At first thought, it might seem that Doctor Strange has been pretty consistent with his costume. The classic costume with the Cloak of Levitation is so ingrained in the minds of readers that it's unthinkable that he's ever changed it up.
That classic costume may be iconic. It even influenced Doctor Strange's design in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the Sorcerer Supreme has changed it up over the years, and occasionally across dimensions. Sometimes the results have been good, sometimes they've not been so good. Of course, every look might be someone's favorite, but some costumes just fail to work.
10 Lame: Last Run As Sorcerer Supreme
Mark Waid's 2018 series Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme featured a new costume that was heavily monochromatic underneath the Cloak of Levitation. Being skin-tight with some armor-like attachments, it looks more like a superhero costume than the clothes of a magic-user.
It's not altogether bad, though, which makes it so low on this list. It didn't have any lasting power, since the next series Doctor Strange, Surgeon Supreme returned to the iconic look.
9 Cool: Turtleneck And Trench Coat
This costume choice rides a fine line. It doesn't register as a costume. However, it is quite classic and stylish. It harkens back to a period when occult superheroes split their time walking in the real world and the occult. Think of him as the equivalent of DC's Doctor Occult or even perhaps a John Constantine.
It doesn't hurt that the stylishness of the ensemble is classic. Tan and black will almost always work well together. Not having the Cloak of Levitation, Strange's trench coat serves the same artistic purpose of flowing with the winds of mystic energy.
8 Lame: The Younger, Hipper Doctor Strange
The 1990s were a tumultuous time at Marvel. They had spent a lot of money and the crash of the speculator bubble had hit them hard. Eventually, they would file for bankruptcy. Many characters were drastically altered to attract a younger readership. Doctor Strange was no exception.
Writer David Quinn had done what he could to craft engaging and exciting stories. With Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #76, he followed the editorial dictates and worked with artist Peter Gross to redesign the Doctor. The result is a grab at a trend, with the Cloak of Levitation made into a coat and Strange's sunglasses giving a very Lennon-esque vibe.
7 Cool: Fancy Vest
Given how bad costume design in the 1990s is generally viewed, it should be no surprise that there are some gems in there. Evolving out of the younger, hipper Doctor Strange, this costume saw the jacket kept but with an untucked shirt and fancy gold vest, complete with the Eye of Agamotto.
It successfully captures the aesthetic of the 1990s while honoring the past of the character. It's definitely a look that couldn't be sustained, but rooted firmly in its time, it embraces what works, and abandons those that do not. The addition of an ornate gold vest enhances the design of the Trench Coat of Levitation and gives grandeur to a character once again.
6 Lame: The Masked Costume
In the latter half of the Silver Age, Doctor Strange took a departure from his traditional costume. He eschewed the robes and tunics for spandex. It shares many similarities to the classic Dr. Strange costume, primarily a blue color scheme. Unfortunately, it came complete with a mask.
The superhero look was an ill fit for Doctor Strange, despite it lasting as long as it did. Doctor Strange's facial features are quite distinctive, and the lighter blue gloves didn't highlight his hand gestures in the same way that the orange gloves did.
5 Cool: Steve Ditko's Original
There are not many costumes that Steve Ditko designed that are bad. Doctor Strange's original design stands up as some genius design. At times it incorporated an amulet and a blue cape, and eventually, it morphed into the costume that he's best known to be wearing.
The design on his tunic is almost subliminal in how it makes use of the highlighting effect that Ditko used in rendering black and other dark fabrics. By juxtaposing the blue tunic with an orange sash and gloves, the design creates the strongest contrast possible.
4 Lame: Mutant X Version
In the parallel Earth of Mutant X, there are several altered versions of Marvel heroes. When Doctor Strange surfaces in the final issue, his costume incorporates a hood that helps close up an altered Cloak of Levitation. The hood hides the fact that the doctor has taken on the curse of the Man-Thing, which while giving him the same head as the hulking monster, doesn't alter his body.
The design just uses the cloak to be the costume. It focuses on making Strange mysterious and threatening. In the world of 2001, the aesthetics of the 1990s hold and the costume looks impractical. There's no way it seems that the Cloak of Levitation can't be taken off, and the hood, when up, doesn't appear capable of hiding his massive head.
3 Cool: The Defenders Costume
When Matt Fraction reformed the Defenders in 2011, it was obvious that he would look severely out of place in a trench coat and turtleneck. The design became more graphic, and while strange lacked the Cloak of Levitation, the sash and coat tails flowed similarly.
The stark red and black worked well with the rest of the team, mirroring Namor and Red She-Hulk's costumes, and the red kept the latter from standing out too much. It not only looked like a good design, but it also worked with the team aesthetic.
2 Lame: Midnight Sons-Era Strange
In defense, this is meant to be a much darker hero. The presiding trend among Marvel's horror-themed titles was to go dark and violent. After all, Ghost Rider had been a runaway success in the boom of the early 1990s. One of the responses was a masked anti-hero that simply called himself "Strange."
While this was a creation of Doctor Strange, and not the doctor himself, it doesn't fail that he operated in the stead of Doctor Strange and served his purpose. The design is an assemblage of everything dark, brooding, and violent of the 1990s, and resembles Spawn more than Doctor Strange.
1 Cool: The Classic Costume
The classic costume builds off of Steve Ditko's original design and creates a look that Marvel Comics keeps coming back to. Sometimes the tunic will vary in its shade, but the design remains consistent. The Cloak of Levitation and Eye of Agamotto give a regalness to the mystical hero.
The costume gets redesigned over and over again, but always returns to the classic. When Doctor Strange debuted in the MCU, the costume was designed around this version of Doctor Strange. Sometimes determining which costume is the best is subjective, and sometimes it's very obvious.