Both Marvel and DC have been around for over 70 years. That's a long time for any character to stay the same, and few characters do. Most are vulnerable to reboots and retcons, makeovers and drastic plot twists that alter the character at their core. Origins change and so do alignments; good guys go bad and bad guys turn over a new leaf. But the one thing that is constantly changing is how characters look. To keep things fresh, and prevent characters from persisting in the outdated trends of yesterday, characters consistently receive new re-designs. While most of these re-designs are subtle variations on pre-existing costumes, some characters are entirely made-over.

DC are particularly vulnerable to these major makeovers due to the company's love of reboots. These re-designs can be so drastic that long-time fans may pick up a comic and not even recognize one of their favorite characters. Some of these characters have existed for said 70 years. Naturally, they've evolved over time and their new appearances reflect that. The sidekicks of old have grown into strong independent heroes who've ditched the costume given to them by their mentor. An extraordinary amount of re-designs emerge whenever a reboot happens -- notably, DC's New 52. When such events come around, nobody is off limits when it comes to reimagining characters. And then there are those characters who hardly need an excuse to change their costume. Although their character might've not gone through significant changes in their history, they embrace a constantly changing wardrobe anyway. Here are 20 DC characters barely recognizable today.

20 BLUE BEETLE

When Jaime Reyes took over the mantle of Blue Beetle from Ted Kord, he received an entirely different costume than his predecessor. Kord was introduced as Blue Beetle in Secret Origins (Vol. 2) #2, an acrobat in a blue costume, with the classic outer-underwear. During the '00s, Kord died at the hands of Maxwell Lord, and Reyes took over the role. Reyes' costume is much different due to the fact that it's alive.

The Blue Beetle scarab attached himself to Reyes, and the two produced an alien-looking, armored Blue Beetle. Reyes' costume only seems to be getting stranger. After DC Rebirth, the character received larger bug-eyes.

19 JERICHO

Jericho, the mute son of Deathstroke the Terminator, was introduced in Tales of the Teen Titans #43, and quickly became one of the core members of Marv Wolfman's new Teen Titans line-up. His long, curly blonde hair and unique outfit were in stark contrast to most superhero costumes from the time.

After Jericho began to lose his mind and betrayed his teammates during the "Titans Hunt" arc, he only showed up sporadically in the mythos. But now, for the first time in a long time, he's been playing a consistent role in the DCU, popping up in Deathstroke with a new look.

18 JASON TODD

Jason Todd, the second Robin, was famously beaten to death by the Joker in "A Death in the Family", which took place in Batman (Vol. 1) #426-429. After over a decade in the grave, Todd made his shocking return as the new Red Hood, posing just as much as a threat to Batman as he did to Joker.

As the Red Hood, Todd embraced extreme violence as a means to justice, as well as a new look. Although since his return in the early 2000s he's had a variety of alterations to his Red Hood costume, the core look remains the same -- namely, a crimson helmet and black attire.

17 MR. FREEZE

Mr. Freeze is another villain that has an incredibly long history in comics. Having initially gone under the alias Mister Zero, the villain made his first appearance in 1959's Batman (Vol. 1) #121, sporting a low-tech, green and red costume. In the years since his debut, Mr. Freeze's look has constantly evolved -- but all of them are in stark contrast to his Mister Zero look.

Generally, the Mr. Freeze we know prefers blue and black, has an impressive physique for his age, wears a haunting pair of goggles, and carries much more technologically-advanced looking gear. His skin also typically has a blue tint, in marked contrast to his original appearance.

16 ANIMAL MAN

Buddy Baker, aka Animal Man, was introduced in Strange Adventures #180. His most memorable look comes from when Grant Morrison wrote his comic in the '80s; Animal Man wore goggles, and an aviator's jacket over a classic superhero costume consisting of his symbol in baby blue, and orange spandex.

After his solo series ended in the '90s, Animal Man only appeared sporadically in the DCU, usually in various event series. Like many of his fellow heroes, Animal Man received a make-over following the New 52 reboot. The hero ditched his goggles and his jacket and traded in his baby blue and orange costume for a navy blue and white one.

