So far, nothing has beaten Spider-Man's classic costume. The wall-crawler has gone through a variety of different costumes throughout the years for a variety of reasons but one way or another, he has always returned to the red and blue suit, which has become something of a symbol and without a doubt, one of the most recognizable superhero costumes produced by Marvel Comics. The suit was brought to life through the combined talents of dozens of different artists, from Steve Ditko to Stuart Immonen, and again when it was adapted to cartoons, live-action films and video games.
One of the requirements of a successful video game is its ability to immerse the player in a different world. As a form of escapism, video games are usually great at bringing a certain amount of realism into fantasy. In that way, gamers can get a feel for characters like Spider-Man -- who has seen more than 30 video game adaptations already-- in ways they would not be able to with comic books. This is all in large part thanks to the design and aesthetic quality present in modern day video games. As we've said, there are plenty of video game adaptations of Spider-Man, which means we've seen that classic red and blue suit a lot. It's no wonder that video games in the last two decades have consistently offered more by way of alternate costumes. That's what we'll be going through here as we rank 15 different adaptations of some of Spider-Man's most famous outfits, all of which were adapted from different comic book stories. We'll be judging them based on visual quality as well as gameplay perks to assess whether or not they did the suits justice. We begin with a classic...
15 AMAZING BAG MAN
After being separated from the alien symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #258, Spidey is in desperate need of a new costume and fast. The Fantastic Four lent Peter one of their spare costumes but Pete still needed a mask. The simplest and most immediate solution was a brown paper bag and a "kick me" sign, courtesy of Johnny Storm. The Bombastic Bag Man was born.
Neversoft's 2000 video game, Spider-Man, and a couple of later releases, gave gamers the chance to don that memorable suit. It offers nothing with regards to perks other than the good chuckle it gives you when you, as Spidey, go through some of the game's more intense moments wearing a brown paper bag. It's hilarious, but it's nowhere near as great as these other costumes.
14 RICOCHET
When Spider-Man was accused of murder, Peter Parker decided it was high time for him to try out a different persona. Thus began the "Identity Crisis" story-arc in which Parker adopts new superhero identities. With a costume thrown together by Mary-Jane, Peter became Ricochet, who used superhuman agility to survive as a criminal-for-hire.
The thing about the suit, as presented in the video game adaptation, Amazing Spider-Man 2, is that it doesn't look like it fits. Not only does the jacket appear to be at least two sizes to big, the actual in-game character model doesn't look like it was supposed to be there. That kind of poor quality doesn't belong in a triple A game.
13 PRODIGY
Another little gem from the "Identity Crisis" storyline is Prodigy, who was a good guy through and through, using flight (thanks to the Prowler), superhuman strength and speed to save lives and clear Spider-Man's name. In order to further deceive the public and his enemies, Spider-Man donned a bulletproof vest and fake nose so that nobody would think Prodigy and Spider-Man were actually one and the same.
The suit was offered as DLC for Beenox's Spider-Man: Edge of Time. The suit in-game captured the basics of the suit but offered none of the perks. It's understandable in the context of video game mechanics but that doesn't stop it from being a downright shame.
12 HORNET
For just a few days, Peter Parker became the Hornet during the "Identity Crisis" story arc. Mary-Jane once again designed the suit and The Prowler gave Peter the mechanical wings, which were too heavy for an average human to wear. With the use of Ben Reilly's stinger launchers, Peter had become a different hero, until his secret was revealed by the Vulture.
Amazing Spider-Man 2 (and Edge of Time) gave gamers a chance to play around as...well, Spider-Man dressed as the Hornet. Your can't blast people with the stingers and you can't fly. It's purely aesthetic. While it does look slightly better than the other "Identity Crisis" costumes present in video games, it's still largely disappointing.
11 DUSK
The last of the "Identity Crisis" costumes is the Dusk suit, for which Peter developed a persona that seemed to be his complete opposite. As Dusk, Peter was almost silent and seemed like the dangerous type. That's why he was able to ally himself with the Trapster in order to clear Spider-Man's good name.
The downloadable costume in Edge of Time is as dark and matte as you'd expect the suit to be. While this suit actually comes with perks, it doesn't really capture the essence of the persona. You can't glide and it doesn't do anything for stealth. Still, it's an adequate adaptation.
10 BIG TIME
When the Hobgoblin returned in Amazing Spider-Man #649 (written by Dan Slott, art by Humberto Ramos and others), he managed to defeat Spidey with a powerful sonic scream. Luckily, Peter worked at Horizons Lab back then and was able to create a suit capable of withstanding the effects of his adversary's deadly new ability.
Spider-Man: Edge of Time gave gamers a better look at the "Big Time" suit (named after the storyline it appeared in) and the costume continued to appear in video games that followed, such as Amazing Spider-Man. Each one possessed small differences, based on the comics. The qualities they got right are the glowing lines across the suit and the texture of the costume. There's just no extra functionality. It looks great but not enough to keep it from becoming boring after a while.
9 FUTURE FOUNDATION
The Future Foundation was created by Reed Richards and as per Johnny Storm's final wishes before his return from the Negative Zone, Spider-Man was added to the roster. The suits of the Future Foundation were created from unstable molecules and could be controlled by thought.
