Sunday, October 26, 2008

Favorite Costumes

Since it’s almost Halloween, I thought I’d list some of my favorite comic book costumes from years gone by. You'll notice no Superman, Batman, or X-men costumes (except for Dark Phoenix) because I'm just too overexposed to them. In no particular order:

Fantastic Four She-Hulk
Shulkie is interesting because she's never really had a costume per se except for her time in the mid '80s with the FF. The results were stunning don't you think?



Spiderman
Spidey's look is as iconic as DC's big three but somehow his costume still seems fresh after all these years.



Doctor Spectrum
I enjoy this Marvelized Green Lantern for his bold colors and simple masked design.


Sandman
The original pulp superhero. You gotta' love the gas mask and gas gun.


Harbinger
She's gotta' nice mix of Roman goddess and classic Sci-fi in her superhero outfit that gives her sexy regalness that brings it home for me.


Judge Dredd
Dredd has a hardcore, over the top, and supercool costume that's perfect for fighting crime in the future.


Doctor Doom
Doom is powerful and fearsome in his medieval looking armor and green cape. Plus his sidearm gives him that modern fascist look.



Supernova
He has kind of a generic costume but that's why I like it I think. It's sort of an everyman kinda look. The combo of full mask and cape really pulls the whole thing together.


Blue Beetle
I really groove on the cross Spiderman/Batman vibe that the Blue Beetle costume (at least the Ted Kord version) has.



Scarlet Witch
I love everything about how the she looks. The Scarlet Witch is the perfect gift for Valentine's day.



Gamora
She's had a lot of changes to her costume but I like the original the best. Sassy and deadly all in one.



Psycho-Pirate
His suit messes with my emotions...



The Question
Who doesn't like a guy with a fedora and trench-coat but when you add the blank face... classic!



The Shocker
I like the fact that this guy just looks like a thug.



G.I. Joe
I picked up a few issues of the G.I. Joe when I was a kid but I dropped it after I realized it was more about shooting people then having amazing superpowers, but I was still always attracted to the title for some reason. Now I know why. It was because of the costumes. Regardless of any jingoistic message of the series, G.I. Joe had and still does have a ton of wonderfully designed outfits. Basically, the X-men movie folks ripped off costume ideas from G.I. Joe when they went they looking for a more realistic look for the mutants. Here's a few of my top favorites.

Snake-eyes


Storm Shadow



Baroness



Cobra Commader with hate hood



Captain America
OK I admit the little wings don't work as well in this day and age but otherwise what we have here is the ultimate patriotic costume. Plus the Cap shield seals the deal for me. Cap is the Defender of Liberty not the attacker for Liberty and the Shield symbolically backs that up. Folks outside the US might not be able to appreciate his outfit as much which makes sense.


Valkrie
Does this really need to be explained to you?



Dark Phoenix
Sexy Cosmic Evil? ...I think so!


Moon Knight
I've never been a super big fan of Moon Knight but I keep coming back because of the excellent look that he has.



The Rocketeer
Best homage to retro-sci-fi ever. How could this wonderfully conceived outfit not be on any comic lover's list.



Vance Astro
The Guardians of the Galaxy are great and Vance has the best costume of the group with or without cap's shield. It's simple but elegant with an amazing abllity to stick to his face.



The Human Bomb
This guys is obviously dangerous and his costume says this in spades.



Doctor Fate
The archetypal superhero magic-user. I love the Helmet and color scheme .



Union Jack
I'm not an Anglophile but Union Jack sure has a kick-ass patriotic costume.



Jennifer Morgan
She sure looks like she has mystic powers right?



Nova
His suit has been messed with a lot over the years but I like the classic version the best although the latest one isn't too shabby.



Original Spider-Woman
One of the first amazing female costumes at Marvel IMHO. The 2nd Spider-Woman had a pretty good one as well.




Mr. Monster
Nothing says Halloween Like Mr. Monster!



Hobgoblin
Playful and Scary at the same time.



Kang the Conquerer
I know that most folks think his costume is dorky but there is just something about it that works for me.



Doctor Midnight
A classic cross of Pulp Adventurer and Superhero



Green Lantern
I think Hal Jordan's orginal sleek costume was a masterstroke from a design sense but I also like all the variations that DC has created for the different Green Lanterns over the years.



Dart
probably the best thing about the Atari Force comic was the character of Dart. I loved her her sci-fi mercenary look.



Jack of Hearts
He's always been one of my favs and his complicated playing card inspired costume is one of the reasons.


Wonder Woman
I'm not particularly into WW but you have to admit that her superhero costume is one of the best ever.



-Swinebread

6 comments:

Pandabonium said...

My favorite here - Scarlet Witch. She would have made great "nose art" and name for a B-24 bomber...

Arkonbey said...

Um. Perhaps a list of costumes you didn't like would have been a great deal shorter?

I'm a big fan of Silver Age WW with her little star-spangled skirt.

Dean Wormer said...

Gamora doesn't look very much like a turtle.

Thomas Fummo said...

Mr. Monster kicks arse!

rob! said...

glad you put Dr Mid Nite on the list! Matt Wagner's Who's Who entry made him look soooo cool.

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