Most of us are familiar with the main Marvel Universe, designated 616, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the company's comic book creations come to dazzling life on the big screen. But this barely scratches the surface of the vast array of alternate realities that have branched off from Earth-616. Ever wanted to see the Avengers in the Old West? Earth-15513, as depicted in the miniseries 1872, has you covered. How about a world where the X-Men become Norse gods? There are multiple universes covering that angle from different perspectives. If you can imagine it, Marvel has probably already done it.

Each of Marvel's alternate realities has its own distinctive tone and style, for which we should offer sincere kudos to their creators. It can be difficult to create something new while still reflecting the spirit of the original character and making sure they're recognizable to readers. Many realities easily rise to this challenge, presenting us with memorable looks that fans still talk about. Others, unfortunately, have a little sartorial trouble -- we cover both categories in this list. So whether you're looking for an out-of-the-box cosplay idea or just want to laugh at your favorite characters' fashion fails, you clicked on the right link.

15 BEST: CAPTAIN AMERICA (1872)

Given the garishness of Captain America' costume, creating a "normal person" version of it should be much harder than it really is. All you have to do is use a red, white and blue color scheme, and odds are the readers' minds will do the rest of the work. This is the approach used in 1872, a four-issue miniseries that recasts the Avengers as pioneers in the American Old West. They inhabit the mining town of Timely, which has been corrupted almost beyond repair by money-hungry Governor Roxxon, Mayor Wilson Fisk and their bloodthirsty villains-for-hire. Very few rays of hope remain. One of them is Sheriff Steve Rogers.

Rogers' attire here consists of a blue vest and trousers, a white shirt and a red bandanna. 

And instead of an indestructible star-spangled shield, he has his sheriff's badge, which has no special qualities in and of itself.  Its only power comes from Rogers' unwavering belief in what it stands for: "law and order triumphing over savagery and chaos." Much like the shield, Rogers' badge becomes a symbol of freedom and an inspiration to those who value justice. Sheriff Rogers' snazzy outfit was sadly ruined when Bullseye shot him through the chest.

14 WORST: ANGEL (AGE OF APOCALYPSE)

"Age of Apocalypse," also designated Earth-295, begins when Professor X's son Legion travels back in time to kill Magneto. But Professor X sacrifices himself to save Magneto, throwing both Legion's plans and the universe out of whack. Legion, having killed his own father, has paradoxed himself out of existence and disappears. Worse, Professor X's absence allows Apocalypse to take over the world, and he's not exactly a benevolent ruler. It's a classic storyline that still has many fans. Unfortunately, it took place in the '90s, when comic book fashion was going through a rough patch. Even the most iconic of superheroes underwent extreme, generally ill-advised makeovers during this time.

As a result, there are quite a few costumes from "Age of Apocalypse" that could have made this list. Come to think of it, we could probably do an entire article on the top 15 worst "Age of Apocalypse" costumes. But for now, we'll stick with just this one. Angel's outfit deserves special mention for hitting all of those classic '90s low points. Long flowing ponytail? Check. Gigantic shoulder pads? Double check. Pointless straps and buckles? Present and accounted for. Horribly cut jacket? You got it. Well, Angel's got it, and we really wish he didn't.

13 BEST: VISION (AVENGERS FAIRY TALES)

The four-part Avengers Fairy Tales miniseries tells four different stories. Each issue retells a classic children's story with the Avengers and/or Young Avengers in the starring roles. The second issue gives us a steampunk version of Pinocchio featuring the Vision, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Hank Pym, lonely after the supposed death of his wife Jan, puts his engineering skills to good use and builds himself a son. He names the little robot Vision because he is, to Pym, "a vision of hope." And, as you can see from the picture, Vision was deliberately designed to be as heartrendingly adorable as possible. Don't you just want to give him all the hugs?

Vision, despite being a robot, looks very much like a gangly, knobbly-kneed marionette.

His unique appearance attracts much negative attention from his peers and elders alike.  This leaves Vision vulnerable to the seemingly friendly overtures of his creepy teacher, who is really Ultron looking for a way to sneak into Pym's laboratory and activate the robot Jocasta so he can make her his wife. In the end, Ultron meets with defeat. But more importantly, Vision gives up a chance at becoming human to save his father's life and learns to love himself exactly as he is.

