My top 50 comic costumes

Ok after my last few articles have been heavily researched pieces that a ton of work went into I decided to crap out a little bit this time around and go for something simple like a list, I do love lists ever so much. Of course I'm not going to bat out a quick one like a top ten on something. I don't want to go SUPER lazy on it or anything.

So I thought about what I like to read a list about? First off I want something thats not short, this IS a article after all and when I sit down to read a article I like to have a nice piece that I can sink my teeth into. With that I decided that a top 50 would be a nice number. Second off I wanted to do it on something that I didn't see a lot of on this site, everyone and there mother has a list of movies or video games on here so I decided on something that you need no prior knowledge of where the pictures should suffice, thats how I landed on comic book costumes.

With all of that said I would like to say that this is no "official" list by any means and that it is all personal opinion. My person opinion and let me tell you thats usually not the popular opinion. I know a lot of people will disagree with it, what kind of list wouldn't have people disagreeing right? I'm welcome to that everyone has different opinions on EVERYTHING. I already know a lot of people will disagree when it comes to the top of my list, I can already hear people getting steamed about numbers 4 and 3 without a shadow of a doubt.

Finally for some extra fun I threw in a little fun fact about each character on the list, many of them are stupid and bad attempts at humor but I like it and I hope you do too, so without any more stalling here is the list of MY top 50 comic costumes.


50 Hawkeye




Most people can't pull off purple and blue, Hawkeye can, he deserves to be on the list based solely on that fact alone. Still aside from that he has got that old timey archer look down pat. In fact it doesn't look old timey. It looks classic. Also he gets a bonus for not only pulling off purple and blue but also buccaneer boots.



49 Black Bolt




This is one of those costumes where your not sure what you like about it you just do, maybe its the fact that its all black except for the light blue, the wing like fans under his arms or that tuning fork on his forhead... actually I think all of those reasons are why this costume is awesome! Mystery solved!




48 Sentry




Sentry might be one of the newer heroes on the list but he already has a rich history. Back in 2000 Marvel through Wizard magazine broke the story about The Sentry, Marvels first real super hero that even pre-dated the Fantastic Four and was created by Stan Lee and artist Sam Rosen. In the 1960's he was going to be Marvels first new hero for several years he was there answer to Superman. As it turns out it was a hoax, the character was a new one and Marvel wanted to gain publicity for him by cooking up the story. He was actually created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. I didn't really want to get into that history lesson but its the best way to explain how a new character from 2000 has the classic old school style look for a super hero. The cape, the big letter and the underwear on the outside. Yet because of the hoax the costume works beautifully.



47 Deadshot




I don't know why silver underwear on the outside of your red pants make you look bad ass, it really shouldn't, but Deadshot looks about as bad ass as you can get. The silver mask with the one red eye is also pretty damn awesome. These days theres alot less silver and a trench coat. Its not as good.



46 Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash




I always liked the named Reverse Flash more than Professor Zoom because it also describes his costume beautifully. The Flash's costume is great but to see this version of it you know something has to be up. The Yellow and red has switched places and the thunderbolt has a black circle around it instead of white. Just awesome.



45 Batman (Batman Beyond)




Where would Terry McGunnis be without this batsuit? When Bruce Wayne was starting to get older and slowed down he made it to help him and boy has it made things easier for McGunnis. The suit has a bunch of gadgets built in, can fly, go into stealth mode and even amplify the wearers strength. Terry might of proved on a few episodes of Batman Beyond that it isn't the suit that makes him the new Batman but it sure as hell doesn't hurt either.



44 Carnage




Carnage has a costume that perfect describes the character. Wild, crazy and out of control. Yet its those elements that make the costume look great when it could just of easily made him look, well stupid. Now bring into the light the fact that the costume is a living symboite and has the ability to make weapons out of itself and such and you got yourself a pretty sweet deal on the go.



43 Thor




Since his comeback about a year ago Thor has had a new costume which includes chain mail. There is no need for chain mail when your the son of Odin! Thor's classic costume is just that, classic. Plus the winged helmet is something I would love to have myself.



42 Deathlok




Hes a solider, a cyborg AND a zombie all rolled up into one and somehow he has a costume that does him justice with equal parts of each characteristic represented beautifully.



41 Invincible




With only making his first appearance in 2002 Invincible is the newest character on the list. Invincible actually had a few pages dedicated to the creation of his costume by a tailor who is a regular character in his series. Eventually after few different costumes they settled on this one which the tailor said was "Iconic." I couldn't agree more.



