Some great new superhero costumes have hit the shelves recently, with some new characters, re-imaginings of the classics, and even some throwbacks to the costumes of yesteryear. Most of these costumes are either for Marvel or DC heroes. There are some exceptions — but nobody has ever really understood what’s going on with The Phantom.
So, who has the best new superhero costumes, Marvel or DC? We went through some of the most popular costume trends to find out.
Marvel: Old school Wolverine
is making a comeback
For over a decade, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was the definitive version. Although the character had been reinvented many times over the years, with a variety of different costumes, Jackman’s cinematic depiction burned itself into the collective imagination: ripped jeans, a dirty singlet, and a badass leather jacket.
Now that Jackman has retired the character, we’re starting to see the old school Wolverine costume make a comeback. Grizzled Americana is out, and bright blue and yellow spandex is back in fashion. Contemporary Wolverine costumes for adults and children are a departure from the gritty realism of the films and hearken back to the fun and zaniness of comic book and cartoon era. When looking for a Marvel costume, you can’t do better than that.
Marvel: The new Spider-Man is here to stay
Has any superhero been reinvented on screen as many times as Spider-Man? Over the last few years, there have been more Spider-Man reboots than we can count — and every new cinematic incarnation comes with its own set of new costumes.
These new Spider-Man costumes might be our favourite yet. The Miles Morales Spider-Man costume — who you might remember from the critically acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — has a really cool look. It has an urban feel, with a graffiti-inspired logo, and a predominantly black colour scheme that inverts the traditional pattern.
Marvel: Deadpool
Deadpool is the wisecracking bad boy of the Marvel comics universe. And that’s really saying something because between Iron Man, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and so on, it’s almost as though the Marvel comics universe is made up of nothing but wisecracking bad boys.
Getting a Deadpool costume is all the rage for Halloween this year. We are living through gritty, ironically detached times, and there’s no superhero who better sums up that ethos than Deadpool. There haven’t been any major innovations to the Deadpool costumes this year; they’re still the same red and black designs popularised by comic books and the Ryan Reynolds movies.
DC: Harley Quinn
Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn has taken the world by storm. Hitherto virtually unknown to people who don’t read comic books, Harley Quinn is now one of the most popular superheroes on the planet.
The slightly older Harley Quinn costumes were great, with shiny and colourful fabrics and a great likeness to the character as depicted Suicide Squad. But the new Harley Quinn costume, inspired by Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) takes the costume to a whole new level. An incredible new jacket has been added to the mix, made from clear vinyl with exciting fringe sleeves. The shorts feature a digital print, and the pink suspenders scream fun. Along with the Wonder Woman and Catwoman costume, it’s a welcome addition to the lineup of costumes for strong DC women.
DC: Lego Batman
This one is a bit off the wall, even for a superhero costume. First, we had Batman in comic books and on the screen. Then, people started wearing the Batman costume, and there were even Lego miniatures inspired by Batman. Then we had the Lego Batman movie, and if that wasn’t enough levels of abstraction, now we have the Lego Batman movie costume.
This inventive suit is very boxy — as you might expect — and the C-shaped lego gloves will make picking things up rather difficult. But as far as imaginative and zany costumes go, it doesn’t get much better than Lego Batman.
The Verdict
It’s not easy to make a call on this one, and half of the people reading this article are probably going to disagree with us no matter what we say! Although the new Marvel costumes are superb — with just the right mix of old and new styles — we have to hand the victory to DC comics. These new costumes are so clever and inventive that the mind boggles. These truly are especially super superhero costumes.
