WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Flash.
Ben Affleck’s Batman costumes are some of the most comic-accurate superhero suits, and a brand-new one appears in The Flash. Ben Affleck replaced Christian Bale as Batman following the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Whereas Nolan’s Batman movies went for a sense of realism that was exemplified by the tactical, armor-like Bat-suit, Zack Snyder’s Batman was a more fantastical take on the character. The DCEU was far more comic book-ish than any previous Batman films, which is why a more fantastical Batman fit so well. As a result, Affleck’s Batman is arguably the most comic-accurate version of the caped crusader in of visuals.
Ben Affleck played Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League, and The Flash. Except for Suicide Squad, which reused the standard DCEU Bat-suit, all of those movies featured one or more costumes. The idea that Batman has multiple Bat-suits available at any given moment is from the comics and had been lost in the movies. Bale’s Batman only changed costumes in The Dark Knight, where Batman replaced his armor entirely. Here is every Ben Affleck Batman suit, ranked, and the history behind each of the DCEU Bat-suits.
6 The Flash’s Batman Suit
Ben Affleck appeared as Batman in The Flash’s opening sequence, during which Flash, Batman, and Wonder Woman fought together to stop a group of robbers. The Flash’s opening sequence established that the DCEU’s Justice League is still operating as a team, although it only featured three . Batman has a new Bat-suit in The Flash, which appears to be based on the Justice League tactical suit. The idea behind The Flash’s Batman suit seems to have been a sleeker version of Justice League’s tactical Bat-suit, with Batman wearing an armor plate on top of his traditional gray suit.
Batman’s cape in The Flash also has a more blueish color compared to his traditional suit from Batman v Superman and Justice League. The biggest problem with Batman’s costume in The Flash is that it lies between the traditional Bat-suit and the armored Bat-suit, making it less special than the previous versions. It is also unclear why Batman would be even wearing special armor to fight a few robbers – the DCEU’s Batman fought Doomsday with his regular suit, after all. The Flash’s VFX problems also did not help Affleck’s new Batman suit.
5 Justice League’s Tactical Batman Suit
Justice League’s tactical Batman suit made sense in of the story. Batman had just fought Superman and Doomsday in Batman v Superman and was now anticipating the arrival of aliens. The suit was very much the same standard Justice League Bat-suit but with plates around the chest, the arms, and the legs. Batman looked a lot bigger with this extra layer of armor, which resulted in a less agile Dark Knight. That said, whereas Batman had a lot of hand-to-hand fights in Batman v Superman, Justice League was more about fighting aliens using special vehicles and gadgets.
Batman’s tactical suit in Justice League served the story’s purpose, but it was just not as cool-looking as the previous Ben Affleck Bat-suits. Batman v Superman broke a Batman movie tradition of having the character always wear heavy armor, even though Batman never needed it in the comics. Therefore, going back to the heavy, restrictive armor in Justice League, even if just for the final battle, was not very exciting. Still, the suit itself was visually stunning.
4 Justice League’s Main Batman Suit
Justice League’s main Bat-suit is quite similar to the one in Batman v Superman. In fact, from an in-universe perspective, those might even be the same suit. However, Justice League’s Bat-suit was reportedly crafted by a different company from Batman v Superman, which is why there are some noticeable differences. The biggest of them is the cowl, which looks sleeker than the one from Batman v Superman. The colors are also a bit different, and the muscle patterns are more defined. The fact that Justice League’s Bat-suit looks like the one from Batman v Superman but features those differences plays against it.
Batman’s movements seemed to be more limited in Justice League, including around the neck. Batman v Superman was the first time since Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) that the caped crusader got to move his neck, yet the Justice League suit seemed to have lost that particular functionality. A small but important update was Batman’s gauntlets, which were inspired by Wonder Woman’s bracelets and served to absorb and deflect energy blasts.
3 Batman v Superman’s Knightmare Batman Suit
Batman v Superman featured three Bat-suits, and one of them was quite different from anything Batman had ever worn in the films. Bruce Wayne had a dream – which was also a vision from the future seemly caused by the Flash – of a world in which Superman had turned evil. Batman v Superman introduced the “Knightmare” timeline, a possible future in which Batman would have to lead a resistance to fight Superman and the rest of Darkseid’s army. In this Mad Max-inspired post-apocalyptic world, Batman spotted his gray suit but with a coat rather than a cape. Some theories argue that Batman’s coat in the Knightmare timeline belonged to Jim Gordon.
2 Batman V Superman’s Mech Batman Suit
Batman v Superman was visually inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, during which a 50-year-old Batman briefly fights Superman. Similar to The Dark Knight Returns, the DCEU's Batman had a special suit to fight Superman. However, very much like in the comic book, Batman’s mech-suit was not necessarily a special armor like Iron Man’s. Instead, it was more of a containment suit designed to help Batman take a few punches from Superman. Batman v Superman’s mech-suit is almost a perfect recreation of the Dark Knight Returns suit, with only a few changes. In addition, the suit was mostly practical, which only made it better.
Batman wearing a mech suit to fight Superman is something that sounded impossible, and there was no precedent in live-action Batman movies that Batman v Superman could follow. Batman v Superman’s mech Bat-suit showed just how much more fantastical and comic book-ish this iteration of the character would be compared to previous Batman movies. The damaged version of the suit from the end of Batman and Superman’s fight also looked cool, especially with half of Bruce Wayne’s face appearing out of the helmet.
1 Batman v Superman’s Main Batman Suit
Ben Affleck’s first Batman costume is still his best. In fact, Batman v Superman’s main Batman costume is arguably the best Bat-suit from all Batman movies, as it feels like something out of a comic book. Batman had never worn gray in modern movies, with the all-black armor Bat-suit becoming the standard costume after Burton’s Batman. For the first time since Adam West’s Batman series, the character was wearing a gray vest rather than black armor in live-action. The infamous “Bat-neck” was no longer a problem, and Batman could now move like someone who had been trained in multiple martial arts.
Batman v Superman’s warehouse scene is arguably the best Batman fighting scene in of choreography, and it would not have worked in a more restrictive suit. Functionality aside, Batman v Superman’s Bat-suit was visually stunning, and it proved that a gray Batman costume could work. The Flash’s post-credits scene makes the future of the DCEU’s original universe unclear. With The Batman – Part II and The Brave and the Bold on the way, The Flash may have been Affleck’s final Batman movie. Part of the DCEU’s Batman legacy will surely be the Bat-suits, especially the one from Batman v Superman.
