Bringing iconic superheroes from the comic book page to the big screen is no easy task. While filmmakers on aim for realism, staying faithful to fan-favorite visuals is key to capturing the true essence of these characters.
Unfortunately, some heroes suffered noticeable costume downgrades early in their live-action depictions, just after hitting the nail on the spot in their first appearance on screen. Let’s examine the 5 major superhero costume downgrades from both Marvel and DC.
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5. Shazam
First up is Billy Batson’s superhero alter-ego, Shazam, who made his silver screen debut in 2019. The first appearance of Shazam saw him donning a bright suit with shiny golden elements to compliment it along with a huge bright symbol on his chest. This was also accompanied by a very comic-accurate hood which Shazam is seen to rock from time to time.
The sequel of the movie saw a major downgrade in the costume department from DC as all the elements that defined Shazam were stripped off. The red of the suit was dulled along with the golden elements and the symbol was significantly smaller. The sequel also saw the removal of the hood, which upset quite a few fans.
4. Ant-Man
Ant-Man made its on-screen debut in the year 2015 and quickly took everyone by surprise. A superhero who was not well known at the time was elevated into the mainstream by Paul Rudd’s phenomenal performance as Scott Lang. The first Ant-Man suit had a very modern touch to its source material and hit all the chords perfectly.
The second time Ant-Man appeared on screen was in the 2016 Marvel movie, ‘Captain America: Civil War‘. This time, Scott was seen donning a new and upgraded (or downgraded suit), which the fans criticized quite heavily as it took away the grounded elements from the first movie, just to ‘MCU-fy‘ it.
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3. Iron Man
‘Iron Man‘ which came out in 2008, kickstarted the MCU and had some really realistic and industrial-looking armors which paid homage to the source material while also adhering to the modern criteria of fans.
Post ‘Iron Man 3‘, a steady decline was noticed in the Iron Man suits as the practical usage of suits went down by a lot and was replaced with CGI. The difference in realism and appeal is very contrasting when you compare the first proper Iron Man suit, to the one in ‘Avengers: Endgame‘
2. Spiderman
Though Sony’s ‘The Amazing Spiderman‘ duology lacked in many aspects, one thing it got right was the costume design. ‘The Amazing Spiderman 2‘ gave us the best on-screen Spiderman costume design and was acclaimed for it’s accuracy and appeal.
The MCU Spiderman has not quite matched up to the levels of costume design set by the ‘TASM‘ franchise, despite donning a new suit every other movie. The ‘MCU-fication‘ of suits and the over usage of CGI are few of the reasons fans find faults in it.
1. The Flash
The Flash’s costume in 2017’s ‘Justice League‘, was far from comic accurate but fans and viewers alike praised it for its originality and grittiness. The essence of the suit matched the vision of director Zack Snyder and had elements never seen before like the wires to hold the suit together.
2023’s ‘The Flash‘ was a hot mess and the suit reflected that in a big way. From the gritty and realistic undertone from ‘Justice League‘ to a suit that was supposedly comic accurate, just ended up being a CGI mess with no vivid features in any way whatsoever.
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