Superhero Costume Awards

Between last Wednesday's post about my favorite comic book characters and watching Watchmen for the costumes, I've been thinking about what my favorite superhero costumes are, regardless of personalities or character backgrounds. Most of my favorite characters wear my favorite costumes, because that's what intrigued me about them in the first place. Having a great costume does not guarantee greatness or popularity, but it does help. Comic books are a visual art medium, so their success relies on the effectiveness of their visuals. Love them or hate them, superhero comics are all about costumes. Effective costumes make memorable impressions using color theory and fashion sense. Notice how heroes often wear primary colors and villains often wear secondary colors. There are psychological reasons for all of this, but you can read about harmonizing and symbolism elsewhere. Here are my picks for best and worst superhero costumes.

The Best

1. Primary Colors - Liberty Belle (DC)
2. Secondary Colors - Lex Luthor (DC)
3. Complementary Colors - Electro (Marvel)
4. Achromatic Colors - Black Panther (Marvel)
5. Red, White, and Blue - Captain Britain (Marvel)
6. Changes Over the Years - Jean Grey (Marvel)
7. Cheesecake - Poison Ivy (DC)
8. Detail - Firestorm (DC)
9. Classical - Dr. Fate (DC)
10. Futuristic - Cable (Marvel)
11. Functional - The Question (DC)
12. Glamourous - Clea (Marvel)
13. Group - New Warriors: Firestar, Microbe, Namorita, Night Thrasher, Nova and Speedball (Marvel)
14. Humorous - Harley Quinn (DC)
15. Scary - Man-Thing (Marvel)
16. Cape - Doctor Strange (Marvel)
17. Helmet - Juggernaut (Marvel)
18. Hood - Moon Knight (Marvel)
19. Jacket - Zatanna (DC)
20. Mask - ShadowHawk (Image)

The Worst

1. Primary Colors - Thor (Marvel)
2. Secondary Colors - Metamorpho (DC)
3. Complementary Colors - Iron Fist (Marvel)
4. Achromatic Colors - Silver Surfer (Marvel)
5. Red, White, and Blue - Stargirl (DC)
6. Changes Over the Years - Dick Grayson (DC)
7. Cheesecake - Witchblade (Image)
8. Detail - Carnage (Marvel)
9. Classical - Loki (Marvel)
10. Futuristic - MODOK (Marvel)
11. Functional - Bane (DC)
12. Glamorous - Storm (Marvel)
13. Group - Flash's Rogues Gallery: Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Pied Piper, Trickster and Weather Wizard (DC)
14. Humorous - Plastic Man (DC)
15. Scary - The Creeper (DC)
16. Cape - Golden Age Sandman (DC)
17. Helmet - Golden Age Flash (DC)
18. Hood - Ragman (DC)
19. Jacket - Animal Man (DC)
20. Mask - Wildcat (DC)