One of the complaints of the X-Men movies developed by FOX is that there was never a faithful adaptation of the classic, comic accurate costumes. As the franchise moved forward, the films moved away from bland black leather to something more colourful, but Hugh Jackman's Wolverine never progressed past regular clothes with the occasional black with maybe some yellow highlights.
With the X-Men very likely to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future, we're bound to see a new iteration of the clawed mutant. Wolverine has had many costumes over the years, although some are far better than others. Here's a list of the 5 costumes we really hope to see feature in a MCU film and 5 we definitely don't.
10 WORST: X-MEN - BLACK LEATHER
To start the list it seems fitting to talk about the first live action portrayal of Wolverine. After the animated on screen versions got the character so right, this did everything wrong, putting Hugh Jackman into a tight fitting biker jacket with leather trousers.
There's very few indications that this is a superhero suit, apart from the outline of an X in yellow stitching across the front. It's an uninspired costume and whilst it could make a cameo in the MCU as a homage to the original, it will absolutely not be the main suit for the new iteration of the character.
9 BEST: AGE OF ULTRON
Whilst the Age of Ultron story line has already been played out in the MCU that doesn't mean we wouldn't like to see the costume that Wolverine wore during the comic version of this event.
The sleek black with the yellow hood and triangles is a far cry from the plain leather we saw in the onscreen version. The costume pays heavy tribute to a variety of others that have come before it, whilst keeping it fresh with the hoodie, showing how this is an altogether different take on what we know. This could be a great starter costume for the MCU version.
8 WORST: ALL BLACK
The black continues but once again, in this case it has been done poorly. The all black costume had very little imagination; perhaps it's one of the most boring of all the Wolverine costumes we have seen before.
To continue on the ninja story line that was playing out in the comics, the costume was thought to be a lot more stealthy and sleeker than the classic variations. It's a little on the nose and what makes it worse is the strange black rectangle, which covers the middle portion of the face. If the MCU wants to have a ninja version of Wolverine it can do a lot better than this.
7 BEST: X-FORCE
The X-Force costume is one of the most iconic Wolverine costumes. The black and silver are great contrasts against one another and there is something especially edgy about the look; with the rest of the team looking equally smart.
X-Force is still on the cards for the MCU with Deadpool 2 introducing a version of the team towards the end of the film, although with Wolverine. With Deadpool making the jump over to Disney too, maybe we'll see the X-Force in full force, alongside their graphic costumes.
6 WORST: FANG
The Sabretooth costume has always left a lot to be desired and this feels like it's only making things worse. The Fang costume clearly draws from elements of this, as well as playing on Wolverine's classic yellow costume. The black down the middle is cool but there's a few problems with this.
It may be original in comparison to the other costumes on this list but that doesn't mean it's a good design. The animal features would not work well on screen, with the dated costume likely to be laughable in live action.
5 BEST: POWERLESS ARMOUR
A newer entry on this list but one that felt instantly classic. During Wolverine's powerless era, Logan started to wear a more armoured costume, in order to better protect himself. It's much more adaptable to the screen than you may expect and has a really graphic design.
The armour gives him a larger presence, with the yellow base and black X allowing him to remain a member of the X-Men whilst honouring the Weapon X routes that the costume is linked to. It's a contemporary look that would fit well into the MCU, even as a less armoured version with the same design.
4 WORST: PATCH
Patch is a stealth look for Wolverine, to stop him from getting recognised but it's very unimaginative. The eye patch trick is played out in pop culture and this has dated poorly. There's very little interesting about this costume to speak of.
If this was to turn up in an MCU film, it would likely be as a little nod to this era of comics; more a throwaway gag than a proper outfit. Only Thor and Odin can pull off the eye patch look well in the Marvel movies.
3 BEST: EVOLUTION
This version of the brown Wolverine costume comes from the animated series that fans loved. The brown and black is a little different from the comics version of the costume, but it modernises the look and makes it feel a lot grittier.
If a brown Wolverine costume was to be adapted to the big screen, we'd bet that it's the Evolution iteration of the look. It pays homage and yet is unique in its own way. The boots and gloves on this costume give the look an extra edge and would act as a great throwback costume, if the MCU was to explore the character in the 90s.
2 WORST: NOSELESS
How this story came about is anyone's guess but at some point in the comics, Wolverine lost his nose and became more beast like. This is strange in itself considering his healing abilities should be able to account for this, but the look was disturbing for readers. After going mask-less for a while to show off the injury the artists decided to add a mask.
You'd assume it would be a variation on the classic Wolverine mask, but that usually highlights his nose with a hard edge. The artists took a different approach instead giving him a blue bandanna. It's a silly and cheesy addition to a bizarre overall appearance and something we'd hate to see in the MCU.
1 BEST: CLASSIC YELLOW AND BLUE
It's yet to be fully put to screen, apart from a quick cameo in a deleted scene from The Wolverine, where it looked fantastic. The classic yellow and blue costume has had many different interpretations from the original to the astonishing version, which is a personal favourite.
If Wolverine comes to the MCU then the character should be given his most iconic costume. Marvel Studios are great at putting comic accurate costumes on the screen and this timeless creation should be no different. It's the best of all the looks considering it just keeps reappearing across Marvel history.