Which Avenger should've had a costume all along, and which Avenger has the very best costume in
the entire MCU? Keep watching for a look at some unpopular opinions about Marvel's movie costumes.
After a quick cameo as a SHIELD agent in 2011's "Thor," Clint Barton would make his real debut as
Hawkeye in "The Avengers," only to spend the first half of the movie under the thrall of Loki and
the Mind Stone in his scepter. He's freed from mind control in time to join the other heroes
in fighting off the invasion of New York by the Chitauri, establishing him as a member of the
Avengers going forward. Unfortunately, he never actually looks the slightest bit like a superhero.
The classic Hawkeye of Marvel Comics originally wore a purple and blue costume with a pointy
Wolverine-style mask. The Hawkeye of the movie owes more to the version from Marvel's Ultimate
Universe, but even that character is often depicted with a more distinctive costume than the
movie version. In "The Avengers," Clint Barton basically just wears a tactical vest, pants,
and combat boots. Sure, when he's with SHIELD at the beginning and then taken over by Loki, that
outfit makes sense. But after that scene between him and Black Widow on the SHIELD helicarrier,
when he's just been freed from the mind control and declares that he's joining the fight,
wouldn't it have been cool if he'd put on a new outfit to reflect that?
Years later, the "Hawkeye" series would make a plot point out of the blandness of his costume.
Clint Barton insists that his job is done better if he doesn't call attention to himself;
Kate Bishop insists he has a branding problem.
"How about enough materials to make your costumes plus two more?
I know a certain someone who needs a little help with theirs."
While he shouldn't have worn buccaneer boots and a loincloth over his pants,
something in blue and purple with a mask or helmet would have been a nice touch.
The outfit Scott Lang wears as Ant-Man is based very closely on the classic Ant-Man costumes
worn by both Lang and Hank Pym in the comics. However, the comics version always shows some of
the character's face. In the movies, Scott's face is mostly hidden, which makes Ant-Man look oddly
alien and even creepy, which is especially strange for such a humorous, down-to-Earth character.
While it might be a bit more of a challenge for the digital effects artists,
Ant-Man would work better if he had a human face visible in his heroic identity. Plus,
it would be Paul Rudd's face, which is not only one of the most handsome
faces in movies, but also one of the most comically expressive as well.
In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, everyone seemed much more reluctant
to let superhero movies be as colorful as comics have always been. With Hawkeye in a tactical vest,
Black Widow in black leather, and even Captain America's patriotic colors somewhat muted, the
palette felt oddly limited. Then came "Avengers: Age of Ultron," and the debut of the Vision.
"Age of Ultron" might be one of the least-beloved MCU movies, but Paul Bettany's evolution from
disembodied artificial intelligence to powerful android Avenger is one of the best things in
it. From the moment the Vision first appears, he looks like he stepped out of a comic book panel,
in a good way. With his green outfit, yellow cape, and crimson face, he shows that comics-style
color schemes don't have to be toned down or discarded for live action adaptations.
For those viewers who really love superheroes and their costumes, it was a huge step forward.
There was a lot of great stuff in the Disney+ "Loki" series, but there were some missteps too.
The introduction of the Time Variance Authority was a perfect follow-up to the reality-breaking
events of "Avengers: Endgame," with alternate timelines becoming as much a part of the MCU
as they are of the Marvel Comics Multiverse. Getting to meet Sylvie and the other alternate
Lokis was also a lot of fun. However, that's nothing compared to what was
done to Loki by the end of the season, and costuming was a big part of that.
Due to the events of the show, Loki ends up wearing a TVA uniform: windbreaker,
dress shirt, and skinny tie. That makes for an interesting contrast with his usual green and gold
space-god garb, but it has uncomfortable implications in the context of the end of
the series, when Loki begins to think he and Sylvie may be going too far and that
He Who Remains and the TVA may be right about the need to control the timeline.
This is Loki, after all: the god of mischief and chaos. Anyone who's a
fan of Loki loves him because of that mischief and chaos, so nobody wants to
see him as a guy in a brown jacket and tie, arguing in favor of law and order.
"Watch it! Where's your manners? Hey, quit it!"
In general, the costume Chadwick Boseman wore as Black Panther is great. It's also quite
close to his comic book outfit, albeit with the kind of detailing and texture that works
better in a movie. However, the Marvel Comics version of T'Challa often, but not always,
wears a flowing black cape with his costume, giving him something of a Batman look. For a
superhero who's also a king, it makes him seem a bit more regal than your average Marvel brawler.
Obviously, the Black Panther couldn't wear a cape all the time,
but when he was acting in the role of Wakanda's ruler, it would have been
cool to see Boseman in the cape. Plus, if it was part of the high-tech costume
given to T'Challa by his genius sister Shuri, the cape could probably retract on command,
so Black Panther could be ready quickly for situations that require more freedom of movement.
Although there are variations throughout the franchise, the main costume Chris Evans wears
as Captain America is pretty much perfect. It takes his classic design and colors and
adds some realistic-looking details that make the suit look more tactical and less costumey.
There's only one quibble with the outfit, and that's how often Steve takes off the helmet.
