Epic New DC Art Brings Every Era Of Batman Together For One Breathtaking Collage

As one of the most popular and beloved characters across all comic-related media, Batman is unrelenting as a mythological figure. However, Batman is arguably enjoying his biggest heyday in the DC mythology right now between Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman comic book series and Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenéz’s mainline Batman run, as well as the upcoming LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and The Batman: Part II.

Likewise, fans are eagerly awaiting the day that the DC Universe’s Batman casting is announced. It is always thrilling and rewarding to be a Batman fan with such a rich tapestry of unique cinematic incarnations, and one iconic and prolific artist recently paid a beautiful tribute to Batman’s history by collaging many of the Dark Knight’s best movie and TV show outings.

Batman Cinematic History Is Glorious

On Twitter/X, artist Dan Hipp has shared a commission he illustrated that depicts a handful of theatrical Batman eras since the 1960s, including Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman: The Animated Series, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and The Batman. It is phenomenal to see all of these great Batman iterations rendered in Hipp’s vibrant, cartoonish art style, which fans perhaps know best from Teen Titans GO!, Marvel SNAP!, or various comic cover variants.

Even with all of these Batmen and Batman rogues’ gallery villains depicted in the same art style, this brilliant commission demonstrates how visually distinct each Batman movie franchise has been. All together, Hipp creates a mural that represents how they belong under one big multiversal umbrella, and it is fascinating to see how The Batman’s tone compares to that of 1966’s Batman, for instance.

Not every iteration of Batman in movies and TV shows has been successful or without criticism. Ben Affleck’s Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is wonderful, for example, but the movie itself is arguably less so. Now, while The Batman: Part II garners hype as casting reports continue to roll out and filming begins soon, the DCU has massive shoes to fill.

Can The DCU Hit The Same Highs With Its Batman?

In a decade, it will be interesting to see how a Batman commission like Hipp’s might look. By then, we will have hopefully gotten a few appearances for the DCU’s Batman and a third movie in Matt Reeves’ DC Elseworld saga.

Batman confidently persists as one of the most theatrically ubiquitous DC characters, for better or worse, and with every new generation it is marvelous seeing how he will be reinterpreted for modern audiences, as seen in Hipp’s commission. Maybe in a year or so we will be fortunate enough to see a piece of artwork from Hipp that showcases The Batman: Part II’s Court of Owls—assuming they are indeed the main villains of the sequel—and DCU’s Batman, with whatever new costume design is chosen for him.