12 WORST: ROGUE (WHAT IF?)

What If? is an entire series devoted to exploring alternate realities. The Watcher serves as our tour guide, selecting a reality at random and explaining how and why it came to differ from the more familiar 616 universe. In What If? #66, he treats us to the tale of how Rogue accidentally kills Thor and swipes his power set. You'd think his costume would also transfer to her the same way it transferred to Donald Blake once upon a time. Unfortunately for your eyes and ours, this is not the case.

Rogue's Thor costume bears little resemblance to the original Thor's. That, however, is not why it is terrible. After all, Jane Foster recently changed up the classic Thor costume and looked awesome. Rogue, by contrast, got stuck with Thor's cape thrown over a strapless sea green leotard. And just for extra fun, a spiked collar and cuffs round out Rogue's Asgardian ensemble. After Odin accepts Rogue as both the new Thor and his adoptive daughter, her costume changes somewhat. It is now blue instead of green, and the spiked accessories are gone. Still, Rogue could have had it worse -- when Jane Foster originally got the power of Thor in What If? #10, her outfit had no pants.

11 BEST: DAREDEVIL (1602)

Most Marvel universes take place in the "present day," whenever that happens to be at the time of writing. As a result, there are relatively few alternate realities set farther back than 50 or so years ago. But in 1602, thanks to some villainous time-travel shenanigans, the heroes of the Marvel Universe begin appearing before their time -- specifically, in the early 17th century. Written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by Andy Kubert, 1602 tells the story of how our heroes figure out what has gone wrong with their world and how to fix it before Earth itself dies.

Obviously, this story takes place before spandex and kevlar came into fashion, so the characters have to make do with the standard clothes of the day.

In the case of one Matthew Murdock, this involves a deep red vest and boots, and a matching blindfold. But what about the iconic Daredevil horns, you ask? He still has them. You just have to look a little closer, and you'll occasionally see a couple locks of hair flipped up to resemble devil's horns. It's subtle but highly effective, and reflective of the care and creativity put into the costume and 1602 as a whole.

10 WORST: HAWKEYE (THE ULTIMATES)

The Ultimate Universe is like 616's darker, broodier cousin. Where 616 Iron Man occasionally falls off the wagon, Ultimates Iron Man is perpetually shnockered. Where 616 Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are close and love each other very much, Ultimates Wanda and Pietro are too close and love each other way too much. And where 616 Hawkeye is currently a lovable, if occasionally troubled, hero, Ultimates Hawkeye is a grieving, suicidal widower who kills the Black Widow for her role in the deaths of his wife and kids. Welcome to the Ultimates Universe!

Initially, aside from the shaved head and the earring, this Hawkeye's look was very similar to that worn by the MCU's Hawkeye: a simple, sleeveless black ensemble with an arrow-like splash of color on the chest. But in "Ultimatum", he decided a makeover was in order. He traded in the basic black for blinding purple -- purple bodysuit, purple mask, purple gloves, and just for variety, a convenient red bullseye on his forehead. This outfit somehow manages to be even more purple than the famously tacky duds originally worn by 616 Hawkeye. It is very reminiscent of the '90s as well, with lots of straps and a general air of murderous angst.

9 BEST: WONDER WOMAN (AMALGAM)

The Amalgam universe began in 1996. After an argument between the embodiments of the DC and Marvel Universes, both realities merged into one. All of Marvel and DC's characters were taken in pairs or groups of three and combined into a brand new character featuring elements of each of the original characters. For example, Storm from Marvel and Artemis and Wonder Woman from DC blended to become, uh, Wonder Woman.

But unlike our own Wondy, this version is really Ororo of Themyscira, weather-manipulating princess of the Amazons.

As for Amalgam Wonder Woman's costume, it's basic but effective. Imagine Storm in Wonder Woman's costume while retaining Storm's famous wing-like black-and-gold cape. This design works because the creators didn't try to do anything weird, like keeping the cut of Storm's costume but slapping Wonder Woman's colors on it. Clearly the creators knew good costume design when they saw it and left well enough alone. That's more than we can say for some other residents of the Amalgam Universe, as you can see elsewhere on this list. In any event, the Amalgam Universe vanished when the DC and Marvel Universes were restored. However, it now exists as its own pocket dimension, so Ororo of Themyscira is still out there somewhere.

