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If there’s a character in comic books that has one of the biggest closets, it’s Spider-Man. Alongside the likes of heroes like Iron Man and Batman, the Spider-Men across the Spider-Verse all have some great variety in their costume designs, many of which have become extremely popular among the fanbase.
While everyone’s got a favorite, some Spider-Man costumes are just better than others. A good Spider-Costume isn’t just one that looks good, though, but one that has utility alongside the visuals. While Spider-Men switches costumes a lot (Peter Parker, especially), the changes are mostly for good reason and special occasions—special villains, most of the time. Either that, or the costume helps emphasize the Spider-Person’s character. Here, we celebrate the Spider heroes’ best costumes across their long, comic book history.
Spider-Punk (Hobart “Hobie” Brown)
Anybody could’ve guessed that the 2014 “Spider-Verse” event was going to be a success of some sort, and bring about new Spider-People and costumes for people to love. However, no one could have predicted exactly how many. One of the best to come out of it was the likes of Spider-Punk, aka Hobie “Hobart” Brown, who also made an appearance recently in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, played by the one and only Daniel Kaluuya.
The Spider-Punk suit simply takes the suit design philosophies of a classic red and blue Spider-Man suit and punk-rock-ifies the whole look. He’s got a badass, “stick-it-to-the-man” kind of vibe that fits the character of Hobie absolutely perfectly. While it doesn’t really have any utility when Spider-Man-ing, it highlights the kind of character that Spider-Punk is from the very first look at him.
Scarlet Spider (Benjamin “Ben” Reilly)
Countless people have taken over for Peter Parker as Spider-Man over the years, or simply filled in for him when he needed it, and one of the first and most popular is his clone, Benjamin “Ben” Reilly. When Ben first suited up as the next Spider-Man, he took up the name of Scarlet Spider, and put together a very “D.I.Y.” costume.
There’s something super charming about Ben’s first suit, because it really feels like anyone could make it, which adds to the fun for fans, who have always felt related to whoever is wearing the Spider-Man costume. It has a plethora of ’90s nostalgia and simplicity. Large eye lenses are a commonly beloved aspect of Spider-Man suits, and this suit has some of the largest and most well-shaped.
Iron Spider (Peter Parker)
Everyone knows the iconic “Civil War” story in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Comics. While in the MCU, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) gifts Peter Parker (Tom Holland) with a new, high-tech, red and blue outfit, he gets a brand new Spider-Armor in the books known simply as the Iron Spider. The Iron Man color scheme makes it very clear to the world who Parker is siding with at the beginning of the Civil War storyline.
The armor was also extremely helpful before he ditched it to team with Captain America. The Iron Spider is an incredibly powerful piece of technology with the ability to change how it looks, extra arms for combat, web wings, bulletproof nanotechnology, spider drones, and other smaller uses. If someone is going to be going toe-to-toe with half of the Marvel Comics universe, they’re going to need threads like this.
Spider-Armor Mk. III (Peter Parker)
There have been many Spider-Armors over the years. Each one holds a very distinct purpose, and they are all someone’s favorite, having distinct designs. The third iteration, also known as “The Ends of the Earth” suit, is one of the best of the bunch, built for… well, the end of the world and six of Spider-Man’s deadliest villains.
When one of Spidey’s worst villains, Doctor Otto Octavius, plans to end the world aided by the Sinister Six behind him, the Wall-Crawler knows that he can’t just bring in The Avengers as backup; he’s going to need something better. This suit is built to combat specifically every Sinister Six member, with utilities like being electricity-proof (for Electro), jet boosters to fly, a utility belt with gadgets galore, holographic visor (for Mysterio’s illusions), the “Pink Hippo App” for locating Sandman’s core sand grain, a device to hone in on Chameleon’s specific heartbeat to avoid being tricked, and more. This is, by far, one of Spider-Man’s most useful armors.
Superior Spider-Man (Peter Parker/Doctor Otto Octavius)
Superior Spider-Man (2013) is one of the most popular Spider-Man stories of the modern age. Brought to life by the iconic Dan Slott, this story consists of the events following a conflict that swaps the minds of Peter Parker and Doctor Octopus. With the villain claiming to be a “Superior Spider-Man,” he needed a superior suit.
