Batman Is Getting a New Costume: These Are the Greatest Batsuits of All Time

In lawsuit you missed the news, Bruce Wayne is getting a caller look erstwhile DC Comics relaunches its flagship Batman bid this September. Artist Jorge Jiménez has designed a caller Batsuit that brings the classical bluish cape and cowl backmost into the spotlight. After astir 90 years connected the stands, DC is inactive tweaking the Dark Knight’s iconic costume.

But however does the caller Batsuit measurement up to the classics? What are the top Batman costumes of each time? We’ve handpicked our 10 favourite Batsuits from the comics, ranging from the archetypal Golden Age costume to much modern reinterpretations similar Batman Incorporated and Batman Rebirth. Scroll down to spot them all.

And if Batman movies are much your speed, marque definite you cheque retired our ranked database of each the movie Batsuits.

10. ‘90s Batman

1989’s Batman movie introduced a radically different, all-black Batsuit that remains 1 of the Dark Knight’s astir iconic suits successful immoderate medium. DC ne'er afloat committed to porting that costume implicit to the comics (outside of existent Burton-Verse tie-ins similar Batman ‘89), but they did present a Batsuit inspired by the movies successful the 1995 storyline “Troika.”

This caller Batsuit adopted the all-black attack to Batman’s assemblage but retained a much accepted bluish cape and cowl. It adjacent added much utmost elements similar spikes connected Batman’s boots, though those elements were toned down aft the suit’s archetypal introduction. Regardless, the effect was a much intimidating and stealthy Batsuit that became the default look for the Caped Crusader for the remainder of the ‘90s.

9. Batman Incorporated

When Bruce Wayne returned pursuing his evident decease successful 2008’s Final Crisis, DC celebrated with the motorboat of a caller series, Batman Incorporated, and a caller costume designed by David Finch. That Batman Inc. suit is notable some for bringing backmost the classical yellowish oval astir the Bat emblem and for ditching the achromatic trunks.

In galore ways, the Batman Inc. suit feels similar a much palmy and visually cohesive mentation of what DC tried to execute with Batman’s New 52 suit a mates of years later. It introduced a much functional prime to Batman’s look, creating the content that the Batsuit was little spandex than a existent suit of armor, yet it avoided mucking up the plan with excessively galore stray lines. It besides helped make immoderate much-needed ocular favoritism betwixt Bruce and Dick Grayson, who was besides serving arsenic Batman astatine the time.

The lone constituent that somewhat holds backmost the Batman Inc. look is the somewhat goofy-looking armored codpiece. We’re not definite what the reasoning was there.

8. Absolute Batman

The astir caller instauration connected this list, there’s a crushed the Absolute Batman Batsuit makes specified a beardown archetypal impression. This is Batman astatine his astir imposing.

Absolute Batman takes spot successful a rebooted DCU wherever Bruce Wayne lacks galore of the advantages of his accepted counterpart, similar a mansion and billions of dollars. Still, helium manages to make rather an awesome crimefighting arsenal. Nearly each inch of this Batsuit is simply a weapon, from the razor-sharp receptor daggers to the removable Bat emblem that doubles arsenic a conflict axe. Even the cape is wholly redesigned, consisting of respective flexible, arm-like tendrils.

Ultimately, though, it’s the sheer size of this Batman that makes the Absolute suit basal out. Writer Scott Snyder jokingly referred to Absolute Batman arsenic “the Batman who lifts,” and you tin spot why.

7. Flashpoint Batman

In the alternate timeline of Flashpoint, Joe Chill killed a young Bruce Wayne, starring to a grieving Thomas Wayne becoming Batman instead. This darker, precise antithetic Batman needs a darker, precise antithetic Batsuit, and helium got 1 successful the signifier of a costume that drops the accepted yellowish elements successful favour of bold reddish accents. The Bat emblem, inferior belt, and limb holsters are each a heavy crimson, creating a unsocial and chill look. Couple that with the melodramatic enarthrosis spikes connected the cape and the information that this Batman is known to wield guns and a sword, and you person 1 of the astir visually arresting takes connected an alternate beingness Batman.

6. Lee Bermejo’s Armored Batman

Artist Lee Bermejo has drawn and painted Batman a batch implicit the years, from the Batman/Deathblow crossover to the Joker graphic caller to the infamous Batman: Damned. In that time, Bermejo has established a distinctive and precise striking instrumentality connected the iconic Batsuit, 1 dissimilar immoderate different astatine DC Comics.

Bermejo’s Batsuit is astir arsenic acold from the emblematic spandex look arsenic you tin get. This is armor, axenic and simple,and the artist’s Batman is arsenic overmuch astir relation arsenic helium is form. But the extremity isn’t needfully realism here. Bermejo’s Batman is besides a haunting figure, 1 mired successful ungraded and grime and a definite Gothic quality. This Batsuit, arsenic overmuch arsenic immoderate other, inspired the look of Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight successful 2022’s The Batman.

5. Gotham by Gaslight Batman

The DC multiverse is simply a immense place, and we’ve seen countless variations of the Batsuit look connected galore worlds. That being said, nary tin genuinely measurement up to Gotham by Gaslight’s Batman. It’s arsenic if the quality was made for this steampunk Victorian setting. The Batsuit perfectly translates into this bold revamp that trades skintight spandex for stitched leather and a billowing cloak.

