These Are the 10 Worst Superhero Costumes, Ranked

Superheroes have been around for a long time. Superman premiered nearly ninety years ago, and after him thousands of superheroes have followed, all sporting their own colorful costume that was designed to capture the attention of passing kids glancing at the cover. However, over the many years superheroes have been around fashion has changed a lot. Heroes were always at the forefront of strange clothes; after all, Superman showed up wearing bright blue spandex and his red underwear on the outside. To stand out they make their own fashion that would make people look away in shame in the real world. 

However, although sometimes superheroes break out the coolest, most unique design ever, they also sometimes miss the mark with their special costumes. And some of those misses have been very, very bad. So why don’t we look at the top ten worst superhero costumes over the years, and all feel the regret their designers should.

10) Kitty Pryde

Kitty, this is a weird, confusing pudding of colors. The reason that this design, despite being painful to look at, is only at spot number ten is that the design is terrible on purpose. It’s Kitty’s first ever superhero costume, made when she was literally thirteen. The colors are meant to clash, especially against the strict, sleek-minded natures of both Cyclops and Professor X. And because of the joke being that it’s bad and all the hilarity that ensues, I kind of love it. The costume is fun, and isn’t that the essence of what they’re supposed to be? I mean she’s wearing roller skates, that’s awesome! This costume may be bad, but it will always be a favorite.

9) Superman

Now these costumes are in a really weird place because they actually aren’t that bad as a costume generally. The result of another drastic change to Superman’s character, their sleek primary color that’s highlighted by the white accents and bursts of electrical light are actually very visually pleasing. However, these designs as a Superman costume? They just don’t work. There is a reason that nearly ninety years after his introduction Superman’s costume is still very similar to his original one. It’s because it’s iconic in a perfect way, the perfect mix of whimsy and style. This, meanwhile, drops all the most iconic parts of the Superman look. No trunks, the weird headpiece, and no cape? No cape on a Superman costume is criminal.

8) Drake

This costume is just so boring. Tim Drake has been in a rough spot the last decade in DC, and this is honestly a low point for him. This costume is what looks like just brown leather with a few black parts and a sprinkling of yellow. It leaves absolutely zero impact, and is so inoffensive that it is incredibly offensive to look at. And it is inherently tied to the worst codename in comics; Drake. Tim Drake, the secret identity of the superhero Drake. It’s almost as though he wants to be found out for his vigilante activities (and poor fashion sense.)

7) Daredevil

Not only is Daredevil starring in the hit Disney+ show Daredevil: Born Again, he also makes terrible fashion choices. This suit will single handedly reveal his identity to the world, because only a blind man would go outside in this. Matt, you’re supposed to be stealthy like a ninja, why are you wearing armor, and why is it only on your shoulders and your knees? If you’re going to wear a suit of armor with your logo on it like it’s a manager’s name tag, at least make use of it and wear it all over. And this isn’t just something he wore in the nineties, no, unfortunately this suit is making a comeback in Daredevil’s newest ongoing comic run, but at least there it’d doing so in a hilarious fashion.

6) Thor

There’s just so many belts here. I count a minimum of ten belts on Thor’s lower half. That is nine more than you should ever need. And then there’s the weird unprotected midriff that is a way more egregious issue than the Daredevil armor from up above. And even if we ignore all of the unnecessary spikes and weird face guard that guards nothing and only outlines it, the only belt that actually does anything literally has a t on it, just in case people forget who Thor is. He may be the God of Thunder, but God of Fashion he is not. The chains on mjolnir are cool though, they can come back.

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5) Wonder Woman

The jacket is actually really cool. That’s the only good part of this design, and even then, the jacket is cool from a fan perspective, but it does not work as a part of Diana’s actual costume. It just isn’t practical. And what is even up with the midriff clasps above her belt, anyways? Like what is the actual purpose of those. If they’re the things holding her pants up, why does she need the belt? Why are there so many unnecessary belts on these costumes? Beyond that, the worst part of this costume is that it was clearly made just to be revealing, which never makes a good design. Frankly, this isn’t sexy, it’s just uncomfortable to look at. Wonder Woman doesn’t need to cater to the male gaze; she’s one of the most powerful heroes. This costume simply does her no favors and just isn’t that cool.

4) Invisible Woman

Speaking of uncomfortable to look at, let’s take a not too long look at Sue Storm’s worst outfit. I wouldn’t even call this a swimsuit, much less a superhero costume. There’s so much to hate here, between the midriff hexagon and the random strips of cloth that are entirely unconnected to anything, but beyond a doubt the worst part is the awkward “4” cutout. The only redeeming part of this costume is that Sue can turn invisible, so we do not have to look at it any longer.

3) Doctor Fate

This design is everything wrong with the nineties era of comics. Many fans love that era, and some of its designs are great, but this is all of the worst parts shoved in a blender and tossed in a dumpster. During this point the hero went only by Fate, and the Helmet from which all his magic is drawn was melted down to a knife. Where does one start dissecting this look? The clashing gold and red? The single strip of red in his hair? We just have to move on. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and this one says this is a very bad costume.

2) Cosmic Boy

Cosmic Boy’s 70s costume is somehow the terribly perfect mix of far too revealing and not revealing enough. He’s wearing some kind of speedo that stretches up his sides to nearly his armpits. How does that work? How is the fabric holding itself in place, is it glued to his skin? What’s that white strip near the bottom? Is it a belt? Does this even need a belt? Honestly, if you’re not going to wear a shirt or pants, just commit and go the Namor route of wearing just a speedo. This weird half measure is attracting too many questions to ever be worth it. And that is before we even question the gloves.

1) Spider-Man

This isn’t a costume that was ever worn in a comic. Still, I had to include this Spider-Man 2 costume makes the list. There’s too much going on at the torso and absolutely nothing going on with his legs. There’s the hood that poofs out in the weirdest way. There’s the cut at the top of his mask to let his hair poke through. The Spider-Man mask is iconic and simple, it perfectly hides every detail of the wearer. This one shows his hair in a Wally West-style look, which works for Wally as a new version of the Flash costume because it fits his own style, but this just looks bad on Miles. The shoes don’t seem to go with things either (and are obvious product placement). They took what was an amazing design for Spider-Man and just threw a bunch of stuff together that had no business working, and it doesn’t. Not at all.

Do you think these are the worst costumes in comics? Let us know in the comments!