Cosmic Marvel fascinating. Primarily created in the 1960s by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Stan Lee and expounded by visionaries like Jim Starlin, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning, the spacefaring side of Marvel is full of sprawling bird-people empires, forgotten Summers family members, and wild concepts made manifest.

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Despite some of its inherent weirdness, cosmic Marvel is immensely stylish. With its multitude of multi-planet cultures and multi-planar deities, the outfits in cosmic Marvel are out of this world. Reflecting a variety of sci-fi tropes and periods in comic book costume design, cosmic Marvel delivers some of the best threads in the medium.

10 Gladiator Is A Unique Take On Superman

Gladiator floats in space looking at the reader, cape flowing behind him

Inspired by DC’s Legion of Superheroes, Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum created the Shi’ar Empire’s Imperial Guard, with Gladiator filling the role of Superman. A Strontian with an aptitude for great strength, so long as he believes in his purpose, Kallark’s costume reflects his semi-heroic inversion of the Man of Steel.

Besides rocking a space mohawk, Gladiator’s costume becomes much more interesting with the Superman comparison. Some elements feel the same, like the flowing cape and the yellow symbol on his chest. Other elements reveal the harsher, more militaristic antithesis, like costume’s blood-red hue.

9 The In-Betweener’s Outfit Lets Readers Know Exactly Who He Is

Alan Davis's portrayal of the In-Betweener pointing forward in a field of stars

The In-Betweener remains one of the odder figures in cosmic Marvel, a nigh-omnipotent gofer for Lord Chaos and Master Order. Created by legendary scribe Jim Starlin, the In-Betweener simultaneously represents such dueling concepts as love and hate, war and peace, and life and death.

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The In-Betweener’s outfit may be a little on-the-nose, but it makes his somewhat-confusing tendencies immediately obvious to anyone looking. Alternately split in half between black and white, not only is the In-Betweener’s costume visually striking, but it also represents the obtuse melding of his worldview. For the In-Betweener, there is no spectrum. There are only opposites.

8 Beta Ray Bill Is A Space Opera's Superhero

Beta Ray Bill swings Stormbreaker downward, as drawn by Walt Simonson

An alien Korbinite who became the first non-Thor-or-Odin wielder of Mjolnir, Beta Ray Bill’s costume reflects a classic Walt Simonson design. Asking the often-wondered question "what if Thor, but space horse?" Beta Ray Bill’s costume combines elements of Thor’s Kirby costume with an alien flourish.

Beta Ray Bill’s costume is a unique reinvention of a sixties superhero design, taking elements like Thor’s lightning disks, medieval helmet, and wrapped shinguards and giving them a fresh twist. Blocky hats became skintight and wristbands became white gloves. Ever the fashionista, Beta Ray Bill’s recent redesign by Daniel Warren Johnson only expounds on these themes.

7 The Annihilation Guardians Of The Galaxy Uniform Made The Team Relevant

The Guardians of the Galaxy as depicted in the "Annihilation" era posing in Marvel Comics

For most Marvel’s history, the Guardians of the Galaxy were from the 31st-century. While they occasionally interacted with the larger Marvel Universe, they were often forgotten about. This all changed with Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Annihilation, a series that brought cosmic Marvel into the modern day.

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Gone were the eclectic characters and costumes of the past: in their place stood heroes like Starlord, Gamora, and Rocket Raccoon, all redesigned with slick blue uniforms that emphasized their togetherness. Pulling on space cowboy elements from then-current shows like Firefly, the new Guardians brought justice to a restless universe.

6 Drax’s Shirtless Look Boasted His Inner Toughness

Drax readies for battle in comics

Even though Drax the Destroyer has long been a part of the Marvel Universe, his MCU adaptation is drastically different from his traditional depiction. Luckily, that same adaptation ditched the skullcap and flowing purple cape for his 2000s-era tattoos-and-knives look.

Drax’s current look boiled the Destroyer down to his bare bones. At the end of the day, Arthur Douglas was a man who swore vengeance on Thanos at any cost. Drax’s unique tattoos, black pants, and scarce outfit let even a first-time reader know this was someone with nothing to lose.

5 Uatu’s Robes Recognize His Tragedy

Uatu the Watcher holds his heart and looks down on the moon as Earth sits behind him

When one thinks of "cool," a toga-clad giant with a baby-like appearance is rarely what springs to mind. Still, the Watcher sets the standard for style on the Blue Area of the Moon. Wearing a simple combination of blue and white robes adorned with slight gold jewelry, the Watcher is alien, human, galactic, and sci-fi all at the same time.

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The Watcher’s combination of cloths and carbuncles pulls to mind the clothes of Classical Greece, something Kirby and Lee surely intended. As his sworn oath is to observe but never interfere, the Watcher remains a traditional tragic figure, burdened with an honorable moral code that prevents heroic action.

4 Nova Prime Reflected The Wearer's Personal Growth

Adi Granov's rendition of Richard Rider as Nova Prime featuring the hero holding up crackling gauntlets

Nova’s original costume was pretty cool, but it was also very 70s. A bucket with eye holes atop a star-spangled shirt, Richard Rider’s first costume reflected a teenage hero. When Rider watched the Nova Corps get destroyed and became the host of its Worldmind, his new costume reflected his new maturity.

The Nova Prime costume kept the motifs of the original Nova costume, but filled them out with sleek, powerful lines. The chest starburst became glowing beacons of power, and the clunky, protective helmet became a racing helm of war. In perfect step with the character’s personal development, the Nova Prime uniform reflected peak space superhero design.

3 The Silver Surfer’s Design Mirrors His Place In The Universe

Mike Allred's Cover for Silver Surfer 1 featuring the Surfer flying sideways away from a swarm of ladybug-like insects and against a backdrop of planets

The Silver Surfer’s physicality hasn't changed much since his first appearance. It’s hard to out-cool a silver man on a surfboard. Norrin Radd is a complex character who's well acquainted with tragedy and adventure. As a representation of this, the Surfer’s original design has no flaws.

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The Sentinel of the Spaceways’ shiny skin reflects the world around him and bounces the light of the cosmos. His opaque, white eyes express intense emotion, but also cut others off from his inner turmoil. Even his surfboard, somewhat silly in the context of Earth, forms an elegant, oriented means of cosmic travel.

2 Eternity Is A Cosmic Cloak

Eternity stands in Overspace from Marvel Comics

The being known simply as Eternity remains one of the most mysterious figures in the Marvel Universe, and is the walking, living embodiment of the entire universe. Such a heady concept needs an equally heady design. Luckily, Silver Age artist Steve Ditko was more than up to the task.

Eternity combines the best of Ditko’s swooshing costume design with his trippy starscapes. The result is magnificent, featuring a man-in-the-moon-like half face sitting against a whirling cosmos. It's no small task to make the Universe a person. Eternity, however, embodies it perfectly.

1 Galactus’s Obfuscation Is His Point

Galactus wields the Power Cosmic in Marvel Comics

How does one evoke the terror of senseless annihilation in a four-color superhero comic? For Jack Kirby, the answer was simple: a man in a giant, purple, pronged hat. Kirby’s unorthodox design for the World-Eater worked perfectly, standing as an example of his grand cosmic design style.

Unlike other great designs in superhero comics, Galactus’s design doesn't speak to his particular character or evoke a certain cultural concept. It's simply alien, and deliberately vague. A towering, impassive being decked out in colorful but imposing futuristic garb, Galactus stands tall among cosmic pillars of design.

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