8 WORST: DARK CLAW (AMALGAM)

Logan Wayne, aka Dark Claw, is the Amalgam Universe's amalgamation of Batman and Wolverine. This lucky fellow not only got to witness his parents' murder, he also got to be traumatized by the death of his Canadian uncle not long afterwards. We can only assume these twin tragedies somehow affected young Wayne's fashion sense -- it's the only explanation for why he ever thought it was a good idea to leave the house dressed like that.

Somehow, the ears on Batman's cowl and the tall points on Wolverine's mask got translated into a pair of bat wings sticking out from above his eyes. That's totally where bat's wings are supposed to go, right? Worse still, Dark Claw apparently liked the wing motif so well that he stuck a similar pair of wings on his boots. In addition, the bodysuit features tiger-like stripes here and there, making it look like maybe a bit of Tigra got fused to Bats and Wolvie as well. The DC Animated Universe did what they could with this monstrosity, toning down the worst of the wing decorations for Dark Claw Adventures. Still, we're sure that both Wolverine and Batman were relieved to get back to their own realities.

7 BEST: SPIDER-WOMAN (EARTH-398)

In Avengers #2, Morgan le Fay, using the stolen power of the Asgardian Twilight Sword and the Scarlet Witch, warps reality to suit her purposes. When the dust settles, Earth's Mightiest Heroes have no memory of their prior lives. Instead they are all members of le Fay's personal army, dedicated to maintaining her idea of law and order. As you might imagine, since they are basically superpowered medieval soldiers now, their revamped costumes involve a lot of armor. Most of the armor designs are interesting and, with the exception of Moondragon's cleavage and leg-bearing armor, quite practical.

But Spider-Woman's armor stands a cut above the rest.

In the real world, Spider-Woman wears a dark blue leotard with white boots, gloves and spider symbol. In le Fay's world, she has been renamed Arachne, and her normal costume replaced with a dark suit of armor with silver, spidery accents. She is instantly recognizable but still looks perfectly at home alongside the antiquated trappings of her elaborate prison. It's really too bad that she plays a relatively minor role in this adventure and is mostly relegated to appearances in group shots. We would love to see more of her and her sweet spider-armor.

6 WORST: QUICKSILVER (EARTH-398)

Not all of the costume changes brought about by Morgan le Fay's new world order are as aesthetically pleasing as Arachne's. Quicksilver's new outfit, for example, looks more like an attempt at Aladdin cosplay than anything else. For inadequately explained reasons, Pietro now goes by the name Gypsy Davy, which is as cringeworthy as it is uninspired. He also, in contrast to his normal sleek costume, has taken to wearing several impractical pieces of jewelry. Trying to run at superspeed with those chunky necklaces has got to be a pain, and frankly, we're surprised those earrings haven't yet caused permanent damage to his earlobes.

As with most evil schemes, le Fay's fantasy world does not last long. Captain America -- or rather, Yeoman America -- is the first to remember his own reality. Before long, he manages to convince half his teammates to rebel against Morgan le Fay and put things back where they belong. As soon as the Avengers defeat le Fay, the universe, and everyone's attire, goes back to normal. In Quicksilver's case, that is most definitely a good thing -- we hope that the Scarlet Witch was a dutiful sister and mocked him for his silly medieval clothes forever after.

5 BEST: THE PUNISHER (WHAT IF?)

What If? #24 answers that age-old question: what if Wolverine became a vampire? Turns out he not only turns his X-Men teammates into vampires as well, he leads them on a quest to take over the world. Wolvampire -- or whatever he wants to call himself now -- and his minions succeed in either killing or turning almost every hero and villain in New York City. With the city quarantined by the government, no outside help will be coming anytime soon. The casualty list includes Doctor Strange, but he ain't the Master of the Mystic Arts for nothing.

Strange's spirit gets in contact with the Punisher, one of the few remaining human (anti)heroes in New York. 

Strange urges the Punisher to go to the Sanctum Sanctorum and retrieve the Darkhold, a book which contains a magic spell capable of destroying vampires.  To aid him in this quest, Doctor Strange gifts his new ally with his own cloak. The effect of the elaborate cape combined with the Punisher's own dark, no-frills costume is quite striking. Now granted, the white sweatband makes it look like Punisher is getting ready to confront a really tough workout rather than a world-conquering vampire. But aside from that, it's a good look for a magic-wielding vampire hunter.

