Spider-Man's 10 Best Costumes, Ranked

Peter Parker puts on his mask while web-swinging in The Amazing Spider-Man Brand New Day comic cover

By Tim Adams Published 51 minutes ago Tim Adams is a Comics Reporter at Screen Rant. After writing and talking about pop culture on his personal blog and podcast, Tim joined CBR as a Contributing Writer in 2016. Tim quickly demonstrated himself to be a valuable member of the team, resulting in a promotion to Associate Editor and then Lead News Editor in 2018. Part of his duties included managing and working with freelance writers on news coverage, while also growing the news side of the comics vertical. Tim was recruited to ComicBook.com in 2021 as a Staff Writer, where he continued covering the latest in pop culture through news, features, and lists. He is most proud of collaborating with comic book publishers on exclusive interviews, previews, and announcements. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

When a superhero has been around as long as Spider-Man, it's rare to see them wearing something besides their classic costume. The good news is that Spider-Man has sported several fashionable costumes during his 60-year career.

Marvel debuts a new look for Spider-Man every couple of years, especially when you factor in other media like video games, cartoons, and movies. Spider-Man's outfits range from the classic red-and-blue attire to more outlandish garments that include technological advances. All of these costumes have their advantages and disadvantages, and while they're all unique, there are only a select few that stand above the rest and deserve the recognition they deserve.

10 Spider-Man Beyond Was An Overlooked Era In Spider-Man Comics

Ben Reilly wearing the Beyond costume in Amazing Spider-ManImage via Marvel Comics

After Peter Parker was injured and recovering in a hospital, his clone Ben Reilly took his place as Spider-Man. Marvel titled this story arc in Amazing Spider-Man as "Spider-Man Beyond," and it came with a new suit for Ben Reilly, courtesy of the Beyond Corporation. Upon further inspection, it wasn't half bad either.

The Beyond costume stayed pretty faithful to Spider-Man's original costume, but deviated just slightly to make it stand out on its own. For example, the legs of the spider on the costume's chest stretched out longer than they normally do, putting more of a focus on the center of Spider-Man's chest. There's just something about the way Patrick Gleason, Carlos Gomez, and the rest of the artists drew Spider-Man's enlarged eyes and accentuated the spider logo that made the Beyond costume stand out from previous iterations.

Unfortunately, Peter never got to wear the Spider-Man Beyond costume. Once Peter was healthy, he had to fight Ben, who had become corrupted by the Beyond Corporation and turned into the villain now known as Chasm.

9 The Sinister Six Stood No Shot Against Spider-Man's MKIII Armor

Spider-Man's Spider-Armor MK III.

There were times when armor is a better choice than spandex for Spider-Man, such as a battle against Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six in "Ends Of The Earth" in Amazing Spider-Man #682-685. Spider-Man always knew the day would come when the Sinister Six had to be stopped for good, and his regular outfit wouldn't get the job done. Enter the MK III armor suit.

This costume gave off heavy biker vibes with its sleek helmet and thick shoulder pads. The MK III armor also kept the signature white eye slits that Spider-Man costumes were known for. Other additions included high-tech accessories that countered each of the Sinister Six, such as a hearing device to help detect Chameleon when he was in disguise, an enhanced visor to see through Mysterio's illusions, an electricity repellent to counter Electro, and much more.

This was one instance where Spider-Man could be compared to Batman, as they both thought of ways to defeat their enemies ahead of time. If it worked for Batman, it could work for Spider-Man, too.

8 Spider-Man Donned Tech For The Stealth Suit

Spider-Man in his first stealth suit in the comicsImage via Marvel Comics

Let's stick with the technology theme for another impressive addition to Spider-Man's catalog of costumes. The very first stealth suit worn by Spider-Man was all black with red neon highlights for the eyes and spider webs. Which begged the question of how Spider-Man was going to sneak up on someone?

One advantage of the stealth suit was that it counteracted the sonic scream from Phil Urich's Hobgoblin. While we joked about the red neon serving as a blaring alarm to his foes, Spider-Man did have the ability to go invisible with the stealth suit. Of course, there are more iconic black Spider-Man costumes than the stealth suit, but you couldn't go wrong with the stealth option.

7 Spider-Armor MK IV Took The Less Is More Approach To Its Physical Look

Spider-Man's technologically advanced Spider-Armor MK IVImage via Marvel Comics

The pinnacle of Spider-Man's journey with technologically advanced costumes was the Spider-Armor MK IV. It also coincidentally happened during Spider-Man's most successful period, when he was running Parker Industries. Spider-Man's bad luck finally flipped, and Peter Parker found himself the CEO of his very own tech company. Once again, he was truly following in Iron Man's footsteps. Spider-Man took everything he learned from past armors and implemented it into the MK IV.

The Spider-Armor MK IV was very similar to his classic costume, but with some slight modifications. In fact, you almost couldn't tell a difference between the two. However, the biggest change came from the lighting of the suit in various spots, like alongside the spider emblem and Spidey's eyes. Spider-Man was also packing upgraded web shooters, spider-tracers, acid webbing, and Peter's very own Webware software. The suit was made from advanced nanotech, which was considered a top-of-the-line scientific advancement.

6 Spider-Man Joined The Fantastic Four In A Black And White Costume

Spider-Man in his Fantastic Four Future Foundation costumeImage via Marvel Comics

All it took for Spider-Man to officially become a member of the Fantastic Four was the death of his close friend, Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch. With the Fantastic Four down a member, it fell to the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to take his place on the team. After years of being a loner, Spider-Man was finally working on teams like the Avengers and Fantastic Four. While Spidey didn't have an official Avengers costume, the FF were known for matching suits, so that meant Spidey had to dress the part.

