Part of what makes Batman such a memorable character is that he’s a hero with no powers, who relies on his scientific mind, wealth, martial arts, and gadgets to fight alongside or against some of the most powerful beings in DC Comics. Of course, there are times when even all of his training and resources aren’t enough, and he must suit up to level the playing field. When fighting superpowered villains and even brainwashed heroes, Batman sometimes dons suits of armor that drastically increase his strength and durability, and give him access to numerous other abilities. With these suits, even gods learn to fear the Dark Knight.
Iron Man may be the most famous armor-wearing superhero, but Batman also has a wide assortment of powerful suits built to contend with some of DC’s heavy hitters. These are some of the most powerful armors the Caped Crusader has ever built.
5) Trinity Armor
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
In a reimagining of how DC’s three primary superheroes first met, Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity has the heroes join forces to stop the villainous Ra’s al Ghul’s invasion of Themyscira. Included among Ra’s soldiers was the distorted Superman clone known as Bizarro whom Ra’s manipulated into helping with his invasion. The armor Batman donned to battle Bizarro was strong enough to take direct hits from the Kryptonian clone, whose strength is comparable to Superman. The armor also has built-in weapons like electrified nets, a flurry of miniature grenades, and high-powered lasers, all of which hurt Bizarro. Although Bizarro eventually overpowered the armor, it still proved to be capable enough to contend with the villain toe to toe for awhile.
4) Insider Suit
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
After a long journey through time and space following the events of Final Crisis, Batman donned the Insider Suit to freely move around Gotham and analyze its state before officially announcing his return. While the Insider Suit may look inconspicuous, it actually incorporates many of the superpowers found in the Justice League’s heroes. It can fly, turn invisible, fire green energy blasts and heat-vision, and allows for momentary access the Speed Force for superhuman speed. The Insider Suit also comes with a special cord that can detect if a person is lying and deliver a jolt of electricity. The suit is even tough to survive a missile blast. With this suit, Batman becomes a one-man Justice League.
3) Justice Buster
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Batman is infamous for his many contingencies in case the Justice League members turn evil. The Justice Buster, aka the Fenrir, combines all the abilities necessary to implement those contingencies. When the Joker brainwashed the Justice League, Batman broke out the hulking suit to fight his corrupted friends. The suit used mystical bindings to trap Wonder Woman in a dream-like state; instantly dehydrated Aquaman; made Flash slip by covering the ground in a frictionless substance; overrode Cyborg’s nervous system; and depowered Green Lantern. The armor even has ten miniaturized red suns in its knuckles to fight Superman. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the brainwashed Superman tore through the Justice Buster and nearly killed Batman. The Caped Crusader only survived by spitting Kryptonite chewing gum into Superman’s face (yes, really).
2) Hellbat Armor
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
When Darkseid stole Batman’s deceased son Damian’s body and took it to Apokolips, the Dark Knight and the Justice League forged a suit capable of contending with the New God and his hellish army. The Hellbat Armor is a monstrous weapon that enhanced Batman’s strength to the point that he tore through Apokolips’s armies single-handedly and even knocked down Darkseid, who can effortlessly destroy worlds. The armor can fly, turn invisible, shapeshift, and fire a giant bat-shaped laser. The suit’s primary weakness is that it feeds on Batman’s own metabolism, and it could kill him if he uses it for too long. Still, Batman managed to defeat Darkseid and his armies to retrieve Damian’s body long enough to use a wish-granting relic called the Chaos Shard to revive him.
1) Final Bat-Suit
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
The Justice League’s journey to the Sixth Dimension led them to older versions of themselves who built a utopia. However, it was built on the imprisonment of trillions and orchestrated by the all-powerful Word Forger. In the Sixth Dimension, Batman discovered that his counterpart designed a chair called the Sun Box, which allows the user to warp reality. Batman took the Sun Box, which came with a giant mecha suit. This Final Bat-Suit can rewrite minds, effortlessly battle the Justice League, and generate weapons from nothing. To help Superman, who was trapped and powerless in a galaxy with no suns, Batman used the armor to move numerous stars towards Superman telekinetically. This feat allowed Superman to regain his powers and rejoin his friends to defeat the World Forger.
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