4 WORST: IRON WOMAN (EARTH-3490)

The reality known as Earth-3490 was discovered by Reed Richards in Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #2 in 2009. It appears to be mostly the same as the main universe, except that here, Tony Stark is a woman. Natasha Stark, aka Iron Woman, wears armor very similar to her 616 counterpart. Unlike on Earth-616, however, this Stark not only falls in love with Captain America, she marries him. The happy couple show up for all of one panel, but that panel made quite a splash with fans. They had endless fun Photoshopping Tony's facial hair onto Natasha's face. And once they got through with that, they got to mock Natasha's ridiculous wedding attire.

And we use the phrase "wedding attire" loosely. All she did was pin a wedding veil onto the back of the helmet, which is both lazy and hilarious. Did she want to get married in her armor but also want to make absolutely sure everyone knew she's a woman? Did she lose a bet to her universe's Captain Marvel? If 616 Iron Man ever gets married, will we be subjected to the sight of him in full armor with a top hat? Well, even if our own Stark stays single, there is always Photoshop...

3 BEST: WOLVERINE (DAYS OF FUTURE PAST)

For what started as a mere two-part story in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #141-#142, "Days of Future Past" has had a remarkably long legacy, spawning spin-offs and even a movie adaptation. The basic premise, however, is simple. In 1984, America elects a president who hates mutants so much that he revives the Sentinel program. The Sentinels are giant purple robots designed to sniff out mutants and eliminate them. Thirty years later, every mutant, superhero and supervillain has either been killed or incarcerated. Very few mutants -- among them Kitty Pryde, Peter Rasputin and Ororo Munroe -- remain, and even fewer remain free.

One of the handful of mutants not yet captured by the Sentinels is, of course, Wolverine, older and grayer but still willing and able to fight the good fight.

By necessity, he has dropped the flashy costume and adopted something simpler: a jacket, T-shirt and jeans. It's a simple, classic look, made all the more memorable by the fact that most of his fellow mutants are forced to wear identical green jumpsuits. Wolvie's outfit is not just a cool fashion statement. It's a symbol of his continued rebellion against a government that wants him to either conform or die.

2 WORST: STORM (WHAT IF?)

In What If? #12, the X-Men are given a choice: either remain in Asgard forever or go back home. Half the X-Men choose to return to Earth. The other half live out their lives, however short they prove to be, on Asgard. Among the gods, the mutants are respected equals, not hated outcasts. Storm fares best of all. Thor, deciding he's too busy superheroing to be a good king, abdicates the throne and names Storm the goddess of thunder and ruler of Asgard in his stead-- we have no objection to that, Storm's awesome and we're sure she wielded her hammer, Storm-bringer, with pride. Her queenly raiment, however, needs some emergency attention from the nearest tailor.

Both she and Thor have gone way overboard on the helmet wings, which are taller than their heads.  That's not even getting into their capes, which must have been treated with some god-quality starch to stand up like that. As for Storm, she has inexplicably donned a costume that consists of a black bodice on top and a long loincloth on the bottom. And of course, this being the '90s, you could serve dinner on those shoulder pads. This would be a great outfit for a member of a punk rock band. But for an Asgardian queen, not so much.

1 BEST: SCARLET WITCH (HOUSE OF M)

The Scarlet Witch (aka Wanda Maximoff) once lost control of her powers and killed several Avengers. In response, a group of her fellow heroes held a meeting to decide her fate. Some of them believed that the only way to prevent her from breaking down again was to kill her. To save herself, at her brother's urging, Wanda rewrote the universe. The result is Earth-58163, more commonly known as "House of M". Here, her father Erik Magnus, the erstwhile Magneto, rules a world where most people are mutants and humans are the persecuted minority. Aside from Wanda, only a precious few remember the world as it is supposed to be.

In addition to creating a whole new world, Wanda created some neat royal garb for herself and her family. 

They all look suitably regal and vaguely menacing, as they should. For herself, Wanda designed a long red gown and an elaborate headpiece that obscured much of her face. The clothes are so nice that it's almost a shame Wanda's fantasy world had to come to an end, but end it did. Once her family discovered what she'd done, Wanda decried all mutants as monsters and erased them -- and the House of M -- from existence.