In case you missed the information, Bruce Wayne is getting a brand new look when DC Comics relaunches its flagship Batman collection this September. Artist Jorge Jiménez has designed a brand new Batsuit that brings the basic blue cape and cowl again into the highlight. After virtually 90 years on the stands, DC continues to be tweaking the Dark Knight’s iconic costume.
But how does the brand new Batsuit measure as much as the classics? What are the best Batman costumes of all time? We’ve handpicked our 10 favourite Batsuits from the comics, starting from the unique Golden Age costume to extra fashionable reinterpretations like Batman Incorporated and Batman Rebirth. Scroll right down to see all of them.
And if Batman films are extra your pace, ensure you take a look at our ranked checklist of all of the film Batsuits.
10. ‘90s Batman
1989’s Batman film launched a radically totally different, all-black Batsuit that continues to be one of many Dark Knight’s most iconic fits in any medium. DC by no means totally dedicated to porting that costume over to the comics (exterior of precise Burton-Verse tie-ins like Batman ‘89), however they did introduce a Batsuit impressed by the films within the 1995 storyline “Troika.”
This new Batsuit adopted the all-black method to Batman’s physique however retained a extra conventional blue cape and cowl. It even added extra excessive parts like spikes on Batman’s boots, though these parts had been toned down after the swimsuit’s preliminary introduction. Regardless, the consequence was a extra intimidating and stealthy Batsuit that grew to become the default search for the Caped Crusader for the rest of the ‘90s.
9. Batman Incorporated
When Bruce Wayne returned following his obvious loss of life in 2008’s Final Crisis, DC celebrated with the launch of a brand new collection, Batman Incorporated, and a brand new costume designed by David Finch. That Batman Inc. swimsuit is notable each for bringing again the basic yellow oval across the Bat emblem and for ditching the black trunks.
In some ways, the Batman Inc. swimsuit appears like a extra profitable and visually cohesive model of what DC tried to perform with Batman’s New 52 swimsuit a few years later. It launched a extra practical high quality to Batman’s look, creating the impression that the Batsuit was much less spandex than a real swimsuit of armor, but it prevented mucking up the design with too many stray strains. It additionally helped create some much-needed visible distinction between Bruce and Dick Grayson, who was additionally serving as Batman on the time.
The solely ingredient that barely holds again the Batman Inc. look is the marginally goofy-looking armored codpiece. We’re unsure what the pondering was there.
8. Absolute Batman
The most up-to-date creation on this checklist, there’s a purpose the Absolute Batman Batsuit makes such a robust first impression. This is Batman at his most imposing.
Absolute Batman takes place in a rebooted DCU the place Bruce Wayne lacks a lot of the benefits of his conventional counterpart, like a mansion and billions of {dollars}. Still, he manages to create fairly a powerful crimefighting arsenal. Nearly each inch of this Batsuit is a weapon, from the razor-sharp ear daggers to the detachable Bat emblem that doubles as a battle axe. Even the cape is totally redesigned, consisting of a number of versatile, arm-like tendrils.
Ultimately, although, it’s the sheer measurement of this Batman that makes the Absolute swimsuit stand out. Writer Scott Snyder jokingly referred to Absolute Batman as “the Batman who lifts,” and you may see why.
7. Flashpoint Batman
In the alternate timeline of Flashpoint, Joe Chill killed a younger Bruce Wayne, resulting in a grieving Thomas Wayne turning into Batman as an alternative. This darker, very totally different Batman wants a darker, very totally different Batsuit, and he obtained one within the type of a fancy dress that drops the normal yellow parts in favor of daring crimson accents. The Bat emblem, utility belt, and leg holsters are all a deep crimson, creating a novel and funky look. Couple that with the dramatic shoulder spikes on the cape and the truth that this Batman is understood to wield weapons and a sword, and you’ve got some of the visually arresting takes on an alternate universe Batman.
6. Lee Bermejo’s Armored Batman
Artist Lee Bermejo has drawn and painted Batman quite a bit over time, from the Batman/Deathblow crossover to the Joker graphic novel to the notorious Batman: Damned. In that point, Bermejo has established a particular and really placing tackle the enduring Batsuit, one in contrast to another at DC Comics.
Bermejo’s Batsuit is about as removed from the standard spandex look as you will get. This is armor, pure and easy,and the artist’s Batman is as a lot about operate as he’s kind. But the objective isn’t essentially realism right here. Bermejo’s Batman can also be a haunting determine, one mired in filth and dirt and a sure Gothic high quality. This Batsuit, as a lot as another, impressed the look of Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight in 2022’s The Batman.
5. Gotham by Gaslight Batman
The DC multiverse is an enormous place, and we’ve seen numerous variations of the Batsuit seem on quite a few worlds. That being stated, none can actually measure as much as Gotham by Gaslight’s Batman. It’s as if the character was made for this steampunk Victorian setting. The Batsuit completely interprets into this daring revamp that trades skintight spandex for stitched leather-based and a billowing cloak.