The Superior Spider-Man costume takes the concepts that Alex Ross drew up for Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man film, gives it a plethora of new technology, and the Iron Spider legs as the cherry on top. When Otto seeks out to be superior, he actually accomplishes his goal in some ways. He lowers the crime rate exponentially (even though it’s kind of for the wrong reasons), and is a lot more proficient (thanks to how ruthless he ended up being—again, for the wrong reasons), and that’s partially because of the utilities behind this new suit.
Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara)
While he’s been extremely popular in the comic books (and for anyone who’s played a Spider-Man video game), general movie-goers got to get a great introduction to Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) in the recent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. His new suit in the movie is a little different, but his comic suit will always reign supreme. If the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse showed audiences anything—despite him being a tad different from his comic counterpart—it’s that Miguel is far different from the likes of Peter Parker.
The Wall-Crawler of the year 2099 has always been a bit more gritty and hard-hitting than his Heroic Age counterpart. His costume helps emphasize this approach, with darker colors (far less red), a more menacing face, and highlighting Miguel’s Hispanic heritage, originally being his Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival costume. It’s a novel route to take that further establishes Spider-Man 2099 as a hero unlike any of the other Spider-People.
The Sensational Spider-Man (Ben Reilly)
Fun fact: when Ben Reilly took over the Spider-Man role for Peter, he did so for quite some time (both in-universe and in the real world). After a while with his ragtag Scarlet Spider suit, he needed a bona fide Spider-Man suit, which is where the Sensational suit and comic run were born. The Sensational Spider-Man is one of the best examples of how to reinvent the classic Spidey costume, making it wholly unique without changing too much about the original design philosophies.
One can look at this suit and confidently say, “That’s Spider-Man,” despite it not being the exact red-and-blue getup that the hero is known for, which is exactly what a good classic redesign should do. Not to mention, the spider taking up the entire suit’s front and back is super cool and really fills the suit out well, keeping it dynamic and interesting.
The Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
Everyone knows Miles Morales at this point. Whether it be as the protagonist of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse franchise, his inclusion in Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise, or from his classic comics, this young hero has fans everywhere. One thing that helps Miles stand out from other Spider-People is his costume. The black suit with the red highlights is such a treat for the eyes, making Miles pop on the page.
As a successor to Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles really needed to make an impression on readers, and this costume was extremely helpful in doing so. It’s a suit that isn’t necessarily a redesign of the original red and blue, but still manages to be striking and immediately recognizable. Safe to say, Miles Morales quite easily has one of the best Spider-Man suits out there.
The Alien Symbiote (Peter Parker)
The most famous and recognizable Spider-Man suit (aside from the obvious one) is, without a doubt, the alien symbiote, dubbed by many as simply “The Black Suit,” that Peter discovered in the first “Secret Wars” crossover. The alien symbiote really showcases the negative change character arc Peter goes through post-Secret Wars.
The symbiote is so iconic that more than half of all Spider-Man adaptations cover the suit’s story in some way. It not only looks cool, but it works wonders for Peter’s character arc every time. Many argue that this suit and the story that comes with it is borderline vital to a long-running Spider-Man story. Regardless of one’s opinion, there’s no denying the importance of this suit.
The Classic Red and Blue
No matter the style it’s drawn in, there’s been one suit that has been present from the get-go of Spider-Man’s journey. The costume is one of the most iconic visuals in superhero media. Everyone knows Spider-Man — he is the most profitable superhero of all time. So, whether one’s seen it through movies, television, toys or video games, they’ve definitely seen the iconic red and blue suit.
It’s not just good-looking; it also represents the kind of hero Spider-Man is. He’s not dressing all dark and gritty (most of the time) like Batman; he’s in bright colors with white eyes, making him a comforting figure. Kids can look at Spider-Man and rest assured he’s there to save the day, thanks to how welcoming he looks. He’s a pillar of hope, and the classic red and blue suit makes it so. Not to mention, fans are extremely excited to see the red and blue come back to the MCU with Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s exemplary suit.
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https://collider.com/best-spider-man-comic-book-costumes/
Eddie Possehl
Almontather Rassoul