40 Havoc




I'm talking about Havoc's classic costume here. Once again the classic is better then the new one who'd a thought huh? Maybe thats why they are called classics hmmmmm? Anyways this all black number with the white circles is the best costume Havoc has ever had, its minimalistic and fantastic!



39 Nightwing




What an amazing change! Dick Greyson never had alot of luck when it comes to cool costumes. He was the first Robin with the fairy boots, pantyhose and of course those green scaly Robin panties. Then he became Nightwing but his first costume there also left alot to be desired that giant collar for example. Then he got it right. For a guy trained by Batman he finally got a dark costume that shows that he means business this time.



38 Rorschach




Its simple and took the point. Being a detective Rorschach needs to wear the trademark trench coat of all detective's, plus his name is Rorschach so hes got to incorporate that into the costume somewhere a mask is the perfect place. Rorschach easily takes the prize of coolest costume in The Watchmen, way better then the much more powerful Dr. Manhattan who thinks hes to good for a costume and exposes everyone to his blue nudity all the time.



37 Scorpion




Ahh the Scorpion, one of the always under rated villains of Spider-Man. Just look at that costume its great! Since hes the Scorpion all you even need is that awesome stinger, Thankfully they decided against pincers for hands though a call that I have always been thankful for. Plus its all green, for some reason thats also awesome!



36 Magneto




I never really cared for Magnetos costume. So why you ask is he on the list of my favorite costumes. Well because his costume is perfect for Magneto. Colors aside it showcases just the type of character Magneto is. Confident, way to full of himself and a leader for mutants everywhere. First off he has a cape. I know it might not seem like a big deal but when you count the number of guys in Marvel who actually have capes it tells a different story, in Marvel they are almost always saved for the most powerful characters. Then theres the helmet, whatever I might dislike about the costumes looks that helmet looks pretty damn awesome. Plus it keeps those pesky psychics out of his head!



35 Guardian




And if you don't know what Captain Canada looks like then your lucky. Guardian is the leader of Marvels Canadian super powered team Alpha Flight and Guardian shows his Canadian pride every day with this costume that just screams Canada.... Don't worry you Americans will get yours further in the list...



34 Zorro




Zorro is the oldest character on this list in fact he was created in 1919 and at that time he was one of the worlds first "super" heroes around. It seems strange to me that this hero would be decked out all in black instead of white. No complaints though the costume is fantastic and way ahead of its time.



33 Aquaman




Aquaman has always gotten a bad rep. From his powers to his costume. I think is sad on both counts. The power thing is all the fault of The Superfriends TV show from the 1970's, the costume...I have no idea why. They have tried to update Aquaman's look quite a few times, from the horrible blue thing he wore in the '80s to the long hair and beard combo with the hook for a hand. Still though it always came back to this costume. Classic ages like a fine wine and hopefully others like this costume now as well because it has ALWAYS been by FAR the best costume Aquaman has ever had.



32 Black Cat




The first of only five women to make it to the list...geez only five? Anyways The Black Cats costume is everything it needs to be. Shes a thief, so its all black and has a small mask to hide her identity, shes also a spoiled and lady so that brings in the fur. She also like to be sexy so she makes sure to have a very plunging neckline for as much cleavage as possible. Yup The Black Cat, a super heroing lady who's costume we can all set our watches too.



31 Lex Luthor's Battle Armor




Sure Lex Luthor's fancy and expensive business suits are snazy as all hell but when your going toe to toe with the man of steel it leaves something to be desired. Enter Lex Luthor's Battle Armor. Once again we have a odd color combination, green and purple, but odd color combos seem to work very well in comics. Like I said this armor allows Lex to fight Superman without any kryptonite aid, although he usually still has some stashed away somewhere. Either way in my book a outfit that amplifies your strength enough to fight Superman is pretty gosh darn sweet.



30 The Phantom




Much like Zorro, The Phantom was a good guy who at the time of his creation, 1936, might not of really looked like a hero, mostly due to the skull on his belt buckle and ring, I mean skulls ARE evil right? Another notable fact about The Phantom that shouldn't be ignored is that he was the first character to ever wear a skin tight spandex costume. Go Phantom!



29 Deathstroke The Terminator




Deathstoke is a mercenary and his costume reflects that. The dark blue outfit allows you to believe that if he was on more of a stealth mission he can blend in with his surroundings, and the ammo that hes packing shows hes ready for all situations. Then theres the mask. Half orange and half black, thats just nifty looking.



