DC Comics created the first superheroes and set the boundaries for what they could be early on. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were the three most popular, each of them birthing numerous tropes. They have always been amazing characters, and a big part of their popularity has been their costumes. The three of them have some of the best costumes ever. Sure, they’ve been changed over time, but all of the ingredients were there right from the start. These costumes are iconic, etched into the memories of anyone who knows anything about superheroes. Their costumes have set the standard and have become synonymous with superheroism.
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However, they aren’t the only iconic costumes in the DC Multiverse. Many DC heroes have been given iconic costumes, each of them becoming a look that every fan recognizes immediately. These ten DC hero costumes are the most iconic, and are the best of the best that aren’t the Trinity.
10) Aquaman’s Classic Costume
Aquaman is DC’s greatest aquatic hero and he definitely looks the part. The character has been around since the Golden Age, and right away, he had a fantastic costume. The scaled orange shirt, the green gloves and boots, and the green pants have always looked amazing, and are one of those costumes that just pop off the page. Modifications have been made to it over the years, but it still looks like that Golden Age classic, an outstanding design that has weathered the tides of time beautifully.
9) Jay Garrick
Jay Garrick is a true DC legend and his costume played a role in that. The first Scarlet Speedster’s costume gave him an eye-grabbing look, one that would set the standard for every speedster that came after him. To begin with, there’s the lightning bolt, which would become a part of the iconography of most speedsters. His costume was simple, just a shirt, pants, and some cool boots, and it worked. The Mercury hat was the perfect capstone, and he’s wearing the same costume today that he has was decades ago. This costume presaged the main Flash costume, setting the stage for what was to come.
8) Shazam/The Captain
Shazam was the first Captain Marvel, and is now the Captain, and was created to compete with Superman. He had a similar costume, but there were some changes to it that made it unique. His top was more like a cool jacket than a spandex top, the lightning bolt setting it off nicely. The collared white cape with gold trim was the perfect cape variant, and the costume had a lot of details that gave it a unique visual flair. This is one of those timeless costumes, a design that was perfect from the beginning and has only gotten better somehow.
7) Original Robin Costume
There have been numerous Robins over the years, and the costume has been modernized, but that hasn’t stopped casual fans from making fun of the hot pants. The original Robin costume is a masterpiece of design, and helped make the character who he is. Red, green, and yellow is the perfect color combination, and the various aspects of the costume all look fantastic. It’s an eye-catching design, which was the point, and while an argument can be made the modernized versions of it are better (especially Dan Mora’s from World’s Finest), the original set the stage for all of them.
6) Nightwing’s Modern Costume
Nightwing has become one of DC’s stars, which was honestly kind of inevitable as the first kid sidekick. Dick Grayson was one of the original DC superstars, and has always had a great costumes (yes, even Earth-Two Dick Grayson; especially Earth-Two Dick Grayson). His modern Nightwing costume, though, is easily the best. This costume came about when he finally got his first ongoing in the mid ’90s and it knocked readers’ socks off. Since then, the costume has been modified, but it’s still basically the same, a wonderful design that has defined the hero.
5) Black Canary’s Classic Costume
Black Canary first appeared in the late Golden Age and immediately had a flawless costume. This classic costume is so very simple: a black leather jacket, a bodysuit, and fishnets. It fits the character’s rough and tumble reputation and has helped make Black Canary into one of the most beloved superheroines in DC history. This is basically Dinah’s default costume, and there’s a good reason for that; it’s fantastic. Her best looks are based on this one, and it’s come back time after time over the decades.
4) Green Arrow’s Neal Adams Costume
Green Arrow was influenced by Batman and Robin Hood, and his first costume isn’t amazing. It’s a green tunic, a small tricorn hat with a feather, and pants with red gloves. It was the definition of fine, and it lasted until the Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams run on Ollie. The baggy tunic became a tighter, more detailed sleeveless vest, keeping the hat, domino mask, and other basic elements with slight cosmetic changes. The changes were perfect; the top looked a thousand times better and the whole thing had more of the Robin Hood feel to it. Some people like the hooded Longbow Hunters look, but this one is the Green Arrow costume.
3) Zatanna’s Tux and Tails
Zatanna is one of DC’s greatest heroines and she’s always been sartorially excellent. The daughter of Zatara has had traditional superhero costumes over the years, but the one that always gets returned to is the one based on her father’s look. The Zataras are stage magicians, so they wear the tux, tails, and top hat into battle. Instead of pants, Zatanna goes with fishnets, giving the look just the right amount of sex appeal. This is a brilliant costume and it will never go out of style.
2) Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern Uniform
Alan Scott was the first Green Lantern, and he had a traditional caped costume. When DC decided to reboot the Green Lantern mythos for the Silver Age, they changed the costume completely and we got this classic number. Artist Gil Kane gave Hal Jordan the perfect costume. It matched the sci-fi energy of the new mythos, and felt like a uniform that would be worn by a intergalactic police force. Other Green Lanterns have their own variants, but this one is the best of them all.
1) The Flash’s Classic Costume
Much like Green Lantern, DC changed the Flash costume and they knocked it out of the park. The red costume with gold lightning bolts and the big chunky boots fit the world’s fastest man perfectly. It was sleek and modern, and it looked like something a runner would wear. There have been some variations on the costume over the years, like when Wally West became the Flash and he darkened the color, changed the belt, and added white eyes to it, but the fact that’s been the same for 70 years shows just how amazing it is.
What are your favorite non-Trinity DC hero costumes? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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