Of course, it helps that the unique Gotham by Gaslight collection was illustrated by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. Mignola’s Batman is really iconic, bathed in shadow and looking out as if he had been chiseled out of uncooked granite. And though Mignola’s DC days are lengthy behind him, this incarnation of the character lives on by means of follow-up tales like Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age.
4. Golden Age Batman
It says quite a bit concerning the authentic Bob Kane/Bill Finger-designed Batsuit that the design has survived with solely modest adjustments for the higher a part of 90 years. All the suitable components for a really iconic superhero look had been there from the beginning.
But along with serving as the premise for each Batsuit since, the Golden Age design can also be notable for boasting some attention-grabbing options you don’t usually see elsewhere. The curved ears on Batman’s cowl give him an much more menacing vibe, whereas the purple gloves add a welcome pop of coloration. Even the cape is totally different in a enjoyable approach, being extra akin to precise bat wings than a standard superhero cape. It’s all the time thrilling to see fashionable artists revisit this design.
3. Batman Rebirth
For the vast majority of their massively well-liked run on DC’s flagship Batman collection, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo centered on the New 52 costume. As we’ve already coated, that swimsuit served as a notable try at updating the Caped Crusader’s look with a extra fashionable, tactical bent, however that method has been accomplished higher elsewhere. Case in level, Capullo’s personal redesign that debuted simply in time for the DC Rebirth relaunch.
Batman’s Rebirth costume is an improve on the New 52 swimsuit in just about each approach. It retains the tactical look whereas additionally downplaying among the extraneous strains and particulars. It brings some much-needed coloration again into Batman’s look each with the yellow define across the Bat emblem and the distinctive purple inside lining of the cape (a throwback to Batman’s Golden Age roots). It’s a little bit of a disgrace that DC phased out this Batsuit after solely a few years. As far as fashionable redesigns go, that is the one to beat.
2. Bronze Age Batman
The late ‘60s and ‘70s had been a really transformational time for DC’s Batman comics. The books veered away from the camp that outlined Batman’s Silver Age adventures and the live-action TV collection towards extra severe motion/journey and detective tales. Three artists actually got here to outline Batman’s look on this interval – Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, and José Luis García-López.
It’s not that these artists dramatically modified the make-up of Batman’s costume. This is similar blue cape and cowl and Bat emblem with yellow oval that was popularized by the TV collection. But what unites Adams, Aparo, and Garcia-López’s work is the physicality they delivered to the character. Gone was the burly brawler of the Silver Age, changed by a leaner and extra lithe Batman. Batman is principally a ninja superhero, so it is sensible that he be constructed extra like a gymnast than a bodybuilder.
For many followers, that is nonetheless the usual by which all different Batman costumes are judged. That’s particularly because of Garcia-López, whose artwork has adorned bedsheets, lunchboxes, T-shirts, and numerous different Batman merch over time.
1. Batman: Hush
Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Hush storyline is commonly considered the beginning of the fashionable period of Batman comics. That’s because of Lee’s immediately iconic redesign of the Batsuit as a lot as anything.
With the Hush costume, Lee introduced a brand new degree of stylish simplicity to the Batsuit. Gone is the yellow oval that endured for many years, to get replaced by a modern, black emblem. Lee’s knack for rendering dynamic, detailed, and really highly effective superhero physiques is on full show in his Batman. Readers wanted to consider that this Dark Knight may face down a gauntlet of his best foes – and Superman for good measure, they usually definitely did.
The Hush redesign instantly grew to become the default search for Batman going ahead. Lee created a transparent mannequin that subsequent artists like Andy Kubert and Tony Daniel adopted carefully. While particular person artists various in whether or not they selected the blue or black cape and cowl, the remainder of the small print remained constant. It’s telling that, after a interval of specializing in extra armored Batman costumes within the New 52 and DC Rebirth eras, DC ultimately threw within the towel and went again to the Hush costume. It simply plain works.
How the New Batsuit Compares
Artist Jorge Jiménez is not any stranger to Batman at this level, however he’ll be debuting a brand new Batsuit when he and author Matt Fraction kick off DC’s relaunched Batman collection in September 2025.
The latest Batsuit isn’t a large deviation from the now-standard Hush costume, although it does have a couple of attention-grabbing gildings all its personal. Where most artists lately have gravitated towards the black cape and cowl, Jiménez is bringing again the blue. Not solely that, the cape is now closely shaded, making a stark distinction between the inside and older folds and bringing to thoughts Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series look. Even the Bat emblem is blue now, in addition to sporting an even bigger and extra angular form.
After all this time, it’s nice to see Batman nonetheless attempting out new seems to be. But will the most recent redesign have the endurance of Batman’s most iconic fits? Only time will inform.
For extra Batman enjoyable, take a look at IGN’s high 27 Batman comics and graphic novels.
Jesse is a mild-mannered employees author for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