28 Wonder Woman




If there are only a few women on this list then you KNEW Wonder Woman would be there. Of all the women on the list hers is easily the most iconic, and it suits her well, its sexy but not skanky. Its also very American so she's got that going for her. Its just an all around classic outfit, that set the standards for all female comic costumes after it, just like the character herself.



27 Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)




Hal Jordan's Green Lantern outfit is basically the standard for all Green Lantern's out there so I'll just use him for this since hes the top dog anyways. Either way the costume just seems like what a intergalactic police uniform should be. Green, black and simple. Oh and the classic super hero mask as well of course.



26 Spawn




Out of all the dark scary anti-heroes of the 1990's Spawn sits atop them all challenging them in both character (not so much these days) and costume. Spawn's costume hits all the right notes, its very dark but at the same time you know hes one of the good guys. The mask is also awesome and of course you can't forget the flowing cape and chains.



25 Wolverine (Blue & Yellow)




Originally Wolverine's mask for this costume brought the entire thing down and made it look like crap but after that was fixed up he was firing on all cylinders. Its yellow and it dares people to come after him because of it, I mean what kind of pansy wears yellow right? To bad that false sense of security fades quick when Wolverine approaches.



24 Vampirella




Ummm....well as Stan Lee was once heard saying, "'Nuff said."



23 Bullseye





All black with white targets....like bullseyes! I get it and its great!



22 Superman





Superman's costume is the costume that all other costumes have been measured up to since the character was created and any time there has been any slight modifications of the costume fanboys go rabid. Superman's costume is THE all time classic costume, the most classic ever. Still just because its the most classic doesn't make it the best ever. No matter what anyone says I will never embrace the underwear on the outside of the tights.



21 Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)




Its amazing how the only skin Spider-Woman's costume shows is the lower half of her face but yet it can still ooze tons of sex appeal. The colors go together great and the simple designs are in the perfect places. Her hair is also to die for.... I bet she uses head and shoulders.



20 Spider-Man (The black costume)




When Marvel decided to change Spider-Man's classic red and blue costume fanboys went nuts they even threatened to stop buying the wall crawlers comics. When the black costume debuted though fans fell in love with it and when Spider-Man got rid of the alien symboite that made the costume the love for the black was still so high Marvel decided to keep it a while longer and just before he did finally go back to the red and blue fans threatened to stop buying the wall crawlers comics all over again. Funny how these things work out huh?



19 Ghost Rider




C'mon Ghost Rider is a bad ass biker with a flaming skull for a head do I really need to say any more???



18 Question




The Question's costume much like Rorschach's is just the classic detective trench coat and hat, sure its blue this time but thats not that big of a difference. The real appeal here comes from the LACK OF FACE. A faceless question always looking for answers to questions nobody every asked? Awesome.



17 Daredevil




What a huge step up from that debacle that was his original Yellow costume. When asked in a interview how Marvel came to the decision on how to change Daredevil's costume back in the early days it goes like this. Fans were saying the costume wasn't good and fearing that a crappy costume might lead to less readers Marvel decided to change it and when Stan Lee was approached he simply said "Ok lets try red." and that was the entire thought process that went into it. Stan you are indeed the man.



16 The Punisher




The Punisher would be even higher up on this list again if not for the fact that I see every Tom, Dick and Harry wearing the shirt all the time. Geez. Still thats got to tell you something about it. As far as I'm concerned though I never really cared for it being just the T-shirt, like I said EVERYONE wears that stuff. I like it more when Frank Castle has the entire Punisher get up on which includes those white boots and gloves.



15 Venom




They wanted a evil take on Spider-Man's black costume and here it is, it retains all the coolness of said black costume and adds to it with a giant gaping smile, sharp teeth and that tongue dripping with green smile that even Gene Simmons would envious of.



14 The Green Goblin




The Green Goblin's costume captures the heart and soul of the character perhaps more then any other costume before or since. The Goblin is insane and it shows just look at the mask, the scaly green skin, the funky pouch full of pumpkin bombs and crazy elf hat. All this and I still haven't even gotten to the neat pointy boots yet.



13 Bizarro




Much like the character that inspired it, Bizarro's costume also inspired a ton of copy cats much like the character himself. It seemed like after Bizarro came around every big hero needed there own "Bizarro" and that character needed a costume like the heroes original costume only slightly tweeked a little bit, see #46 Professor Zoom and #15 Venom on this list for prime examples of that. Bizarro still did it best though suddenly Superman's costume which represented peace, love, truth, justice and the American way was turned upside down. Simply put its brilliant.



12 Taskmaster




This is another example of not really knowing why I like a costume so much but still really liking it a whole lot anyways. Maybe its the skull face?



