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.

Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson brought a far more sombre version of the hero to the big screen. The movie was essentially very dark and even its lighter moments were more cynical than anything that had been seen previously. The new Batman costume was more like body armour in its appearance than the skin-tight grey spandex of the nineteen sixties television series. This was to be the new direction that the look of the Dark Knight was to take. With the release of each subsequent movie the Batman costume took on a more Gothic feel. The body armour slant continued, exaggerating contours and muscles on the hero.

The only dubious part of this evolution of the outfit was in 1997's 'Batman and Robin'. The movie sparked outrage with many fans by the addition of 'Bat-nipples' and a cod-piece to the Batman costume. A great deal of movie-goers and critics found this to be totally ridiculous. George Clooney, who took the lead role for the movie, just doesn't seem to come across as being quite so menacing when confronting super-villains when dressed in this style of outfit. Fortunately, since 'Batman and Robin', the nipples have quietly disappeared from the Batman costume and the films have reverted back to a more serious and darker feel.

If there is a fancy dress party that you have been invited to and you like the idea of getting dressed up as everyone's favourite superhero then there are a variety of styles to choose from. Each of the movies has slightly different takes on Batman's appearance. Whichever costume you settle on you are sure to be a popular guest.