Batman lacks superpowers, but to get the job done, he depends heavily on exo-suits. Here are the most effective Batsuits of the Dark Knight.
One of the reasons people enjoy Batman is that he’s an average guy who’s made something incredible out of himself. He has no super-strength or speed, and he’s not even virtually indestructible. Still, a technical genius, a finely educated muscle, and an unbreakable will are what he does have.
The first glimpse at Batman’s Tactical Suit in the forthcoming film, Justice League, was unveiled by Zack Snyder just days before Batman Day (the anniversary of Batman’s first appearance, Detective Comics #27). The fifth DC Expanded Universe Batsuit equipped by Bruce Wayne, three of whom were used in Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
It’s no mystery that, over the ages, in comics and in movies and on tv, Batman has worn many costumes. It was not unto the start of the New 52 universe, though, that Batman started to play further with armors, helmets, and exoskeletons that would impregnate him with superhuman powers, empower him, and provide him with the means to fight unique challenges.
Batman is a tactical wizard, which means that, for no particular reason, he doesn’t create new suits; he cares about domestic and alien species threats, and these suits are also built to fight very unique threats.
Nonetheless, here are the 13 Most Powerful Bat Suits of all Eras, of all the armors, suits, and exoskeletons he’s built over the years.
Haz-Bat Suit
In one of the big cities, such as Gotham or Metropolis, it’s not super rare for comic book authors to use any form of contagion to spark an outbreak. In Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, wherein Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows dumped Scarecrow’s terror toxin on Gotham City, we have seen such an occurrence taking place on the big screen. Although Batman finds a way to combat the gas, stuff in the comics doesn’t always turn out too well.
That’s not to say that a scenario like the one seen in Batman Begins would make Batman shy away. No, the World’s Greatest Detective is a fervent precautionary believer; the Dark Knight empowers himself with the Haz-Bat suit in situations revolving around bio-warfare or disease, a lightweight suit engineered not only to endure a blow from Superman but also to protect Batman from the disease. It is also capable of medical screening to help Batman identify the cause of the virus, meaning that it would create a counter-agent if he were to be exposed to something.
Batwing Suit
The New 52 World, as previously stated, brought in a series of new Batman armors and uniforms, one of which is the Batwing costume. Although David Zavimbe, the “Batman of Africa,” was the first Batwing hero for the reasons of this list, we are entirely focused on Luke Fox, the second Batwing and son of Lucius Fox, a lifelong Batman companion.
Shortly after David resigned from becoming a Batwing, Lucius creates a new Batwing suit, which is then given to his partner, Luke. The suit is not only flight-capable, but it also has an inner skin that tracks vital signs and provides minor medical procedures.
Although it does not have invisibility, it is useful in working in conditions of low light.
Interestingly, we see Batman enthusiastically reminding Alfred of all the things the latest Batwing suit will do in a rare moment of genuine glee in Batwing #19. He truly is a billionaire who enjoys his toys, even though he doesn’t bring himself to play with them.
Stealth Suit
The god of stealth is Batman. Only think about how many times he vanished or hid from the eyes of superhumans like Gotham and Gotham Girl from Gotham Police Department roof.
Thanks to years of experience and using the powers he acquired from the League of Assassins, Batman can do this, so it only makes more sense that he can create a suit built to improve this unique ability.
The fittingly called Stealth Suit is designed to work around the entire magnetic spectrum; it can sense whatever someone uses to locate the suit and react to disguise itself appropriately. Not only was Superman unable to identify Batman in the costume, but the Vengeance, which Batman defeated with the aid of the GCPD, was also a case in point.
Kingdom Come Suit
He had an intense fear of the Kryptonian even before Batman became friends with Superman, so he created a suit to shield himself from Superman’s sight. Until Superman asked him if it was true, he never used it, and within two days, the Dark Knight demonstrated to the Man of Steel that it was.
Although most of the armor and suits on this page are part of the fictional DC Universe, there is a handful of other (or future) worlds that have existed. We see some of these suits in the fabulous miniseries Kingdom Come, by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, which takes effect in 2020 and sees most of the Justice League’s former leaders, even Batman. Batman’s Bat-Knights army patrols the area to uphold law and order rather than relying exclusively on the Bat-Family to defend Gotham.
Robots can’t be the only protection against greater attacks, of course, which is why the plot sees Batman come out of retirement for the final time and support Superman. Owing to his old age, Batman wears an unknown costume that helps him fight again like a young man. Plus, it’s packed with flight capability and dual lasers, so Batman is on the same stage as Superman, at least in this novel.
Batman-Beyond Suit
Although the Dark Knight Returns armor is most remembered by general comic book enthusiasts and regular moviegoers, loyal Batman fans can readily recall the classic Batman Beyond costume, which first debuted in the Batman Beyond TV series, before finding its way into the comics, worn by Bruce Wayne’s replacement, Terry McGinnis.
Bruce Wayne had modeled the Beyond suit before McGinnis took up Batman’s mantle, ostensibly to support him in his old age, so he could pursue his mission against crime in Gotham City. His initiative did not last any longer, however, and the suit will later be passed to McGinnis, who was equal in Bruce’s eyes.
The Batman Beyond suit is fitted with situational cloaking and electromagnetic boots. It can adapt to any situation while also giving the wearer superhuman strength and endurance, and enhanced senses. The best aspect, though, is that the suit can automatically create its own batarangs. That seems to come in very handy, we’re sure.
Justice Armor
Batman has worn an armored exoskeleton or powered suit on many occasions to support his fellow members of the Justice League against large-scale attacks. During the Justice miniseries, Batman equipped an unspecified armor suit (inspired by the classic red-and-black Batmobile from the 1966 Batman TV series) to shield himself from the mind control Brainiac, one of those circumstances was. Stopping telepathic assault, though, was not the only thing that the Justice armor was capable of.
