Ever since his 1939 debut,Batmanhas had one of the most iconic costume designs in comics. The Caped Crusader has stood the test of time for over eighty years, and naturally, the character’s wardrobe has evolved and expanded alongside the character’s publication history. Each of his many different costumes comes with its own fans and is associated with its own era of the character’s expansive history.
Many of the costumes that Batmanhas worn over the years have become fan favorites, evolving into iconic looks for the character in their own right. Butsome of his costumes aren’t as successful, missing the mark on reimagining the classic design of the character. While some of Batman’s redesigns changed the game for the character, some still completely missed the mark.
10Changed the Game: Batman’s “New Look”
First Appears in 1964’sDetective Comics#327 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino
While Batman’s costume had steadily evolved following its debut in 1939,Batman’s “New Look” marked the first major evolution of the character’s appearance.While the blue-and-gray colors would become a staple of the costume, this suit marked the biggest change to the symbol yet, placing it inside a yellow oval. While the bat symbol initially stayed the same, over time it would be curved to fit the oval completely.
This version of Batman’s costume is currently appearing in the Silver Age-inspired seriesBatman / Superman: World’s Finestby Mark Waid, Dan Mora, and Adrián Gutiérrez, available now from DC Comics.
Thanks to the longevity of the design, with Bruce wearing it from its 1964 debut up until 1991, Batman’s “New Look” stands as one of the most iconic pieces in the Dark Knight’s wardrobe. The colors complement each other perfectly, with none of them overwhelming one another. While other artists have introduced their own slight variations on this suit,the core elements have always remained the same, rendering it one of Batman’s best looks.
9Missed the Mark: Batman of Zur-En-Arrh
First Appears in 1958’sBatman#113 by France Herron and Dick Sprang
Hailing from the Silver Age, this costume belongs to Tlano, the Batman of the planet Zur-En-Arrh, who was inspired by Bruce to become Batman on his own world. The suit uses red as its primary color, rendering the cape and cowl in purple and the sleeves in yellow. When Grant Morrison’sBatman RIPretconned the origin of Zur-En-Arrh, casting the concept as a backup personality Bruce created in his head, the overall design of the costume remained the same.
Even when taking the origin of the costume into account, this look misses the mark of what makes for a good Batsuit.The colors make the costume feel like an eyesore,making it hard to take the costume seriously.While Morrison’s retcon of Zur-En-Arrh is iconic, and paved the way for his depiction in Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez’s recent run onBatman, none of that keeps the suit from failing. Bruce is better off leaving this one behind.
8Changed the Game: Batman Beyond
First Appears in the First Episode ofBatman Beyond,“Rebirth,” from 1999
Created for theBatman Beyondanimated series, this version of the Batsuit made its jump from animation to comics shortly after in the pages of 1999’sBatman Beyond#1 by Hilary J. Bader and Rick Burchett. While created by Bruce Wayne in his twilight years as the Caped Crusader,the suit is most associated with Terry McGinnis, who succeeded Bruce following his retirement from crime fighting. The suit sports a unique appearance, being a black bodysuit with a red symbol, and loses the cape in favor of wings along with a cowl that covers his entire face.
Batman Beyond Concept Art Exposes the Hidden Side of Bruce Wayne’s Most Powerful Batsuit
Bruce Wayne built a high-tech batsuit in Batman Beyond’s futuristic world, with new concept art showing exactly what’s underneath its iconic design.
Despite how it deviates from most typical Batsuits,the Batman Beyond suit stands out for its sleek and futuristic design, befitting its setting. This design does its own thing but still manages to retain all the visual elements that make the suit feel like the perfect evolution of Batman’s technology and costume. The minimalist elements, such as the sparing use of red, only help the suit’s design, making it one of Batman’s most eye-catching redesigns.
7Missed the Mark: the Insider Suit
Following the events ofBatman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, which saw Bruce Wayne trapped in the past by Darkseid and presumed dead, Bruce returned to the present and took on a new identity to observe what he missed in his absence. Calling himself the Insider, Bruce Wayne’s new suit omitted much of the bat iconography, opting for a more subdued look. Additionally,the suit was capable of replicating the powers of the Justice League, albeit only for a short time.
While the absence of the Bat-Symbol and other hallmarks of Batman’s costumes make sense for the plot, the end result is a suit that feels generic. Many of the Caped Crusader’s best looks are easily identifiable as being Batman costumes, sothe loss of the iconography hurts the suit in a way it can’t make up for even with powers.While the abilities of the suit do make for a powerful tool in Batman’s arsenal, visually it fails to hold a candle to many of Batman’s other costumes.
6Changed the Game: the Zero Year Suit
First Appears in 2013’sBatman#24 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
First used during theBatman: Zero Yearstory arc, an updated version of Batman’s origin story for the New 52, his first suit in the story is a wonderful homage to the character’s past that also infuses it with modern sensibilities. Greg Capullo’s take on Batman’s first suitbrings back the purple gloves from the character’s 1939 debut, while adding a more homemade quality to the costume. The result is a suit that, while appearing bare in some areas, more than makes up for it in personality.
The purple gloves not only honor his 1939 suit, but also add a splash of color that helps to break up the gray.
