Batman costumes with muscular chests

If fancy dress parties are something you enjoy and you love of all things to do with 'The Dark Knight'  then you have all of the ingredients for a great evening with your friends and family; a party where everyone dresses up in different Batman costumes. Think about all of the characters that have featured in both the comics and the films and you will soon realise the huge choice of outfits that are at your disposal. 'The Caped Crusader' himself has worn several different types of attire since his creation by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in May 1939. Initially he dressed in a black and grey suit of Lycra style material to do battle with the bad guys. The Batman costumes slowly evolved over the next seventy years into what we now see today. If you want to dress up as the protagonist himself then you will have to choose from several varieties of outfit.

Apart from the main character there are all manner of enemies and allies to choose from. Don't be naive enough to think that you are limited to universally known super villains such as The Joker, The Penguin, Mr Freeze, Catwoman or The Riddler. If you do a quick bit of research on the internet then you will soon discover that there are all manner of characters that have appeared in the television series of the sixties and the movies. When picking out Batman costumes from the multitude available you will not be struggling for ideas for very long. The range that is on offer both for sale and for hire is immense.

If you go to a fancy dress party and look for someone who has dressed up as a superhero for the evening then you can be pretty sure that it will be a Batman costume that you see. Out of all of the comic strip heroes from over the years few have had quite the same appeal as Batman. Of course, you are bound to come across the odd Superman but the Caped Crusader just seems to have a greater overall appeal. Perhaps it is because with a Batman costume you don't have to wear your underpants on the outside of your trousers to attain authenticity... Unless, that is, you are styling your outfit on the camp Batman series of the sixties of course. Since the days of Adam West the Batman costume has changed considerably. When the original outfit is compared with the one worn by Christian Bale in 2008's 'The Dark Knight' the difference is immediately obvious.

Some things about the style of the Caped Crusader's dress sense have remained relatively unchanged over the years. He still has the scallop edged cape and the eye mask with the pointed ears on top but in other ways the Batman costume of yesteryear has undergone some major changes. If anything, it is now far more masculine in its overall appearance. The alterations quickly became apparent with the release of 'Batman' in 1989.

The latest range of Batman costumes   for adults and kids

The origins of Batman are shadowy and unsettling. As a child, Bruce Wayne (Batman's alter-ego) watched as his parents were murdered. After this terrible experience, Wayne made a conscious decision that he would avenge their deaths by fighting back against crime. After creating the guise of 'The Bat Man' he begins his new life of adventure, danger and double identity.

Aside from the normal life of a super-hero, Batman has always had undertones of melancholy and brooding. His heart is as dark and mysterious as the outfit that he wears. Indeed, Sigmund Freud could quite happily have spent months trying to unravel this deeply troubled individual.

These aspects have become more apparent in recent years. The ongoing string of Batman films that began in 1989 have concentrated on the darker facets of his character. In fact they have gradually become ever more sombre. If we think back to the Batman television series of the sixties then the differences are enormous. The Batman of then was light-hearted and funny. Yes, the Batman of today still contains humor but now it leans more toward the dark and the cynical.

The whole concept of Batman is full of shadows. Gotham City (fittingly similar in name to 'Gothic City') is a place that is full of darkly styled buildings and myriads of unlit streets. Several of Batman's foes have a distinctively dark feel about them and The Joker (probably his most famous enemy) is so dark and ominous that he is downright scary.

This was most apparent in the latest movie release, 'The Dark Knight' where he was played in such a frightening and realistic a way by the late Heath Ledger that there was even talk about whether or not the film was suitable viewing for children.

So, if the character of Batman were real then how would he fit into today's society? He would most definitely be a loner and most probably an outcast. Mixing and interacting with other people would prove to be difficult for him. Opening up to others about his inner turmoil surely wouldn't be easy for him. In my opinion he would more than likely be a diagnosed depressive.

Evolution on batman costumes

In May 1939 'Detective Comics' created a character that would go on to become a household name not just in America but all over the world. That character was Batman (aka 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Caped Crusader'). Over the last seventy years he has starred in numerous comics, graphic novels, books, movies and video games. During this time the Batman persona has, in most ways, remained much the same since his conception. The Batman costumes that have been worn, however, have steadily and sometimes dramatically evolved.


The evolution of Batman costumes began within his first year of life. The first things to change were the ears on the costume- they became longer. In July 1939 the utility belt was introduced to his outfit. Despite some minor changes the Batman costumes remained pretty much the same then until 1964. They were just basic, Grey figure-clinging suits with a cape and mask. At one point, D.C. were actually starting to give serious consideration to dropping Batman completely due to sales of the comic slumping so dramatically. Something had to be done and some changes were made to several things in the comic including the Batman costumes. The bat symbol on the costumes' chest was given a yellow background the shape of the cape was changed.



1966 brought the TV series of 'Batman' to our screens. The batman costumes during this period stayed pretty much the same. With the show finally being axed in 1968, after 120 episodes, D.C. tried to re-establish the darker side of Batman. This was only evident in comic form until 1989 when Tim Burton released his 'Batman' movie. It was at this point that batman costumes began to become far more 'body-armour' orientated. The other big difference was the loss of the yellow and black symbol on the chest.