Marvel’s heroes and villains have been impressing fans for generations. A huge factor in this is their look. Marvel’s artists have created some amazing designs for characters like Storm, Wolverine, and Doctor Doom, with the best standing the test of time. However, change is good, and characters get new costumes. These different looks often coincide with an interesting time in the characters’ lives or a monumental event.
Many times, the redesigns are better than the original, so it’s mystifying when characters return to their original looks. There have been times when Marvel should have kept a redesign instead of dropping it. These looks were better and should make a comeback.
10/10 The Original Iron Patriot Armor Was Perfect
Norman Osborn has had multiple villainous identities. He’s proven to be very good at making great costumes, so when he took over S.H.I.E.L.D. and transformed it into HAMMER, he needed a new look. People wouldn’t trust the Green Goblin, so he planned for that. He took an old suit of Iron Man armor and painted it red, white, and blue, mixing the iconography of Captain America and Iron Man.
The Iron Patriot armor was sleek and had a striking visual design. It did exactly what it was supposed to, as people suddenly trusted the long time villain. While he eventually jettisoned the identity, it would be great if he used the armor again, or someone else used the first design, as later ones are too busy to look good.
9/10 The Captain Hydra Armor Captain America Wore Was Awesome
A lot of people dislike the Hydra Cap storyline and Secret Empire, but there were some good parts to it. The Captain Hydra armor, is a near perfect villain costume. While Cap wouldn’t wear the armor anymore – because he’s not a part of Hydra – it would be cool for Hydra to bring it back.
Giving someone else the armor would remind Cap of a terrible moment in his existence, when his enemies were able to suborn his image. Hydra using it again would not only give them a cool looking soldier, but would also affect Captain America on a personal level. It’s a cool design and would strike at their worst enemy’s heart.
8/10 Sersi’s 90s Costume Is Way Better Than It Gets Credit For
Outside the X-Men, the 90s aren’t known for great costume designs. The Avengers’s costumes get panned, especially their leather jacket era. Most of the designs were just making the costumes simpler and throwing a leather jacket over them. One was a pretty drastic redesign, though, and it worked very well.
Sersi’s original costume, basically a one piece swimsuit, is pretty good, but her 90s costume is much better. To begin with, it has pants, and it changes the colors to red and black. There’s also a cool headband and the at the time requisite leather jacket. It’s a simple costume, and that’s the main thing that makes it great.
7/10 Thor’s Marvel NOW! Costume Was No-Nonsense
2012’s Marvel NOW! publishing initiative saw many heroes and villains get new looks. Thor was given a new costume, one that was much simpler than before. Gone were a lot of the silver accouterments, except the helmet, it was black instead of the more common dark blue, and felt more like something the God of Thunder would wear.
It was the last costume he wore before losing his worthiness to Mjolnir, throughout his times with Uncanny Avengers and Avengers, and during his battles with Gorr the God-Butcher. Thor is a warrior born, and this costume fit him better than many of his others.
6/10 The Fantastic Four Costumes From The Robinson/Kirk Run Are Great Redesigns
The Fantastic Four are Marvel icons, and their Jack Kirby designed jumpsuits have been the standard that every artist follows. The blue and white coloration is classic, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t change. 2014’s Fantastic Four (Vol. 5), the last run before Marvel put the team to bed until 2018, was a relaunch from writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk and had some cool changes.
Kirk redesigned the costumes, changing the colors to red and black and making a bigger, more stylized 4 the focus. Another cool change was that Sue’s costume was color reversed from Reed and Johnny’s. It was a distinct look that was different from what came before, and it looked great.
5/10 Magik’s Marvel NOW! Costume Was The Best She Ever Looked
After Avengers Vs. X-Men, Magik joined Cyclops’s rogue X-Men faction and changed her costume from the traditional blue and yellow costumes she had work for years. This new look was more anime-inspired and sexier, catching the eyes immediately. It felt like the first time Magik actually designed her own costume, and it looked phenomenal.
Magik is a terrifying hero, but for a while she had a great costume to top it off. She changed her costume when she joined the X-Men again during the Krakoa Era, but that one is a step back from the costume she was wearing for a decade.
4/10 Cyclops’s Marvel NOW! Look Was The Perfect Departure From What Came Before
Cyclops has always been a reliable member of the X-Men, fighting the good fight for mutant rights no matter what. However, he’s also reliable in the costume department as pretty much every costume he wore has been great. While many fans love his second costume or the 90s costume, his Marvel NOW! costume was almost too good for words.
To begin with, he went with red and black as the costume’s colors. Gone was his traditional visor and in its place was a big red X. It was a departure from his usual looks and definitely fit his terrorist vibe at the time. He wore it until his death from M-Pox, and it hasn’t been seen since.
3/10 Doctor Doom’s Infamous Iron Man Armor Looked Too Good To Abandon
Doctor Doom had a change of heart after Reed Richards fixed his face post-Secret Wars. When Captain Marvel put Iron Man in a coma, Doom became a new version of Iron Man. He modified his armor to look more Iron Man-esque, doing away with his tunic, modifying the armor color from silver to a darker grey, and changing his faceplate, but kept the hood and clock.
He looked fantastic in this new armor and wore it until the return of the Fantastic Four, when he became a villain again. This armor could have just as easily worked for him in his traditional role as villainous monarch of Latveria. There was really no reason at all to change it.
2/10 Storm’s Punk Rock Look Remains Her Best Design
Storm is a Marvel icon, and also another member of the X-Men who has never had a bad costume. Her best costume was basically an anti-costume, which is one of the reasons it works so well. After hanging out with Wolverine’s friend Yukio, Storm decided to adopt a more punk rock look, wearing a black leather vest, a white tank-top, and black leather pants.
She also shaved her head into a mohawk, and put on a cool studded collar. It was such an amazing look for her, but eventually she went back to a more traditional costume. Later looks incorporated the mohawk, but left out the leathers, with is a tragedy.
1/10 Wolverine’s Black And Grey X-Force Costume Fits Him Well
Wolverine has a killer fashion sense, and has worn some great costumes over the years. However, the one that fits him the best is easily his black and grey number from his X-Force days. It perfectly fits his warrior-spy aesthetic and is an improvement over his other costumes by a country mile.
Wolverine’s current costume is great, but this black and grey is the best. He sometimes has worn it on missions during the Krakoa Era. It was taken out of circulation for a while, but there’s really no reason for it, as it’s a cut above the rest.