This era of the Fantastic Four saw them launch the Future Foundation, which also introduced white and black costumes. While the Fantastic Four had three hexagons on their costumes to represent how they were now a threesome, Spider-Man's suit instead had a black spider logo. In many ways, Spider-Man's Fantastic Four costume was very similar to Flash Thompson's Agent Anti-Venom, as far as the matching white and black. Fans also got to see a variation of this Spider-Man costume in the Marvel Rivals video game and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man animated series.

5 Scarlet Spider Brought The Hoodie Back In Style

Ben Reilly's Scarlet Spider swinging in Marvel Comics

Circling back to Peter Parker's clone, Ben Reilly, we now focus on the costume he's most known for. The blue hoodie Scarlet Spider costume was pretty controversial with Spider-Man fans. Of course, pretty much everything concerning clones and the Clone Saga was controversial during this time. Marvel attempted a massive retcon where Ben Reilly was believed to be the real Peter Parker, and the Spider-Man that fans grew up reading for decades was thought to be the clone. Luckily, that whole mess was eventually cleared up, but at least the Spider-Man mythos got a cool hoodie costume out of it.

There's just something about the simple red bodysuit with a blue hoodie, and the sideways spider symbol on it was the icing on the cake. There was even a period of time when Marvel tried to introduce a new Spider-Man costume for Ben Reilly that didn't have a hoodie. The publisher ended up scrapping this costume after receiving negative feedback, and with good reason. The original Scarlet Spider hoodie costume just worked, and it's a simple cosplay costume for fans to put together and wear at conventions.

4 Doctor Octopus Is The Superior Spider-Man

superior spider-manImage via Marvel Comics

Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's classic villains, but he also made a pretty entertaining Spider-Man. Or, that should say that Doc Ock was a pretty entertaining Superior Spider-Man. The Superior Spider-Man era started when a dying Doctor Octopus uploaded his consciousness into Peter Parker's body, allowing him to masquerade as the wall-crawler for over a year. Superior Spider-Man was a huge risk for Marvel, but it also produced some of the most compelling storylines in Spider-Man's long history.

Otto Octavius believed himself to be superior to Peter Parker, so he naturally had to call himself the Superior Spider-Man. Doc Ock put a lot of his own inventions into the Superior Spider-Man suit. For example, there were the four spider arms that protrude from the back, similar to Doc Ock's metal tentacles. The blue in the costume is also replaced with a deep black, which could also be found in the eyes. Superior Spider-Man was so popular that Marvel tried to replicate its success with Iron Man. But there could only be one Superior Spider-Man.

3 Marvel Gave Spider-Man An Iron Man Upgrade

Marvel debuts Spider-Man's Iron Spider armor in the Road to Civil WarImage via Marvel Comics

While fans of the MCU knew the Iron Spider armor from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, comics fans knew all about its origin in the comics. After Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the world during the Civil War event, Iron Man built him the Iron Spider with matching Iron Man colors. It was almost like Iron Man wanted to remind the world that Spider-Man endorsed the Armored Avenger's side in the superhero civil war. What better way to do that than dressing Spider-Man in Iron Man colors?

The Iron Spider was intended to give Spider-Man an edge against his enemies, who now knew that he was Daily Bugle reporter Peter Parker. Seeing Spider-Man dressed like Iron Man took some getting used to, but the suit's popularity is evident in how many times it has been adapted for movies and cartoons. Even other heroes and villains have donned the Iron Spider over the years, with Mary Jane Watson having her time in the spotlight with it. No matter what happened to the Iron Spider, it always managed to crawl back from the abyss.

2 Spider-Man Noir Has A Case As The Best-Dressed Spider-Man

Spider-Man Noir posing on a rooftop in the Marvel UniverseImage via Marvel Comics

Some of Spider-Man's best costumes featured the color black, but not many did it as well as Spider-Man Noir. The noir-themed crimefighter hailed from Earth-90214, an alternate universe where Spider-Man is a private investigator working during the Great Depression. If Spider-Man was going to be a P.I. in the Great Depression, he had to dress the part. Enter Spider-Man Noir's black-brimmed hat and trench coat, with goggles where the large white Spidey eyes would normally be. Spider-Man Noir also wasn't afraid to wield a handgun when the occasion called for it. No flashy colors. Just gritty, street-level detective work was being done in the Spider-Man Noir suit.

Fans have seen Spider-Man Noir on the big screen, where he was voiced by Nicolas Cage in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. He's also set to reprise the role in the third movie of the Spider-Verse trilogy. Nicolas Cage will also play the live-action Spider-Man Noir in an Amazon streaming series set to debut next year on Prime Video.

1 Spider-Man Needs To Get Back To The Black And White Suit

spider-man gets black suit in secret warsImage via Marvel Comics

All discussions of "Best Spider-Man Costumes" begin and end with the black and white suit. It doesn't matter if it's the spandex black and white suit or the alien symbiote known as Venom; the costume is the epitome of perfection. The symbiote black and white costume is also flexible, tailoring itself for any situation. Peter Parker could be walking around in everyday, regular attire, and then instantly transform into the black and white costume with just one thought, all due to the bond Peter shared with the symbiote.

Spider-Man and the black and white suit had a rocky relationship when they first became a team. But nowadays, the symbiote and Peter Parker could be considered allies. When it came to the suit's aesthetics, it leaned towards simplicity. Large white eyes and a white spider draped across the upper body. The black and white costume looked the best when Spider-Man was fighting villains at night, which should be taken into consideration when deciding which of Spider-Man's suits were the absolute best of the best.

Spider-Man Created By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko First Appearance Amazing Fantasy Alias Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Otto Octavius, Yu Komori, Kaine Parker, Pavitr Prabhakar, William Braddock, Miles Morales, Kurt Wagner Alliance Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors Race Human Franchise Marvel, Spider-Man

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