Few could have predicted that Mike Mignola’s Hellboy could give way to such a faithful adaptation, but Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman truly outdid themselves and showed that even the most supernatural characters can be perfectly brought to life on screen. From the brown coat to the filed down horns and facial hair, Perlman’s Hellboy is a carbon copy of his comic book counterpart. In fact, I suspect that many now think of Perlman when gazing at Mignola’s artwork.
Christopher Reeve truly made us believe that a man could fly, and a lot of the credit belongs to his costume designers. From the iconic hair curl to the red underwear and yellow belt, Reeve didn’t just look like the Man of Steel, he embodied him. So much so, in fact, that comic book artists would use Reeve as inspiration for Superman for decades.
The Ghost Rider films starring Nicolas Cage may have been derided by critics and fans alike, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who could honestly say that the Spirit of Vengeance doesn’t look exactly like his comic book self. Ghost Rider has long been one of Marvel’s most visually unique characters, so bringing him to the screen was no easy task. Too bad so much attention was paid to the studs on his jacket instead of his scripts, though.
Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass is perhaps one of the easiest characters to adapt because of how deeply he and the comic concept were grounded in realism. Still, that doesn’t take away from how much Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s suit resembles that of the comic book outfit – yellow details, taped up batons, and all.
Having a costume that’s faithful to the source material doesn’t guarantee a good adaptation, as evidenced by 1996’s The Phantom. The Phantom’s complicated and rather silly concept made a film adaptation difficult from the start, but the skin tight purple outfit truly didn’t do the titular jungle warrior any favors.
There were quite a few things wrong with 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but the look of the titular and iconic shiny hero wasn’t one of them. The look itself isn’t hard to pull off (especially with CGI), but I give director Tim Story credit for not trying to ground the character in some sort of reality or resort to any half measures in adapting Silver Surfer. Too bad he didn’t employ the same amount of confidence with Galactus…
Marc Webb’s reboot of the Spider-Man franchise was controversial to begin with, and was met with even more adversity from fans because of some minor tweaks to Peter Parker’s iconic costume. The big white eyes were replaced by smaller black ones, while the suit itself employed a darker color palette and “grittier” texture than the outfit seen in Sam Raimi’s trilogy. Webb listened to the fans when The Amazing Spider-Man 2 came around, and changed the suit so that it looked as it if were pulled right off the page. The rest of the movie may not have been met with much love from audiences, but there’s no denying that Webb and his team knocked the costume right out of the park in their second go around.
Much can be said for how faithful Captain America’s various film outfits are to the source material, but the one that comes the closest isn’t even one that the Star Spangled Avenger wears into battle. Steve Rogers is first used for propaganda purposes after getting injected with a super serum, and tours the United States to promote war bonds dressed as more of a mascot than a superhero. Ironically, the outfit is the spitting image of the one worn by Steve Rogers in the comics, winged temples and all. It was a great bit of fun fan service that both poked fun at the comics while paying them respect, before giving Chris Evans something a bit more functional to fight HYDRA in.
While most of this list has paid respect to various faithful superhero costumes, it’d be a crime not to mention Captain America: The First Avenger’s depiction of Red Skull. Impressive prosthetics perfectly transformed Hugo Weaving into a Johann Shmidt who truly lived up to his namesake, and helped elevate the film from pulpy WWII flick to faithful comic book movie.
Marvel is truly on a roll in the costume department, as the studio’s given each of its flagship heroes impressive page-to-screen adaptations. Next on the list is the God of Thunder, who was perhaps the studio’s biggest gamble in Phase One. Finding Chris Hemsworth, who looks just like the famous Norse God, was one thing, but putting him in the classic outfit with the red cape and iconic helmet were what really earned Thor a place on this list. Hell, they even made Mjolnir look cool! Bravo, Marvel, Bravo.
Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation is, at times, a shot-for-shot translation of the source material, right down to the costuming. Dr. Manhattan and the Comedian are obvious examples, but no one resembles their comic book counterpart more than Rorschach. He is perhaps the easiest of the Watchmen to adapt for the screen, but that doesn’t take away from how perfectly the job was done.
Marvel is now the leader of the pack when it comes to making superhero movies, and it all began with Iron Man in 2008. Once a second-tier character, Iron Man was a far cry from being a household name or recognizable faceplate. Now, he’s both, thanks largely to how closely Jon Favreau mimicked the source material when bringing the Armored Avenger to cinema screens. Right down to Tony Stark’s goatee, this is a near perfect adaptation, and looks badass to boot.
