The heroes and villains of DC Comics are some of the most popular and instantly recognizable characters in fiction, and their costumes have a lot to do with that. When Superman graced comic book pages in Action Comics #1, the look of the superhero was forged. The spandex, the cape, and the bold emblem were all replicated and built upon with the thousands of characters that followed.
The costumes of these characters are so iconic and would grow and change thanks to the hundreds of talented artists that would take their turn on the books. While some characters received radical changes to their original designs, many fans feel the classic looks of the more iconic characters are better left mostly unaltered (aside from a few minor tweaks and changes over the many decades of publication).
10 The Flash's New 52 Suit
Barry Allen has worn his classic red suit with yellow lightning streaks since his first appearance in Showcase #4. It's one of the costumes in DC Comics that has changed the least over his nearly 70-year history. When DC Comics presented their line-wide relaunch in 2011, Barry Allen's costume was altered minimally, but enough to completely enhance it.
The suit remained relatively untouched, save for thin black lines all over the suit. When Barry taps into the speed force, the lines glow yellow and emit bolts of lightning. The effect is a simple but gorgeous one, especially in the hands of Francis Manapul who illustrated The Flash comic book at the start of the relaunch.
9 Hal Jordan's Original Rebirth Suit
When Hal Jordan became Parallax, he wiped out the entire Green Lantern Corps. One new ring was created and given to Kyle Rayner, who acted as the Torchbearer. In 2004, Geoff Johns wrote Green Lantern: Rebirth. The mini-series saw the return of Hal Jordan and the larger GL Corps.
The status quo was reinstated and Hal Jordan received a subtle upgrade to his costume. His new suit is almost identical to the one he's worn for decades before, but the green stopped at the waist, preventing the suit from looking like a big onesie, and the Lantern emblem on his chest emitted a duplicate emblem made of willpower energy.
8 Earth 2 Wonder Woman's Armor
The New 52 line-wide relaunch saw the reboot of not just the DC universe but its multiverse too, including the worlds of the Justice Society and the Crime Syndicate. In 2012, a new series titled Earth 2 hit the stands, giving readers a modern, revamped version of the JSA heroes of the Golden Age.
The series focused more on Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, and others, with DC's Trinity, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman perishing in the first issue. The armor Wonder Woman wears into her final battle is stunning. Instead of a tiara, she wears a larger gold crown, as well as large silver shin guards and gauntlets. It's a shame this design was so short-lived.
7 Joe Quiñones's Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red Design
Harley Quinn quickly became a fan favorite following her introduction in Batman: The Animated Series. Originally created to be another one of Joker's thugs, Harley quickly headlined many of the best episodes of the series, developing close relationships with longtime Batman characters like Poison Ivy.
Their friendship is further explored in the recent Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red series. Issue #9 was written and illustrated by Joe Quiñones, who draws Harley in a costume that pulls inspiration from her classic look and makes her even more of a jester. It's a familiar design, but unique enough to warrant future appearances, hopefully.
6 Wally West's Rebirth Suit
The New 52 relaunch is probably one of the most divisive events in DC's publication history. A lot of characters benefited from the reboots, but many more suffered. Entire characters were wiped from canon like Wally West. When Geoff Johns wrote DC Universe: Rebirth #1, a one-shot issue intended to set up the next relaunch, the classic Wally West returned.
Joining his old friends and teammates in the new era, Wally donned a new costume that seemed to combine both his Flash and Kid Flash suits. His cowl resembles his Kid Flash suit while his costume resembles his Flash suit, swapping yellow lightning designs for silver ones.
5 Shazam's New 52 Suit
When Geoff Johns rebooted Captain Marvel into Shazam post-New 52, he not only worked with Gary Frank to redesign the costume, he redesigned Billy Batson as well. Billy was not the friendliest or kindest of kids, but he had a good heart, and that's what made him worthy of the power.
Shazam's New 52 suit is, like most New 52 relaunch suits, very reminiscent of Captain Marvel's original design. More lines were added to the costume to add visual detail, and the white cape was given a hood. The changes are subtle, but it definitely gives the suit a cooler edge.
4 Darwyn Cooke's Catwoman Design
If someone who's only read Catwoman comics the last 20 years were to see a few of her original costume designs, they'd be forgiven for thinking they were entirely different characters. Catwoman's original costumes were more like dresses with capes. Her costume in the Batman'66 TV series is closer to her modern costume than anything of that comic era.
When Darwyn Cooke redesigned her costume for his Catwoman series in 2001, he created a look of the character that would live on and thrive for two decades and continues to be the foundation of any modern costume design of hers since.
3 Batman's New 52/Rebirth Suit
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman run is legendary. Not only did they introduce so many lasting elements into the Batman mythos, Capullo provided issue after issue of incredible art. The Batman suit was redesigned following the New 52 relaunch, doing away with the underwear and adding more texture to the suit.
When the series relaunched again following Rebirth, Batman sported a suit that combined his first appearance suit with purple accents, his New 52 suit, and introduced a sleek new bat symbol that seemed to combine every iteration that came before into one.
2 Superman's Kingdom Come Suit
Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross is a must-read graphic novel for any comic book fan. It presented DC characters in a way readers had never seen before – Superman more than any. Alex Ross had the fun opportunity to play around with character designs, showcasing wildly different costumes for heroes at various periods in their life.
Superman received one of the subtlest changes of all. In his superhero retirement years, his black hair gained some white streaks at his temples and his emblem, previously shining bright with red and yellow, was now red and black and simplified.
1 Bab Tarr's Batgirl Design
The New 52 relaunch returned Barbara Gordon to the role of Batgirl. When she returned, she wore a costume that looked fairly familiar to her old costume. It wasn't until issue #35 of the series that Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr introduced her new look. Batgirl wore a costume that looked more like a combat suit rather than spandex or armor.
The style of suit would go on to inspire other creators to redesign suits for their heroes as well. Batgirl's new suit seemed to combine the essence of her original with a modern, hipper style. The purple and yellow combo is also striking and just so visually satisfying to look at.