From poorly designed suits to cheap-looking outfits, superhero movies haven't always gotten costumes right. Join us as we look at the most disappointing superhero movie wardrobes, including failed attempts at iconic looks and bizarre creative choices that left audiences scratching their heads.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most pedestrian, bland
00:13and overall poorly designed costumes in superhero movies.
00:21This costume lacks creativity and imagination, to say the least.
00:38If it weren't for the finger wraps, Quicksilver's top in Avengers Age of Ultron could pass for
00:43a long-sleeve pyjama shirt.
00:45As for the pants, why do they sort of look like jeans?
00:54For a character with superhuman speed, you'd think he'd wear something a little more flexible
00:57and comfortable.
00:58We're not sure why they didn't take a page out of the comics for Quicksilver's costume
01:02in this film.
01:03Doing so would have made his outfit look way less bland and a lot more functional.
01:08While this demon's makeup gets the job done, the costume leaves a lot to be desired.
01:23Blackheart's look in Ghost Rider comes off as a bit too generic.
01:27His all-black outfit includes a scarf, which was not a feature in his comic book design.
01:32The one real positive here is that the costume is all black, however, its dullness fails to
01:45capture the menace of a villain set on Unleashing Hell, particularly when compared to the more
01:49elaborate supernatural version in the comics.
01:52It feels like a missed opportunity.
01:54If Blackheart had red eyes or wild, spiky long hair in the film, he would have looked much
01:59more interesting and much truer to the comics.
02:13The main criticism of this antagonist's costume is that it doesn't really look like a costume.
02:17While we get that Whiplash's power comes from his reactor-based electric whips, the
02:21way the device sits on his body just makes it feel like a strap-on weapon, more than a
02:26full-on villain outfit.
02:31Part of that comes from how much skin is showing, and part of it is the lack of a mask.
02:36Comic book depictions of Whiplash do both of those things differently, with a more armoured
02:40look.
02:41If the movie had leaned more into that, the character's appearance would have been much
02:45stronger.
02:46In the comics, Malekith, the Accursed, is often portrayed with long hair and a half-blue,
03:03half-black face.
03:04His costume often has a half-and-half colour scheme as well.
03:07However, we don't get any of that in the movie Thor The Dark World.
03:17Instead, Malekith has pale, whitish skin and darker armour.
03:21He also sports a thin helmet that isn't very interesting looking at all.
03:25In general, the flair aspect of Malekith that's present in the comics isn't quite there
03:29in the film.
03:30And it's a shame, because the pronounced half-and-half colour scheme could have translated really well
03:34to the screen.
03:50The costume designers for this Marvel film went for something different than usual MCU looks.
03:54Aiming for something more, quote, organic.
03:57As costume designer Sammy Sheldon put it, sounds like a solid idea, but the execution fell a
04:02bit short.
04:05The costumes come off as sort of metal-like, but are also very colourful.
04:09That combo doesn't quite nail the organic vibe, since the outfits end up looking a bit
04:13too clunky and futuristic.
04:15And when you compare all the Eternals costumes side by side, there's a clear lack of commitment.
04:19Like, the designs can't decide whether to feel unified or totally individualised.
04:24There is a lot of untapped potential here.
04:26Honestly, it's the colours that keep them from being a total miss.
04:40This fictional crime fighter dates back to 1936, marking the beginning of a trend of fictional
04:45heroes wearing skin-tight costumes.
04:48In 1996, the Phantom hit theatres, with Billy Zane portraying the protagonist.
04:55We'll give credit where it's due for the parallels between the Phantom's costume in
04:58the film and the comics.
05:00The film sticks with the classic purple suit and black mask, but that doesn't take away
05:04from the fact that it's a bit too plain.
05:06Where it really misses the mark is the material.
05:08Simply put, it looks cheap, and the mask is so thin that, in certain shots, it looks like
05:13it could just be face paint.
05:15In the 2004 film, The Punisher, the title character sports the iconic white skull logo on his shirt,
05:29but the rest of the rather generic costume makes it forgettable.
05:32With that said, the depiction of The Punisher in the 1989 film is even worse.
05:42It's missing the big white skull logo across the character's chest.
05:46In fact, it's hardly a costume at all, it's just flat out basic.
05:49Sure, this anti-hero didn't need the most elaborate costume, but something a little more
05:53distinctive, like in some of the Punisher comics, would have made a big difference.
06:01Let's just say this was a forgettable Superman movie.
06:18One of the downsides is Nuclear Man, but for such a menacing threat to Superman and the
06:22world as a whole, he sure doesn't look like it.
06:25Not only does his appearance not scream villain, by any means, but the costume also just comes
06:30off as tacky and cheap.
06:33Also, given the fact that Lex Luthor is the one who creates Nuclear Man in Superman 4 The
06:41Quest For Peace, you'd think the infamous criminal mastermind would have something more villain-like
06:46for his evil creation to wear.
