A Look Back at Classic Marvel Superhero Men’s Costumes

Photo: Marvel

By Esteban Cepero

What defines a superhero the most, their origin, their abilities, their actions, or their costume? Honestly, all of it works together in such a way to create an icon that everybody knows. Today we’re going to be focusing on many well-known iconic Marvel superhero costumes. Superhero costumes play such an important role for the superhero themselves. The costume for the superhero is the first thing that comes to mind whenever we hear that superhero’s name. Let’s be honest, we’ve all dressed up in a superhero costume for Halloween a numerous amount of times, whether it’d Captain America or Spider-Man. 

Now, the superhero costumes we see today aren’t exactly the same as the way most superheroes appeared in the past when they made their debut in the comics. All superhero costumes have been redesigned and adapted to have a more modern look for today’s time. Even with the changes, we can never forget the iconic Marvel superhero costumes that made the superhero who they are today. So let’s take a step back into the past and look at some of the most classic Marvel superhero men's costumes!

Daredevil

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If you’re a true Daredevil fan, than you know that Daredevil didn’t originally wear the red costume in the early days when he made his debut back in 1964. How was this costume exactly see the light of day? Matt Murdock designed this iconic black and yellow costume from his father’s boxing robes when he first took on the mantle of ‘the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.’ It was only until many issues later when Daredevil changed it up with the classic all red costume. This change actually helps Daredevil out a lot considering the fact that he fights crime mostly at night. With the bright yellow costume, it would be difficult to be hidden in the dark. 

Thor

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As everybody knows, Thor is a God in Norse mythology and portrayed as one in the comics so his costume is a clear representation of his Asgardian background. Thor’s costume has never really been touched on too much, there were some changes here and there to give Thor’s costume a more “royal” look and make him look tougher. Other than that, Thor will always be rocking the red cape!

Iron Man

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Tony Stark doesn’t technically have a superhero costume, but a strong suit of armor that was built from his own design. The red and yellow suit you see today wasn’t what the original Iron Man was at first. This classic Iron Man costume was actually brought to life in the very first Iron Man film when he was being held hostage. This of course took place in the comics. With Tony Stark having such a powerful intelligence, to escape his captives, he built his very own suit of armor. After he made his escape, he decided to take on the alias of ‘Iron Man’ and use his smarts to redesign his suit in order to fight crime and keep innocents safe.

The Fantastic Four

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The Fantastic Four, most commonly known as the superhero who started it all for Marvel! The Fantastic Four have more of sci-fi origin with the the team being hit by cosmic rays in space which altered their DNA and gave them their abilities. These four superheroes are as classic as it gets but what everyone can remember from the Fantastic is their iconic blue costumes. These costumes were specially designed to adapt to their body in whatever way possible when they were all travelling into outer space. Now, they use the costumes as their uniforms to assist them in using their powers for fighting villains such as Dr. Doom.

X-Men

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The X-Men originally began with five mutants, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. The X-Men aren’t like any other superheroes, they’re actually just regular people who were born with special abilities hence the name “mutants.” The costumes of the X-Men were actually quite simple, just yellow and black spandex suits. Even though they were simple, these costumes have to be one the most iconic costumes in Marvel comics. 

Captain America

Photo: Marvel

Captain America was of course created as an American icon, the perfect soldier that fought in World War II. With Captain America being so patriotic, it clearly showed in his costume. Captain America’s costume is the perfect representation of American Patriotism. His costume showed exactly what he stood for, freedom, and justice. Down the years, his costume hasn’t really changed all that much. 

Spider-Man

Photo: Marvel

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Spider-Man will always go down in history as probably the most iconic superhero Marvel has ever created. Spider-Man isn’t your average superhero, he’s just a normal teenager in high school. Marvel gave fans a superhero that they can actually relate to, which was what made Spider-Man what he is now as a big time favorite superhero. Spider-Man isn’t only an icon for his character, but his costume itself plays a huge part in this. Every Spider-Man fan can tell you that one of the all time best Spider-Man artists was Steve Ditko. Ditko is the one of the few that helped design Spider-Man’s costume. In the future, there has a countless amount of Spider-Man adaptations to his costume, but with all these costumes, the format never changes. Well, Spider-Man doesn’t have the web gliders anymore as he did when he made his first appearance. This classic costume will always be a fan favorite!