While the rest of the Justice League has pretty cool powers, the Dark Knight himself has the best suit. There have been many different iterations of the bat suit over the years. It’s been a suit that has evolved based on the story’s setting. Are we in an old-school Gotham City or a modern one where Metropolis is across the bay? The suit reflects that. It also could depend on who Batman is coming to blows with. The suit needs to aid him in battle because under that suit is just a guy who got really good at martial arts at one point in his life and developed incredible detective skills, making the suit just another tool of the trade. Whatever the influence, however, Batman’s suits reign supreme.
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Let’s travel back and forth across the timelines of the DC Universe and take a look at all the best-looking suits Batman has donned, both in live-action and animated films and series.
Michael Keaton’s modern Batsuit in The Flash
Say what you will about the first-ever stand-alone live-action Flash film, but the best part about it is the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. Keaton’s suit is the best of both worlds; it is a nice callback to the cape and cowl that he wore in Batman and Batman Returns, all the while feeling very modern and up-to-date. It’s a suit created to battle Kryptonians, with its sharp edges, muscular tone, and the iconic colors of the symbol that made him an icon to every superhero fan. It’s crazy to think that, after 31 years, he can still rock the look of Gotham’s Caped Crusader.
Adam West’s Classic 1966 Batsuit Batman
Credit must be given where credit is due: Adam West as Batman opened the floodgates for the character to be seen in live-action form. Batman: The Movie (1966) and the show, Batman (1966-1968), are indeed quite campy and a relic of the swinging ’60s, but how can you ever forget that costume and West’s delivery of his dialogue? Costume design around this icon of DC Comics has come a long way. Adam West’s get-up looks like a Halloween costume by today’s standards, and that’s perfectly fine. It got the job done during the weekly battles with The Joker, Catwoman, and the Penguin. Its signature tiny golden bat logo, blue color, and eyebrows are what make it extremely memorable and frankly, fun.
Batman: The Animated Series’ suit is a part of Superhero history
The Batsuit in the original Fox Kids cartoon, Batman the Animated Series, looks like a cross between Adam West’s Batsuit, with a bulkier appearance, a darker mask, and the same aura of what Warner Bros. was doing with Michael Keaton in the film during this time. Add in Kevin Conroy’s voice acting skills to go with it and you have superhero perfection. This Batman catered to kids but still had a dark feel. There’s no better visual of the animated Dark Knight than when he stands above Gotham City, looking down at it with his cape closing off his entire torso. As DC fans know well, the iconic suit appeared on the big screen in the feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, as well.
The Nomex Suit in Batman Begins
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Christopher Nolan may have tried to avoid comic book-like moments in his Dark Knight Trilogy, but having Bruce Wayne’s confidant Lucius Fox aid in creating the original Batsuit means that Nolan did seem to pay attention to the material after all. The Nomax Suit, as it’s called, appears in Batman Begins and was originally a prototype suit for soldiers that Bruce Wayne painted black. It’s bulky and menacing and was a nice new take after the campy feel of Batman & Robin from nearly a decade earlier. The only frustrating part was Wayne could not turn his head in it, creating a bit of a struggle for Batman to battle more than one henchman.
The Dark Knight’s Kevlar Suit
Within 20 minutes of the follow-up to Batman Begins, 2008’s The Dark Knight, Batman’s inability to turn his head was resolved. Christian Bale bulked up in his first outing as Batman three years earlier, but in 2008, to take on Heath Ledger’s Joker, he had leaned out; he needed a suit to match that. The Kevlar suit was the first suit in a while to appear to give Batman more versatility and mobility, and with Christopher Nolan trying to go with a more realistic plot line in the second installment of his Dark Knight Trilogy, it’s essential that Batman’s suit is realistic too.
Batman Returns‘ upgraded suit
Michael Keaton makes his second appearance on this list, and the suit he wears in Batman Returns got him there. In comparison to the Batman (1989) suit, it’s less rubbery and has a more natural muscle definition. Like the Kevlar suit in The Dark Knight, the Batman Returns one is more versatile and has an uncanny resemblance to the design of the Batmobile. The cape seems less heavy than a few years prior, and once again, the yellow on the suit and belt pops on screen. Keaton’s Batman needed an upgrade despite shedding its dark gothic feel a bit. This version is a little more sexy, but then again, so is the 1992 movie.
Armored Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
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Say what you want about Zack Snyder’s magnum opus that was 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but Ben Affleck’s armored Batman suit made any comic book fan’s eyes widen when it appeared on screen. Echoing what we saw on the page of Frank Miller’s landmark graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns, Ben Affleck suits up in the iconic suit to go toe to toe with Henry Cavill’s Superman. It’s a Batsuit that is meant to harm a Kryptonian. It’s undoubtedly one of the positives of a polarizing film for many, with the hulking size of the suit and glowing white eyes on the helmet. Snyder knew what he was doing with this look when he made the film.
Robert Pattinson’s suit in The Batman
If you look at all the movies on this list so far, you can find a lot of similarities between them in terms of how they present Batman to audiences. However, when Matt Reeves got the chance to direct his version of Gotham’s vigilante hero, he took things in a different direction. 2022’s The Batman gave us Robert Pattinson as a younger, darker, and more gritty version. His suit is tactical, with a realistic approach that mirrors who Bruce Wayne was at that time in his life. Pattison’s eyes are soul-piercing through the simplicity of his mask that only seems to cover his nose up like it’s more of a helmet than a mask. Lastly, that cape and collar are nice, simple touches that feel vampire-like and separates the aesthetic from the other ones we’ve seen in the past.
Ben Affleck’s black and gray suit in Batman v. Superman
We all wanted to hate on Ben Affleck playing Batman in Batman v. Superman long before a trailer ever made it online. Some of us even did, but some began to dial back their spiteful rhetoric when the teaser pics were released, showing him looking clearly like what comic book lovers saw in The Dark Knight Returns. Affleck’s Batman is older and bulkier; the cowl and cape are one piece, and it still allows good head movement; the grey torso part of the suit with the black around it only illuminates how menacing Batman v. Superman. He’s an angry older version of the character, who controversially will kill if necessary.
Michael Keaton’s suit in Batman (1989)
It had been nearly two decades since Batman was last seen in live-action form. There needed to be a newer, darker version to bring to life. Thanks to Tim Burton’s vision, Michael Keaton’s on-screen prowess, and Jack Nicholson’s Joker, Batman would become a blockbuster for the ages. The bat logo is very prominent across the chest; the suit is straight black everywhere else to remind you of the gothic feel of the film. Yes, the heavy-duty rubber of the suit doesn’t allow him to turn his head, but it also aids in its intimidating performance. The cape has a very long feel to it, like a cloak. It has a winged appearance with wires to help glide from point A to point B. You’d hate to meet this Batman on a rooftop after mugging someone in an alleyway in Gotham City. He’s the darkest, most secretive Batman of them all, and when it comes to the argument of what your favorite is, many completists would, at the very least, contemplate this suit.
What’s your favorite Batsuit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
