Superman’s 10 Best Modern Costumes, Ranked

Superman has been having a banner few years in the comics, and the rest of the world is about to see just what the fuss is about when director James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy drops next year. Fans are rabid for more information on the movie and a recent publicity still has shown the newest cinematic costume for the Man of Steel. It combines several elements of Superman costumes from the past, combining classic elements with parts from more modern costumes.

Gunn has always used comics to inspire his superhero films, and this Superman costume shows that. Superman’s costume is a classic, but even classics can change. Over the years, there have been some pretty great modern Superman costumes, and Gunn has used some of those as inspirations for the latest Man of Steel’s big cinematic adventure.

10 Brutaal’s Superman Costume Is One Of The Better Evil Superman Costumes

The New 52 held many changes for the DC Multiverse, including a new Earth-2. This Earth was showcased in Earth-2, with the story beginning with Darkseid, who was attacking the Prime Earth, sending Steppenwolf to attack the world. This battle killed off Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, leaving other heroes to step up. Eventually, new versions of these heroes would return. However, they weren’t exactly what everyone expected, with Brutaal being a monster created by Darkseid for death and destruction.

Brutaal’s costume was colored black and red, giving it a very evil feel His S-Shield was a literal metal shield attached to the costume with chains His cape was two-tone, with the outside black and the inside red, a striking combination of colors that helped it stand out

Brutaal’s costume shows what would happen if Superman and Darkseid weren’t sworn enemies. Too many evil Superman costumes use the original colors, partly to point out the dangers of Superman falling to evil. Brutaal’s costume doesn’t have any time for such subtle nonsense; its black and red coloration, two-tone cape, and chained-on S-Shield are all that would happen if Superman’s costume was designed to intimidate rather than inspire. It’s the best evil Superman costume, striking the right balance of awe and fear.

9 Val-Zod’s Superman Costume Went In An Entirely Different Direction Than Other Superman Costumes

Earth-2 may have lost its Superman quickly and then got a monstrous replacement, but there would soon come another Superman to help save that multiversal world – Val-Zod. Val-Zod made friends with Kara Zor-El before the destruction of Krypton and was one of the few Kryptonians who had escaped the world. Val-Zod was educated by the systems his parents had placed in his pod and was found by Terry Sloan, who took care of him. Eventually, the Wonders of Earth-2 found Val-Zod, and he became the newest Superman, sworn to defend his new world.

Val-Zod’s costume kept blue as its main color, with red in its S-Shield, but used silver and white rather than more traditional Superman colors His S-Shield looked more like the Prime Earth version than that of the original Earth-2 Superman His silver S and belt worked very well with the blue, and the white cape gave the costume an extremely clean look

Val-Zod’s costume is something of a masterpiece. It takes the familiar design elements of Superman costumes – the blue, the S-Shield, and the cape – and does them in an amazing new way. It’s like a remix of a Superman costume, and its combination of colors makes it very pleasing to the eye. It’s one of the few trunkless Suprman costumes that actually looks better without the trunks.

8 The New 52 Earth-2 Superman Costume Was A Wonderful Modernization Of A Classic

Earth-2 opened with a spectacular battle, showcasing Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, and Power Girl battling Parademons, a fight that ended in the deaths of the Trinity. Superman in this world was very similar to the one readers knew – a survivor of Krypton, found by the Kents and named Clark, a newspaper reporter, and married to Lois. There was even an element from the original Earth-2 – that he and Lois had raised Power Girl – but other than that, it was pretty standard Superman stuff for the Multiverse. Except, of course, for his costume.

The S-Shield on this costume was bigger than most, spanning the length of his shoulders with a more stylized S that bled into his cape There was red around his wrists, paying homage to the wrist cuffs of the original Earth-2 costume but giving them their own twist His belt was red with a yellow bar taking up most of the center, which was different from other Superman belts, which were usually mostly yellow

The interesting thing about this costume is that it had a more modern feel than even the contemporary New 52 Prime Earth costume. It didn’t have the overdesigned lines or armory textures and was definitely different from the pre-New 52 versions of Earth-2 Superman’s costume, but it still felt very modern. It also lacked trunks, but it never felt like it lacked anything, a problem most of the trunkless costumes had. The suit isn’t exactly perfect, but it looks amazing.

