Best Batman Costumes

[Slash Man]

I would do a ranking of sorts, but I think I'll just throw around some of the designs I enjoyed.

When it comes to Robin, the Batman TV show actually nailed it (ignore the slightly incorrect inking in the first pic).

I'll give credit to the serials in staying accurate for the most part. Actually, Douglas Croft's outing was very close (even a bit more fitting age-wise), but the costumes of the serials seemed a bit more bulky, and the vibrant colors were missed most in Robin's attire.

Meanwhile, the materials, colors and patterns of the Ward costume were dead-on. The costume does seem a little small on him, but that's to be expected from an older Robin. Remember, the original Robin was 8 when he took up the mask. While there's nitpicks to be made (scale pattern on briefs, smaller mask, no slits in gloves), it ultimately gave us the closest translation we've seen of the Robin costume yet. Alex Ross, famous for his ultra-realistic portrayals of comic book characters even gave us a version of Robin that looks eerily similar to Ward's costume. Call it coincidence or direct inspiration, I can see either.


Alright, after all that, I might get into Batsuits later.

[Slash Man]

Alright, now the Joker...

This one was a tough call between Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson, but in my mind, Nicholson barely edges him out in the costume department.

Nicholson's wardrobe felt like he was this flamboyant guy who cared a lot about his suits (we even see him reuse his pink suit he wore when he was still Jack). The fact that he changes suits constantly, but still remains faithful to the basic design really seems like something a clown crime lord would do. Unfortunately, we don't see him with his classic black string tie, but we do see him in an outfit very similar to his classic appearance (complete with green shirt). I believe he does sport a blue string tie in the museum scene.


I normally don't like when differences are made from the comics, but I never really imagined Joker as having a specific "super-suit" in the sense that Batman and Robin have costumes. Joker's suits were the same just because of the ease of illustrating; it wouldn't make sense to change his design up each appearance. I think Bob Ringwood and Nicholson's work nailed the portrayal of the character while keeping with the likeness (my favorite appearance is probably the classic trench coat and fedora pictured above).

Still, a close second goes to Cesar Romero with an almost direct adaption of the comics.

Only a few nitpicks there; it seems a bit more pink than violet.

And the Ledger depiction just didn't have the same image as the originals. He just kinda looked like a hobo.

[Edd Grayson]

Ledger did have a purple suit on but he did lack the style and finesse of the classic Joker attire worn by Romero and Nicholson.

Nice post about the Robin suits too, Burt Ward was the closest one could get to the classic Robin suit.

[Slash Man]

Ledger did have a purple suit on but he did lack the style and finesse of the classic Joker attire worn by Romero and Nicholson.

Well, I was half kidding, but the suit (and makeup) were used to a much different effect in the Dark Knight interpretation. Ledger wears a dirty, mismatched suit in contrast to Nicholson's sharp attire. That, and Ledger's makeup just reinforce the psycho image. While Nicholson has a tragic aspect to his disfiguration, both are actually quite scary in the same way.

[BatmAngelus]

Agreed with the choices for the 1966 show for Robin and the 1989 Nicholson costume for Joker. I always felt the colors were a bit off on Romero- the green was a bit too light and the suit was pretty much pink.

Other characters- my preferences of the live action costumes, both TV and films:
Batman- Currently, the 1989 one is my #1, but the Affleck one may unseat it once I see it in action.
Batgirl- Birds of Prey
Huntress- Arrow
Penguin- 1966 show, with DeVito's as close second
Catwoman- 1966 show
Riddler- 1966 show
Two-Face- The Dark Knight
Ra's Al Ghul- Arrow

[Slash Man]

Ah, it seems we have much in common - my top pick for the Riddler is a tie between Frank Gorshin and... Frank Gorshin.

The first costume was an interpretation of the Riddler's original costume. While I liked the countless question marks of the comic, the main question mark on the chest seems to have carried over. I believe he's also the first to have the purple shoes as opposed to the footie pajamas before. Donning the same costume, John Astin was the first to have the question mark cane.

Gorshin's next costume was completely different, allegedly because he didn't like the jumpsuit. What followed is what followed is a suit that's become equally iconic.

The green dress suit and bowler hat just stuck to the character, and everyone now looked at this as the "cool" Riddler. Between these two distinct suits, I still can't make up my mind.

Carrey deserves a mention (and props for actually pulling off the jumpsuit). I liked it, but I never really got the whole red-haired wig thing. I never got where that came from (the Riddler of BTAS had auburn-colored hair, I guess).

[BatmAngelus]

I pretty much interpreted it as a wig he wore as an additional precaution to hide his identity, since I believe that the Batman Forever Riddler is the only version of the character to have to hide the fact that he was Edward Nygma/Nigma.

[Slash Man]

Seems like they could have used the bowler cap more for that purpose. Anyways, I totally agree with the Penguin, the TV show was dead on. But Danny DeVito wasn't far behind. Burgess Meredith had the right build and a replicated suit. Meanwhile, Burton directly referenced the comics in the Penguin's mayor attire, despite playing a pretty much different character. A very interesting mash-up. Meanwhile, DeVito's features were greatly exaggerated, something that's stayed with the character since then. Only downer is that the only time we see him with the cigarette and monocle is in promotional pics. The monocle is seen briefly used in the film in a clever way, but he outright spits out the cigarette holder.