Man of Steel? Dark Knight? Transmogrifying DC's greatest superheroes

I think I've mentioned before that while I love comics of all sorts, I'm a DC girl at heart. While I've got a ton of obscure titles, I think my favorite from the DC portion of my collection has to be The Killing Joke, which I picked up when it was released. It was a horribly violent story, but the interplay between Batman and the Joker was an oddly chilling moment that showed more about both characters than any comic I'd seen before it.

Batman is one of those utterly iconic figures. Dark and brooding, the Dark Knight has his own methodical way of handling situations that is a direct contrast from his millionaire playboy persona. Batman's a manmade hero, but his counterpart, Superman, is an alien from another world whose heroic deeds and super strength can be attributed to his otherworldly origins. Both of these characters are instantly recognizable, and hopefully with today's transmog tricks, your character will be instantly identified as one of DC's finest as well.

Batman

It's odd, but there really aren't a lot of black armor items in World of Warcraft. Whether this is deliberate design or just because nobody on the Blizzard team is feeling particularly goth, I've no idea. However, this plate set ought to give you the look of the Dark Knight without too much trouble. Please note: Some of these pieces are set items found in Scholomance. Because Scholomance is getting a revamp in Mists of Pandaria, we don't know if these pieces will still be available after the expansion's launch. In other words, go farm them now while you still can!

• Head This scary-looking helm is the Iron Riveted War Helm. You can find it on Flame Leviathan in Ulduar on 25-man normal mode.

• Shoulders For a good pair of not-too-intrusive black plate shoulders, find a pair of Earthslag Shoulders, which drop from Lord Roccor in Blackrock Depths.

• Back The black cape pictured here is the Redoubt Cloak, found in the Gordok Tribute chest at the end of Dire Maul North.

• Chest This chestplate is the Spiderfang Carapace. It's a little tricky to farm for, but it drops from Hedrum the Creeper, who is a potential random boss during the Ring of Law event in Blackrock Depths.

• Shirt For the shirt, you'll want to to nab a Stylish Black Shirt. This shirt is only sold in Stormwind, so Horde players will have to transfer the shirt to Alliance side.

• Wrists Bracers will be covered by your gloves, so you don't need to worry about swapping their look.

• Hands Steelgrip Gauntlets can be made by blacksmiths that have the recipe. If you can't find a blacksmith that has it, head to Scholomance and farm up a pair of Deathbone Gauntlets, which are a random drop from the bosses in the zone.

• Waist Keep an eye out on your local AH for the Glorious Belt.

• Legs The black plate legs shown here are Enchanted Adamantite Leggings, crafted by blacksmiths. The pattern is sold by the Scryer Quartermaster in Shattrath City, and it does require exalted reputation to purchase.

• Feet The boots shown here are Deathbone Sabatons, which are a random drop from the bosses in Scholomance.

Robin

Batman's sidekick has had a variety of costume styles over the years, but the typical red, yellow and green color palette hasn't changed at all. This is a leather set, which means we have an ideal option to substitute for Robin's domino mask -- although this one lacks a set of eye holes!

• Head There is only one blindfold in the game, and it's the Cursed Vision of Sargeras. For a leather-wearing class, this helm should be a staple in your transmog wardrobe -- it goes with anything, and it just looks incredibly cool. You can nab this helm from Illidan Stormrage in The Black Temple.

• Shoulders The Bonechewer Shoulderguards are a leather BoE shoulder item that drop primarily off mobs in Hellfire Ramparts and Hellfire Peninsula itself. These are a decidedly odd-looking set of shoulders, looking way more like a cloth item than leather -- but they're perfect for blending in with Robin's vest.

• Back For Robin's canary yellow cape, have your local tailor whip up a Brightcloth Cloak.

• Chest The Primalstorm Breastplate can be crafted by leatherworking, and it's taught by leatherworking trainers, so there's no need to hunt for the pattern.

