Marty Michaels

They say that clothes maketh the man, and if that’s the case then colourful tights definatley make the superman. With that in mind, let’s have a quick looksee at the top ten superhero costumes. Onward!

10. GREEN LANTERN

First up on today’s list is a costume that’s less a costume and more a uniform. The original Alan Scott Green Lantern costume wasn’t gonna cut it in the sci-fi oriented Silver Age and so the costume was revamped into the slick and streamlined green and black still worn today by the Green Lantern Corps.

9. CLASSIC X-MEN

Ah, 1963. It was a simpler time, when comic book heroes were too busy saving the universe to worry about angst and guilt and crap like that. A time when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created some of the greatest characters of all time and when comic book teams actually functioned as teams. Enter the X-Men, clad in their classic blue and yellow – a design so iconic that Kitty Pryde’s current costume pays tribute to the Kirby costumes.

8. GREEN ARROW

Ok, so it’s not the most original design but is there any other costume in comics that tells you everything you need to know about the wearer quite as well as the Robin Hood costume worn by the Green Arrow? It just screams swashbuckling adventure and sets up the character and his adventures perfectly. Green Arrow sometimes gets a bad rap by more “serious” comic fans, but (as usual) they’re missing the point.

7. IRON MAN

Wether it’s the original clunky armour, the sleek red and glod redesign, the Silver Centurion armour or even the current movie armour, one thing has always been consistant when it comes to Iron Man. He’s always had freakin’ sweet costumes. Don’t worry about how the hell he can move whilst wearing what is essentially a suit of armour, just sit back and appreciate the awesomness.

6. SPIDER-WOMAN

From way out of left field comes the most obscure choice on the list, that of Jessica Drake’s Spider-Woman. It would’ve been the easiest thing in the world for Buscema and Infantino to have drawn Spider-Man with boobs and called it Spider-Woman, but instead they created one of the best – and strangely sexy – female superhero designs ever. The triangular design on the torso bring to mind the markings of a black widow spider and the “cape” brings up memories of the original Steve Ditko Spidey. Great stuff.

5. CAPTAIN AMERICA

The stars and stripes look is an oft used design in superhero costuming, but it’s never been done quite as well as the Jack Kirby design for Captain America. The bucaneer boots, the chainmail shirt, the winged cowl and the shield all add up to a classic and iconic costume. The only misstep is the “A” on the forehead, a minor detail granted, but one that lost the costume a higher place on the list.

4. THE FLASH

The Flash’s costume is one of the most basic designs in comics, and yet when the Flash streaks across the page in a faster than light blur of red and yellow it is a thing of simplistic beauty. The original helmet wearing Flash of the Golden Age was a cool design for it’s time, but the fact that the Flash’s costume hasn’t changed since 1956 speaks volumes for the “less is more” design of the costume.

3. SPIDER-MAN

From the simplest design in comics to one of the most intricate, Spider-Man has undergone many costume changes over the years, but wether it’s the black suit, the spider armour, the Scarlet Spider or the Iron Spider, he always end up going back to the classic red and blue. Designed by Steve Ditko, the iconic Spider-Man costume first seen in Amazing Fantasy #15 is the best Marvel comics costume bar none.

2. BATMAN

Despite the fact that there’s been hundreds of variations of the suit since his first apperance in 1939, Batman’s suits have consistently been some of the coolest in comics. Wether it’s the original Bill Finger design, the Carime Infantino redesign, the Adam West lavender tights of the sixties TV show, the rubber suits of the movies or the current comics costume, Batman’s suits are always cool, but my favorite it the version designed by Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series. When it comes to the Batsuit, “iconic” is too small a word.

1. SUPERMAN

When you consider that Superman was the first comic book character and that his costume has barely changed since 1938 it’s clear to see why the red, blue and yellow holds the number one spot on this list. Take one pair of blue tights with a red and yellow S on the chest, throw in some red boots, underwear on the outside and a badass cape and you have the best costume in comics. It’s rare enough for a comic book character to become a pop culture icon, but it’s rarer still for a costume or logo to become part of the pop culture lexicon, but that’s exactly what Supes’ cape and tights have done, themselves becoming synonomous with the ideals of truth, justice and the American way.

Tags: comics, superman, top ten