Of course, it helps that the archetypal Gotham by Gaslight bid was illustrated by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. Mignola’s Batman is genuinely iconic, bathed successful shadiness and looking arsenic if helium were chiseled retired of earthy granite. And adjacent though Mignola’s DC days are agelong down him, this incarnation of the quality lives connected done follow-up stories similar Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age.

4. Golden Age Batman

It says a batch astir the archetypal Bob Kane/Bill Finger-designed Batsuit that the plan has survived with lone humble changes for the amended portion of 90 years. All the close ingredients for a genuinely iconic superhero look were determination from the start.

But successful summation to serving arsenic the ground for each Batsuit since, the Golden Age plan is besides notable for boasting immoderate absorbing features you don’t usually spot elsewhere. The curved ears connected Batman’s cowl springiness him an adjacent much menacing vibe, portion the purple gloves adhd a invited popular of color. Even the cape is antithetic successful a amusive way, being much akin to existent bat wings than a accepted superhero cape. It’s ever breathtaking to spot modern artists revisit this design.

3. Batman Rebirth

For the bulk of their hugely fashionable tally connected DC’s flagship Batman series, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo focused connected the New 52 costume. As we’ve already covered, that suit served arsenic a notable effort astatine updating the Caped Crusader’s look with a much modern, tactical bent, but that attack has been done amended elsewhere. Case successful point, Capullo’s ain redesign that debuted conscionable successful clip for the DC Rebirth relaunch.

Batman’s Rebirth costume is an upgrade connected the New 52 suit successful beauteous overmuch each way. It retains the tactical look portion besides downplaying immoderate of the extraneous lines and details. It brings immoderate much-needed colour backmost into Batman’s look some with the yellowish outline astir the Bat emblem and the distinctive purple interior lining of the cape (a throwback to Batman’s Golden Age roots). It’s a spot of a shame that DC phased retired this Batsuit aft lone a mates of years. As acold arsenic modern redesigns go, this is the 1 to beat.

2. Bronze Age Batman

The precocious ‘60s and ‘70s were a precise transformational clip for DC’s Batman comics. The books veered distant from the campy that defined Batman’s Silver Age adventures and the live-action TV bid toward much superior action/adventure and detective stories. Three artists truly came to specify Batman’s look successful this play - Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, and José Luis García-López.

It’s not that these artists dramatically changed the constitution of Batman’s costume. This is the aforesaid bluish cape and cowl and Bat emblem with yellowish oval that was popularized by the TV series. But what unites Adams, Aparo, and Garcia-López’s enactment is the physicality they brought to the character. Gone was the burly brawler of the Silver Age, replaced by a leaner and much lithe Batman. Batman is fundamentally a ninja superhero, truthful it makes consciousness that helium beryllium built much similar a gymnast than a bodybuilder.

For galore fans, this is inactive the modular by which each different Batman costumes are judged. That’s particularly acknowledgment to Garcia-López, whose creation has adorned bedsheets, lunchboxes, T-shirts, and countless different Batman merch implicit the years.

1. Batman: Hush

Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Hush storyline is often regarded arsenic the commencement of the modern epoch of Batman comics. That’s acknowledgment to Lee’s instantly iconic redesign of the Batsuit arsenic overmuch arsenic thing else.

With the Hush costume, Lee brought a caller level of elegant simplicity to the Batsuit. Gone is the yellowish oval that persisted for decades, to beryllium replaced by a sleek, achromatic emblem. Lee’s knack for rendering dynamic, detailed, and precise almighty superhero physiques is connected afloat show successful his Batman. Readers needed to judge that this Dark Knight could look down a gauntlet of his top foes – and Superman for bully measure, and they surely did.

The Hush redesign instantly became the default look for Batman going forward. Lee created a wide exemplary that consequent artists similar Andy Kubert and Tony Daniel followed closely. While idiosyncratic artists varied successful whether they chose the bluish oregon achromatic cape and cowl, the remainder of the details remained consistent. It’s telling that, aft a play of focusing connected much armored Batman costumes successful the New 52 and DC Rebirth eras, DC yet threw successful the towel and went backmost to the Hush costume. It conscionable plain works.

How the New Batsuit Compares

Artist Jorge Jiménez is nary alien to Batman astatine this point, but he’ll beryllium debuting a caller Batsuit erstwhile helium and writer Matt Fraction footwear disconnected DC’s relaunched Batman bid successful September 2025.

The newest Batsuit isn’t a monolithic deviation from the now-standard Hush costume, though it does person a fewer absorbing embellishments each its own. Where astir artists successful caller years person gravitated toward the achromatic cape and cowl, Jiménez is bringing backmost the blue. Not lone that, the cape is present heavy shaded, creating a stark opposition betwixt the interior and older folds and bringing to caput Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series look. Even the Bat emblem is bluish now, arsenic good arsenic sporting a bigger and much angular shape.

After each this time, it’s large to spot Batman inactive trying retired caller looks. But volition the latest redesign person the staying powerfulness of Batman’s astir iconic suits? Only clip volition tell.

For much Batman fun, cheque retired IGN's apical 27 Batman comics and graphic novels.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.