Spider-Man’s red and blue suit is one of the most iconic costumes in the history of superheroes. Still, over the years, Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and other Spider-People have gone through a closet’s worth of suits. Some of these redesigns, like Peter’s black symbiote costume, were incredibly successful and instantly became fan favorites. However, with so many different redesigns, there are bound to be several duds. Plenty of these costumes only lasted one or two issues because they were bland, overly detailed, or just looked ridiculous. Some of these costumes were meant to be taken seriously, while others were always intended to be jokes.
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These are the costumes that Marvel’s Spider-Men should have, or has, thrown in the trash.
10) Electro-Proof Suit
To fight Electro, Peter created a rubber-insulated suit that would protect him from the villain’s electricity. The suit was intended for practicality over design, but the result was still unappealing. The bright red was replaced with a dark, brownish-red color, and the suit was covered in bulky padding. The suit’s spider symbol also appeared odd because the positioning of the four legs gave it a resemblance to the number eight. Peter only uses this suit during confrontations with Electro, so it hasn’t been seen as frequently as some of his other costumes.
9) Dusk Costume
When Norman Osborn framed Spider-Man for murder, Peter created four all-new alter egos for him to continue fighting crime. These four new superhero identities were Prodigy, Hornet, Ricochet, and Dusk. Peter would rotate between the four identities to catch criminals by surprise. Of the four new alter egos, Dusk had the laziest design. The costume was just a black silhouette with no defining details. The minimalist design felt very uninspired and unmemorable. When Peter proved his own innocence, he abandoned the four substitute identities for good.
8) Scarlet Spider’s Cosplay Costume
Peter Parker’s clone, Ben Reilly, aka Scarlet Spider, began with an iconic red suit paired with a ripped blue hoodie. However, when Ben becomes a fugitive, he steals a cosplayer’s Spider-Man costume to create a new identity for himself. Unfortunately, the costume he stole was atrocious. The design was messy and overly detailed. The strangest part of the costume was that the outline of Ben’s mouth was visible through the face fabric, making for unintentionally awkward expressions. Fans hated the costume, and Marvel quickly returned Ben to his classic suit.
7) Spider-Goblin Armor
In a bizarre turn of events, Peter found himself possessed by the sins of his archenemy, Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin. Having lost his mind, Peter donned a terrible costume that combined elements from the Spider-Man and Green Goblin suits. The costume is meant to look menacing, but the Green Goblin mask partially covered by a Spider-Man mask simply looks silly. Additionally, the dark purple obscures the Spider-Man suit’s iconic webbing design. Peter used this costume and the Green Goblin’s Glider to terrorize the people whom he believed had wronged him.
6) Miles Morales Baggy Costume
Miles Morales decided to switch out his iconic Spider-Man suit after the villain Selim tried to frame him for various crimes by wearing an identical suit. The new suit Miles donned resembles an oversized sweater over his regular costume. The costume looks too baggy for a hero who performs death-defying acrobatic feats. Moreover, the baggy sweater is completely superfluous. The oversized shirt is removable, revealing a far sleeker design underneath. It would have made much more sense for Miles to ditch the baggy shirt and stick with the practical and form-fitting costume underneath.
5) Cyborg Spider-Man
When Peter suffers from serious injuries after a fight, the cybernetic expert Oscar McDonnel turns the wall-crawler into an edgy ’90s cliché. Outfitted with a cybernetic arm cast and a goggle over one of his eyes, Peter looked like a bizarro version of the cyborg hero Cable. Furthermore, the arm cast is disproportionately large. Peter is also given various bandages and belts that align with the anti-hero tropes that were popular at the time. Thankfully, Peter lost these “upgrades” when he was fully healed just a few days later. There are just some characters that don’t need an edgy redesign.
4) Peter’s Wrestling Outfit
Before Peter made his iconic red and blue costume, he had a much more basic and bland costume to hide his identity. After gaining his spider powers, Peter decided to become a wrestler to earn some money. Without the funds for a flashy suit, Peter put together a disguise made up of a white shirt, blue pants, and a grey mask. As one can imagine, it wasn’t the type of costume that would inspire a reader. But it did serve as a visual contrast for Peter later developing a superhero career. With this transformation, Peter thankfully traded out the boring disguise for the flashy Spider-Man suit that we all know and love.
3) Threats and Menaces Suit
One of the most embarrassing moments in Spider-Man’s hero career is when he decided to become a streamer. To make some money, Peter created a suit that could broadcast his heroic exploits live and allow him to chat with his viewers. The suit’s design is too cluttered, lacking cohesion and balance. The use of grey, blue, and orange makes the costume visually unappealing. Additionally, the idea of Peter streaming himself fighting crime for money seems out of character, especially since his origin involved him learning not to use his gifts for monetary gain.
2) Spider-Naut
In exchange for infinite strength, Spider-Man sacrificed his fashion sense. During the Eight Deaths of Spider-Man arc, Peter dies repeatedly attempting to defeat the eldritch being Cyttorak, who imbued the villain-turned-hero Juggernaut with his power. Cyttorak’s daughter, Cyra, was inspired by Peter’s heroism and she gave him some of her father’s power. Peter transformed into a powerhouse with enough strength to contend with Cyttorak. Peter’s hulking mass and dome helmet, mixed with his Spider-Man design, looked like a silly bubble man akin to a Spidey version of the Michelin Tire Man. The idea of the web-slinging acrobat hero Spider-Man charging through buildings like a bulldozer also was a completely ludicrous concept that should have been scrapped from the outset.
1) The Bombastic Bag-Man
Whenever Peter’s other costumes are unavailable, he’s forced to don the mantle of the Bombastic Bag-Man. After Peter freed himself from the black symbiote costume, Fantastic Four member Johnny Storm decided to “help” his friend by giving him a spare costume. Since the Fantastic Four costumes don’t have masks, Peter had to improvise by using a paper bag with eye holes. Johnny also taped a “Kick Me” sign to the back of the costume without Peter noticing. Since that initial outing, Peter has been forced to wear it on several other occasions. The costume was always meant to be a joke, and Peter loathes putting it on – a reaction most readers share.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
