All month-long we'll be featuring top five lists about either the Avengers or the X-Men. Here is an archive of all the past top five lists!
Today, based on a suggestion (sort of) by reader Alan S., we have the top five worst Wonder Man costumes.
Enjoy!
Wonder Man has had basically one decent costume, his original Jack Kirby-designed outfit from #8...
which is not really that good of a costume, but it's not bad and his Bob Hall-designed costume from Avengers #253...
The Hall outfit has basically been THE outfit for Wonder Man, although it has been slightly altered over the years (plus one dramatic alteration that is featured on this list). Currently, he wears a slight variation of that outfit...
5. The Safarai Jacket outfit
By all normal standards, Wonder Man's safari jacket outfit, which debuted in Avengers #167, designed by George Perez, is a bad superhero outfit. However, it is SO out there that it almost sort of works despite itself. It's a freakin' safari jacket! For no reason! That's just kind of awesome. So it only makes the top five because there are only five other outfits on this list.
I also love that no one ever acknowledges Wonder Man's new safari jacket costume. It is just there as if it was always there.
4. Long sleeves and pouches
This Jeff Johnson-designed costume from Wonder Man #25 is pretty much all of the excesses of the 1990s. Why in the world would Wonder Man have a bunch of pouches on his costume?
The infinity belt buckle, though, is an inspired idea.
3. Heroes Reborn
Ian Churchill designed this variation on Wonder Man's original costume for Avengers (Volume 2) #7 and wow, it was not a good idea...
2. The First attempt at combining W and M into a design
In Avengers #161, George Perez became the first artist to try to combine the W with an M to form a sort of symmetrical design. It really did not work...
The outfit only lasted six issues. The last couple issues Wonder Man literally fights shirtless, as his costume is torn during battle.
So when you keep in mind that...
A. The W/M design HAS BEEN TRIED and has been SHOWN NOT TO WORK, it really makes it look worse when Al Milgrom tried it again in West Coast Avengers #12. Not to mention...
B. The Bob Hall design was barely a YEAR old at this point. So why in the world did anyone think there was a need for a new Wonder Man outfit?
1. Second attempt at combining the W and the M into a design
Steve Englehart went meta in West Coast Avengers #24 when the outfit was ditched...
The "new" costume debuted in West Coast Avengers Annual #2, which was pretty much just the Hall costume again...
