Two months ago I discussed my favorite super hero costumes. You know, the costumes that are just aesthetic pleasing to me with no regard for character or anything else like that. And on that list was Batman. But the thing is, Batman’s design has changed a lot over the years. Oh sure the basic design is always the same, but as the character as grown as did his outfit. I kinda illustrated this a couple weeks ago in my rundown of Detective Comics over the last 80 years. But which of these are my
favorites?
So since we’re still celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Caped Crusader, it seemed only fair to go over them. Here are my ten favorite Batman designs. These come from comics, cartoons, and live media. But no video games, I had to draw the line somewhere! Also no crazy variations either like Elsewords stories or that awful 90’s heavy metal version.
#10.Superfriends Batman
I had to put this on here because I grew up with this version. This was the version I knew best as a kid. And looking back, yeah it’s kinda silly looking. They have the design down but there’s just something about the way it’s drawn that I just can’t see this Batman striking fear into much of anything.
#9.Miller/Snyder Batman
Why a tie? Because it’s pretty clear to me the Snyder costume was modeled after the look Frank Miller gave him in “The Dark Knight Returns”. And while it's ok, I do have some issues with it. This just doesn’t say Batman to me, at least the Batman I want to see. It’s works in “Dark Knight” because it fits into the mood of the graphic novel, very well I might add, but it’s just plain boring in the movie. And the outfit was even worst when it was armored up. Was Batman turning into a robot?
#8.Adam West Batman
It’s a little hard to believe how impressive this outfit was in the day. But think about, imagine you never heard of Batman and had no idea who he was. This look is pretty good! Course a big reason it works is because of the actor. Adam West is what really made this Batman work, more so than the outfit.
#7..Nolan Batman
I haven’t made it a secret I was not a fan of the Nolan costume. In the first movie I kept waiting for the real Batsuit to show up. It was better in the other two versions. But even improved it still looked, silly to me. The worst part was the cowl which never, ever looked right. I do give Nolan credit for giving the suit a little more maneuverability, that was a problem.
#6.José Luis García-López & Alan Davis
I couldn’t decide. Garcia-Lopez kinda takes that Superfriends look and makes it less lame. He is one of the best Batman artists ever and really knew how to capture the dark mood. As for Alan Davis, this is the kind of artist I should hate. And yet I love his stuff. He has a very unique style and it tends to make the characters cartoony. But somehow, his Batman still really works because Davis knows how to dial up the darkness around him. Both of these artists were great in the 80’s
#5.Val Kilmer
Yeah I know I’ll get heat for putting this after Nolan’s Batman, but I’ve said before I hated that outfit. Val Kilmer’s outfit seems a lot less, well, complicated. Where Bale’s Batman looked like he was armored up Kilmer seemed to be closer to the sleek look Batman had back in the day. And the cowl is much better, Kilmer wore it very well.
What about George Clooney? Yeah, you’re funny.
#4.Batman:The Animated Series
As you probably know there were two designs for this Batman. And while I prefer the yellow oval, the one without is pretty good to. This costume really does kinda make the Suprfriends one lame, doesn’t it? However what I never got was that stupid square jaw he had. But despite my snarkiness I have to admit that this is a great look. The design kinda captures the best of the comics while giving it’s own spin. The animation helps with that, a lot.
#3.Jim Lee
Yeah it says something when the artwork actually makes me sit up and take notice. And man is Jim Lee talented! He gets that Batman is supposed to muscular, which a lot of artists miss, and man does he imbue the somberness into the character. You may notice not to many modern artists here. I really hate the way he’s drawn these days.
#2.Michael Keaton
People today don’t realize what an impact this outfit had. And I don’t just mean in getting people to finally stop only thinking of Adam West when they thought of Batman. For ages every super hero costume was spandex which, well, looked silly. Even the iconic Christopher Reeve Superman look kinda looked pajamas today. This was the first one (I think) that went the foam rubber route. And it’s sooo much more impressive. You can get away with spandex in animated or drawn form, but in real life it looks silly. Of course as I just talked about, later versions got carried away with the idea but this is the one that first solid it. After this we had the buffer Superman suit, the clearly inspired by “Batman 1990” Flash suit, and so on. I said that Adam West sold Batman’s suit, but in Tim Burton’s case the suit sold itself. Michael Keaton did an amazing job of course.
#1.Jim Aparo
It’s generally considered that Neal Adams is the best Batman artist. Well, at the top of the list anyway. And while I give him credit for getting him out of the Silver Age and into the darker modern era, I never really cared for his art. His characters all seemed to exaggerated or cartoonish. For my money, it’s always been Jim Aparo and his fantastic design. He clearly took inspiration from Adams, but streamlined him. He makes the cowl and cape work, which some artists don’t. The best part is how expressive the face is under that cowl. That can’t be easy! Yes you could argue his Batman is a little to lean, but it’s still my absolute favorite. Every time I see his work in a comic I take notice.
So many artists not here. Like Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino, Todd McFarlane (who loves his capes), and of course Bob Kane himself. Not to mention Batman Beyond, The Brave and the Bold, and of course The Batman Lego movie. It’s hard to come up with artists I hated, but one was the late great Norm Breyfogle. His artwork defined Batman in the 90’s…but not for me. But either way it’s clear The Dark Knight has had many versions and variations, and fans have been loving each and every one for 80 years now.
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