As many criticisms we all have for films based on our favorite comics, most of the time costumes are the least of our worries. Many film costumes even manage to outdo their comic counterparts, given the collaborative efforts of so many creatives working on props and clothing. With a few exceptions, modern superhero movies have impressive track records portraying most heroes as well-dressed. Power and personality portrayals, of course, are more wide-ranging, but The Avengers pretty much nailed all of the above!
Costume choices have a great deal to do with so much success in this department. No matter which point in a timeline filmmakers attempt to convey in a movie, they tend to avoid the most embarrassing and heinous outfits in that comic’s history.
Some outfits aren’t too terrible, with just a few details that make us cringe, but others are so outrageously laughable, or even offensive, that they would likely help tank an otherwise decent movie. These are the costumes that we are glad to never see on the big screen.
Whether it was Iron Man’s weird nose armor or some of the tone deaf cultural appropriation costumes in the history of the franchise, here are 15 Avengers Costumes We’re Glad .
Thor’s Helmet Feathers
Wings and feathers might make a statement in Asgard, but in the movie world having feathers on your helmet looks kind of stupid. It’s not that the feathers themselves are stupid, but when they’re fluttering on top of a device meant to protect your noggin from battle damage, it’s a little senseless. They don’t make sense for a god of thunder, either. Odin? Sure. He’s got associated with birds already. But a lightning bolt-shaped forehead scar would suit Thor better than Hermes-style wings.
The wings aren’t even long enough to seem formidable or meaningful.
They are like a couple of broken bird wings that Thor clumsily attached after hunting a turkey with Mjolnir and wondering what to do with the parts he didn’t eat.
War Machine’s Alien “WarWear”
The idea behind War Machine’s “WarWear” was on track to be useful and interesting, but between its weird branding and look itself it completely bombed. The hand-orbiting remotes make zero sense, particularly when compared with previous suit technology that didn’t needs these bizarre additions.
The suit spikes, embellishments, and even color looked like a cheap fast food toy that’s trying too hard.
The center of the costume itself looks like a cross between a crab carapace and a mutant ooze gauge. Combine that with his razor shoulder blades, and he appears more like The Shredder of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fame than anything else. Even his helmet looks stupid with its traffic light colors.
Are you a crossing guard, War Machine? We think this costume’s better off walking in the traffic.
Hawkeye As Goliath
Remember when Hawkeye became Goliath, Earth’s Mightiest Marksman, in Earth-616? Yeah, we like to forget, too.
Not only was he named after a biblical bully who was destroyed by a person half his size, but he also looked like the Juggernaut in a crop top. Someone said they had a great idea, then they demonstrated the opposite of a great idea with this weird costume that looks not only uncomfortable and terrible for movement but also completely pointless.
Crop tops are typically bad ideas for superheroes, no matter their gender, and this is a perfect example of a terrible wardrobe choice.
Are those bolts on his top? Is he an appliance?
We much prefer the sleek, modern update to Clint’s wardrobe to this laughable getup.
Captain “Native” America
Sending Captain America back in time to 1602 is a cool idea in theory, but no matter how badly you want to fit in with the locals, dressing up a white guy with indigenous garb is pretty much always a mistake. Not only is Cap’s “Indian Brave” persona a perfect example of cultural appropriation, but it also inspired too many terrible cosplays along with it.
Not only that, but he also managed to look really stupid, between the giant “A” in his face warpaint to his Medusa-like hair.
There has really been no reason for 1602 Cap to debut in the MCU, but that doesn’t make us any less glad that nobody thought to include this atrocious costume in with the rest.
Speaking of Cap, we’re also glad that alternate universe Captain America Ape costume never made it to the films.
Scarlet Witch’s Gypsy Costume
Speaking of cultural appropriation, remember the time Scarlet Witch got fancy with her gypsy costume that should have never been created?
While it’s true that much of her history is rooted in Romani culture, from her foster parents and upbringing to her alias as Gypsy Witch, this outfit did nothing but turn her look into a stereotype.
Her slit skirt and bangle belt are drawn for attention, not function.
Those hoops are laughable to any woman. Did Hilary Swank wear hoops in Million Dollar Baby? No, because they would tear your ear off if they got caught during a fight.
We don’t doubt Wanda’s powers to protect herself even if she’s fighting in her birthday suit; she’s one of the most powerful characters ever created. We just doubt the value of this costume on a superhero. At the very least it would be annoying in battle.
Thor’s Crossing Era Crop Top (And His Godly Lovely Locks)
Not another crop top. It seems as if many superheroes aren’t satisfied until they’ve worked a variation of the crop into their wardrobe at some point, displaying their abs in a completely pointless fashion statement.
Why not just be shirtless if you need to show off your abs?
Not only does a crop top seem pretty restrictive in a fight, but it also leaves plenty of skin vulnerable to attack. It makes so much more sense to have costumes that have an actual purpose.
Not only that, but Thor’s Crossing Era look featured some of the longest hair we’ve ever seen on a superhero. Nothing against Rapunzel, but that hair is a complete Achilles heel on the battle field. It’s begging to be stepped on, yanked and caught in a turbine. This is a pretty outrageous example of form fighting function.
Hawkeye’s Purple Dress
Hawkeye’s standard comic costume is one of the worst we’ve seen, with its enormous headgear, odd combination of purple hues that makes it look like a cross between eggplant lycra and a full body bruise and its goofy, pointless design, but it looked even worse when comic creators decided that it should be made into a dress.
