The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going on for 17 years. Since Iron Man kickstarted the universe in 2008, Marvel Studios has produced over 30 films and over 15 TV series for Disney+. For those keeping count at home, that is a lot of superhero costumes... like, a lot. Adapting super suits for live-action is no easy fit. What looks great on the page will not necessarily translate to a real-world setting without feeling unrealistic or even goofy.
Of course, there are some character costumes that just lend themselves to real-life translations. On the DC side, for example, we have Superman's and Supergirl's. On the Marvel front, we have Spider-Man's and the Fantastic Four's. Overall, however, there are heroes that present a challenge so strong when being adapted, that I suspect the talented costume designers at Marvel Studios often find themselves scratching their head, wondering if it'll all work out in the end. Fortunately, the studio has given us quite a few impressive comic-to-film translations.
Thinking about just how many of its colorful characters Marvel Studios has brought into live-action, I marveled (no, I will not apologize) at how gosh-darn difficult it is to pull off making a crimefighter look cool in live-action. For the most part, the House of Ideas has been really good at bringing our beloved superheroes to life. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the top ten costumes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
10. The Wasp (2018's Ant-Man & The Wasp)
The Wasp is one of those interesting characters who's had so many different looks throughout the years, that it's somewhat difficult to nail down what their exact iconic look is. Just for a few examples, her appearance in the '60s is completely different to her look in the early 2000s, which itself is fairly different from her Ultimates design. The wild differences in style became even more apparent when it came time to adapt her for the animated series, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. There, her outfit received a fairly drastic reinvention from her printed-page look.
All of those different approaches to her design could have indirectly led to the hero's live-action suit being a mess, or at the very least, an uninspired translation. Fortunately, though, director Peyton Reed and co. pulled off what seemed to be the impossible and nailed her aesthetic in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp. The film took the best parts of Wasp's different outfits throughout her history and turned it into a believable outfit that fit perfectly in the more realistic MCU aesthetic, while still remaining colorful and exciting.
9. Daredevil (2025's Daredevil: Born Again)
Daredevil is traditionally clad in an all-spandex ensemble, but that's a little tricky to make cool or believable in a real-life setting, considering our boy Matt Murdock goes out every night to get into fights with the very worst Marvel's criminal world has to offer. Netflix's Daredevil did an incredible job at adapting the Devil of Hell's Kitchen's costume, and Marvel Studios stepped it up by making the already fantastic duds even better.
Matt's suit in Daredevil: Born Again is brighter and features a more striking design than its predecessor. It makes the Man Without Fear look even more larger-than-life than before, and has the added bonus of allowing him to feel right at home in the futuristic (and expensive-looking) aesthetic of the MCU.
8. Captain America (2011's Captain America: The First Avenger)
When it comes to Captain America, his costume may be one of the toughest to adapt in the Marvel pantheon. As proven by the 1970s Captain America and Captain America II: Death Too Soon (they're real and quite good, actually — look 'em up) movies, and the '90s Captain America film, if not adapted properly, Steve Rogers' suit can very easily look quite silly.
However, thanks to the comic book gods, in 2011, the MCU pulled off a miracle for nerds: It made Cap look cool in live-action. The costume is instantly identifiable as the hero's classic attire, but it feels real. It looks like a military-issued uniform, and makes Chris Evans' super soldier an imposing figure in every scene he's in, particularly during combat.
7. Iron Man Mark VI (2010's Iron Man 2)
Marvel Studios did a wonderful job adapting the Iron Man suit for Tony Stark's first standalone film in 2008. I mean, really, who doesn't love that armor? Yet, Jon Favreau and co. took it a step further by giving us the Mark VI in Iron Man 2. It's an adaptation of Tony's extremis suit from the comics, and to this day, 15 years after the movie relased, it is a thing of beauty.
Don't get me wrong, most of Iron Man's armors in the MCU have been top-notch. However, the Mark VI is so visually appealing that it's difficult to beat. It is both bulky and sleek, making Tony look very high-tech, but also quite intimidating, which he very much needed in Iron Man 2, considering he had to go up against Whiplash.
6. War Machine (2010's Iron Man 2)
Whatever I write now will probably still not do justice to how awesome this armor design is. When 2008's Iron Man came out, people would edit pictures of the Mark III armor to turn it into War Machine (anyone remember that?). When I first saw those images on the interwebs, I was afraid Marvel would just put a gray paint job over an Iron Man suit and call it a day. Boy, how wrong I was.
Rhodey's battle suit in Iron Man 2 is built off the Mark II armor, yes, but it becomes its own thing courtesy of Justin Hammer, resulting in one of the most beautiful and striking suits the MCU has had to offer. The armor is bulky and intimidating—the perfect combination for the heavy-duty hero. There's simply nothing wrong with the design. As the years passed, subsequent War Machine armors became more high-tech, particularly in Infinity War and Endgame.