7 The Rebirth Suit Was A Return To Form

Superman fans roundly dislike the New 52 Kryptonian battle armor. There’s nothing wrong with Superman wearing armor, as several Superman costumes have been armor-based and used for special occasions. Giving him armor to wear all the time worked for the story being told – it was part of his Kryptonian heritage – but it didn’t sit right with fans. The New 52 failed as it went on, and eventually, DC Rebirth came along to fix many of its mistakes. One of these was Superman’s costume, which, in many ways, was a return to form.

The Rebirth costume ditched the armored look, collar, and weird sleeves and went back to more classic material and cut The Rebirth costume did keep the trunkless look, which was strange with the more classic styling The belt was red and with an S-Shield as the buckle; at first, there were blue boots with red trim that later became the classic boots

The Rebirth suit had its own little foibles that kept it from being the best, but the great thing about it was that DC listened to the complaints about it and modified it over time. The changes made it a much better suit, and the differences between it and the classic suit made it memorable. It’s better than what came before, and it helped give readers back a Superman feel that had been missing since the New 52 started.

6 Jon Kent’s Superman Costume Was Classic And Modern

Jon Kent has been the best addition to the Superman mythos of the last twenty years. Making Superman a father is something of a no-brainer idea, and Jon Kent has proven to be a super-son. Many fans disagreed with Jon being aged up to a teenager, but it’s actually paid off very well. Jon gets to take his father’s place as Superman after the elder Man of Steel’s powers start to give out on him, and with that comes an all-new costume for the young hero.

Jon’s costume has several variations, with the most different being the blue energy version that was reminiscent of his father’s costume from the mid-90s There is a capeless variant that uses the design elements of the main costume and does away with the cape Jon’s costume doesn’t have trunks, and the S-Shield connects to the cape with red also covering his shoulders into his upper arm

Jon’s costume takes the design motifs of several different Superman costumes and mixes them together very well. It takes the classic elements and adds a more modern trunkless look which looks sensational. His blue and white energy costume and capeless variant also look phenomenal, making the young hero one of the better-dressed heroes of his generation.

5 Calvin Ellis’s New Suit Definitely Fits The Character

The DC Multiverse is full of great Superman variants. Calvin Ellis debuted at the end of Final Crisis, a version of Superman based on Barack Obama, who happened to be Superman. His suit in that appearance was definitely more of a classic Superman suit, but that would change. His next appearance wouldn’t be until the New 52’s Action Comics (Vol. 2) #9, and that’s when readers got a look at his new costume, which basically changed some of the design elements.

Calvin’s suit had the armored feel of the New 52 suit, with the collar and a gold and red S-Shield that had its own style The suit had gold cuffs, belt, and trim around the top of the boots and was also trunkless The later version of the suit had shoulder pieces that were connected to the cape giving it a unique look and cut

Calvin Ellis’s suit looked exactly like a suit that a superhero who was also a president would wear. It’s easily the best Superman variant suit of the New 52. It’s said that clothes make the man, and Calvin’s costume helped grab attention for the character. The costume would be modified when he appeared in Infinite Frontier and Justice League Incarnate, but they merely made it even better. They took a great redesign and knocked it out of the park.

4 Superman’s T-Shirt And Jeans Combo From The New 52 Was Amazingly Cool

When most people think of the New 52, they think of the Kryptonian armor. However, Grant Morrison’s landmark run on Action Comics began with another costume, one that looked way better. Action Comics (Vol. 2) #1 began before the other New 52 books, when young Clark Kent came to Metropolis, ready to make a difference in the world. He had the blanket he was wrapped in as a child and some special shirts made with the crest on his blanket. The Metropolis Marvel was born.