15 METALLO

Since his debut in 1959's Action Comics (Vol. 1) #252, Metallo has gone through countless transformations. In his early appearances, Metallo seemed, ostensibly, to be more human than robot. He had a human face and often wore a suit. It was only when he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his metal chest and the kryptonite beaming from it that his cyborg side came out.

However, over time, Metallo has become increasingly more robotic -- at times looking like a sleek cyborg, at other times taking on a hulking metal form. His latest look makes him out to be almost entirely machine, save for the plate of flesh on his face.

14 CHEETAH

Wonder Woman's archnemesis, Cheetah, is actually an alias that several people have gone by. During the Golden Age and Silver Age, the women that went by "Cheetah" simply wore Cheetah costumes but were still very much human. Cheetah changed drastically when Barbara Minerva took the alias.

Minerva had been an archaeologist thrust into a ritual that transformed her into a cheetah god. As a result, she became a human-cheetah hybrid. Still a lover of artifacts, Cheetah pursued Wonder Woman in hopes of stealing her Golden Lasso. Recently, with her makeover in DC Rebirth, her feline features became more exaggerated than ever.

13 FIREFLY

Batman's pyromaniac baddie first appeared in 1952's Detective Comics (Vol. 1) #184 -- although back then his weapon was a blinding light rather than a flamethrower. The Firefly that loves nothing more than setting thing on fire entered the mythos post-Crisis, and played a role in "Knightfall".

This was the Firefly that dressed in all black and a helmet, and carried around a flamethrower. After the New 52 reboot, Firefly debuted armed with dangerous new high-tech gear. The new Firefly had a robotic suit that could light up in flames, making himself into a humanoid fireball and more of a threat to Batman than he'd ever been before.

12 BATWOMAN

The original Batwoman, Kathy Kane, was introduced during the Silver Age of Batman comics in Detective Comics (Vol. 1) #233. Kathy, who wore a distinct yellow and red costume, often fought alongside Batman and Robin until she was erased from existence following the events of Crisis on Infinite Events. 

Years later, in 52#7, Kate Kane was introduced at long last as the successor to Kathy Kane. Kate went in a totally different direction with her costume, embracing the more intimidating color set of red and black. Since her debut, and on past the New 52 and DC Rebirth, Kate has stuck with her costume.

11 THE PRANKSTER

The Prankster has had a long run in comics. He debuted back during the Golden Age against Superman (although he's most known as a Flash baddie). And for the 60 or so years after that, he retained his original look of simply a green suit and purple tie. It wasn't until the New 52 reboot that Prankster was finally revamped.

Prankster showed up with his new costume in Nightwing (Vol. 3) #19, on a serious mission. The new yellow and black, and masked Prankster terrorized Chicago in an effort to avenge his father who'd died at the hands of corrupt city officials.

10 OMEN

Lilith Clay, aka Omen, made her debut in 1970's Teen Titans (Vol. 1) #25 as a psychic that wanted to assist the team. After a brief period with the team, she left to form the Titans West. Since then, she occasionally showed up in Teen Titans until her apparent death in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #2 at the hands of a Superman android.

After over a decade removed from comics, she made her return in the wake of DC rebirth. Omen was reintroduced as a member of the Titans, sporting a new green costume alongside her old teammates, Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, and Roy Harper.

9 BIG BARDA

Big Barda was introduced in the early 70s at around the same time that Jack Kirby was creating the rest of DC's New Gods. Barda was introduced in Mister Miracle (Vol. 1) #4, not wearing much and not looking ready for battle. However, that all changed when Barda decided to become a warrior and led a group called the Female Furies Earth.

She does so in the attire that most fans know her by, looking ready for war. Barda would stick to this costume for the next 30 or so years, wearing it when she fought for the Justice League and the Birds of Prey.

8 CIRCE

When Circe first debuted in 1949's Wonder Woman #37, she immediately established herself as one of the Amazonian's archnemesis'. Circe, a sorceress, has gone through a number of drastic changes in appearance since her introduction -- her hair and skin color undergoing changes in addition to her clothing evolving.

In fact, it would be rarer for her to appear the same in two different conflicts with her rival. Recently, after DC Rebirth, Circe reemerged into the Wonder Woman mythos. This time around, she had purple-tinted skin and long red hair, as well as an entirely new costume. Her latest appearance is a far cry from how she was presented during the Silver Age.

