2005: Christian Bale (Batman Begins)
Bale’s first Batman suit takes the first Clooney suit, but adds back in the splash of colour with the gold utility belt. The ears have been shortened and look slightly less goofy too, as director Christopher Nolan wanted to take a more ‘realistic’ approach to the character. Also like Clooney’s suit, the yellow from the emblem has been removed, and has shrunk down to an almost Wilson/Lowrey-era size. This is also the first time in the modern-movie versions of Batman that his cape is a darker shade of black to the rest of the suit, which makes it pop out.
2008-2012: Christian Bale (The Dark Knight & The Dark Knight Rises)
In a further effort to appear real and gritty, Bale’s second suit used in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises is far more tactical than previous incarnations. The definition on the suit isn’t there for aesthetic purposes, and instead atcs as battle armour for fights with The Joker and Bane. Again the emblem has changed, and is so small that it’s practically invisible. It’s the same colour as the suit as well, giving us the first and only time the Bat symbol has been pretty much unnoticeable on a Batman costume.
2015: Will Arnett (The LEGO Movie)
Everything is awesome, some might say. The LEGO Movie version of Batman (voiced by Will Arnet) is essentially a LEGO version of the Keaton costume, down to the yellow emblem and yellow utility belt. As far as we can tell, the same design will be used for next year’s The LEGO Batman Movie, but expect to see a lot more costumes used throughout the movie. With the last three screen versions of Batman draining out all of the colour, this is a refreshing change of pace. Let’s hope they keep this…
2016: Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)
Ah, fair enough. Affleck’s Batsuit is very noticeable as its the first modern-era to ditch the all-black look, opting instead for a grittier version of the original colour scheme see with Wilson, Lowery and West (and Conroy). It’s a grey suit without added definition like West’s, but removes the yellow belt and visible black trunks. With smaller ears and the giant and chunky Bat symbol on his chest, this is a big screen version of Frank Miller’s Batman, seen in the pages of The Dark Knight Returns and really the first to try something new with the design on screen. However, this is not his only costume in the movie.
2016: Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)
Halfway through Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Bruce Wayne has a nightmare about a future in which The Man of Steel has snapped and has seemingly taken over the world. This gives us a cyber-punk version of Batman’s suit, which is the same as the one above but with an added coat and goggles.
2016: Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)
And lastly (at least from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) we have the armoured Batsuit, also seen in Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. This is the first costume on our list to completely remove the iconic Bat Symbol form his chest, but at least retains the classic cowl look and utility belt. It’s also the first suit to remove eye holes, instead replacing them with glowing white lights.
2017: Ben Affleck (Justice League)
And finally we have Night Owl from Watchman Batman’s latest outfit in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Justice League. This suit works as a combination of Affleck’s previous Batsuit and the tactical nature of Bale’s suit from The Dark Knight Trilogy. You can read more thoughts about that in our op-ed Is Batman Becoming Too Tech-Based?
Which is your favourite Batsuit? Do you prefer the classic 40s and 60s grey suits, the 1990s all-black suits or the 21st Century tactical suits?
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast and Scooperhero News. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen and read his weekly feature The Week in Star Wars.
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Originally published September 19, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
