Marvel is finally getting their chance to bring their vision of Spider-Man to the big screen with Captain America: Civil War and reaction to their take on the costume has been mostly positive, with some jeers here and there. Since we’ve got a little time before the big May 6th premiere date, let’s take a look at all of the various live-action incarnations of the iconic Marvel character that have manifested over the years.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Let’s get started.
12. Amazing Spider-Man 2 Red Mask Costume (2012)
Every iconic uniform has to start somewhere, but this is basically a red skully with some sunglasses he bought at Walgreens. Still, if someone showed up in the middle of the night with that thing on, I could see some people panicking.
I’ll also cut him some slack, since it was his first try at some semblance of a costume.
Costume Design By: Kym Barrett
11. The Human Spider (2002)
In Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man, Peter finds himself in a wrestling ring, and goes in with his own name, The Human Spider. Bruce Campbell ignores him, giving him the name Spider-Man.
While he got a good name out of it, this isn’t really a costume., and therefore ranks pretty low on the list. Sure he has a spider on his shirt, but that’s not really saying much. He looks more likely to go graffiti the side of a Wal-Mart than to go stop crime, or even wrestle for that matter.
Costume Design by: James Acheson
10. Italian Spider-Man (2007)
Okay, truth be told I didn’t even know this was a real thing before I started this article, but now my world is complete. Italian Spider-Man is a parody of foreign films that take classic American characters and change them to fit whatever needs the studios or team may have.
Because it is meant as tongue in cheek, it gets a boost above the previous films, but I can’t rate it any higher, even for as absurdly weird and funny the series is. The costume consists of a red sweater with a big spider on it, coupled with black slacks and mustache that won’t quit.
Seriously, though, you should watch it because it will make your day better. I promise.
Costume Design by: Sophie Spalding
9. Spidey Super Stories (1974)
PBS took Spider-Man for a whirl when it debuted a segment called Spidey Super Stories.
The suit looks like something you’d pick up at Party City. Actually, that’s not fair, I think now those costumes are significantly better, but, at least, it is the actual costume, so points for effort.
8. The Amazing Spider-Man (CBS 1978)
During the 1970’s, Spider-Man came back to the small screen via CBS’s Amazing Spider-Man TV show. The show only ran for two seasons, and barely that, but the suit used here had its positives.
The use of the mirrored eyes was ahead of its time, and the webbing used on the costume really stands out. The shape of the eyes is in a weird limbo though between the big Mcfarlane eyes and the smaller Ditko eyes, and just doesn’t work. It was much closer though than previous tries, so at least it was heading in the right direction.
Costume Design by: Frank Novak
7. Japanese Spider-Man (Toei Series 1978)
Spider-Man made another trip overseas, this time to Japan. It was part of a pretty lax agreement between the Toei Company and Marvel and allowed Spider-Man to be used alongside giant robots and monsters.
While the storyline and premise really had nothing to do with the character’s comic origin, the suit was pretty dead on, especially for the time. The eyes are much better here, and the suit looked pretty descent in action.
Oh, and Spider-Man had a spaceship, because why not.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Here’s the thing. Back in 2012 when this film debuted, I actually really liked Andrew Garfield’s costume. Sure it was unnecessarily modern in a lot of ways, but I thought the design worked pretty well, especially in motion.
Seeing it now, though, it appears a bit dated, especially those gold tinted eyes. You don’t realize how much you miss that bold pop of white on his mask until it’s gone. There’s also an obnoxious amount of ribbing on the costume, that I think starts to take away from the overall aesthetic. I did like the lack of a belt in the design, though, which I initially didn’t think I’d like.
Costume Design by: Kym Barrett
5. Spider-Man 1& 2 (2002 and 2004)
There was and is still so much to love about this costume, and at the time I really had no complaints. Hindsight is 20/20 though, and while the original suit nailed the design of the costume, some of the small things start to add up.
The webbing being brighter is great for the film since it reacts well to the lights, but looking at photos now it seems maybe it did the job a bit too well. A slightly darker tone might have worked better. Also, of note is how small the spider symbol is. Luckily Raimi would have two more shots to tweak the costumes look, but it wouldn’t really change much until Spider-Man 3
Costume Design by: James Acheson and Gary Jones
4. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
A few tweaks later and the suit was just about perfect for the world Raimi had created.
The team darkened the white on the eyes ever so slightly and made the blue on the costume less a navy and more a darker bluish black. They also reigned in the silver on the webbing. While it might not be a perfect representation of the comic version, it fit well into the universe they had created.
Costume Design by: James Acheson and Katina Le Kerr
3. Spider_Man 3 – The Black Suit (2007)
Yeah, I can’t help but love this costume. With Sam Raimi’s version of Spider-Man having a slightly darker tone, the black suit just worked perfectly.
The silver lines and textured webbing on the suit really made it pop on screen, as opposed to just having a pure black suit like in the comics.
Costume Design by: James Acheson and Gary Jones
2. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
I can’t say enough good things about the suit so far, but then again we’ve only seen about 3 shots worth of it at this point, and I’m just not ready to pronounce it the king of the hill just yet. What I do love is those Ditko style eyes, and the fact that they can contract gives me hope for some great expressiveness from him in future films, a place where prior movies struggled.
The colors are straight out of the comics, with bright reds and blues, and the other adornments of design look fine as well, but again, I want to see them in action. While i like the smaller Symbol, it isn’t my personal preference.
Costume Design by: Judianna Makovsky
1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
While the film itself was a letdown, the costume was anything but.
Going away from the overly stylized look of the first film, they instead went to the comics for reference and came out with a picture perfect suit. The colors are bold, and the texture on the costume changed, and is much less distracting.
They also gave the character his belt back, and while they decided to keep their take on teh Spider-Symbol, it actually works well here. When Spider-Man swings into action here, it’s pretty much a comic fans dream.
We’ll just have to see if Marvel Studios can top it.
Related Posts
-
Marvel Select Hobgoblin