Although the armor can withstand Superman’s punches, it is built to defend against the strongest supervillains in the universe, all of whom are present in the docudrama of Justice.
The Justice armor is fitted with wings. A propel device allows Batman to travel to encourage Batman to be on the same playing field as the Justice League members. Sadly, in the miniseries, there isn’t much that’s actually revealed about the armor. Still, at the very least, it looks insanely cool.
Thrasher Suit
It should be apparent by now that Batman is ready for practically every circumstance. He’s got enough armor and power suits to beat any Justice League member and then some. Though, the Thrasher Suit is constructed with survival in mind, unlike the other armors and uniforms, which are made primarily for battle. It can tolerate polarising temperatures and can provide ample oxygen for Batman to live for several weeks, if necessary.
Just because the suit was crafted to allow Batman to live in the most inhospitable environments on Earth, that doesn’t mean that he can’t hold his own in battle. It wouldn’t be a power suit else. When they invaded Wayne Manor and compelled Bruce and Alfred to flee into the Batcave’s armory, the Thrasher suit could emit an electric pulse, blast out cryogenic batarangs and electrolytic needles, both weapons he used against Talons, zombie servants of the Court of Owls.
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Justice Buster or Fenrir
The idea that Marvel models many of their heroes after the lineup of DC Comics is known by most comic book fans, but the truth is, DC Comics seems to steal almost as much from Marvel. In reality, Batman’s newly created Justice Buster armor is fashioned after the Hulkbuster armor of Iron Man (which can be seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron by Joss Whedon). However, the Justice Buster armor includes procedures to survive assaults by any and every Justice League member, unlike the Hulkbuster, designed to knock down one very particular giant green war machine.
As revealed in The Joker: Endgame, Batman invested more money into designing this suit than 60% of nations of the world put into their various military—and much of that money went into expecting a battle with one special hero: the Flash. But techniques for beating Wonder Lady, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Cyborg are also available; the suit can even survive Superman’s blows. We find most fascinating, though, that the knuckles of the suit include pods made of multiple “Red Giants,” miniature red suns obtained from deceased solar systems.
Insider Suit
Bruce Wayne takes his work seriously as Batman. He wants the rest of the so-called Bat-Family to have a similar commitment, even though he is not around to see it firsthand. That’s why he watched the members of the Bat-Family from afar before Bruce effectively declared his return home (from traveling across time — it’s a long story), as well as analyzing the condition of Gotham City, using the Insider Costume, which was built not just to imitate the powers of superheroes, but also to hide the presence of Bruce.
The Insider Suit includes various styles inspired by the abilities of different members of the Justice League. Still, its primary mode is modeled after the standard Batsuit—Spectral Mode. For, e.g., there is a Speed Force Mode (Flash-inspired), the Will Mode (Green Lantern-inspired), a Heat-Ray Mode (Superman-inspired), a Disguise Mode (Martian Manhunter-inspired), and a Veritas Lasso Mode (inspired by Wonder Woman). There’s also a Flying Mode and the amazingly cool Teleportation Feature.
HellBat Suit
One of the biggest questions emerging from Batman v Superman is pretty simple. What the heck will the all-too-human Batman do as he is made to confront up against alien threats, including Doomsday and Steppenwolf, eventually? Batman also builds multiple armors and power suits to battle individual challenges, as demonstrated by all the entries on this page. Batman uses the Hellbat Shield in the event of otherworldly perils, an armor he shockingly did not create himself.
Crafted by the Justice League’s founding fathers and forged by Superman in the heart of the Sun, the Hellbat Armor was designed to help Batman tackle large-scale attacks. The Hellbat Armor, as the most potent batsuit, allows Batman to climb, sprint at hyperspeed, and emit colossal energy bursts while improving his strength and endurance as well. It’s not without limits, though. Consequently, the shield drains Batman’s metabolism, which, if used unnecessarily, could kill him in turn. This is the worst-case outcome, the end of the Batsuit universe, which is reflected by its badass style.
Red Death
Batman has one of the greatest brains in the DC Universe, but his human body limits him somewhat. When this alternative Batman gives Bruce Wayne the Flash’s abilities, The Red Death removes the worry. When he attempts to save the collapsing world around him, Batman goes mad.
The Flash is deceived by Bruce and takes his strength, making a mixture of the two heroes. Throughout Dark Knights: Metal, the notion that only one low day is enough to push Batman off the brink is discussed, but the Red Death does so in a scarily realistic manner.
DC One Million Batman
The DC One Million Batman’s Batsuit was a major technical leap further. While it did not look that different from the original suit, it had collapsible armor, a fireproof cloak, and a reinforced shell to keep him safe. It also had night vision and covert camouflage, designed into flight wings, and could project holograms. With 10 times the current edition’s strength, DC One Million Batman even had his Bat-computer integrated into the costume. It made the standard batsuit look like a long clothing series.
Batman’s DC One Million can teleport, and he also has telepathy. As a perk, it also helps him to disguise his uniform. While the other Bat-Suits have overshadowed this edition, the Batman in DC One Million remains one of the most deadly Caped Crusaders due to the unparalleled technologies at his hands.
Mobius Chair Batman
Although temporarily carrying the White Lantern ring granted Batman omnipotence, Bruce Wayne was offered a much more extended period of godhood by the character’s tenure on the Mobius Chair. Batman then becomes God of Wisdom by lying on the Mobius Throne.
These powers allow Bruce Wayne to read thoughts and see the future, making him one of DCU’s most strong beings right away. To resume his war on evil in Gotham, Batman exploits his unique abilities.
What’s your favorite alternative armor for a batsuit? If you think any more of them are making their way up to the big screen? In the comments, let us know.
