10 Underrated MCU Costumes

The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes from many factors, but there was one place Marvel Studios always shined — the costumes. The MCU was able to create iconic looks for Marvel’s greatest heroes, and those designs helped propel characters to stardom. There are a lot of amazing MCU costumes in the movies and TV shows, but there are some that don’t get enough credit for how cool they are. The MCU has a lot of really underrated costumes, worn by both heroes and villains. Some of these looks are taken whole cloth from the comics, others capture the feel without being constrained by it, and some are entirely new.

These underrated costumes have always deserved way more credit than they get. The designers were cooking when they came up with these, creating looks for the characters that rival the classic MCU designs. These ten costumes are the best of MCU’s underrated costumes, sartorial masterpieces that everyone knows are some of the best.

Zemo’s Costume From Falcon and the Winter Soldier

When Helmut Zemo first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, he was revealed to be a former Sokovian soldier and didn’t don the traditional purple crush velvet masterpiece. Most comic fans gave up any hope of ever seeing that costume, but honestly, that was fine. Some costumes just don’t translate well to live-action. That’s why it was such a surprise in Falcon and the Winter Soldier to see Zemo in a costume at all, and one that felt extremely faithful to the Zemo design of the comics while also being something completely different.

Zemo’s costume, perhaps because of its ostentatious feel, had a regal air to it and the movie costume was able to capture that as well. The overcoat, with the visible fur lining, was able to capture the sense that the Zemo family had power and prestige. This was a lord’s jacket, one he wore out on his land to hunt. The mask was the throwback to the original comic costume, purple and lined, completing the look perfectly. It was a simple costume, but it spoke volumes. It’s a shame that he didn’t wear the mask more often in the show.

Sam’s Captain America Costume From Falcon and the Winter Soldier

In the comics, Sam Wilson’s costumes have never missed. Falcon’s costume was red and white anyway, so Sam looked amazing in the various Captain America costumes he wore. Marvel Studios doesn’t always adapt costumes directly from the comics, but they did with Sam’s Wakandan-created vibranium costume in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This was an almost exact copy of a comic costume, beyond the size of the star crest on the chest.

It’s a fantastic-looking costume for the final episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It stood out in the nighttime action scene, especially the fight with Batroc. It was just the right mixture of light and darkness, which made it pop in the lighting of the scene. It looked great in motion, and the flying scenes were especially good. Sam’s costume needed to be A+ right off the bat, and this one nailed it. It was able to incorporate aspects of both Captain America and Falcon to create something that had the right aura.

John Walker’s Captain America Costume From Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Falcon and the Winter Soldier certainly has its problems, but costumes weren’t one of them. John Walker’s being introduced as Captain America was a showstopper, especially because of his excellent costume. Now, for long-time Marvel fans, this costume looked very familiar and there’s a good reason for that — it incorporates elements of Walker’s USAgent costume from the comics. The star on the chest is placed in the same place as the USAgent costume and the red stripes along the front of the costume are also taken from the comics. It worked perfectly, with the more armored feel of the MCU matching Walker’s personality.

The A helmet was a nice touch as well, going back to the military helmet that Captain America’s WWII costumes had. This added to the more martial feel that the costume had, another piece that incorporated Walker’s own medal-winning background. The darker reds and blues speak to this being a darker Captain America than Steve was, a nice little piece of visual storytelling. It’s an example of grade-A costume design.

Kate Bishop ‘s Hawkeye Costume From Hawkeye

Kate Bishop’s background as a champion archer made her the perfect person to become Hawkeye and she got a great costume once she teamed up with Clint Barton. Her first costume in the show used her archery shirt, and her second one took elements of that and kicked it all up a notch. The purple and black combo, the colors she’s worn in the comics, work wonderfully with the show’s winter in New York City setting, with the purple being just the right shade to be light enough to work in every lighting.

The show only used the colors when it came to comic-accurate designs, but her design did fit more in with the motifs introduced to Hawkeye costumes in the MCU. It felt like the kind of costume that an archer would wear and had a good range of movement for her. It was simple enough that audiences could buy her getting to it quickly in the middle of the action. It’s not overdesigned, like some MCU costumes, and that simplicity definitely does it a favor. It’s an all-around great costume and it will be interesting to see how it evolves as Kate Bishop continues her career as Hawkeye.

Mysterio From Spider-Man: Far From Home

The Mysterio costume is another example of taking design elements from the comics and using them in different ways to create a costume that feels accurate to the comics while being its own thing. Quentin Beck’s revenge scheme against Stark Industries inspired him to create his costume, which had the look of a somewhat extravagant hero costume, with just a little something off. It was a little too well put together, a little more of a statement piece than an actual hero costume. Green and gold go very well together, and it’s an all-together eye-catching costume.

