would be subjected to in the 1950s.
78 1957: Batman Adopted A Few More Colorful Batsuits In The Comics
Rainbow Batman debuted in 1957’s Detective Comics #241, by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff. Batman seems to start wearing costumes in all kinds of bright colors and, by the end, has an entirely rainbow suit. This suit makes another appearance in Batman: The Brave and The Bold.
77 1958/2009/2011: The Silver Age Batman of Zur-En-Arrh Costume Was Later Reimagined
Fans will remember The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, but the red, purple, and gold costume is actually Tiano -- an alien. The bat logo looks like just a black squiggle, but the suit remains mostly unchanged apart from that and the colors. The costume was later reimagined during Grant Morrison's run.
76 January 1960: Detective Comics #275 Introduced Batman's Magnetic Zebra Suit
Zebra Batman also came to be as a menace in the Detective Comics. Everything on the Caped Crusader except his yellow utility belt became zebra print.
75 October 1963: Batman And Robin Briefly Became "Mummy Crime-Fighters"
A run from the comics debuted the “Mummy Crime-Fighters” where Batman and Robin both had mummy-style bodies wrapped in material. However, Robin’s face was covered, but Batman still had his cowl and cape with his mouth exposed.
74 1960s: Batman's Yellow Oval Logo Became A Fixture Of The Batsuit
Getting into the “Silver Age Batman” saw the suit return to what would become the classic suit from the upcoming tv show. The suit featured a bright yellow oval with a two-pronged bat logo, a yellow utility belt with a square belt buckle, a grey suit, and blue accents for the gloves, boots, cape, cowl, and speedo.
73
This show saw a more faithful reproduction of the 1950s comic suit with the same color scheme, two-pointed bat logo, and bright yellow utility belt. But the accents changed from blue to black for the show.
72 1973 – 1989: The New Adventures Of Batman Led To The Popular Super Friends Cartoon
This suit resembled the 1960s show with Adam West, but the suit was a pale purple color and the bat logo was stretched upward inside its yellow oval. The eyes were also just white which may have been a design choice or part of the suit.
71 1980s – 1990s: The Silver Age Costume Became Darker And Featured Sharper Edges
Fans can see influences from both the Silver and Golden Ages in this suit. Batman still has a blue cowl and cape, grey tights, and a yellow utility belt with a square buckle.
70 1986: The Dark Knight Returns Brought Batman Back To Basics To Fight A Future War
The Dark Knight Returns saw a more square cowl with shorter bat ears and a muted color scheme. The suit was dark grey, with a large, wide symbol across the chest. The pouch utility belt was a pale color with an accent item on Bat’s left shin. The other parts of the suit were black.
69 1986: Batman Wore An Armored Suit In The Dark Knight Returns
The Frank Miller comic from 1986 featured an armored suit that he used to take on the Man of Steel. The armored costume was later adapted and changed slightly for the two-part animated movie.
68 1987: Batman: Year One Reimagined His Original Costume
Year One defined Batman for many fans and so did the return to a more classic suit. The Dark Knight went back to a black and grey suit, gold utility pouch belt, and a bat logo that sometimes was just a black bat and sometimes had a yellow oval around it.
67 1989: Gotham By Gaslight Featured A Victorian-Era Batsuit
This outfit suits a Victorian-era Batman, so it has a duster-like coat, a top with buttons down the middle, and a brown utility belt with knife holsters. The cowl remains much the same though.
66 1989: Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth Featured A Sharp Pointed Batsuit
This suit didn’t differ much from other suits at the time, but the art style of this graphic novel transported fans to a different realm. Batman’s shoulders curled upward, his ears were extra, extra tall, and his cape was also extra swooshy.