In celebration of everyone’s favorite web-head, July is Spectacular Spider-Month at AiPT!. We have a series of amazing articles in store for the month. Movies, television, gaming, and of course comics will all be covered with great responsibility as we honor one of comics’ greatest heroes.
There’s only one Spider-Man that can soundly compete with how many costumes Peter Parker has had in the comics. Who, you might ask? His live actions counterparts of course! Across live action TV shows going back as far as the late ’70s, fan favorites that scream “Pizza time!”, and armored suits that cost probably billions of dollars in CGI (don’t worry, the movies made it all back) Peter has had a lot of different looks grace the silver screen. Which one is the definitive best, though? We brought in AiPT! Content Manager and Comics podcast host David Brooke, Manga Editor Eric Cline, and contributor Nathan Simmons to figure that out once and for all. Check it out below!
Raimi’s Spider-Man
Credit: Sony
Forrest: I know this one is popular, and I don’t dislike the Raimi movies by any means (even the third one…mostly) but meh. The silver piping doesn’t do much for me and the fact that it’s SO raised off the suit really accentuates the problem. Do like how bright and sharply contrasted the red and blue are, though. 6/10
Dave: This is a costume that grew on me. I didn’t like the protruding web portions, but then we’ve seen this sort of realistic materials in costumes look across comics. Just look at Frank Quitely’s X-Men costume designs. I will say this costume looks fabulous in the PS4 videogame. 6/10
Eric: I quite like this. It’s hard for me to imagine another suit looking both this good and this similar to the source material at the same time. The red and blue are both pleasantly bright, and the silver pops very well against them. Plus, they did a great job on the eyes. 9/10
Nathan: I’m mostly with Forrest and Dave on this one. I’ve never been wild about the silver piping or how raised it is. However, I think I still have a rather strong attachment to this suit. As a kid, seeing this honest-to-goodness superhero costume a year after being bummed out by the X-Men’s leather flight suits was so exciting. It certainly didn’t hurt that I had (and still have) an undying love for Spidey. 7/10
Spider-Man 1 Wrestling Suit
Credit: Sony
Forrest: It’s a joke costume but it’s a realistic and earnest one. I always liked how you can see the clear development of the suit in Pete’s mind from this to the one we end up here, with the spray painted piping design. Still like the wrestling suit in the PS4 game in the end more. 5/10
Dave: How radical is this? It makes me want to drink Mountain Dew and ollie over a grandma. Where are my Slim Jims?! YAAAAAA! 2/10
Eric: I know this is supposed to be bad but…yeah. It’s just bad. 2/10
Nathan: I’ve mentioned in previous Fashion Fridays that I tend to dig costumes that look like I could wear them. This is not one of those situations, though it may be that I’d rather wear Bruce Campbell’s entire outfit from this scene instead. 1/10
Spider-Man 3 Symbiote Suit
Credit: Sony
Forrest: Throw on a white spider and baby you got a stew going! Why they ducked on the super simple, super important iconography of one of the best comic suits of all time is really beyond me. Texture is much better on the black than red and blue, however. 6/10
Dave: Oh, look, a black version of the regular costume. How clever of the Symbiote. Honestly, the movie folks missed a huge opportunity to mimic the already perfect comic book Symbiote costume. Boo to this. 5/10
Eric: Meh. The fact that they did literally nothing to differentiate the symbiote suit from the regular one other than just color swap it is really disappointing. 3/10
Nathan: This design really continues the movie’s silly leap that the suit wasn’t entirely organic, but rather the symbiote got into Pete’s pre-existing suit and made it evil. A missed opportunity in a film full of them. 2/10
The Amazing Spider-Man
Credit: Sony
Forrest: This ain’t it. The raised spider logo is a weird, impractical design and the gold eyes and shiny silver boot details certainly don’t help. In fact I think the only thing it has going for it is the segmented pock marks in the eyes, leaning real hard into the bug angle. 2/10
Dave: I’ll admit I kinda liked the spider on the chest, but overall it doesn’t look right. The yellow eyes in particular strike me as weird and try-hard. 3/10