“It’s not ridiculous enough,” they may have mused, attempting to find a way to make Hawkeye look even more awkward. “Let’s give the guy a skirt.”
That’s not to say that skirts and kilts can’t work in costumes, or even male uniforms. We’ve seen successful examples of both. Clint’s purple PJ dress just looks out of place not only for battle but pretty much anywhere.
Black Widow’s Grey Days
It was as depressing as it sounds. Black Widow, never a boring character, toned down her look with a Grey Lady costume that made her look like a milquetoast vampire more than a calculating assassin.
We imagine that ear-tapping collar becoming super annoying during a mission.
What is the point of changing the black to grey in the first place? This ’80s look came complete with the giant conspicuous spider on her chest, just in case you forgot who she was.
Natasha has also had her share of crop top days, which looked no better on her than they did on Thor, Hawkeye, or any other superhero. Seriously, the crop top idea is out. Keep the costumes functional as well as cool, Marvel.
Iron Man’s Original Gold Costume
Luckily for us, the only time we saw Iron Man’s terrible original costume in the MCU was during its inception phase.
The benefits of hindsight and decades of Iron Man comics helped ensure that a costume that should have only made it through an issue or two was quickly scrapped - and only existed because it was crafted in a cave under extreme duress.
But wait, you say: there were gold Iron Man costumes in the films! Sure, but not this awful clunky gold mess that was supposed to be an upgrade in the comics. The Tony Stark we know would never slop on paint alone to dress up a prototype. If there’s one thing the billionaire playboy has going, it’s style.
Quicksilver’s X-Factor Uniform
Quicksilver’s All New X-Factor uniform looks like bad modern art. To be fair, the entire team looks goofy in these geometric designs, but Pietro’s face-hugging yellow monochrome looks especially stupid.
We get that you’re fast, but a little camo goes a long way in the stealth department.
While this look may not be as bad as many others here (at least it remains functional), its awkward banana color and weird design make us so grateful for the cinematic Quicksilver’s blue getup, which is more akin to his classic look. We’re even glad it didn’t feature his trademark lightning bolt, which made it appear much more modern and clean on film - even if it looked a little too much like Under Armour.
Iron Man’s Nose Armor
This is the goofy look that made Tony Stark appear to be a cereal box cartoon character. We expected every cell to include a marshmallow-laden product placement. There is absolutely no reason to feature a nose hole in your face armor. Not only does it fail to add anything functional to the look, but it doesn’t even match the rectangular slits over Tony’s eyes, resulting in an even more disjointed look.
The nose goes on the face, not on the armor.
The look was so bad that writers even made fun of it in an issue where San Diego Comic Con attendees all jeered at it.
Stan Lee may have dubbed it a good idea at the time but we sure are glad it didn’t make the movie cut.
Mangaverse Captain America
If Cap decided to cosplay as Speed Racer, Mangaverse Captain America might work. As the president of the United States and simultaneous Avenger? Not so much.
In Earth-2301, Steven Rogers looks like a bubblegum Transformer, complete with round, exaggerated mechanical features and a pink light shield that you can see through. It’s one of the least intimidating costumes we’ve ever seen on Steve, and that’s saying a lot for the wholesome hero.
Between the obscene robotic shoulder pads and purple shades woven through his otherwise patriotic costume (maybe the USA goes violet in the future?), this captain is way too silly looking to make it into the MCU.
When placed side by side with the actual movie Cap, it doesn’t even look like Steve at all. Hard pass on this one.
Black Widow’s Caped Crusader Getup
Black Widow’s original look may have been her worst. When she wasn’t dressed up in some undercover outfit (which typically made her look like a fabulously wealthy heiress or Gothic socialite), she looked like Blue Batman in fishnets.
This terrible train wreck of a costume is much more at home in a 1940s TV show than in either the comic or the film and we’re quite appreciative that it never made it to the latter. Natasha’s cool modern look is much more fitting for her talents and the tone of the films.
The idea of that mask on Black Widow makes us cringe.
The tiny nod to the black widow spider in the form of its hourglass symbol on her costume does a much better job than the “Look! I’m a spider!” blue monstrosity ever did for the spy.
Thor’s Terrible “Godpack” Look
Godpack Thor is trying way too hard– so hard it hurts. He’s the god of thunder, not steroids. Between his WWE hair, awful half-clothed torso (what is even with that strip? It’s like he half-decided to get dressed) and house-sized musculature, Thor is pretty much a caricature of himself.
What’s even worse is that the look occurred in the 1990s, making it much more modern than you’d think.
Poor Thor looks like he’s about to burst through his weird swimsuit-y getup. We are so glad that Marvel went with a much cooler movie look that not only represented his Asgardian heritage but also made him appear to be at least 50% saner. We get it, Thor; you’re big and tough. Now tone it down a bit.
Scarlet Witch’s Wimple
It’s one of the most awkward and pointless costumes ever designed, rendering poor Scarlet Witch - otherwise one of the most powerful characters in the history of comic books - an endless joke.
A wimple? She’s not a nun or a 14th century newlywed, she’s a formidable force to be reckoned with.
She doesn’t have the time nor the patience for an ancient headdress (as part of an otherwise amazing costume) that’s going to obscure her vision while she’s up against the bad guys.
Hopefully Marvel writers have taken note of the whole “the future is female and it doesn’t have time for hair care products” memes, particularly since they feature amazing women from the hit Black Panther film. Bald heads make for excellent fighting.
Fashion statements can be made outside the arena, but when inside, the less restrictive (not to mention pointless) garments, the better.
What other comic costumes are you glad we didn’t see in The Avengers?
