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The animated series Batman is probably the most recognized version of the Caped Crusader.
Batman: The Animated Series screencap
Batman is turning 75 this year.
2014-04-09
To celebrate, Warner Bros. is holding a year-long celebration for the Caped Crusader, complete with new animated films, a potential Fox show, and a rerelease of Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman."
In honor of the Dark Knight's milestone, we're looking back at a favorite of ours. A while back, the folks over at Screenrant produced a handy infographic that covers most of Batman's looks over the years. We found a few from the past that weren't included. Rainbow Batman, anyone?
From Zebra 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 wore a standard belt with a round buckle.
August 1952: Batman Vol. 1 No. 72 "Jungle Batman" – This wasn't a regular thing ... but we found it worthy of inclusion. 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 Robin, the Caped Crusader wore different-colored batsuits. Rainbow Batman popped up again in the 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 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 No. 275 "Zebra Batman" – In one issue, Batman became a zebra-like menace.
October 1963: Detective Comics Vol. 1 No. 320: "Batman and Robin — the Mummy Crime-Fighters” — Another singular issue, Batman and Robin were turned green after getting zapped with an alien device. Instead, they attract attention to themselves by fighting crime dressed as mummies.
DC Comics
1960s: "Silver Age Batman" — The comics added the gold oval to Batman's 1940s Golden Age counterpart.
Despite the sometimes kooky 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 comical television portrayal of the Caped Crusader.
Time magazine 1966
1960s: Justice League Batman — The Caped Crusader added a yellow oval around the black bat. Batman also switched from a pouch belt to a capsule model.
DC Comics
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 along with gray tights.
Issues #336 and #463 respectivelyDC Comics
February-June 1986: "The Dark Knight Returns" — Batman appears with a mix between his Golden Age and Adam West-Super Friends' look. 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 gray-and-black version with a sometimes yellow oval. This also introduced the pouch utility belt. 2011 saw the return of "Batman: Year One."
1989: "Batman" — Burton's Batman introduced us to a much darker version of the Dark Knight. This suit introduced the grapple gun and also became the template for future designs.
1992-1995: "Batman: The Animated Series" — Arguably one of the most popular and recognizable versions of Batman was the Emmy Award-winning series that mixed a gray suit with an alternating black-and-blue suit.
1993-1994: "Knightfall" — 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 sleeker "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 gray-and-black costume sans 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 gray-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 less 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 gray-and-black costume maintaining the yellow oval.
October 2012-2013: "The Dark Knight Returns" — The two-part animated film mirrors Frank Miller's 1986 comic with a 55-year-old Batman who comes out of retirement. Unlike the comic, the logo resembles earlier animated projects with the addition of the yellow circle.
2013: Arkham Origins video game — Warner Bros. Montreal stepped in for Rocksteady to create the Bat for the next video game installment. The suit had the same feel with a slightly smaller logo.
Warner Bros. Montreal
2014: "Arkham Knight" — Later this year, Rocksteady is back in the driver's seat, releasing its final Batman game. The cape has been altered for gliding and there's added armor for realism.
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.