Gamers can unlock the suit in Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Visually, the suit is quite decent. It appears almost exactly as it does in the comics, though there's no way to change its color and appearance like its comic book counterpart. As far as aesthetic changes go, this is definitely one of the more unique additions to Spider-Man's video game wardrobe since almost no other Spider-Man-based video games have included the Future Foundation costume.
8 IRON SPIDER
In an effort to solidify Spidey's role as a symbol on his side in the first "Civil War" event, Iron Man gave Peter the Iron Spidey suit, which was equipped with three mechanical arms, allowed Spider-Man to glide, gave him access to various modes of vision and so much more. When Spidey left the pro-registration side of the war, he abandoned the suit and it has been passed to other characters over the years, including Mary-Jane.
The suit appears in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and as you can probably see, the quality of the skin is definitely worth praise. There's a lot of detail from the shine of the golden spider to the lining of the red mesh. It's unfortunate that the suit doesn't come with the waldoes or gliding capabilities but given how gorgeous it looks, that's all forgivable.
7 SCARLET SPIDER
During the "Clone Saga," Ben Reilly created the Scarlet Spider alter ego as a way of distinguishing himself from New York's Spider-Man, with whom he fought beside. The Scarlet Spider outfit was relatively simple and thuggish, compared to his friendly neighborhood counterpart. It was unique and became the suit that immediately came to mind when fans heard the name, Ben Reilly.
The costume has appeared in several video games but none as well executed as Shattered Dimensions. There, it blended well with its surroundings and the style with which it was rendered made it appear as though it could have crawled right out of the pages of a comic book, especially with all the details like the wrinkles and folds, which are arguably still difficult for video games to get right.
6 SPIDER-MAN 2099
One character that's gotten increasingly more attention in the last few years is Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of the future. In an effort to free himself from the threat of addiction, he attempted to rewrite his DNA using one of Alchemax's machines. A saboteur tampered with the process and caused Miguel's DNA to incorporate genetic material of a spider. A new Spider-Man was born.
Miguel is the star of Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time. In both, the suit is beautifully detailed with an almost fibrous appearance. It truly looks like something that you'd see from the future and blends perfectly with its environment. You could also argue that the suit functions in all the essential ways its comic book counterpart does, which gives its depiction an edge in this ranking.
5 MILES MORALES
Miles Morales as Spider-Man is very different to the original in a variety of ways. He's got a different background, a different set of powers, originally, he was even a part of a different universe. Miles was also given a different costume, courtesy of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The suit appears as an alternate in Edge of Time though, like most of the other suits, it offers few benefits that might make you feel as though you're playing anyone other than Spider-Man. What is praiseworthy is its design and appearance. It looks and feels like the suit from the comics, there's just a different person inside.
4 SPIDER-MAN NOIR
The Spider-Man Noir miniseries (written by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, artwork by Carmine Di Giandomenico) reimagined Spider-Man's story as a vigilante fighting crime in an era when corruption and criminality was out in the open and yet almost completely enshrouded from the public. It was a unique take on the Spider-Man mythos and it has stuck with fans ever since publication.
The double-breasted jacket and goggle-equipped mask make an appearance in Shattered Dimensions in which Spider-Man of 1933 America plays a vital role. The suit fits perfectly into its surroundings in more ways than one. It functions well when Spider-Man is trying to blend in with the shadows so its not just an aesthetic change as gameplay changes slightly when wearing this suit, even if it isn't by choice.
3 INFINITY WAR
It's clear that the suit introduced at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming was partially inspired by the Iron Spider suit from the comics, as we could see in Avengers: Infinity War when it revealed waldoes. That and the color scheme are pretty much at the edge of the suits basis in comics. Otherwise, it's a completely new design.
It'll be appearing in Insomniac's upcoming Spider-Man game for PS4. While its too early to tell whether or not it'll allow gamers to enjoy any of the film suit's functions (probably not) we're ranking it at number 4 purely because of the quality of its appearance. Because of its glowing eyes and shining armor, you'd be forgiven for mistaking any image of the suit as being a part of Avengers: Infinity War. Let's just hope this one doesn't crumble if you lose.
2 SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN
By now, everyone knows the story of Spider-Man's black suit. He found in on Battleworld and it turned out to be an alien that grew just a little too attached to the web-head, eventually becoming one of his most powerful and hated enemies. With its ability to avoid Spider-Man's spider-sense, turn every inch of itself into a weapon and augment the abilities of its wearer, the symbiote is truly the stuff of nightmare.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows allowed gamers to play to on that nightmare and enjoy the power granted to Spider-Man by the symbiote suit. There was a significant change in gameplay experience thanks to the black suit's own skill tree and abilities, which is something absent from other games in which it appeared. It also gets credit for being visually believable as an alien substance pretending to be synthetic material.
1 SPIDER-MAN
Finally, we have the upcoming video game's take on the classic red and blue Spider-Man costume. The symbol is different, there are additions to the glove and boots that give it personality and the eyepieces feature apertures that give the mask a means of expression.
It's a bold move to try and introduce a fresh costume through a video game, but Insomniac was not afraid to take that risk and they deserve credit for that, especially now that their version of Peter Parker will be fighting alongside his comic book counterparts in the upcoming "Spidergeddon" comic book event. With its simple alterations to a classic, Insomniac has managed to create something amazing.