Fan-Designed Superman Costumes We Wish Were Real

Superman isn’t just the most iconic superhero, he’s also one of the most iconic dressers in all of comics. Everyone knows what the Man of Steel wears, and he’s practically worn the same outfit over the course of his entire 80 years of existence. Details have changed, aesthetics have evolved, but everyone knows the red trunks and cape with the blue bodysuit and big red and yellow S-shield on his chest. In recent years, his costume has been altered quite a bit. He lost the underwear on the outside and gained armor during the New 52. Now in Rebirth, he’s back to a more familiar look, but still without red trunks (to the delight or consternation of different sections of fandom).

Despite his timeless look, Superman has had his fair share of costume changes over the years. In the ‘90s, after his death and resurrection, Kal-El wore a black and silver suit that is still talked about to this day. He’s also worn a blue and white suit during the time he gained electricity powers as Superman Blue (or red, after the character split). In Elseworlds tales and around the multiverse, there are even more variations on what Superman wears. Sometimes even the fans get in on the act and give Clark Kent a new costume to wear. Here are 15 fan-designed Superman costumes we wish were real.

15 JUMPSUIT SUPERMAN

We have seen many different redesigns of Superman’s classic costume, but most of them simply move around a few details and keep everything relatively intact. Artist Ethan Wright put together a new costume that is both unique and familiar at the same time. He used pencils and photoshop to create a look reminiscent of Kingdom Come and other future Superman stories.

What’s amazing is that the design took Wright just two hours to complete. He subs in black for the familiar yellow, giving him a sleek bodysuit with no trunks or belt to break the design. The red gauntlets and logo on the chest give Superman a fun futuristic aesthetic that would be fitting of the Superman Dynasty from the far-flung future. This would be a cool look to see in the comics.

14 MILITARISTIC SUPERMAN

Artist W-Orks developed a concept for Superman that looks like it would fit right into the DC Comics Multiverse on Earth-19. This is a world that is eternally stuck in the Industrial Revolution and has gained a steampunk aesthetic as technology continues to develop. The world began with the Elseworlds tale Batman: Gotham By Gaslight and now includes Wonder Woman, The Accelerated Man, and The Shrinking Man.

We have yet to see Superman in this universe, but if he were to ever show up, the design W-Orks put together might be perfect. His Superman looks imperialistic with its uniform design, but still shows some element of heroism. The S shield is more of an emblem a soldier might wear, but it still comes across as a sign of hope.

13 TRENCH COAT SUPERMAN

When Marvel Comics debuted its Ultimate line in 2000, it took the industry by storm and changed the way a major publisher could handle superhero comics. The line introduced us to the Ultimates and laid the groundwork for what would become the Marvel Cinematic Universe by showing a grounded, real-world perspective of some of the most unbelievable superheroes in existence.

DC Comics, meanwhile, never had such an endeavor. Artist jsalwen set out to correct this, though, by creating his very own DC “Ultimate” line, where he reimagined many of the company’s most memorable characters. Chief among them was a version of Superman that included a black bodysuit with a black and red stylized trench coat. It drastically changes the way the Man of Steel is presented, but it works well for the modernized line he created.

12 METALLIC SUPERMAN

For years, many people criticized Superman’s costume as being nothing more than colorful pajamas. The idea was that a superhero as powerful as the Man of Steel needs a costume that is truly fitting of the character. Artist Dan Ianos equipped Superman with a new outfit that looks like it comes from outer space and resembles something more fitting to fight crime in.

Ianos gives the costume a giant S on the body and incorporates it into the design of the suit. Running red panels down the limbs helps give it more of a space suit look, and the yellow trim gives it some flair. It truly looks like the type of clothing an alien might come to wear if he were living among us on Earth.

11 KRYPTONIAN SUIT SUPERMAN

Many elements of Superman’s costume serve to honor his lost home planet of Krypton. The only thing is we all know how Kryptonians dressed, and the supersuit doesn’t really share much in common. Sure, he wears the S and has the cape, but the style is completely different. Artist Nicholas Patrick Holmes designed a new costume for Superman that actually looks like it came from Krypton.

The suit incorporates the headbands worn on Superman home planet and does a good job adding intricate designs without making it too busy. Sure, it’s hard to see the character we know today flying around on Earth while wearing this, but this is a nice look into what he might wear if Krypton was around today. Imagine dressing like this in your everyday life.

10 BARBARIAN SUPERMAN

Marvel has introduced the 1,000,000 BC Avengers as part of the Marvel Legacy initiative. The team consists of familiar characters recast as heroes from prehistoric times. Artist BTauciuc imagines a barbarian version of Superman that would fit right in with this kind of team. How exactly this could be possible is not important—maybe Kal-El’s ancestor spent some time stranded on Earth and he loves to use weapons from the Iron Age.

BTauciuc does a great job rendering a completely new character that still kind of fits within the Superman aesthetic. The skulls on his belt would fit right in with Dark Nights: Metal and could introduce us to a completely new universe filled with a prehistoric version of the Justice League. How cool would that be?

9 AFRICAN SUPERMAN

DC Comics said that there could be a Superman that is not white and American, and he can still represent the same ideals and become popular in his own right. Gene Luen Yang introduced us to the Superman of China in the pages of New Super-Man. Given his rise in popularity, artist Salim Busuru felt that he could take it further and create the Superman of Africa.

