Adapting comic book heroes for the big screen has become big money these days. The superhero genre is exploding right now as both Marvel and DC studios work hard to churn out content for us to fill up on. The great thing is, they can simply look to the hundreds of thousands of comic books for inspiration and that is also true when it comes to character designs.
The way a hero looks can be everything to fans. We grew up seeing them in the pages of our comics and when they eventually do get adapted in other mediums, we want to be able to recognize these characters, and that is especially true when we are first introduced to them. Costumes can tell us a lot about a character and even what they stand for. Some character wear their identity with pride, such as Captain America, others prefer to hide in the shadows a la Batman, some are bold and colourful, and others have more practical reasons for their colour choice. As Deadpool states “you may be wondering, why the red suit? Well that’s so bad guys can’t see me bleed.”
Illustrators over at Marvel and DC comics work hard to create and update characters for us to fall in love with, and for the most part, costume designers will do their best to stay true to the source material. Now this can’t always be true, some of the designs from the ’60s and ’70s particularly would look a bit odd today, and the women’s costumes can often leave a lot to be desired when it comes to practicality and decency.
In light of the recent news that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will finally be getting a comic-accurate costume, here are some other on-screen costumes that did a great job of adapting the costumes worn by our beloved heroes in the comics.
Captain America – Captain America: The First Avenger
One way that Captain America: The First Avenger got around the cheesiness of the character’s earlier costume design was, firstly, that the film was also set in the ’40s so the design is era-appropriate, and secondly, it was designed as a costume for stage rather than combat, so the tight and impractical spandex made sense. This meant that we got to see a very comic book-accurate costume without it pulling us away from the reality of the film.
Wanda Maximoff – WandaVision
In a similar way to how Captain America: The First Avenger dealt with Steve’s costume design, so too do WandaVision with Wanda’s costume. Fans were thrilled to see the character don the classic Scarlet Witch outfit complete with headdress, but only as a fancy dress costume. This added to the film’s meta storyline and allowed us to see Elizabeth Olsen in a classic Scarlet Witch design.
The Flash – The Flash
In the television series The Flash, Barry Allen gets a costume upgrade in season eight, sporting a red and gold design that is identical to the design from the comics. Fans had watched the character’s costume continuously get closer and closer to this end goal throughout the popular series but it was the addition of the gold boots that finally did it for them.
Spider-Man – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man has had a lot of different designs in the comics and on screen, so to say one is better than the others is a little hard. That being said, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 costume did a great job of being as true to the comics as possible. The costume used the bright red and blue that fans had come to recognize and love from illustrators Todd McFarlane and John Romita Sr.
Deadpool – Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds has been in love with this character for some time, and really wanted to get it right after it was butchered in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. So it makes sense that he stayed as true as possible to the character’s design in the comics, even going as far as having the little excess fabric at the top of the head that adds a certain jauntiness to the overall look.
Iron Man – Iron Man
How can we forget the scene from the first Iron Man film where Tony Stark finally puts together his first suit in the iconic red and gold? This scene was just one of the reasons the film did so well, as we saw the genius hero tinkering with all his gadgets to create the MCU’s first superhero costume. It was as if Iron Man stepped right off the page, onto our screens, and then into our hearts.
Batman – Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Ben Affleck’s take on the caped vigilante was that of an older Batman, one a little more grizzled with grey hairs showing through, which correlated with The Dark Knight Returns comic. In this comic, the character wears a grey suit with a black bat across the chest and this is exactly what we got when Affleck made his debut as the character in Batman vs. Superman.
Rorschach – Watchmen
This character is an interesting one, and the design team hit the nail on the head when it came to his costume design. Zack Snyder’s film leaned heavily into the comic book genre, with the costumes being extremely accurate across the board, not shying away from the over-the-top designs. Rorschach’s stood out more than most, though; with the character looking like he walked straight out of a detective noir film whilst also having the swirling Rorschach design on his mask.
Falcon – Falcon and the Winter Soldier
In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam finally steps into the shoes left to him by his friend Steve and takes on the mantle of Captain America. But he is going to do things his way and combines the patriotic look with the wings that he has used in combat before (why give up the ability to fly?). Ironically, as he becomes the new Captain America, he finally matches the design for Falcon in the comics, a design that the MCU had shied away from until this moment.
Aquaman – Aquaman
Aquaman is one of the flashier characters in the DC comics. His golden-scaled armor with bright green features is hard to miss, and the film decided to run with it when it came to adapting him for the screen. Sure, Jason Mamoa may not look like the fair, golden-haired character from the comics, but his costume at the end of the film is close to identical, making up for the other discrepancies.
Bonus: Howard the Duck – Guardians of the Galaxy
After what was a very bizarre adaption of the character in his own film back in 1986, Howard the Duck got his best adaption when he had a quick cameo in the first Guardian of the Galaxy film. With films now better able to utilise CGI, fans were able to see the character appear exactly as he had in the comics and gave us one of the best cameo moments in the MCU.
There are plenty more comic book-to-screen costumes out there, and also times when the film has improved upon the design, the costumes from Black Panther is one example that springs to mind. What do you think about the above list? Have you got your own top picks?