Wolverine's rise to popularity in the '80s and '90s left every other comic character in the dust. Even in this day and age of MCU domination, he's still one of Marvel's most well-known characters and his comics still sell better than many massive MCU stars'. Over the years, he's been through a lot of changes and some of the biggest adjustments have been cosmetic.
Like many characters, Wolverine has been through a lot of costume changes over the years. Some of his outfits are iconic looks that have defined his character and others are best left in the dustbin of history.
10 Wolverine's Time As Patch Was Dapper But Bizarre
Wolverine and the criminal island nation of Maripoor go well together. It's the place he goes to let off steam, drink too much, and kill a ton of people. For many years, he was known as Patch on the island, where he'd wear a white tuxedo and an eyepatch as a disguise. That's right, world-famous superhero Wolverine hid his identity by putting on an eyepatch.
He didn't change his trademark hair or anything, he just put on an eyepatch and a tux. It was unintentionally funny, especially since he made the island nation his second home during the Outback era, when the X-Men were supposed to be dead.
9 His Debut Costume's Mask Is Terrible
Wolverine debuted in The Incredible Hulk #181. His costume in this issue was very similar to what he'd wear down the road, except for the mask, which was the outfit's worst element. It's the biggest difference between this debut look and what came after, and it's just so bad. The whisker details on it are probably its most laughable aspect, although other parts of the mask would serve as a precursor for what was to come.
John Romita Sr. designed it, which is great, but that's the best thing anyone can say about it. The yellow and blue costume in general is a strange choice for Wolverine, but the oddly-shaped mask makes it weaker than the yellow and blue that everyone knows.
8 The Classic Yellow And Blue Isn't As Great As Many Think
Wolverine's appearance in Giant-Size X-Men #1 began the next chapter of his life, and it also debuted his new mask. Artist Dave Cockrum gave the mask the bigger side fins that would become Wolverine's trademark and did away with the whisker designs on the mask. He'd wear this costume until the early-80s and take it back up again in 1991's Wolverine #50 through 2001's New X-Men #114.
While it's one of Logan's most iconic looks, the classic yellow and blue is not a great Wolverine costume. There's really nothing about it that screams berserker warrior-spy. It's bright and garish and covered with strange design details, but the mask, at least, is cool.
7 The Modern Blue And Yellow Was An Improvement On The Classic
Wolverine received another costume change in Astonishing X-Men #1. Designed by series artist John Cassaday, it brought back the classic yellow and blue color scheme, but it changed the costume's details. The blue underwear was gone and most of that color was moved to his sides, with the yellow dominating his torso and legs.
Wolverine's boots here were different than the classic blue and yellow's and the fins were much smaller than on his older mask. It was an improvement on the classic that Wolverine wore through a period of unprecedented character growth, but the color scheme is still a bad fit for Wolverine's persona.
6 The New X-Men Leathers Look Great On Wolverine
Grant Morrison's New X-Men produced some amazing stories. Starting with 2001's New X-Men #114, artist Frank Quitely redesigned the team's costumes, moving them closer to the movies that were coming out at the time. Gone was the garishly colored spandex and in its place was black leather with yellow highlights.
Wolverine, a biker by nature, looked great in this costume. The black leather jacket, matching tank top, and pants fit him very well. They honestly made more sense for his character than many of the costumes he'd worn before.
5 The Ultimate Wolverine Costumes Were A Fitting Look
The Ultimate Universe would prove to be massively influential, with its general aesthetic influencing the early MCU. Ultimate X-Men was the line's second title and artist Adam Kubert redesigned the costumes of Marvel's merry mutants. Much like the New X-Men costumes, they used the original black and yellow color scheme but were more superhero-inspired.
Wolverine's outfit lacked the mask, but its black coloring fits the darker version of Wolverine in the Ultimate Universe and the yellow slash marks stood out very well. There were two versions of this costume. The first was yellow around the abdomen, with the black dominating the rest, and the second version was mostly black with yellow slashes.
4 The Age Of Apocalypse Weapon X Look Is Highly Underrated
The Age Of Apocalypse was full of great redesigns and Wolverine's was near the top of the pile. In this alternate universe, he was still known as Weapon X and had lost a hand battling Cyclops. The stump was capped over with metal, which actually looked really cool. He had red facial tattoos that matched the marks on his costume and his hair had a lot more body.
The costume itself was midnight blue, almost black, with a lot of red slash marks on its chest and gloves. Adam Kubert was responsible for this look as well, and it was a wilder look, perfect for the Wolverine of a blasted age of death. To this day, Age Of Apocalypse's Wolverine is an underrated icon.
3 The Classic Brown And Tan Improved Upon The Blue And Yellow
The early '80s were an unprecedented growth period for the X-Men, crafting them into the most popular team in comics. Wolverine was a huge part of this change and artist John Byrne decided to give him another costume before he left Uncanny X-Men. He did away with garish yellow and blue, changing it to an earthier, naturalistic brown and tan color scheme.
Wolverine kept this look throughout the '80s as his star rose. It was a huge improvement, as it felt more like something Logan would wear than the old yellow and blue. He stopped wearing this costume in 1991, although it would return as Daken's Wolverine costume in Dark Avengers and Logan himself used this look upon his return in 2018's Uncanny X-Men.
2 The Krakoan Brown And Tan Is A Remix Of The Original
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and he needs a costume to match that, which is where his current outfit comes into play. Yet another awesome design by Adam Kubert, this look mixes the familiar brown and tan colors with the design aesthetic of the modern yellow and blue costume introduced in Astonishing X-Men.
It's a near-perfect Wolverine costume. It's earthy but its more modern style makes it an important update. It somehow improves upon the already stellar brown and tan look, making Wolverine look better than he has in years.
1 The X-Force's Black And Grey Is The Best Wolverine Costume Ever
Wolverine has been on a lot of teams but he doesn't usually change his costume between groups. However, he made an exception when he joined X-Force. The team was the stealth black ops group, so Wolverine wearing the yellow and blue made no sense for sneaking in and killing people. Artist Clayton Crain gave Wolverine and the rest of the team black and grey versions of their costumes.
Wolverine's black and grey looked amazing on him. It fits the character's already stealthy aesthetic well and black just looks great in him in general. The grey brightens up the outfit just enough and it would be great to see it make an occasional return in the X-Men's Krakoan era..