The Complete Bat Look

When Batman first appeared in Detective Comic 27, in 1939, he was suited up with a bulletproof vest, purple gloves, and a standard belt featuring a round buckle. That same year, in Detective Comic 30, his suit started to characterize him more as a bat with pointier ear and more durable wings. The next year, the comic book series introduced the look of the blue cowl. The “Batman and Robin” television show, 1943-1949, made Batman look silly with a long nose and flimsy ears.

During the 50s, Batman was forced to go on a lot of odd adventures because of the battle with the Comic Codes Authority, bringing on many crazy, one time, outfits. Some of these outfits included “Jungle Batman”, “Rainbow Batman”, “Zebra Batman”, and Batman and Robin dressed as the “Mummy Crime-Fighters”. The 1960s “Silver Age Batman” showcased the iconic gold oval that surrounds the bat logo on Batman’s suit. In the late 60s, Adam West became the Batman in a light-toned suit with the iconic logo. Adam West’s Batman became the look that costumes were based off of in the 70s and in the animated cartoon, Justice League. Throughout the 70s Batman’s cowl continued to switch back and forth between blue and black. In 1987’s Batman: Year One, Batman returned to a grey and black suit without the iconic logo and added the well-known pouch utility belt that many Batmans would wear in years to come. Tim Burton’s Batman in the 1989 movie “Batman” revealed a much darker looking Batman and the use of the grapple gun. In the 1995 film, “Batman Forever”, Batman wears two different suits. One of the suits, the “Panther suit”, created controversy because Batman’s black utility belt was paired with a black cowl, cape, and bat nipples. The other suit, the “Sonar suit”, was a silver suit of armor that closely resembles the suit Christian Bale wears as The Bat. George Clooney continued the nipple trend two years later in the movie “Batman & Robin”.
 
The year 1999 spit out another odd batsuit that ditched the cape and added a red logo in attempts to give a more futuristic look. 

Christopher Nolan dressed Christian Bale in three dark, armored, and defined suits for his Batman, Dark Night movie trilogy that began in 2005. 
 
The video game, “Arkham Asylum”, 2009, inspired the 2011-2014’s The New 52 Comics – Batman suit with its heavy boots, black cowl and cape, utility belt, and black logo. 

In the two-part animated film, “The Dark Knight Returns”, Batman is shown as a 55-year old who is coming out of retirement to once again be The Bat. 
 
 So what will Ben Affleck wear in the upcoming 2016  “Man of Steel” sequel?

Fast Fact: Written in Detective Comics, before Batman wore the batsuit, his father, Thomas Wayne, dressed in a bat-themed costume at a masquerade.

Back to the “Batman Forever” and "Batman & Robin" batnipples controversy… It’s hard to find exact reasons as to why people thought the batnipples were such a bad thing but the main statements revolved around how actor George Clooney (only in one film) was a womanizer and how they were basically just impractical and stupid. Maybe the media blew up the topic to be more of an issue than it really was. Or maybe it was because it was such a horrible movie that people were attacking every part of it.

(Actor: Val Kilmer, "Batman Forever")

"Not even little kids [liked the film]. [People] who were little kids at the time come up and kick me," said Clooney.

(Actor: George Clooney, "Batman & Robin")

Interviewer for Variety: You introduced nipples to the Batsuit. Were you surprised they became so controversial?
Director of “Batman Forever”and "Batman & Robin", Joel Schumacher: Yes, I was like, “Are you kidding me?” I think that will be on my gravestone. It’s how I’ll be remembered.
(Read the rest of the interview at: http://variety.com/2014/film/markets-festivals/qa-joel-schumacher-on-batman-ben-affleck-and-the-batsuit-nipples-1201327631/)