• Shirt For the shirt, you have a couple of options. You can go with the standard green sleeve look of the Green Linen Shirt, or you can use this black and green take on it, the Green Martial Shirt. A tailor can craft the Linen version for you, but you'll have to purchase the Green Martial Shirt in Dalaran.

• Wrists Bracers will be covered by your gloves, so you don't need to worry about swapping their look.

• Hands Mar Alom's Grip is a blue BoE item that is a random drop from trash in Blackrock Depths.

• Waist For the belt, keep an eye out for the Cabalist Belt.

• Legs Jadefire Pants offer a suitable alternative to Robin's green short-shorts, and they can be found in level 55-to-60 zones or on your local AH.

• Feet For a good green boot option, keep an eye out for the Huntsman's Boots.

Batgirl

You know, if we're going to feature Batman, we might as well feature Batgirl as well. Batgirl has had several different costume looks over the years, and this leather set borrows bits and pieces from a bunch of them.

• Head Common sense suggests that players looking for a leather Batman-style helm should pick up the Blackfang Battleweave Helmet. However, this is a rogue-only helm. For a leather option with the look of pointed ears, find yourself a Winged Helm, which can be used by both rogues and their druid friends as well.

• Shoulders The Cloaked Shoulderpads shown here are a little tricky. In order to obtain them, you'll need to turn in a Swords Deck, which is obtained by collecting all of the Swords cards available through inscription.

• Back Batgirl has a couple of different capes -- there's an all black variety, and a version that is black on the back and gold underneath. In the interests of creating contrast, I've gone with a gold version here, the Brightcloth Cloak. Have a tailor whip one up for you.

• Chest This black leather chestpiece is the Scouting Tunic.

• Shirt For the shirt, I went with a Yellow Martial Shirt, which has darker sleeves than the standard black shirts. You can purchase this shirt in Dalaran.

• Wrists Bracers will be covered by your gloves, so you don't need to worry about swapping their look.

• Hands Bandit Gloves work very well for this particular outfit.

• Waist The Epoch's Whispering Cinch works brilliantly with this outfit. You can farm this item from the Epoch Hunter at the end of Old Hillsbrad Foothills on heroic mode.

• Legs Scouting Trousers are pretty much the only perfect black leather legs to be found.

• Feet These are of course Bandit Boots, which should be a staple in the wardrobe of any leather-wearing class.

Superman

This particular set is not, of course, a perfect match to the Man of Steel's unforgettable costume. However, it's close enough that you'll be getting double takes in no time. And since this is the Man of Steel, it's only appropriate that this is a plate set.

• Head Superman doesn't actually wear a helmet -- but make a quick trip to the Barber Shop for a black dye job (or blonde, if you're going for Supergirl!).

• Shoulders The Imbued Plate Pauldrons are a pretty good match to the rest of this set, and the blue blends in nicely.

• Back Superman needs a red cape. You can get the Cloak of the Gushing Wound from Erekem in The Violet Hold.

• Chest This chestpiece is the Vanguard Breastplate. Please note that the model looks very, very different on a male character than a female one.

• Shirt Have a tailor craft up a Blue Linen Shirt for this outfit.

• Wrists Bracers will be covered by your gloves, so you don't need to worry about swapping their look.

• Hands Ragesteel Gloves can be crafted by your local blacksmith.

• Waist For the belt, keep an eye out on your local AH for the Glorious Belt.

• Legs The Nagascale Legplates are a drop off of the Coilfang Emissary, a rare mob found in Zangarmarsh.

• Feet The boots shown here are the Lavawalker Greaves, which can be found on Maleki the Pallid in Stratholme.

You'll notice none of these looks have weapon suggestions. That's because none of these superheroes really tend to use any sort of iconic weapon at all. Your best bet when trying to come up with a weapon for a hero that typically has none is to find a relatively unobtrusive weapon that falls in the same color palette as the rest of the costume. By doing so, your weapon will seem like a part of your outfit rather than detracting from all your hard work!

Patch 4.3 lets you transmogrify your gear to look like any other gear your class can wear -- but you have to collect it first. Check out our coverage of transmogrification and start running those old dungeons!