The best costumes and designs from comics: the tier list

A great suit can be recognized by its silhouette, even in shadow play. This tier list ranks character designs according to their iconicity and their visual effectiveness: colors, symbol, readability. Good design is half of a hero's popularity.

Editorial Ranks, Facts verified. Each character refers to its file when it exists.

Tier S: the perfect silhouettes

Spider-Man has one of the most recognizable costumes in the world: red and blue, web, big white eyes. Batman imposes its bat silhouette, Superman his iconic S on a blue background and red cape, and Wolverine his inimitable yellow and black mask.

Tier A: iconic designs

Iron Man (red and gold), Venom (black with white mouth), Daredevil (full red) and Nightwing (electric blue) are among the most accomplished outfits.

Tier B: striking designs

Dead Pool (red and black), Spawn (cloak and chains), Black Panther (feline black) and Doctor Doom (armor and green cape) are of great graphic force.

Tier C: successful designs

Green Lantern, Silver Surfer (full chrome), Magneto (red and helmet) and Tornado complete the selection.

Tier D: spectacular designs

Ghost Rider (flaming skull), Carnage (organic red) and Red Skull close this tier list: striking and immediately identifiable designs.

To remember

• Spider-Man has one of the most recognizable costumes in pop culture.
• Good design comes from the silhouette and a strong symbol.
• Iconic designs reinforce the desirability of key numbers.
• Each character refers to its file when it exists.

Reading the costumes tier list as a collecting guide: publishers, decades and first costumes

This tier list ranks nineteen characters: fourteen from Marvel, four from DC and a single one from Image, Spawn. This split is a reminder that visual iconicity is not limited to the two big publishers, and that a successful design can come from a younger house.

An overview by decade

Relying on the year shown in the ranking for each character, we get the following breakdown.

• 1930s to 1950s: Superman (1938), Batman (1939), Green Lantern (1959), as well as a Marvel character dated 1941.
• 1960s: seven characters, including Spider-Man (1962), Iron Man (1963), Daredevil (1964), Black Panther and Silver Surfer (1966).
• 1970s: three characters, including Ghost Rider (1972) and Wolverine (1974).
• 1980s: Nightwing (1984) and Venom (1988).
• 1990s: three characters, including Deadpool (1991) and Spawn (1992).

The 1960s therefore weigh more than a third of the ranking. It is the decade in which the largest number of lastingly recognizable designs were forged.

The costume is not always that of the first appearance

A single character can change outfits, and the issue that presents the costume is not necessarily the one that presents the character. Spider-Man's case shows it: Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 (December 1984) shows him putting on the living black costume for the first time, while Amazing Spider-Man #252 is cited as the first black costume in the 616 universe. For an iconic design, it is therefore worth looking for the costume's issue in addition to the character's.

Points of caution

The year shown is a ranking marker, not the date of the costume you see today. Before buying, identify the exact issue you are after, then check the edition and condition. Also keep in mind that an editorial ranking is not a market rating: it measures the strength of a design, not the value of an issue.

Finally, the designs in tiers C and D, such as Ghost Rider or Silver Surfer with his full chrome, are striking and instantly identifiable: they can form a separate thematic collecting thread, with an approach different from that of the tier S silhouettes.

Frequently asked questions