Leaving aside the fact that Cap's not invincible,
and that helmet presumably provides some cranial protection, not wearing it
also makes him feel a little less like the Star-Spangled Avenger he's supposed to be.
Going around unmasked and unhelmeted feels less like a character-based choice,
and more like the filmmakers being concerned that fans need to see Chris Evans' handsome face
as much as possible. While it's true that MCU Steve Rogers has no secret identity to protect,
the comics version of the character does, and that mask with the "A" is still an iconic look.
After Steve Rogers decides in "Avengers: Endgame" to live out his life in an alternate past with
Peggy Carter, the government chooses a soldier named John Walker to become
the new Captain America. This is a story that also happened, with a few changes,
in the comics, but a big difference is that when Walker was Captain America in the comics,
he wore the exact same costume Steve had worn. For "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," they
dressed Walker in a similar but distinct outfit that hints at his later identity as USAgent.
The problem with this is that the whole John Walker story is about this guy who
isn't as capable or stable as Steve Rogers tarnishing the reputation and
the very idea of Captain America. The TV series does a good job of telling that story,
but symbolically it would be a lot more effective if he wore the classic Captain America costume.
No character's costume in the MCU balances all of the needs of live-action adaptation from comics
better than the distinctive garb worn by Doctor Strange. The blue tunic and red
cloak are immediately recognizable from the classic version of the character,
but with realistic detailing and texture in place of a big blue trident design
and leggings. In addition to his Cloak of Levitation — which still has a high collar,
but a less ridiculous one than the comics version — he has his big amulet, the Eye of Agamotto,
from which he gets much of his power. Even beyond his resemblance to the classic Steve Ditko design,
Strange looks like a modern-day wizard, which is exactly what he's meant to be.
"Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."
Spider-Man's arrival on the scene in "Captain America: Civil War" was a game-changer for
the MCU, and also for live action depictions of Spider-Man. After Tony Stark shows up in
Queens to recruit Peter Parker, Spider-Man debuts during the movie's big superhero confrontation,
appearing as if from nowhere to catch Captain America's shield out of the air,
dressed in a costume made for him by Stark. Then something amazing happens:
the eyes on Spider-Man's mask change size to focus on what he's looking at.
Spider-Man is one of the few classic superheroes whose costume has always covered his entire face.
This can create a challenge for artists, because he still needs to be able to express
emotion. For as long as he's existed, the standard way of dealing with this problem
is to depict the oversized eyes of his mask moving and changing size as if they're real
eyes—getting bigger for surprise, narrower for anger and so forth. For obvious reasons, however,
nobody had ever attempted to depict that in live action, until the MCU.
The excuse that his costume is a high-tech Stark creation, combined with a line or two about
how light filtration helps Spider-Man focus his overactive super-senses, enables his mask to be as
expressive as it's always been on the page — and that allows for a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
who is far more human and relatable when he's in costume than any previous incarnation.
Spider-Man's MCU costume is pretty much perfect, but his first couple of supervillains have left
something to be desired. The main villain of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is the Vulture, but
Shocker is also there as a secondary antagonist in the Vulture's employ. Unfortunately neither
character really wears a costume, just a mix of streetwear and high-tech gadgetry that vaguely
evokes each character's classic look. It's one thing for the Vulture to have metal wings,
but it's kind of a shame to put that metal helmet with the glowing eyes on him, when just shaving
Michael Keaton's head would really highlight his resemblance to the Marvel Comics Vulture.
The MCU Vulture and Shocker are menacing, but they're just not as iconic as they ought to be.
Fortunately, the second movie fixes that problem. As Mysterio, Jake Gyllenhaal wears a
visually striking version of the supervillain's classic bubble-headed
green costume, which turns out to be just as special-effects-generated as his superpowers.
In his first few cinematic appearances,
Thor wore a version of his classic Asgardian garb from the comics: black leather armor inset with
metal discs, a red cape, and even a winged helmet in some shots, although the widespread fear of
letting superheroes look silly on film keeps him from wearing the helmet for long. Still,
with the long blond hair and hammer, he's instantly recognizable as the comics character.
On the other hand, the level of detailing on his armor is a bit much, and it misses the "Jack Kirby
but real" aesthetic it seems to be aiming for, landing somewhere in "Lord of the Rings" knockoff
territory. For the early MCU, it was fine, but it was never anything to write home about.
Then "Thor: Ragnarok" came along, and all of a sudden Thor was
cool. Stripped of his hammer and exiled from Asgard by his estranged older sister Hela,
Thor becomes a gladiator on the planet Sakaar. He gets a haircut, from Stan Lee,
no less, and a new outfit, and it's totally a glow-up. No longer is Thor a cosmic prince in
ceremonial-looking armor. Now he looks like the badass fighter he actually is,
with simpler leather armor, cool war paint, and only one pauldron, a look that always works.
Of course, his appearance continues to evolve, and he'll definitely need another makeover
after sinking into depression in "Avengers: Endgame." However, since his next appearance
will be in "Thor: Love and Thunder," which is directed by Taika Waititi with costume
designs by "Ragnarok" designer Mayes Rubeo, we can trust that he'll once again look great.
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