For a superhero to be popular and successful, they need memorable designs that capture the imagination of their fans. Many heroes use their costumes to make visual statements about their personalities and ideals, like Captain America’s star-spangled uniform. Some superheroes, like the Thing, have less a costume than a signature body design, which tend to have only minimal changes throughout the decades. However, there are times when comic book artists decide to go in bold new directions and give iconic superheroes complete makeovers. Sometimes these changes reflect a specific story’s tone or are the result of a legacy hero bringing their own spin to a pre-existing mantle. These changes can range from simply changing what a Superhero is wearing to completely altering the character’s physical appearance. The success of these redesigns can vary from terrible to incredible. There are even times when comic book designers give superheroes upgrades that make them even more iconic than they were initially.
Whether the changes were permanent or temporary, these are the superhero redesigns that helped elevate the characters’ popularity to new heights.
10) Batman’s Blue and Grey Costume
Batman has gone through many costume changes over 80+ years of publication, but the suit he wore from the 1940s to the mid-1990s is his longest-running and most well-known version. When the Dark Knight was initially introduced, his costume was primarily black and dark grey. However, just a few issues later, the bat suit was given a new color scheme of blue and grey. The new suit also introduced Batman’s iconic spikes on his gloves. And in 1964, another feature was added to the suit that made it even more iconic: a yellow oval around the bat symbol. While Batman may now have returned to the black aesthetic, we can never forget about the memorable blue and grey costume that lasted through both the Silver and Bronze Ages.
9) Nightwing’s Black and Blue Costume
When Dick Grayson decided to give up the Robin mantle and strike out on his own as the hero Nightwing, his original costume was pretty silly. The suit made him look like a disco dancer, with its V-neck, oversized popped collar, and gold accents. Dick eventually abandoned the eyesore and switched it out for a form-fitting black bodysuit with a memorable blue V-shaped bird symbol. As a hero who stalks the alleys of Gotham with the stealth of a ninja, this suit was far more practical and befitting of his character. Dick also started using his nowemblematic escrima sticks as his primary weapons. A huge success, this new design has now been used for almost 30 years.
8) Black Widow’s Leather Outfit
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, was introduced in 1964 as a Soviet spy and adversary of Iron Man. However, her original costume certainly wasn’t the best for espionage. Looking like a rip-off of Catwoman’s original costume, Natasha wore a domino mask, a blue leotard, fishnets, and a little blue cape. She also had black hair. Natasha ultimately replaced her blue, mixed look with her commanding, sleek black leather bodysuit and red hair. Along with providing better camouflage and protection against bullets, the new suit came with Natasha’s trademark bracelets, which can fire grappling hooks and electric blasts.
7) Daredevil’s Red Costume
When Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, first arrived on the crime-fighting scene in 1962, his attire did little to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. Matt’s original costume featured a bright yellow vest and pants, which made him resemble a circus performer. The suit also had a singular “D” on his chest. Just two years later, Matt made a new costume that emphasized the “Devil” in Daredevil. The new costume was completely dark crimson, which made him much more intimidating. He also created his now emblematic and stylized “DD” symbol. With this costume, Matt cemented himself as the devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
6) Black Suited Spider-Man
“The Black Costume Saga” is one of the most impactful storylines ever created for Spider-Man, and it has been adapted numerous times across movies, TV shows, and video games. When Peter encountered an alien symbiote during the events of “Secret Wars,” the creature enveloped him, transforming his well-known red and blue outfit into an all-new black and white costume. The alien suit made Peter physically stronger and faster. However, it also made him more violent and angry. Peter eventually realized the corrupting influence the symbiote held over him and managed to tear himself free. Angered and vengeful the symbiote then found its way to Eddie Brock, and the two merged to become one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes: Venom. Although Peter only had the black suit for a couple of months, it’s still one of the most recognizable costumes the wall-crawler has ever worn.
5) Blue Beast
Hank McCoy, aka Beast, was a founding member of the X-Men, but also struggled the most with his mutant attributes. When Hank was introduced in 1962, he appeared to be a regular man, but with enlarged hands and feet, which allowed for enhanced strength and agility. Hank’s ape-like limbs made him the victim of ridicule and self-loathing. A decade later, Hank was so desperate to cure himself of the mutant X-gene, he used himself as a Guinea pig for an experimental serum. But, instead of eradicating the X-gene, the serum enhanced it. As a result, Hank mutated even further, growing fangs, claws, and grey hair all over his body. Hank continued to mutate until his hair became the iconic blue it is today. Yet, Hank eventually became more able to accept his mutant side and today is one of the X-Men’s most recognizable members.
4) The Green Lantern Corps Uniform
The Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott, wore a costume featuring red, purple, and green colors, complete with a long cape and a more detailed Green Lantern logo. The costume lacked a balanced color scheme, and green wasn’t even the primary color. With the introduction of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, a new standard uniform was created for the intergalactic police force with a more harmonious color scheme of black, white, and green. The Green Lantern symbol was also changed from an overly detailed image of a lantern, to be more simplistic and made up of only a few simple shapes. Almost every Lantern shares this new uniform across the universe as a sign of the Corps’ unity.
3) Barry Allen’s Flash Costume
Inspired by the Greek God of Speed, Hermes, the Golden Age hero Jay Garrick, aka the Flash, donned a wide metal cap with golden wings on top. He also had no mask, a giant lightning bolt on a red shirt, and blue pants. When Barry Allen was introduced as the new Flash in 1956, his costume became the blueprint for all future flash costumes. The costume was all red and yellow, featuring lightning-shaped bands and a mask with small lightning bolts on the side of the head. The costume was so popular that Barry’s successors, Wally West and Bart Allen, both donned the exact same costume when they took on the Flash mantle. It’s safe to say that Barry’s costume became a major hit in a Flash!
2) Iron Man’s Model 2 Armor
Tony Stark is well-known for his numerous Iron Man suits, each of which are an upgrade over the last. Tony’s original armor was made from scraps and was used to escape his captors. It was big, clunky, and dark grey. Once free, Tony upgraded the suit with better technology and gave it a gold makeover, but it remained clumsy and cumbersome. Nonetheless, Tony used this for several adventures, including when he first joined the Avengers. However, after eight issues, because the weight of this suit required him to use up too much energy, Tony switched it out for the now legendary Model 2 lean, red and yellow armor. While the Model 2 Armor was eventually replaced with more effective suits, almost every subsequent armor’s design drew inspiration from it.
1) The Green Hulk
It’s hard to imagine the idea that the Hulk, nicknamed the Jolly Green Giant, wasn’t originally so colorful. When Bruce Banner first transformed into the Hulk in 1962, the gamma-irradiated monster had grey skin. In a fortuitous turn of fate, the character’s colorist had trouble with the ink and accidentally made the Hulk Green. Stan Lee liked the new color so much that he decided to keep the Hulk as a green-skinned monster. In the comics, the explanation for the hue shift is that the grey-skinned Hulk represented a more intelligent split personality, contrasting with the more savage nature of the green Hulk. At one point, this grey Hulk took complete control, renaming himself Mr. Fixit and becoming a gangster. Eventually, through intensive therapy, the two personalities merged, creating a more intelligent, but still green, Hulk.
