Throughout the Batman Arkham series, we have been able to play as the Dark Knight in some of his most iconic suits. Memorable suits from Arkham City are the Animated Series skin, 1970’s, and Batman Beyond. Arkham Origins saw others such as Batman One Million, Injustice and Azreal Knightfall skins. So far the best line has come from Arkham Knight which saw the appearance of the 1989 Batsuit, Afflecks Batsuit and the revamped Batman Beyond suit. With an upcoming Batman Arkham game consistently being teased by WB Montreal, I thought we could explore the many variations of Batmans costume and which ones we’d like to see in.
Batman v Superman Armored Suit
Although this Batsuit is loosely based on the armored suit from the graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, it still has a unique style in its own right. When you play as Batman in the Arkham games, a major factor is Batman’s ability to freely move around a room and Gotham City with ease and persistence. As cool as The Dark Knight Returns mech suit is, this would be able to pay tribute to that classic look while also allowing is the sensibility to move the way Batman would need to, compared a bigger and bulkier suit of the comic book version.
Justice Armor
Based on the 2005 Comic series titled Justice written by Alex Ross. The black and red sheen on this suit was designed by Ross and artist Doug Braithwait. The goal of this suit was to have a similar resemblance to Adam West’s Batmobile from the 1966 Batman film. A similar suit was displayed in the previous game Arkham Knight with the Justice League 3000. Although they both have a similar trend, this suit definitely has a bit more of a sleekness to it and would be an incredible suit to dive into Gotham City in
Justice Lord
Making its first appearance in the Justice League animated series, in the 11th episode called “A Better World” during the second season. In similar stories such as Crisis on Two Earths and Injustice, the Justice Lords were a dark version of the Justice League from a parallel earth. When Superman finally snaps and kills Lex Luthor, he turns the Justice League into dictators that rule their world through force and fear. The simple yet futuristic look of the Justice Lord suit that takes inspiration from The New Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond, would fit perfectly in the Arkham world’s dark and edgy environment.
Rebirth
When DC Comics relaunched their characters in 2016 during the Rebirth phase, they took the time to also redesign the outfits worn by the heroes. Batmans new look stayed somewhat similar to the New 52 look while also paying homage to his earlier designs. The Rebirth suit featured armored gauntlets and boots, a purple interior and blue tint to the cape and cowl. A new and modern look to this suit was the Bat signal on his chest, as some iterations have features a big yellow circle around the bat to act as a target for enemies with weapons. This logo features a yellow or gold lining around the outside of the bat, something not seen on any previous Batsuit.
The Batman Who Laughs
Taking over the DC Universe by storm with his debut in the Dark Nights: Metal story line, the Batman Who Laughs has become an icon of villainy in comics. Born in the Dark Multiverse, The Batman Who Laughs is a version of Bruce Wayne who finally dropped his moral code and killed the Joker. But with his last laugh, he managed to turn Bruce Wayne into a version of himself. With the intelligence and stamina of The Dark Knight and the insanity of The Clown Prince of Crime, The Batman Who Laughs wreaks havoc in the DC Universe. Already a playable skin for the ghostly Noob Saibot in Mortal Kombat 11, the appearance just had us all begging for more and what better place to bring him back than in the Arkham Universe.
Also read: New Batman Game Reveal Reportedly Coming Very Soon
Hellbat
A suit that we have been rooting for an appearance in the Arkham games. The Hellbat suit has gained so much popularity since its first appearance in 2014’s Batman & Robin #33. The suit was created to match superhuman strength and abilities to assist Batman in battles that require such feats. When Darkseid takes Damian, Batman dawns the Hellbat suit to go to Apokolips and reclaim his son. The power of this suit is incredible, as it matches up to the strength of Darkseid, unsure what it is all we know is when it comes to Black and Red on Batman it just always looks good.
Lanterns
The presence of the Lantern Corps has been apparent within the Arkham universe with the Sinestro Corp suit in Arkham City, along with the Blackest Night and Brightest Day suits in Arkham Origins. This time around I think it would be intriguing for Batman to be able to have a base Lantern design, but with the ability to change the color. Also, when you change the color the color changes the logo based on which color you are. Ultimately allowing you to pick which emotional spectrum you’d like your Batman to be, rather than just having any singular lantern color.
Smallville Batsuit
The ending to the Smallville was polarizing to say the least, with some hating it and others loving it. As Clark Kent met with many characters throughout the DC Universe, one character we missed was Bruce Wayne and Batman. Luckily a comic series was kicked off that took place six months after the events of the Series Finale, and was titled Smallville Season 11. Introducing other characters such as Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, we also got our first appearance of Batman within the Smallville Universe. The story arc of Batman follows similarly to what we know from the Batman mythology very well and sports a costume somewhat similar to the one worn in the film The Dark Knight.
Robert Pattinsons The Batman
A bit controversial, especially since we have not seen the full suit on screen or in action yet. The suit was reveled on February 13, 2020, with our first look of Robert Pattinson dawning the Cape and Cowl for the upcoming film The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves. The suit draws inspiration from many aspects of the Batman mythos, including stitching on the cowl resembling the 1966 cowl worn by Adam West. Rumors have also suggested that the logo on his chest could possibly be the gun disassembled from the gun used to murder his parents and he could potentially have white eyes, similar to his look in Batman The Animated Series.
Zorro
This entry may seem a bit over the top. However, I can see this one being able to work out really well for the Arkham Series. Not as a playable character, but simply an alternate skin. Considering that Zorro has a major impact in the life of Bruce Wayne, being the main character in the film The Mark of Zorro that Bruce saw with his parents the night they were murdered. The character played a role in Bruces ideas for his batsuit and gave him the encouragement to become Batman. Able to grapple and glide in the hat and cape of Zorro would give players a new yet familiar style of gameplay.
Some costumes we would like to see make a return from previous Arkham games include The Animated Series and 1970’s suits from Arkham City. Knightfall from Arkham Origins. And Flashpoint, Beyond and 89 suits from Arkham Knight. Otherwise, these are the many Batman suits I think would work out well for the next Arkham game and bring a unique take on the Dark Knight’s wardrobe.
