Marvel Comics has featured some of the greatest characters in pop culture history, with many of their best heroes and villains sporting iconic and unforgettable costumes. From Jack Kirby, to Steve Ditko, to Jamie McKelvie, to Sarah Pichelli, a number of talented artists have helped create and design some truly incredible costumes that will be ed forever.
Picking the best costumes in Marvel Comics history was a tall task, as there are hundreds that stand out over the more than half-century of Marvel superhero stories. Among those that just missed the cut include Daredevil's iconic red look, Jean Grey's Phoenix costume, Captain Marvel's revamp, the newer Ms. Marvel's modern look, Silver Surfer's shiny ensemble, and many of the outfits from the X-Men. There are many costumes that deserve the recognition that didn't make it on this list. That doesn't mean they aren't spectacular or deserving of praise. Among the thousands of outfits that have debuted in the last 60 years in the pages of Marvel Comics, five stand out as the best ever.
Wolverine in Giant-Size X-Men
When Wolverine first appeared in the pages of The Incredible Hulk, his mask was quite different than what readers are used to today. Instead of the long ears and white eyes, Logan was originally drawn by John Romita Sr. with much shorter ears, as well as visible eyes in his mask. According to legend, when Wolverine appeared on the cover in Giant-Size X-Men #1, artist Gil Kane accidentally drew Wolverine's mask with the much longer ears and blank eyes. Giant-Size X-Men #1 artist Dave Cockrum reportedly dug the design so much, he redrew Wolverine with the long ears throughout the issue.
Wolverine has been redesigned a number of times since its debut in 1974, but only a couple of new looks have even come close to the classic blue and yellow costume. The look was featured in the X-Men: The Animated Series and still can be seen in comics today, including a similar version worn by his clone daughter.
Jane Foster's Thor
When Jane Foster became the new version of Thor in Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman's 2014 run on the hero, it was a bold new direction for the character. The storyline ended up being a huge hit as Foster's Thor proved to be more than worthy of Mjolnir in a fun, yet heartbreaking adventure starring the longtime Marvel character.
While the storytelling and art featured in the series were sublime, a huge reason why Foster's Mighty Thor resonated with readers was her near-perfect design. Thor's helmet, armor, cape, and long hair flowing as she flew through the sky with Mjolnir made the hero look epic. Marvel would be wise to adopt the look as is for the MCU when Natalie Portman wields the hammer as Foster in the Thor: Love and Thunder.
Spider-Man
Rarely has a comic book character look stayed pretty much the same over the course of nearly 60 years, but Spider-Man's costume is the perfect example of "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
Yes, Spider-Man has worn some alternate costumes over the years, including the Iron Spider armor, the Superior Spider-Man look, and the alien symbiote black suit. While those are all great, there's a reason Marvel keeps coming back to the costume designed by Steve Ditko. It's perfect. Sure, there have been a few tweaks over the years to modernize or add a new feature to Spidey's suit, but the web-slinger's costume has never needed a major overhaul. It's simply a great look - even if Spider-Man's suit colors were originally supposed to be different.
Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider
There have been hundreds of different variations on spider-heroes over the years, with Marvel's Spider-Verse series introducing a slew of all-new wall-crawlers. However, out of all the heroes that have followed in the footsteps of Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen's costume is without a doubt the best.
Spider-Gwen's white mask, hood, and ballerina shoes are perfectly complimented with a pink, white, and black color scheme. She not only looks cool, but the costume seems fairly practical as it's easy to envision a young hero wearing the outfit. It's sleek, colorful, and just a ton of fun to see in action. Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez hit a home run with Gwen's design as the character who initially was just a fun alternate-version of Gwen Stacy has become more popular than the character she was based on. While Spider-Gwen has had a couple of name changes as a hero, changing her outfit from the hooded look would be a crime.
After appearing in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Gwen's popularity has risen dramatically, having a noticeable impact on young readers and cosplayers. It's not easy for a modern, alt-universe character to have such immediate recognizability, but Spider-Gwen has accomplished that and then some.
Doctor Strange
Steve Ditko's work on Doctor Strange is some of the best art ever in Marvel Comics history. He took what could have been a silly character and turned him into a legitimately cool hero whose costume was way ahead of its time.
Doctor Strange's classic costume busy in all the right ways. With a tunic, a grand Cloak of Levitation, the Eye of Agomotto, and gloves, Stephen Strange's costume has always looked magical. Considering the hero went on a number of psychedelic adventures throughout the cosmos and different realities, especially in his earliest stories, he needed a costume that matched. Doctor Strange's original look was flamboyant, over the top, and damn-near perfect. While his look has changed over the years, different versions of the character have remained somewhat faithful to his original look. It would be really cool to see Benedict Cumberbatch get a more Ditko-styled costume in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While the MCU definitely pays tribute to Ditko's design, it could use a little more color to really make it like his original look - like when he wore yellow gloves in Thor: Ragnarok. His original outfit is truly a classic Marvel Comics costume.