Busuru imagined this Superman as hailing from Egypt with a backstory involving the Arab Spring from several years back. The artist used the Egyptian gods in the character’s aesthetic, adorning him in gold around the chest and arms while also putting him in the shendyt (the garb around his waist) from Ancient Egypt. The black bodysuit underneath helps to simplify the overall design and give him an arresting and beautiful look.

8 GOLD TRIM SUPERMAN

While watching Superman: The Animated Series, artist AiurSurvivor envisioned a new look for Superman and his enemy Brainiac. Both were given streamlined and stylized new costumes that came out looking rather impressive. What stands out the most was the decision to adorn the supersuit with gold trim at various points.

AiurSurvivor includes a fantastic stylized S shield that blends in more subtly than the traditional logo does. The belt perfectly subs in for the red trunks, while the high neck and red gauntlets give this Superman a futuristic look and feel. This may not be the Superman we know, but it could be one of his progenies. It would makes sense that the descendants of Kal-El are destined to fight Brainiac into the far future.

7 MORTAL KOMBAT SUPERMAN

Ok sure, we won’t be seeing this costume in the comics anytime soon, but considering Warner Bros. owns both DC Comics and Mortal Kombat, it’s a crossover that is just waiting to happen. We already had Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe in 2008, and that was well received, so a sequel game should include costume mashups as well, in order to make each line of characters fit in with the other.

Artist Chizel-Man seems to have the right idea here by rendering Superman as he might look if he existed in the Mortal Kombat universe. The Kryptonian wears armor that is similar to something Shao Kahn might put on, but it also includes many of the signature elements seen in Superman’s superhero costume. It’s a fun mashup that would be great to see in action.

6 YELLOW GLOVES SUPERMAN

Superman is the son of a disgraced scientist, one who no one believed in when it mattered most. Kal-El has no link to Kryptonian royalty (if such a thing existed), allowing him to embrace the everyman role he takes up as Clark Kent on Earth. However, what if Superman was actually Kryptonian royalty? What would his costume look like then?

Artist Fialhorn created an outfit for Superman that takes the character’s costume and makes it look like something the Kryptonian royal family might wear. The high collared cape with the yellow gloves make him look somewhat bougie but still valiant. Depicting the costume as armor and using the yellow to highlight the different parts actually works pretty well. Just imagine what this version of Superman would be like.

5 RED WHITE AND BLUE SUPERMAN

We all know that Superman stands for truth, justice and the American Way, but what if his costume actually said that as well? Artist Nathan Diaz gave us a look at what Superman would look like if he had his own American flag-themed supersuit. He has all the basic elements of the traditional costume, but the white body really changes things for him.

We have seen Superman as a stooge for the American government before in The Dark Knight Returns, but Diaz’s design turns the high collar New 52 look into a patriotic emblem for his country and himself. This Man of Steel is his own man, but like Captain America, he wants to show all of us what his country is truly capable of.

4 TRACKSUIT SUPERMAN

Argentinian artist German Peralta put together a new suit for Superman that could be one of the coolest redesigns of the classic look. It follows in the footsteps of the Rebirth and Reborn redesigns that we have seen in recent years. Peralta didn’t have to change much more than a few lines to make this truly a sight to behold.

Biggest among these changes are the addition of red panels on the sides and red lines down the sleeves. He managed to incorporate the yellow into the costume by adding some piping that manages to accentuate the finished look. Overall, he looks like he’s wearing something reminiscent of a tracksuit, which is actually kind of cool. Just don’t let Hawkguy get a good look at him, bro.

3 BLACK AND WHITE SUIT SUPERMAN

Superman has worn a black and white costume in the Batman Beyond universe, as well as the Justice Lords universe from the Justice League cartoon. In both cases, something has happened to Clark Kent to turn him darker and force him to give up his more hopeful image. Artist Jason Narvaez put together a new black and white costume that honestly might knock the other iterations down a peg or two; that's how good it is.

His design incorporates the regal cape of Lord Superman with the simplistic design of a blue-black bodysuit from Batman Beyond. Even with these elements, the costume still looks wholly unique. Narvaez actually based his image off the concept another artist, Emilio Lopez, had put together in an attempt to reboot Superman and his costume. The final suit stands on its own as a wholly original piece, and one that we wholeheartedly love!

2 ARMORED SUPERMAN

Sure, Superman doesn’t need armor, but this is still a pretty cool look. You can almost see some kind of variation of Superman (Superboy?) wearing this in an alternate universe tale. What stands out most is the color and texture of the armor panels, and the glowing S shield in the middle of his chest really makes this something memorable.

When you look at the costume, it feels like some kind of combination of Superboy-Prime’s armor and Lex Luthor’s Superman suit from Rebirth. The funny thing is artist Ruben Martinez actually put this design together in 2003, years before either character received their respective armors. Martinez was trying to put together a costume that looked familiar but was truly alien. We’re pretty sure he succeeded.

1 WHITE SPACE SUIT SUPERMAN

Superman came to Earth in a spaceship, so in a sense he’s a spaceman from another planet. All of the abilities he gains from exposure to the sun make it hard to remember that, considering he can survive almost anything without the need for a special suit. The one thing he can’t do, though, is survive in space... well, depending on which iteration you're talking about.

Artist Victor Newman was able to put together a space suit for Superman that feels very much inspired by the one he wore in Superman: The Animated Series. This suit is all white, giving him a fantastic sterilized look that hasn’t been seen often. The design of the boots and torso really play up the astronaut look to him. You can almost picture him putting a helmet on and traveling through space while wearing these awesome threads.

Have you found any other fan-designed Superman costumes? Tell us about it in the comments.