Unfortunately, that meant the suit slowly lost its heavy-duty feel from Iron Man 2. The designs were just fine, don't get me wrong, but none of them were able to capture the awe and power that first War Machine exuded.
5. Black Widow (2019's Avengers: Endgame)
Ever since her MCU debut in Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow costume had never felt quite right. It was, on paper, close to Natasha Romanoff's printed-page counterpart, yes, but it lacked that comic book factor that most of her avenging peers had. For the most part, the costume looked like generic tactical attire... that is, until 2019.
That year, Avengers: Endgame came along and gave us what I dare call the best Black Widow costume to date. It's sleek and striking, and most impressively, it uses the classic MCU costume "lines" to its advantage to give the super spy a more comic book-y and high-tech aesthetic. 2021's Black Widow introduced two awesome new costumes for the hero as well, but as great as they were, they didn't live up to the undeniable cool factor of the Endgame suit.
4. Sue Storm (2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps)
I was a big fan of the costumes in 2005's Fantastic Four film (and, by extension, its 2007 sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer). I was such a big fan, in fact, that it was difficult to imagine any other live-action adaptation of the characters surpassing them visually. Then, came The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which perfectly captured the heroes' attire.
Now, while one could argue the costumes' designs are pretty much the same across all four teammates, each suit has a distinctive style that sets them apart from the rest. The best out of the group, however, is Sue's, since hers feels the most like the classic white-and-blue outfit Marvel's First Family is, arguably, most commonly associated with.
3. Spider-Man (2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming)
I've heard some complaints over the years about the "MCU-ification" of Spidey's costume for Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Peter's costume was indeed given the MCU makeover treatment, but it was the perfect approach for this iteration of the Web-Slinger. For years, fans theorized what Spidey would look like if he were ever allowed to exist in Marvel Studios' prolific franchise. Civil War finally answered the question, but given the heavy CGI used on the hero, it wasn't until Spider-Man: Homecoming that we fully got to see Peter in his glorious new costume.
The suit is skintight, just like Spidey's should be, but it's also incredibly high-tech, a fact highlighted by the line patterns present all throughout it. While there have been some complaints about this — given that Spider-Man is not usually associated with advanced costume technology — the design fits the story of this Peter. The costume is made all the better by the fact that Tony Stark, Iron Man himself, designed the costume for the young crimefighter.
Sadly, following Homecoming, Peter slowly did away with the costume, and we have not seen it in action much anymore. Nonetheless, it will remain arguably one of, if not the, best live-action Spidey costume so far (yes, even better than No Way Home's homemade suit).
2. Wolverine (2024's Deadpool & Wolverine)
Dear readers, I love this costume. That's it. We waited years... goddamn years to see Hugh Jackman dressed up in Logan's classic X-Men uniform, and Deadpool & Wolverine gave us just what we, hungry geeks, desired... nay, what we deserved. The suit's design is simply a perfect modern translation of Wolvie's duds. And, of course, the crown jewel of this beautiful masterpiece is its cowl, which finally made its live-action appearance in glorious fashion.
The suit was so impressive that in just one movie, it proved why the 20-year-long fears of putting Wolverine in a costume were unfounded. Was it a long wait to see our boy geared up in his rightful superhero attire? Yes. Was it worth it? Hell. To. The. Yes.
1. Captain America (2012's The Avengers)
This might be a bit controversial because, let's face it, a lot of people dislike (or, more accurately, downright hate) this costume. But you know what? I've never agreed with its bad rep. In fact, I'll say it: This is probably the best live-action Captain America costume put on screen. The suit is unapologetically comic book-y. It embraces the colorfulness and fun of the Marvel Universe on the printed page, and Chris Evans rocks the heck out of it.
An odd added benefit of the outfit is that it makes Evans look slimmer, which in turn makes Rogers feel more limber—a good thing for a super soldier who's supposed to move like the best Olympic athlete humanity has to offer. The suit is a perfect blend of Ultimate and 616 Captain America, and as a huge fan of the modern aesthetic of the Ultimate universe, I am, without exaggeration, absolutely grateful that this costume translated its magic realism so perfectly to the screen.
We'll probably never see Cap wear this suit again, but we got to see it for a whole Avengers movie (and the first one, nonetheless), and I am quite happy with that.
Honorable Mentions
Now, these are the 10 best costumes in the MCU, but there are still some amazing suits that didn't make the cut. They are as follows:
- Ant-Man (2015's Ant-Man)
- Black Panther (2018's Black Panther)
- Captain Marvel (2019's Captain Marvel)
- Moon Knight (2022's Moon Knight)
- Vision (2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron)
- Kate Bishop (2021's Hawkeye)
Now, it's your turn. Let me know what your five favorite MCU costumes are in the comments!