Clothes make the superman. Even if they don't actually give a superhero their powers, they would be far less iconic without them. They also come in handy for hiding your identity. DC's Legion of Super-Heroes, known as both a comic and a cartoon, is filled with various superheroes, including a young Superman, meaning fans get to see a lot of different costumes.
Of course, as with most comic book superheroes, their costumes have often changed over the years, although there is usually some constant, like an iconic color or theme. Added to that, the cartoon adaptation of the series also sometimes substituted the traditional designs of the characters for something else entirely. Bouncing Boy, for example, ditched his iconic blue and white vest and black pants for a bodysuit and goggles in the cartoon. He also went from looking like a stocky Clark Kent to having grayish purple skin.
10 Dawnstar Is An Angelic Beauty (Who Should Stick To Yellow)
Although Dawnstar is from another planet, she's actually of Native American ancestry and Native American influence can be seen in her costume. She mostly wears a yellow top resembling a bodice with sleeves, paired with matching boots, all trimmed with a fringe, similar to traditional buckskins. She also has an angelic pair of wings and her forehead is marked with a star.
Dawnstar's role in the cartoon was reduced to a glorified cameo, but she eventually made an appearance in the spin-off comics, albeit in the penultimate issue. Her costume is recolored brown, with the fringe being replaced with fin-like ruffles, which, combined with a paler complexion, almost making her look like an anthropomorphic sphinx. Her star is also now attached to her costume, being part of a headband.
9 Phantom Girl Looks Like Raven's Kid Sister
Phantom Girl normally wears a white cape and a white ensemble. Some later versions of the character ditch the cape and her costume switches between mostly white to having black accents. In her first appearance, she was mostly white, giving her the appearance of a ghost.
The cartoon keeps the cape and black accents, and adds two white hair decorations. For some fans, she might look like a knock-off of Raven from Teen Titans, sans the hood, but she actually predates the character by almost two decades.
8 The 90's Called, They Want Kell-El Back
Superman's clone, eventually dubbed Superman X, has a costume patterned off of his predecessor with a few changes: he ditches the cape, has a red collar, switches the bright blue for a darker shade, and generally has a more metallic appearance.
On one hand, it's nice to see him wanting to change up the traditional costume, but he usually just comes off looking like a '90s anti-hero, especially with that long hair. That said, he does seem like he'd get on splendidly with Batman.
7 Cosmic Boy Needs To Stick To Purple (And Burn The Corset)
In the cartoon, Cosmic Boy's costume was mostly a black and purple suit. Considering the primary colors the other boys on the team wear, it actually makes for a nice contrast and looks subtle by comparison. Throw in his sideburns and he seems to be going for some 60's aesthetic.
That said, in the comics, his costume tends to be all over the place. At one point, he went around in what virtually looked like a corset. and sometimes his regular suit is an unflattering bright pink.
6 Lightning Lad Needs To Pick A Look (& Should Have Kept The Gloves)
Even the cartoon couldn't keep him in the same costume. A few constants are a black and purple top, lightning bolt insignias on his arms that reach out to his chest, and a white interior on his pants.
At first, his costume looked mostly black, with purple accents that were probably added to create a lighting effect. His later costume actually appeared to be purple, however. Added to that, his first costume was less disheveled than the second, with him even wearing white gloves.
5 Saturn Girl At Least Has Cute Earrings
Saturn Girl's costume is a modest, mostly pink and white bodysuit, complete with boots, gloves, and a long, swan-like collar. Some versions of the costume replace the pink with red, and occasionally give her a skirt or cape.
The cartoon also famously gave popularized her wearing pink earrings based on the planet Saturn itself, complete with a ring. It's a simple touch but makes a memorable statement.
4 Triplicate Girl Would Have Killed In The Mod Squad
Triplicate Girl has the power to split herself into three people, and whether they are treated as one person or sisters who share a body can be a little unclear. In some comics, Her costume probably varies the most out of all the characters. Sometimes, she looks identical when split up. At most, they might wear different colored costumes. Sometimes, they'll get creative and one will wear both the colors the other two wear.
The cartoon decided to get creative and give them different colored outfits and hair, somewhat resembling the 60's mod look, complete with long boots and gloves. The cartoon also went for a unique color scheme: vibrant orange, feminine purple, and supernatural white. Each color scheme works well on its own and fits the style when all three colors are combined.
3 Dream Girl Is A Silver Butterfly Who Just Needs Some Pants
Dream Girl's costume is normally a white one-piece that's paired with her blonde hair, although the color scheme changes from time to time and she sometimes gets a cape. The cartoon went with a more flattering color scheme, making her costume silver and her hair pure white.
Her silver aesthetic was also played up so that she has silvery lipstick and makeup. While her comic book counterparts sometimes showed cleavage, her cartoon costume is more modest and even adds a butterfly insignia.
2 Karate Kid Is A Style Icon (But Should Have Kept The Boots & Collar)
Not to be confused with Ralph Macchio, Karate Kid's costume in the comics is essentially an ill-fitting Japanese gi, paired with long black pants, white boots, and a large, golden collar.
The cartoon drops this in favor of a more modest black and white costume which seems to take influence from various Asian folk costumes, like a Chinese tangzhuang jacket and a Mongolian deel. He also added some black armbands and replaced the boots with open-toed sandals, which his opponents get a good look at when he kicks them in the face.
1 Star Boy Doesn't Need Those Star Decorations
Powered with the ability to control gravity, Star Boy's costume is normally black and white, although the comics never seem to settle on which should be the dominant color, although gold accents have been known to come and go. One variation is a mostly black bodysuit with white hands and gloves.
The cartoon usually aimed at a mostly white costume with black decorations, usually creating the image of a star on his chest. A little bit of gold, such as a ring and belt, sometimes appear, likely as a reference to his alternate costume. He also sometimes dons a cape. In the comics, the black part of his costume is sometimes decorated with stars, but this is usually dropped in animation.