With so many comic-book superhero movies hitting theaters, it could be hard to keep them all straight. Thankfully, everyone has a unique costume–though some are better than others. In honor of Incredible Hulk, here are the top five best and top five worst superhero costumes (Wolverine’s yellow spandex gets a pass).
The Best Of…
5. Batman
All due respect to Christopher Nolan‘s interpretation of the comic book, Tim Burton‘s original 1989 film Batman was really the first to show that Batman could be an imposing figure. It was the first time Batman had been taken seriously since the campy TV show. Unfortunately, other Batman incarnations have made the bottom five list (see Worst Of…)[PAGEBREAK]
4. Dark Spider-Man
Lots of people had problems with Spider-Man 3 but everyone should be able to agree that the dark Spidey suit looked pretty badass. Who knew space goo had the ability to dye entire costumes into Goth anger machines?[PAGEBREAK]
3. Superman
Gotta give props to the Superman costume classic. People still wear the pajamas and Underoos, so that shows how timeless the blue tights with the red cape and “S” logo are–a constant in both the movie and TV versions of Superman. Thankfully, no super nipple suits.[PAGEBREAK]
2. Iron Man
Certainly the Iron Man costume is one that takes the most effort. Tony Stark has to build three different versions to get it right–and it’s still got to be heavy to wear. But he moves pretty swiftly despite lugging tons of precious metal on his crime-fighting missions.[PAGEBREAK]
1.The Crow
A decade and a half after this cult film came out, people still dress up as The Crow for Halloween. The tight black leather and Goth clown face paint make anybody look sexy, not just the glamorous movie stars who’ve played The Crow in the decreasingly awful sequels.[PAGEBREAK]
The Worst Of…
5. Fantastic Four
Blue spandex all around? Please. 1) They don’t need to wear matching uniforms to let people know they’re the Fantastic Four. People will know that just by their talents (invisibility, stretchibility, torching, et.al.). 2) They’re not fooling anyone with those muscle suits.[PAGEBREAK]
4. Batman
Ah, the infamous George Clooney Batnipples! In 1997 Batman & Robin, it’s a prime case of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There were no complaints about the Batsuits in the first three films, so the only place to go was down.[PAGEBREAK]
3. The Phantom
Nobody probably remembers this unsuccessful attempt to launch a Phantom superhero franchise with Billy Zane. Probably because that purple suit made him look more like a raccoon than a crime fighter.[PAGEBREAK]
2. The Incredible Hulk
Clearly, The Hulk didn’t put very much thought into his wardrobe. Just a pair of torn shorts? Please Hulk, don’t smash your wardrobe stylist. Maybe some Queer Eye for the Green Guy could downplay your unfortunate complexion.[PAGEBREAK]
1. Catwoman
Yes, it is possible to make a beautiful woman look bad. Despite the sleek and sexy Michelle Pfeiffer version in Batman Returns, Halle Berry‘s Catwoman is just ridiculous. No matter how she slithered and crawled around, she just couldn’t convince the most desperate of comic-book fanboys that this Catwoman was hot. OK, maybe Halle is a little hot but not nearly enough.
