Marvel took the superhero and revolutionized them completely. This started almost from the beginning; Marvel’s heroes always had something of a different language than DC’s superheroes even back in the Golden Age, and that would intensify over the years as Marvel went more and more all-in on superhero comics. We often correctly credit Marvel with inventing the shared universe superhero concept as their greatest achievement, but another place where Marvel excelled and raised the bar was with costumes. While Marvel definitely followed some of the costuming tropes of their distinguished competition, they also created plenty of costumes that were unique, and this led to Marvel’s superheroes becoming the best dressed heroes in comics.
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Marvel has been blessed because the publisher has employed many of the greatest comic artists of all time designing their characters, and this led to some brilliant costumes. However, there have been times when classic costumes have been changed, and instead of being a huge mistake, fans got costumes that were much better than the originals. These ten Marvel costumes weren’t the character’s original, but they are a definite improvement on what came before.
Black Widow’s Bodysuit
When Black Widow first appeared, she was a Russian femme fatale type of spy, using her feminine wiles to attack Iron Man. She was able to seduce Hawkeye, and get him to fight the Armored Avenger, so she was very good at her job. However, her first costume was basically an evening gown. It looked fine, but it wasn’t great. However, when Black Widow became a hero, she changed her costume. Gone was the dress and in its place was the black jumpsuit with the wristbands that contained her line throwers and widow’s bite lasers. Over the years, this costume has seen modifications, but it always comes back to this simple, effective design. It’s become Black Widow’s iconic look, so much so that few fans even know what her old costume used to look like.
Hank Pym’s Giant-Man Costume
Hank Pym’s Ant-Man costume is a classic costume. The red and blue/black jumpsuit and that chunky helmet were a perfect visual, but it definitely wasn’t Hank Pym’s best costume. Hank has had some amazing costumes over the years, so it’s hard to pick just one that is better than the Ant-Man costume. However, there’s a great option from the Silver Age that helped Pym hit the next level as a superhero — his Giant Man costume. He kept much of the same design flourishes as the Anti-Man costume, but the mask and cowl is way better than the helmet. The little ant antennae are a great touch, hearkening back to the Ant-Man design and giving the the headpiece a bit of a unique flare. This is a great costume, and it blows the Ant-Man costume right out of the water.
Danny Ketch’s Ghost Rider Costume
The original Ghost Rider was Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman. The character debuted in the 1970s when Evel Knievel was all the rage, and this influenced the design of the character. Ghost Rider’s costume was patterned after the type of costume that a motorcycle stuntman would wear. It looked good, but it isn’t the costume that everyone thinks of when they think of Ghost Rider. That would be the costume worn by the second Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch. Danny’s costume is more outlaw biker inspired; the heavy leather jacket, the dark pants, and the motorcycle boots all wouldn’t out of place at a biker bar. There’s the spikes and chains to give the costume some added edge. This is what someone named Ghost Rider should look like and it inspired Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider costume when he returned to the mantle.
All of Cyclops’s Costumes
So, this one is sort of a cheat, but that doesn’t make it any less true. When Cyclops first debuted as a character, he wore the blue and yellow Xavier Institute costume. This was a pretty good costume, but it can’t hold a candle on what came next. Cyclops’s first original costume, navy blue with the red trunks and the yellow pirate boots, was so good he wore it for years. Cyclops would keep getting new costumes and all of them are better than his original. While some costumes stand out more than others — the blue and white X-Factor costume, the classic ’90s costume, the Astonishing X-Men costume, the Utopia Era costume, and the Krakoa Era costumes are some of the best costumes in comics — every last one of them is superior to his original costume.
Emma Frost’s Astonishing X-Men Costume
Emma Frost’s original costume was perfect for her as a villain. She wore the white dominatrix outfit of the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, and its over the top sexiness defined who the character was for years to come. Later, when she joined Generation X as one of the headmasters of the Massachusetts Academy, and had a pretty good costume, as was her New X-Men look. However, Emma Frost’s costume that premiered in Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 3) #1 is the best Emma Frost costume off them all. It’s sexy without being over the tap. The cape is a nice throwback to the character’s past, coming out of the strapless crop top that forms the core of the outfit, and gives the costume the haughty look that Emma Frost needs. Add in the tight pants, the boots, and the forearm length gloves and this is a masterpiece of a costume.