06:52It's fair to say that they got a little bit carried away with the size and mechanics of
07:05Rhino's costume in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
07:08It's just too machine-like, too robotic, too mechanical.
07:12With the placement of the human inside, it just looks like massive, clunky armour.
07:26Why not go with the much more fitting, artificial skin look of Rhino from the comics?
07:30That would have made the antagonist not only look cooler and naturally muscular, but more
07:34like a, well, Rhino.
07:36Even Sony admitted that The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Rhino was bad.
07:56What happened to the greener, more Goblin-looking costume from the first movie in Sam Raimi's
08:00Spider-Man trilogy?
08:01Some of the later Spider-Man films tried to get too cute and missed the mark.
08:04The green goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is just one example of that, not green enough
08:08and lacking the iconic green goblin mask with the yellow eyes.
08:11But it's the new goblin in Spider-Man 3 that's the worst of the bunch.
08:20I mean, we can't tell.
08:21Is he ready to go skiing or to walk through a sandstorm?
08:24Or, no, no, we know, he's ready for a game of paintball, right?
08:27Seriously.
08:28Spider-Man 2 lacks the intimidating, goblin-like appearance that made the 2002 film version
08:32so iconic.
08:37After the lackluster results of the DCEU, Warner Bros. probably didn't want to invest much
08:53in 2020's Birds of Prey.
08:55Despite this, the film actually turned out pretty good.
08:58However, it had its problems, one of which was the wardrobe of Janie Smollett's Black
09:02Canary.
09:06She plays a songstress turned hero, with a super-powered sonic blast.
09:10As a result, she understandably wears attire appropriate to her role as a lounge singer.
09:15Still, none of her looks really resemble her traditional black leather garb, which is often
09:19adapted faithfully in the DC animated films.
09:22She spends the movie wearing either her nightclub clothes or punky streetwear, even when taking
09:27on a squad of Black Mask goons.
09:40This movie may be a beloved early entry in the superhero genre, but can we all agree that
09:44the costumes are utterly absurd?
09:47Zod and his squad of Kryptonian soldiers sport black jumpsuits that look like they were pulled
09:51out of the closet of a disco band.
09:58It's a little hard to take an alien fascist seriously when he's wearing a silky black
10:02onesie with his bare chest exposed.
10:04Is he an evil Kryptonian general, bent on dominating the Earth, or is he the lead singer in a Goth-Abb
10:09cover band?
10:10Still, Terrence Stamp is a consummate professional, and ate the film up despite his attire.
10:28After the success of his 2012 superpower flick chronicle, filmmaker Josh Trank was tapped to
10:33direct the reboot of The Fantastic Four.
10:35It was an unmitigated disaster.
10:38The production suffered from both studio pressure and a young filmmaker out over his skis, and
10:43it stars four heroes and a villain in absolutely horrible costumes.
10:51They give up the team's trademark four logo for a supposedly gritty-era, more realistic
10:56look.
10:57Johnny, Sue and Reed's costumes are just the black jumpsuits they wear when cosmic rays
11:01spark their super transformation.
11:02The Thing is 100% mediocre CG, while Doom gets a body of weird metal plates.
11:08The suits are utterly unremarkable, and give a lackluster face to a failed film.
11:16This 2000 film was one of the first successful mainstream comic book blockbusters of the modern
11:25era.
11:26The filmmakers knew that there could be backlash from comic book fans, and even included an
11:29inside joke referencing their comic costumes.
11:32For the most part, the black leather worked, and the heroes look great.
11:40The same could not be said of Wolverine's nemesis, Sabretooth, though.
11:44He rocks a terrible blonde wig and large, feathered eyebrows.
11:48His wardrobe gives off vibes that are less psychotic evil mutant and more bad leather jacket that
11:53was torn up by cats.
11:55The character received a more realistic upgrade in 2009's X-Men Origins Wolverine.
12:00There's a lot to say about this movie, or not a lot, depending on how you look at it.
12:16One of the various negatives is Steel's costume.
12:19Is his armour really made from steel?
12:21Because at times, it doesn't look like it.
12:23With the shape of the bulky armour, there's sort of a medieval knight vibe going on here.
12:27And that mask is not cool at all.
12:32They seriously couldn't do any better than that?
12:34Overall, the costume is too simplistic, and looks cheap and unpolished.
12:39We bet Shaq would've been more than okay with wearing something that more closely resembles
12:43the comics.
12:55This disastrously bad unreleased film from 1994 makes even 2015's Fantastic look good.
13:01It was intended to be a low-budget schlockfest, and in that regard, it was a wild success.
13:12The low-effort costumes are something out of a Hollywood Boulevard nightmare.