The rivets and lines across the bodysuit aid in making it feel like a piece of gear that Bruce Wayne put together himself, giving the costume a handcrafted feel. The purple gloves not only honor his 1939 suit, but also add a splash of color that helps to break up the gray. Overall,theZero Yearsuit infuses the old with the new to create a unique design, and it’s one of the best early-career costumes that Bruce has ever worn.
5Missed the Mark: Superheavy Suit
First Appears in 2015’sBatman#41 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
Following Bruce’s apparent demise at the end ofBatman: Endgame,Jim Gordon briefly took over the mantle as a GCPD-sanctioned Batman, donning a new suit to go along with his new job. Sporting an armored, mechanized Batsuit created by PowersTech, Gordon was equipped with all manner of gadgets and tech. Gordon’s time as Batman was short-lived, however, as Bruce returned and took on the cape and cowl once more.
While the overwhelmingly strong blue of the Superheavy Suit, accentuated by red lights, is clearly meant to evoke a police car, it fails to work as a Batman design. Additionally, the ears are too high, causing some artists to draw the ears closer to a rabbit’s ears than a bat’s ears. Whilethese flaws in the design of the suit work with the story that Scott Snyder and Capullo were tellingabout Gordon’s time as the Dark Knight, it results in a design that echoes the extremity of Azrael’s Batsuit, but without that suit’s iconography or charm.
4Changed the Game: the Absolute Batsuit
First Appears in 2024’sDC All In Special#1 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, Wes Craig, and Dan Mora
DC’s Absolute Universe features a Batman who operates without any of the wealth or resources of his mainstream counterpart, and his costume reflects this fact. The suit, put together by this universe’s Bruce Wayne and designed byAbsolute Batman’sseries artist Nick Dragotta, is a marvel of engineering,often feeling like a weapon itself and an extension of Batman. Additionally, the bat-symbol doubles as an ax head, and the cape functions like an actual pair of bat wings, acting as additional appendages for Bruce to use.
15 Best Batman Comics in History, Ranked
With almost eighty years in print, Batman is one of the most successful heroes in comics. These stories helped elevate him to that status.
The Absolute Universe’s Batsuit is undeniably different from its predecessors, despite sharing much of the same DNA.But these differences are where the suit finds its strengths, all by using what came before to create something new and exciting. While only time will tell what future evolutions the Absolute Universe’s Batsuit will undergo, it’s already made a strong impression on readers, marking itself as a memorable redesign of an iconic costume.
3Missed the Mark: Bright Knight Suit
First Appears in 2020’sBatman#95 by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jiménez
Created by the Joker when he stole Bruce Wayne’s fortune in theJoker Warstory arc, the Bright Knight suit was meant to symbolize Bruce’s dream of what Batman could become in the future. Using a unique blue and silver color scheme, along with yellow eyes,the suit envisions a brighter, happier Batmanwho has managed to save Gotham. Ultimately, the suit was defaced and worn by the Joker in his final battle with Batman in the story.
While the brighter, softer colors are the point of the suit and what it represents, those same colors also make it hard to look at for an extended period of time.The yellow eyes are a nice touch, but they don’t break up the colors enough to make a difference, with the darker blue on the bodysuit being an especially overwhelming color when mixed with the lighter blues and grays. While the costume is interesting in theory and what it represents, the execution and colors fail this redesign of Batman.
2Changed the Game: 2025’s All In Batsuit
First Appears in 2025’sBatman#1 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez
As Matt Fraction and Jiménez prepare to start their run on a newBatmantitle, Jiménez has also redesigned the suit for a new chapter of the character’s history. This new suit brings the blue back to the Batsuit, while also evoking elements of his iconic post-Crisis era suit. However, Jiménez also adds brand-new elements, such as a redesigned utility belt and a new symbol with what appears to be a blue sheen to it.
While Jiménez has been the ongoing artist for theBatmantitle for many years - arguably earning his place as one of the best Batman artists of the 21st century - Fraction’s most well-known work for DC Comics is the Eisner Award-winning maxiseriesSuperman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsenwith artist Steve Lieber, which is available now both digitally and in a collected edition from DC Comics.
Jiménez’s redesign of the character’s iconic costume issimple, but effective.This take on the Batsuit manages to feel wonderfully classic, yet modern at the same time. It builds off what has come before while doing its own thing, as evidenced by the new shape of the Bat-Symbol. Even before Fraction and Jiménez’s run on the title starts later in 2025, this redesign of the Caped Crusader stands out as one of his finest yet.
1Missed the Mark: The Bat-Man of Gotham
First Appears in 2023’sBatman#133 by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne
Following Bruce’s defeat at the end of theFailsafestory arc, he was sent to an alternate universe, one where Bruce Wayne died long before becoming Batman. Without his allies or tools,Bruce was forced to make his own Batsuit,crafting one out of salvaged gear and makeshift parts to fight against injustice in this universe. As such, this suit leaves Bruce with very few of the gadgets he’s used to having.
The idea behind the suit from theBat-Man of Gothamarc is intriguing, and it utilizes the “found object” design well. But at the same time, the suit feels overly cluttered, and perhaps over-designed. While black and gray are always a good combination of colors for Batman, here it doesn’t feel like they’re balanced well, leading to the gray feeling like it’s overshadowed. Even as a temporary measure for the Caped Crusader, thisBatmandesign misses the mark.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