11 Wolverine (Brown & Tan)




Sure Wolverine's classic yellow and blue is great and all but the brown and tan is waaaay better, I wish they had stuck with it. For more info on this costume check out the first part of my article on the history of Wolverine where I even talk about the costume change. http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/3307/



10 Rocketeer




I know even less about The Rocketeer then Vampirella, still that doesn't mean I can't like this retro 40's yet still futuristic costume.



09 Harley Quinn




Harley Quinn is the highest ranked girl on this list shes also the newest out of them all to exist. Her costume is great it shows that shes an obsessed Joker fanatic but she has her own spin on the whole clown thing. Awesome. You know there sure are alot of cool looking evil clowns out there, just an observation.



08 Dr. Doom




Dr. Doom's costume much like every other costume this high on my list is an absolute work of art. Its got that monarch feel that he wants, seeing how hes the king of his own country and all, plus its a armor with all kinds of fancy weapons and do-dads in it! Oh and his face mask is also pretty nice as well.



07 Captain America




Remember when I got to Guardian back at #35 that I said America would get theres too? Well this is it. When it comes to costumes that represent a country it doesn't get much sweeter then this. I'm not even American and I feel like saluting it every time I see it.



06 Batman




Along with Superman, Batman has one of the most iconic costumes ever. Should there really be any doubt about that? Batman is a creature of the night who's has a costume which has the sole purpose of scaring the bajeebers out of anyone he wants to scare. I know I would probably crap my pants if I ran into a guy looking like Batman in a dark alley anyways.



05 Spider-Man (Classic Red & Blue)




And Spider-Man makes a second appearance on my list with his classic red and blue costume. I don't really have to defend this one since it tops so many other peoples lists so I'll just let it be and move on I have to get ready to defend my next unbelievable pick.



04 Mysterio




Yet ANOTHER green and purple costume on my list, I have no idea what it is about these colors that shouldn't go together, maybe its because they shouldn't go together, but I digress, Yes Mysterio, who MANY say has one of the worst costumes ever and is subject to A LOT of fun making is #4 on my list. Sure I understand that some people think the fish bowl (not really a fish bowl by the way)and the eye button things that are clipped to his purple cape are lame, but I can't help but love it. Really though it seems that you either hate this costume or love it with no in between and most people fall into the hating it category. I don't. I also know that I'm going to lose a lot of people on this pick with my list. So be it I can't help but love this under rated classic, and remember it IS my list filled with MY personal opinions.



03 Moon Knight




Not only is Moon Knight under rated so is his costume. Its all white yet he operates at night with scare tactics in much of the same way that Batman does. Also since its all white you get the best shadow play in all of comics. Simply beautiful. I love Moon Knight.



02 Iron Man




Much like with the futuristic Batman suit from Batman Beyond one has to wonder if its the suit that makes the hero or is it the man inside the suit. Personally I think its the man himself, I mean it IS Tony Stark after all. Either way though The Iron Man armor is stuffed to the gils with everything imaginable and as ridiculous as it might even sound of all the super heroes that exist in comics, Iron Man is one of the most possible, sure it won't happen tomorrow or anything but who's to say that one day people won't get suited up in suits of armor like Iron Man's to fight wars with the way technology advances these days... Yeah I know it will never happen but its my only hope of being a real super hero unless I have the mutant gene which seems to also not exist....



01 The Flash




And after a long wait we finally hit #1 on my list of favorite super hero costumes. The Flash. Its got that I don't know what I like about it so much factor going for it but at the same time I know what I do like about it. Its all red, with yellow lightning bolts and a when he runs really fast, like The Flash might tend to do sometimes, the streaks from his costume are awesome. He can also store it in a ring. I WANT ONE!



So anyways theres the list of my top 50 super hero costumes. Since its all my personal opinion I'm sure to get crapped on about some of the choices, "How can Supermans costume be so far back?", "Why the hell is Mysterio #4!? His costume sucks!", "Who or what is a Moon Knight!?", yeah I know I'm going to get crap from it but like I said its my list I'm not asking you to agree with it only to respect that its my personal opinions on the matter, if you feel strongly enough about it make your own list, I don't care in fact I'm sure it would be fun to read.

As I said I wanted to do a list this time around after getting a bit of burnout from all the research needed from my last few articles but not to worry next time I'll be returning to form with an article that I think you will like a lot, I won't say what it is now because I'm afraid someone might steal the idea and bat out an article about it on the quick. So until then happy retro-reading!