13:16The blue spandex suits, festooned with white embellishments like gloves, turtlenecks and
13:21belts, might be comic-book accurate, but that doesn't mean they look good on screen.
13:25From Johnny's horrific early CGI to Thing's horrible bodysuit, to Doom's clearly plastic
13:30armour, the costumes are a miss from start to finish.
13:37Before Wesley Snipes' Blade ushered in the dominance of the superhero genre, Baywatch
13:45star Pam Anderson brought this Dark Horse comic character to life.
13:49The film was an example of how being faithful to the source material can be a huge mistake.
14:01Both in the comics and the movie, Barb Wyatt is meant to be a sexualised hero.
14:05In that respect, the film is a success and a cool classic.
14:08Still, it's a little difficult for mainstream audiences to be fully on board with lingerie
14:13gunfights.
14:14Barb has a few different styles, often preferring black leather, heels and halter tops.
14:23Many look to the HBO release of Patty Jenkins' sequel to Wonder Woman to provide a much-needed
14:36escape during this difficult year.
14:38With fan favourites Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal joining the cast, it seemed like a can't-miss
14:43film.
14:44Unfortunately, it did miss, with Cheetah's look just one of its many issues.
14:54Thanks to some magic wishes, Barbara Minerva transforms into the DC baddie over the course
14:59of the film, looking sillier with each transformation.
15:01Her pleather cheetah-print jacket eventually transitions into a CG-heavy cheetah-human hybrid.
15:07Compared to Diana's Golden Angel, Cheetah is utterly forgettable.
15:20This film was so bad, even its star, Dakota Johnson, got in a bit of trouble with the studio
15:25for her negative comments on the promotional tour.
15:28Honestly, the costumes are just a minor flaw in a movie full of problems.
15:37Both Madame Webb and her three Spider-Women disciples spend only a few minutes of screen
15:41time in their hero costumes.
15:43While the outfits themselves aren't awful, the complete lack of masks on any of the heroes
15:47seems to defeat the point of having a secret identity.
15:50The Spider-Men we do see, both those in the Amazon and the film's villain, feel more like
15:54Spider-Man knock-offs than fully realised characters.
16:05Halle Berry is more than willing to take criticism and poke fun at herself.
16:09She even showed up to the 2005 Razzie Awards to accept her worst actor trophy for Catwoman.
16:14Berry herself truly deserves none of the blame for the disaster.
16:21The cheesy music, bad CGI and terrible writing made the film virtually unwatchable to most viewers.
16:27Worst of all, however, was her costume.
16:29It's a little insane to see a super-powered cat burglar leaping across rooftops in a leather
16:34bra, leather pants, bare midriff and open-toed high heels.
16:37Superhero costumes don't have to be fully utilitarian.
16:40But suspension of disbelief has its limits.
16:52After a decade and a half of X-Men films, Fox chose one of their most terrifying enemies
16:56to face the rebooted mutant heroes.
16:59They cast Oscar Isaac as En Sabanur, the ancient Egyptian mutant known as Apocalypse.
17:07When you are bringing one of the scariest villains in Marvel comics to life for the first time
17:11on film, you want to get it right.
17:13What you want to avoid, however, are comparisons to the Power Rangers' villain Ivan Ooze.
17:20Between the bad makeup, silly headdress and thick-layered leather armour, the entire look
17:24is an utter failure.
17:26I mean, it's difficult for audiences to fear a villain that can't even turn their head.
17:42The costume of this Marvel comics villain is understandably difficult to translate to the
17:46big screen.
17:47In the comics, the deadly assassin sports a full bodysuit complete with a white target on
17:51his head.
17:52It's a little silly, so when he made his film debut in 2003's Daredevil, the filmmakers
17:57understandably wanted to go in a different direction.
18:03Unfortunately, the direction they chose was bonkers.
18:06They swapped the bodysuit for a massive fake gator skin overcoat.
18:09When out in public, he wears a simple black beanie, concealing a target-shaped scar on his
18:14forehead.
18:15Ozai's look, from head to toe, is pure 2000s schlock.
18:32After the much-lauded sequel, X2, the third instalment of the X-Men films nearly ended the
18:36franchise.
18:37Among its many faults is the look of Vinnie Jones' Juggernaut.
18:41The ex-football star turned actor was forced into an absolutely ridiculous bodysuit.
18:51While the comic version of Juggernaut obviously takes major liberties with human proportions,
18:55this adaptation is just weird.
18:57The skin and hair look fake, and his chest straps look like cheap BDSM gear.
19:02And worst of all is his helmet.
19:04The helmet of Citorak is a majorly important object in Marvel Comics.
19:07The film version is meant to be carved out of solid stone.
19:11Instead, it clearly looks to have been carved from styrofoam.
19:23Modern day audiences can be forgiven for forgetting all about the 1984 Supergirl film, until she
19:29was referenced in The Flash.
