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Batman: The Animated Series screencap
With Batman Week in full swing, the Internet is swarming with spoilers, reviews and info on "The Dark Knight Rises," us included.
2012-07-18
Staying spoiler-free until Friday morning, we've compiled the many outfits of Gotham's finest for all those who can't wait until the film's release Thursday.
From Rainbow Batman to the killing machine of Azrael, see the many styles of the famous cape and cowl.
May 1939: Batman's first appearance in Detective Comic 27 – Batman wore a bulletproof vest under his suit and had purple gloves. He also wore a standard belt with a round buckle.
August 1952: Batman Vol 1 #72 "Jungle Batman" – This wasn't a regular thing ... but worthy of inclusion nonetheless. Batman went through a few weird outfit changes in the '50s ...
March 1957: Detective Comics Vol 1 #241 "Rainbow Batman" – Batman didn't actually wear a rainbow costume; however, to draw attention from an injured Batman, the Caped Crusader wore different colored batsuits. Rainbow Batman popped up again in cartoon "Batman: Brave and the Bold."
August 1958 / 2009 / 2011: "The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh" – No, this isn't Bruce Wayne; rather, it's Tiano, an alien from the planet Zur-En-Arrh. His costume consists of red, yellow, and purple with a much different logo. The character returns over the years in comics and television appearances.
DC Comics
January 1960: Detective Comics #275 "Zebra Batman" – In one issue, Batman became a zebra-like menace.
1960s: "Silver Age Batman": The comics added the gold oval to his 1940s Golden Age counterpart.
Despite the sometimes cooky outfits, for most of the '60s, Batman appeared like this. DC Comics
1966-1968: Adam West's Batman – The costume lightened in tone to parallel the new comical portrayal of the Caped Crusader.
Time magazine 1966
1960s: Justice League Batman – The Caped Crusader added a yellow oval around the black bat. This was done to detract gunfire from Robin's bright yellow cape and onto Wayne's reinforced chest. Batman also switched from a pouch belt to a capsule model.
1973-1979: "Super Friends" / "The New Adventures of Bat Man" – Both the Justice League and subsequent cartoon looked like fictitious renderings of Adam West's live-action Batman.
'80s/'90s" "Modern Age Batman" – The Dark Knight remained similar in style to his former self from both the Golden and Silver Ages with blue cape and cowl and grey tights.
Issues #336 and #463 respectivelyDC Comics
February-June 1986: Batman returns with a mix between his Golden age and Adam West / Super Friends self. The mask and colors remain similar, the yellow circle is gone, and the Bat logo appears much larger.
1987: "Batman: Year One" – The costume returned to a grey and black version with a sometimes yellow oval. This also introduced the pouch utility belt. 2011 saw the return of "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1672723/">Batman: Year One.</a>"
1989: "Batman" – Burton's Batman presented a darker envisionment based on Neal Adams' version. This suit introduced the grapple gun and also became the template for future designs.
1992-1995: "Batman: The Animated Series" Inarguably, one of the most popular and recognizable versions of the Batman was the Emmy Award-winning series which mixed a gray suit with an alternating black and blue suit.
1993-1994: "Knightfall" Azrael Batman – When Azrael briefly took over Bat duties, he recreated the batsuit with a bat-signal chest light, razor sharp arm gauntlets with grappling hooks, rapid-fire Batarang launchers. The cape became a series of armored plates.
Knightfall comic
1995: Troika Batman – When Bruce Wayne returned to the mantle, the suit went back to black, keeping the yellow oval encasement.
DC Comics
June 1995: "Batman Forever" – Val Kilmer wears two batsuits in the film. The more sleak "Panther suit" (left) came complete with black utility belt and controversial bat nipples. The Sonar suit (right) was a metallic silver piece of armor with the bat logo spread across the chest.
1997: "Batman & Robin" – George Clooney's appearance as Batman brings two more batsuits, a bluer one with the nipples still in place and an Arctic Suit (below) with silver patches.
1997-1999: "The New Batman Adventures" – After the "The Animated Series" concluded, this reboot saw Batman with a grey and black costume sans the yellow oval bat circle. Characters were drawn in a simpler style to adhere to crossovers with Superman: The Animated Series.
September 1999: "No Man's Land" comic – Batman returns with the gold emblem around the bat logo and a grey and blue suit, a mix between the Troika and Year One costumes.
2001-2006: "Justice League" Batman – Later versions of Batman in the Justice League removed the yellow emblem, following the design of Superman and Batman from their respective animated series. This version also had higher pointed ears.
2004-2008: "The Batman" – The yellow oval returns! This sleeker version of the Dark Knight produced for WB's Saturday morning kids block nearly mirrored the "Animated Series" look but with fewer detail.
2005: "Batman Begins" – With Christopher Nolan's entry into the bat franchise came a darker version of Gotham's Knight.
Warner Bros.
2008: "The Dark Knight" – Three years later, Nolan's batsuit exhibits a more armored and defined look.
Warner Bros.
2009-2010: When Dick Grayson (the original Robin/Nightwing) took over for Bruce Wayne he returned to the traditional early looks of the Caped Crusader.
DC / Prodigal comic
2009: "Brave and the Bold" — The campy Cartoon Network reboot returned with a bulkier animated series version.
2009: "Arkham Asylum" – As animated series voice actor Kevin Conroy reprised his role as the Dark Knight, Batman also saw a return to his outfit from the '90s cartoon.
Arkham Asylum screenshot
2010-2011: "Batman Incorporated" – When Bruce Wayne publicly announced he was funding an international organization with Bat-members from all over the world, he returned to a traditional grey and black costume maintaining the yellow oval.
Kirsten Acuna was a correspondent on Business Insider's Entertainment team covering TV, movies, and theme parks. She is Businness Insider's resident expert on all things "The Walking Dead." YKirsten covers superheroes and all things Disney (Marvel, Pixar, and live-action remakes). She is a verified film critic on Rotten Tomatoes. Kirsten has previously written for TV Guide and Time Out New York Kids. She joined Business Insider's entertainment team in 2012 as a reporter, helping to build the team from two people. She holds a degree in magazine journalism and minors in both English and child family studies from Syracuse University.Follow her on Twitter @KirstenAcuna.