7 ULTRA-HUMANITE

We shouldn't be surprised if Ultra-Humanite's looks change drastically over time. Introduced in 1939's Action Comics #13, the Ultra-Humanite is a brilliant supervillain that's mastered the ability to transfer his mind from one body to another. The body that he stuck with for the longest period of time was that of an albino mutant gorilla, which he preferred because of its power and longevity.

Ultra-Humanite popped up post-DC Rebirth in Earth 2: Society with a different gorilla body. Furthermore, his new body was protected by Lex Luthor's infamous green armor. On Earth 1, Ultra-Humanite now has a totally different look and origin -- as an alien entity in the Phantom Zone.

6 DONNA TROY

The Amazonian superhero, Donna Troy, first went by the alias Wonder Girl and was introduced in Brave and the Bold #60 as a founding member of the Teen Titans. As with her fellow founding members, Troy has evolved a lot in the past 50 years. She's gone through a number of aliases besides Wonder Girl, including Troia and Wonder Woman.

As a current member of the Titans, Troy hardly looks like the young teenage hero that she once was. Gone is her colorful outfit inspired by Wonder Woman. Troy now embraces a darker look, going with black and silver instead of red, blue, and yellow.

5 CATWOMAN

Catwoman is yet another character from the Batman mythos to last over 70 years. As you'd expect, she's gone through quite a number of wardrobe changes since her debut during the Golding Age. In the early days, Catwoman often wore some variant of a purple dress, cat mask, and green cape. Considering that her profession was sneaking in and out of places, this didn't seem like the most practical costume.

That changed during the '00s. Catwoman's latest look eliminated anything loose that might slow her down. The costume consists of a sleek leather jumpsuit, a pair of goggles, and a new mask that hides her hair.

4 BRAINIAC

Brainiac, who traditionally had the appearance of a green alien, received a new body in Action Comics (Vol. 1) #544. His new look was more Metallo than Brainiac after the classic Superman baddie transferred his consciousness into a techno-organic vessel. However, Brainiac's upgrade wouldn't last too long. He'd perish in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and when the dust settled, the classic Brainiac would emerge.

In the past two decades, Brainiac hasn't strayed much from his traditional look as a green-skinned alien intent on acquiring as much knowledge as possible. However, his wardrobe does change from time to time; he's recently appeared in the DCU post-DC rebirth with a slightly altered look.

3 JOKER'S DAUGHTER

Duela Dent, going by the alias "Joker's Daughter", was introduced in Batman Family #6, wearing a costume almost identical to Joker's classic costume. In subsequent appearances, Dent would insist that she was the daughter of other popular villains -- such as Two-Face and Ridder -- but in the past decade she's stuck to "Joker's Daughter".

As Joker's daughter, it's never been clear where her loyalties lie, as she alternates between playing the part of villain and anti-hero. Since the New 52 reboot, Dent's relatively innocuous appearance has been replaced by a new, terrifying look. Namely, she's wearing Joker's face -- literally his face, which had been surgically removed.

2 DICK GRAYSON

When Dick Grayson, Batman's first Robin, first appeared 1940's Detective Comics #38, he was just a young boy. But as the decades went by, Grayson grew up and eventually handed down the mantle of Robin to Jason Todd. Grayson became his own hero, independent of Batman, and called himself Nightwing.

Nightwing's gone through a number of costumes since his debut, but he consistently comes back to his plain black attire with the baby blue colored winged symbol running across his chest. It's hard to believe that the Nightwing of today was the original Boy Wonder from all those years ago.

1 DEADSHOT

Even hardcore fans will have trouble recognizing Deadshot from his 1950 debut in Batman (Vol. 1) #59. The expert marksman was introduced wearing a suit, domino mask, and top hat, pulling a pair of guns from his hip holsters. Deadshot would appear over 25 years later in Detective Comics (Vol. 1) #474 wearing a drastically different costume -- and the ones that most fans know him by.

Deadshot now wore a red suit, silver helmet, and shot from a pair of wrist-mounted guns. In the forty or years since his makeover, Deadshot has looked more or less the same -- although he's recently ditched the wrist-mounted guns for a pair of old-school holsters.