19:30It was meant to be a direct sequel to the Dick Donner Superman films, though Christopher
19:34Reeve refused to appear in a cameo.
19:37While Supergirl's costume is a fairly solid replication of her comic book look, the same
19:41cannot be said of the movie's villain Selina.
19:47She has more wardrobe changes than a Beyonce concert, none of which are especially flattering.
19:52Her plethora of looks feature the worst of what 1980s fashion had to offer, making it virtually
19:57impossible to take her seriously, even for a moment.
20:14Director David Ayer had to deal with overbearing studio interference to get this movie made.
20:19Unfortunately, the studio can't really take the blame for one of the film's most egregious
20:23errors, the Joker.
20:30In addition to Jared Leto's supposed behind-the-scenes antics alienating his co-stars, his look was
20:35something out of a nightmare.
20:37Ayer eschewed any number of comic-accurate looks for a more modern wardrobe.
20:46In lieu of a purple and green suit, the DCEU Joker wears couture clothes, is covered in tattoos,
20:51and sports a metallic grille.
20:53While this version was rightfully unhinged, the attempt to be edgy and new was a total
20:58flop with viewers.
21:14After years of development hell, director Andy Muschietti delivered The Scarlet Speedster's
21:18first solo outing in theatres.
21:20It could not have been more of an unmitigated disaster if they tried.
21:28The many criticisms of the film extend to the wardrobe, especially the villain Dark Flash.
21:32I mean, what is even going on with this look?
21:34Admittedly, part of the problem is that the most pivotal scene, the infamous chronoball,
21:38is a CGI heavy mess where the characters get lost against the overly busy background.
21:43In a different movie, with less reliance on computer-generated embellishments, this costume
21:47might not have looked that bad, but it did.
22:04When DC and Warner Bros chose to bring Green Lantern to the silver screen, they made a
22:08bold choice.
22:09His entire costume would be generated with CG.
22:12Bold however, doesn't always mean good.
22:15Unfortunately, the CG costume, particularly the mask, was both poorly rendered and poorly
22:19received.
22:20And of course, the film itself was a huge flop.
22:30Since its release, star Ryan Reynolds has repeatedly made fun of both the movie and the costume.
22:36In both Deadpool and the 2018 follow-up, Reynolds included several jokes poking fun at himself
22:41and a film he'd like to forget.
22:4520 years before his first appearance in the MCU, the star-spangled hero made his debut in
22:59a straight-to-video cheese fest.
23:01The low-budget Marvel film leaned hard into its comic book origins, choosing to give Steve
23:06Rogers a comic-accurate look.
23:08Unfortunately, on camera, it reads like a cheap rubber Halloween costume.
23:15The wings are extremely silly, and if you look closely, you'll notice that those are
23:19fake ears attached to the headpiece.
23:21The worst bit about it, however, is his shield.
23:24It seems as though the props department didn't even try to make his trademark weapon look
23:28like actual metal.
23:29Instead, it looks like a cheap plastic replica.
23:31Though it had its moments, particularly with Sabretooth, 2009's X-Men Origins Wolverine was generally
23:46not well-received.
23:48The most despised aspect of the film by far, though, was its handling of Deadpool.
23:52At first, he's just Wade Wilson, a wise-cracking, sword-wheeling mutant in a sleeveless combat
23:57super-suit.
23:59Later, however, their experiments on Deadpool absolutely ruin the character.
24:06They choose to play with his trademark wit by literally sewing his mouth shut.
24:10Instead of a costume, they have him bare-chested, scarred and retractable swords coming from his
24:14arms, and Cyclops' optic blast.
24:17I mean, everything about the character and his look was an insult to the beloved Merk
24:21with a mouth, and, like Green Lantern, Reynolds would later poke fun at himself.
24:26Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
24:32about our latest videos.
24:34You have the option to be notified for occasional videos, or all of them.
24:37If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings, and switch on notifications.
24:42The Joel Schumacher Batman movies of the 1990s combined the camp of the 1960s TV show with
24:55the aesthetic of Tim Burton's 1989 update.
24:58The result was a pair of very messy movies.
25:01Batman and Robin was by far the worst when it came to wardrobe.
25:12The villains, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze, went in opposite directions.
25:15Ivy wore a very plain green spandex suit and sported a nightmarish hairdo inspired by the
25:2160s.
25:22Mr. Freeze, on the other hand, wore a silly, over-the-top suit of icy armour.
25:26But the Bat Family costumes really take the cake, from the cod pieces and butt plates,
25:31to the nipples.
25:32Oh, the nipples.
25:34This version of Batman was as far from a Dark Knight as you could possibly get.
25:42Did you enjoy this video?
25:45Check out these other clips from WatchMojo, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to
25:49be notified about our latest videos.