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Iron Man’s Model 29 Armor aka the Extremis Armor
Iron Man has had amazing armor in the comics, starting all the way back in the beginning. Iron Man’s original armor looks primitive nowadays, but it fits the time it was first created. However, it’s easy to see that Iron Man’s later armors are much better. Now, it would be easy to cheat for this one and say that all of Iron Man’s armor are better than his original — which is a fact — but there’s one that stands above the rest: the Model 29, better known as the Extremis armor. This is the armor that served as the basis for the MCU armor and was a massive leap forward for Iron Man as a character. It’s the most perfect Iron Man armor of them all. Looking at the armor that came before it and what has come since reveals a lot of great armor designs, but this one is the one that all of those armors wish they were.
Storm’s Punk Rock Costume
Storm’s original costume is basically a swim suit with a cape and an awesome headpiece. It’s a great design and elements of it have been reused in many Storm costumes over the years, cementing its place in the pantheon of great costumes. Storm has a history of great costumes, but one of them stands above the others and that’s the Punk Rock costume. This is one of the coolest costume changes in the history of comics. After spending time with the ninja Yukio, Storm decided to embrace the wild side of her soul. Gone was the regal costume of the past and instead Storm went with a much more hard-edged look. It’s hard to pick the best aspect of this costume, because it’s all awesome, but most fans would agree that her mohawk is the piece de resistance. This costume completely changed Storm’s look, and it changed it for the better.
Norman Osborn’s Iron Patriot Armor
The Green Goblin is one of the best villain designs of all time. Green and purple are perfect for crazy villains, and Green Goblin’s original costume deserves it place in the supervillain costume hall of fame. However, Osborn’s Iron Patriot armor is superior. It takes the awesome look and design flourishes of Iron Man’s best run of armors — Models 24 through 29 — and combines them with the iconography of Captain America, creating a costume that did exactly what Osborn wanted it to, reminding the people of their heroes and getting them to trust him. Norman looked sensational in the Iron Patriot armor, and every page it graced was better for it being there. An argument can be made that this is the best Iron Man-type armor in the history of the Marvel Universe, which is a pretty good place to be for a costume that was only extant for about a year and a half.
Jean Grey’s Green and Gold Phoenix Costume
The X-Men have some amazing costumes, and are among the best dressed characters in the Marvel Universe. Jean Grey is yet another X-Man with a bevy of brilliant costumes, most of which were better than the original X-Men costumes. Jean Grey’s first post-X-Men uniform costume can technically be considered Jean’s first costume, though, and it is a beauty. The green miniskirt and golden mask is great even decades later, but it’s immediately eclipsed by Jean Grey’s next costume — the green and gold Phoenix costume. The green and gold Phoenix costume is such a brilliant, eye-catching look. It takes the colors from the skirt and mask, but goes in a very different direction, exchanging the sexiness of the miniskirt for full body coverage. It’s a look that definitely feels like something that a person who is embodiment of death and rebirth would wear, athough there are some people out there who will fight for the red and gold Dark Phoenix costume being its superior.
Wolverine’s Brown and Orange Costume
Wolverine has worn some eye-catching costumes over the years, and there’s one Wolverine costume that everyone thinks of when they think of him. The blue and yellow costume, popularized by X-Men: The Animated Series among the general population, is iconic and fans lost their minds to finally see it in live action in Deadpool & Wolverine. While most fans think this is Wolverine’s best costume, there’s a much better costume in Wolverine’s repertoire and that’s the brown and orange costume. It was designed by legendary X-Men artist and fellow Canadian John Byrne, who wanted to give the character a costume that fit his wild and earthy persona. The brown and orange costume fit Wolverine much better than the blue and yellow, and remains his best look.
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Image courtesy of Walt Disney Animation