The fishbowl helmet from the comics is there in all its glory and it truly is a sight. While Mysterio showing his face as much as he does in the movie seems a little weird — someone named Mysterio revealing his identity doesn’t really fit the whole motif — when the helmet was on screen, it was fantastic. They could have easily screwed up the helmet, but they got it perfect and that made a lot of the difference. It’s one of the better villain costumes in the MCU and more people need to give it praise.

RELATED: 10 Best Spider-Man Costumes in Marvel Movies Ranked

Scarlet Witch From Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced fans to a character that would get a pretty heavy degree of popularity as the years have gone on. Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch has a rather rabid fanbase online and many of them are hoping for Scarlet Witch to return after Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and her costume designs helped that along. Scarlet Witch’s costumes over her MCU tenure have been pretty interesting; she’s moved closer to her comic style as the years have gone on from something that was very different. Her costumes always had more of a casual vibe to them, and that started with her very first look in Avengers: Age of Ultron. That simple jacket and dress combo did an amazing job of telling who Wanda was.

The jacket gave her the red she wore in the comics, but the black dress was something new. It gave her the witchy vibes that the movie was going for; this Scarlet Witch felt like someone who was just as likely to go to a Hot Topic as anywhere else. However, the nondescript nature of the whole outfit added to the mystery of who she was and what she could do. It’s not the most flashy costume, but it does a better job than anyone would have expected it to.

The Dora Milaje

The Dora Milaje appeared in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Acting as the defenders of the King of Wakanda, these woman warriors were known for their ferocity and fearlessness. This came across immediately thanks to their excellent costumes. The Dora Milaje’s uniforms feel both ceremonial and practical, and just have the right feel for an order of powerful women from an Afrofuturist paradise.

The Dora Milaje looked like they are going to kick the butts of anyone who goes up against them, and that’s important for a group of guards. The Dora Milaje’s costumes have just the right intimidation factor while having a regal feel to them; people are going to look twice at them and decide not to go after the King of Wakanda. Their design screams formal, but it’s easy to see that they can fight in these costumes very, very easily. Good costumes tell stories, and the Dora Milaje’s costumes tell of years of loyal, efficient, but mostly violent service.

Ms. Marvel’s Costume From Ms. Marvel

Iman Vellani was the perfect casting for Ms. Marvel; Vellani was a massive fan of Marvel and loved Kamala Khan. She was able to bring the perfect exuberance that the character needed, and the costume definitely played a role in that. While it’s not exactly accurate to the comic, it takes many of the elements from that first costume and expands upon them. The sash around the neck gives the costume nice, flowing accouterments, and the stylization of the Ms. Marvel lightning bolt fits the costume nicely. There’s a design to the dress section of the costume that has the same feel of Arab fabrics, which is perfect for her heritage, much like the costume’s bangle.

It’s not often the MCU actually finds a way to improve upon a costume, but the Ms. Marvel costume is close. It does everything right and doesn’t look as overdesigned as many other MCU costumes of its era do. It definitely feels like something that a high-end cosplayer like Kamala could create. Later versions would cut down on the blue, but this one finds the right balance. It was the perfect debut costume for Kamala and made Ms. Marvel into a special experience.

Iron Man’s Red-and-Silver Armor From Iron Man 2

Iron Man has had some amazing armors in the MCU, with the best of them getting loads and loads of praise. There’s one armor that impressed fans when it first appeared, but doesn’t really get a lot of screen time and doesn’t get talked about enough. This is the Mark V armor from Iron Man 2. The Mark V is based on the Silver Centurion armor in the comics. Of course, “based” is a little much; the MCU version doesn’t follow any of the design conventions of the Silver Centurion beyond the armor. However, it doesn’t need to, because this armor looks phenomenal.

Now, the MCU didn’t just take inspiration from the Silver Centurion, it also took an aspect of Iron Man’s comic heritage, and this gave it the main design motif. See, in the early days of the comics, Tony Stark carried his armor in a suitcase, mostly because he always wore the breastplate of the armor to keep his heart going. This allowed him to change quickly. The MCU took this idea and brought it into the present day. The scalloped nature of the Mark V, the part that helps it look so great, comes from it being kept in a specialized suitcase and how it went on Tony. It gave the armor a unique look among the MCU suits, and that goes a long way.

Steve Rogers’s Costume From Avengers: Infinity War

This one is a bit of a cheat, because it’s not really a new design and more of a modification, but that doesn’t stop how fantastic it is. Steve Rogers left behind the identity of Captain America after Captain America: Civil War, but he was never going to leave behind being a hero. Steve may not have taken up the shield, but he still had a use for the old costume. However, since he was no longer the Sentinel of Liberty, he changed from the red, white, and blue to black. This perfectly fit his man without a nation vibe, and also told a lot about how he operated.

Steve Rogers was no longer the big showy hero, he operated from the shadows with Black Widow and Falcon. This called for an altogether darker costume, and that’s what costume designers gave moviegoers. It takes an already excellent design and brings it to the next level. When the costume is seen in the light, it really shows off just how cool everything about it, which makes a huge difference. It’s an awesome costume, one of Steve Rogers’s best.