For years now, comic book superheroes have been constantly going through cosmetic changes in order to help them keep up with the times, or even serve a purpose within a story. Granted, not every hero changes costumes as often as Iron Man swaps armors, but some of these changes have easily been more significant than others.
For better or worse, everyone has their favorite look for a hero, marking a significant chapter in a character’s history. Looking at some of the better outfit modifications over the years, here is our list of 10 Marvel costume changes that were better than expected.
10 Hydra Cap
While the storyline itself did not fare well with fans, there’s no denying that Captain America’s initial Hydra outfit looked incredible. After the cosmic cube restored Steve Rogers’ youth, it also rewrote his memories to make him believe that he was an undercover Hydra agent ever since he first became Captain America.
Since others in the Marvel universe weren’t aware of this, Steve assumed the mantle once again as if nothing were wrong. Debuting a brand new outfit, this version of Captain America featured a sleek new design while also incorporating a lot of classic elements. The scale mail was still present, but a bit more divided to give his suit some practicality, and the red, white and blue arguably had a much better balance as well. Unfortunately, the storyline wasn’t nearly as impressive as the new costume that came with it.
9 Symbiote Spider-Man
One of the most iconic costume changes in comic books comes from Spider-Man’s Symbiote suit. During the events of Marvel’s Secret Wars, Peter Parker bonded with an alien symbiote that enhanced his abilities and altered his appearance.
Eventually, the symbiote itself was removed from Peter’s body, eventually bonding with Eddie Brock to become Venom. However, the actual suit was so popular that Peter has since donned a cloth version several times since shedding the original. For such a simple look as an all-black suit with white eyes and a giant white spider, this is definitely a costume that exceeded expectations.
8 80’s Wolverine
Like with Spider-Man’s Symbiote suite, Wolverine’s brown costume is arguably just as popular as his classic tiger-stripe outfit. As Logan himself grew more popular, he also became a much darker character. With this, a darker suit was definitely a bit more fitting for someone with a past like Logan’s.
While the hero did keep his signature cowl, the rest of his suit became a great mix of brown, black, and yellow. While that color combination is a more unique one, Wolverine was easily able to pull it off for many years. Since then, he has regularly alternated between his tiger-stripe and brown suits, proving that it was a very strong costume change.
7 Future Foundation
Following the death of Johnny Storm, the Fantastic Four officially changed into the Future Foundation. With this move, the team saw the addition of Spider-Man into the mix and included a lot of their younger associates as members.
For such a radical change in the FF’s costumes, the Future Foundation suits were really impressive. The geometric nature of the outfit patterns gave the team a futuristic, sci-fi feel to them, with the black and white serving as a great color combination. Likewise, the blacked-out hexagons on their chest continued to emphasize the themes of unity and family, while also allowing for subtle touches of individuality.
6 Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
After Carol Danvers graduated from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel, it made sense for a costume change to follow as well. Thankfully, her new (and current) costume exceeded expectations in almost every way.
Going from something black and yellow to something extremely colorful can be a bit drastic, but Marvel definitely pulled it off. Likewise, her new suit appears not only to be much more practical but also manages to capture her position of authority. For someone as strong as Captain Marvel, this is one outfit that definitely measures up to its wearer.
5 Modern Hawkeye
Though Clint Barton is a very easy character to like, his original outfit is just a bit too much in terms of style and color. However, when Matt Fraction began his solo run with the character, Hawkeye received a new design that was much more fitting of Clint’s personality.
Since the start of the series, Hawkeye has ditched his incredibly bright purple suit for something much simpler. Now mostly black with the inclusion of purple, Hawkeye appears a bit more tactical, looking more like a superspy than anything else. Despite the dramatic differences between outfits, this was a change that the character drastically needed, especially with his popularity in the MCU.
4 Daredevil: Back in Black
After Mark Waid left his long run on Daredevil, Charles Soule began his run with the character, once again changing his costume at the very beginning. Though it was very reminiscent of his look in the Shadowland series, Daredevil’s 'Back in Black' outfit still had some subtle differences that made for a major improvement.
Firstly, the black and red color scheme worked incredibly well for a darker character like Daredevil. Secondly, the red tape on his gloves was a great way to pay homage to his father’s background in boxing while also complementing the actual suit as well. Though the classic red suit is arguably better, this is still one costume that was better than expected.
3 Power Man
Luke Cage’s original costume would definitely be laughed at if it came out today. Complete with a massive chain for a belt and a tiara, the hero was in desperate need of an update.
Thankfully, he received one of the more simple changes in costume, transitioning to a simple yellow T-shirt and jeans. While it definitely isn’t a traditional superhero costume, it definitely fits Cage’s personality and is a significant improvement from what he was first fighting crime in. Granted, almost anything would have been an improvement from his original suit, but the man can definitely pull off the color yellow.
2 X-Force Deadpool
The X-Force costumes for almost every member have arguably been some of the characters' best outfits. In Deadpool’s case, the gray almost works better than the red that is commonly associated with him.
Though red does suit his personality much better, something about the gray just makes him seem like much more of a threat. Since very little else is different from his classic costume, it is easy to see why fans have been so receptive to this look for the Merc with a Mouth.
1 Phoenix: Resurrection Jean Grey
When Jean Grey came back from the dead for the most recent time, she underwent yet another significant change in her appearance. This time, Marvel moved away from the skin-tight spandex she normally wears and opted for a rather impressive looking armor.
With a blue and red color scheme, Jean grey’s fiery red hair was complimented nicely, and the heroine actually seemed to have some external physical protection. Though she rarely needs the extra armor, it definitely worked better than some other outfits she has worn over the years. Considering how things could have gone for this new look, this is yet another costume change that went better than expected.