Superman’s first costume was just a blue shirt with the red and yellow S-Shield, jeans, and workboots The cape had the S-Shield on the back, but instead of being the classic yellow, it was black The costume was as simple as could be, and that’s why it worked so well

This costume perfectly fit the man of the people aesthetic that Morrison was going for. Artist Rags Morales made it look so cool, and many fans were disappointed that this wouldn’t be the costume going forward. A different version would return down the road when Superman’s powers were weakened for a time, and fans were very happy to see it come back. It was like something a kid in the real world would wear to play Superman, and it did a great job of bringing the man who could fly down to Earth.

3 Pre-Flashpoint Clark Kent’s Black And Silver Costume Was Superhero Elegance Defined

The New 52 Superman didn’t do it for many fans as time passed. The armored costume wasn’t popular. After Grant Morrison, most of the runs on Superman and Action Comics didn’t connect with fans until the controversial publishing initiative was out the door. This was a problem with the New 52 in general, and 2015 saw what many consider to be the worst DC event in years – Convergence. Convergence has been widely panned, but the tie-ins were well received, especially one that brought back the pre-Flashpoint Clark Kent and Lois Lane, Convergence: Superman. This series would be the catalyst that brought the couple back to prominence and give Superman an interesting and familiar new suit in Superman: Lois And Clark.

Pre-Flashpoint Clark’s return to the DC Multiverse saw him don a black suit that was similar to the one he wore in The Return Of Superman It didn’t have a cape like that earlier suit and its silver S-Shield wasn’t heavy metal like the older version It did keep the silver coloration, with a silver belt with an S-Shield buckle and black boots with silver trim at the top and silver soles

Clark wore this costume until the death of the New 52 Superman, and it has since been seen in a backup story by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks, the team behind Convergence: Superman and Superman: Lois And Clark, which started in Action Comics #1051.It’s simple and elegant, finding a way to make a black suit that doesn’t look edgy. It was completely different from any other mainstream Superman suit, but it also beautifully captured the feel of Superman.

Superman’s power began to wane in 2021, leading to him stepping back from being Superman. However, he could never leave the superhero life behind, which is where the excellent Superman And The Authority picks up. This story saw Superman, his powers failing him, recruit a team of heroes to do the work that he couldn’t do anymore. It also introduced an entirely new Superman suit, unlike anything before it.

The suit had no cape and was short-sleeved, a departure that made it stand out It was two-tone blue, the outer blue darker than the inner blue, and it didn’t have trunks It had the classic red boots and gloves that extended above the wrist, with red knuckles and a red band around the wrists

Mikel Janin designed the suit, and it was just amazing. While it only lasted through Superman And The Authority—Superman switched back to the classic costume for “Warworld Saga”— it quickly became a fan favorite. It breaks many of the rules of Superman costumes, and it looks better for it. It made Superman look great, even though his powers weren’t where they should be.

1 The Kingdom Come Costume Has Small Modifications That Make It The Best

Kingdom Come is a DC classic. Mark Waid and Alex Ross created a love story for DC Comics that centered on Superman. Superman had left the superhero business years before the story began, and a terrible disaster brought him back. He came back in a new costume with some very subtle and not-so-subtle differences from the classic suit that Superman was known for.

The biggest departure from the old suit is the S-Shield; it is red and black, and the S is more stylized and angular The costume’s blue was a darker tone than the Superman costume usually is The suit had a black belt instead of the original yellow belt

Kingdom Come was about a return to the heroism of the past when times were at their darkest, and Superman’s suit in the story does a great job of visually representing that. It shows the change in Superman – trying to be the hero he was in a world of darkness. Its influence has been felt multiple times since it first debuted, with Superman changing his S-Shield to a red and black one after Our Worlds At War. Kingdom Come Superman would join the Justice Society Of America cast in 2007. The S-Shield from Kingdom Come would also inspire the one in James Gunn’s Superman. This is the gold standard of modern Superman costumes.