Eric: Something just feels off here. I feel like the suit looks better in motion than in a still frame. Just looking at it head-on, the way the colors and lines are laid out just seems really strange. And yeah, why are the eyes gold? 5/10
Nathan: I’ve always been puzzled by the silver accents on the boots. I like the elongated design of the spider on the chest, if not the fact that it’s raised. I’m also not jazzed on the material, which looks like it was made out of a basketball. 3/10
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Credit: Sony
Forrest: What a complete 180. This is obviously better than the first Amazing suit, even if the movie really, definitely isn’t and I honestly like it more than the Raimi suit, too. It’s comics accurate with a sleek, stylish flare still built to look good in motion and on screen. 7/10
Dave: I mean, they almost got this right. The sleeker look is solid although it’s still doing something strange with the textures. 7/10
Eric: Ditto what the others said. This is a solid suit but not as good as the Raimi era. 7/10
Nathan: One of the best, most accurate Spidey suits is in easily the worst film the character has ever starred in. I love how bright it is, as well as the big white eyes. The texture is still kind of off and it looks way too constricting for the lithe and athletic hero, but it’s still a pretty solid suit. 9/10
Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming
Credit: Disney | Sony
Forrest: Now we’re talking! This looks comfortable, sleek, stylish and considered. I know people don’t like the black detailing, and I wish they had gone one way or the other way it, too but I don’t think it’s a total deal breaker by any means especially given the expressive eyes. Expressive eyes! 9/10
Dave: The subtle black always threw me off, but hell, I’m a purist. The tiny black spider on the chest doesn’t do it for me either. I do love those eyes though as they finally nailed that aspect! 6/10
Eric: The mask is great here and the colors are decent. Everything is fairly streamlined. The insignia is weird though. 6/10
Nathan: The black detailing is an interesting choice, but it never really bugged me, as it kind of gave it a segmented look, almost like athletic gear. The logo is a little too small, but I can deal with straight-up anything when it comes to those amazing eyes that look like Ditko himself put them on the cowl! 9/10
Homecoming Homemade
Credit: Sony
Forrest: Silly gag costume again. I don’t know if it’s intentionally reminiscent of Scarlet Spider but I do like it because it reminds me of that. Still not as good as the Raimi wrestling suit or the PS4 one in the end. 6/10
Dave: It’s a cuter look than that radical wrestling suit in the Raimi film. It’s also kinda awkward. 6/10
Eric: Again, this is a purposefully meh suit, but it’s way better than the atrocity of a wrestling outfit. 5/10
Nathan: This is more like the kind of suit I’d end up wearing if I were a superhero. I love it for the narrative function it serves in the film and for the apparent visual nod to the Scarlet Spider. 7/10
Iron Spider
Credit: Disney | Sony
Forrest: Somebody somewhere likes Tom Holland and also me. This fixes everything I don’t like about Iron Spider in the comics. The segmented armor on the arms looks realistic and like it could actually compensate for a hit, the light up eyes make perfect sense and speak to Stark’s involvement well, and the gold is implemented in the color scheme so much better than the comics. The only miss is the spider, which gets kind of lost in all the other linework. 9/10
Dave: This suit improves upon the Iron Spider costume from the comic books. It has a color palette that’s just similar enough to not be a huge shift from the last suit but it has a nice subtle use of gold too. 9/10
Eric: This isn’t ugly, and I like the colors. But I’m just not a fan of Iron Spider looks, and I don’t think the colorful and metallic elements are blended well. 6/10
Nathan: This suit literally depends on lighting to work for me. I agree that it improves upon the look from the comics, especially when it comes to preserving Spidey’s color scheme. I also kind of dig the wraparound logo, which reminds me somewhat of Ben Reilly’s suit from the comics. It’s a cool design, but I just tend to prefer my Spidey in the classic duds. Still, it definitely served a purpose in the film, rather than just being a costume change for the hell of it. 7/10
Far From Home
Credit: Sony
Forrest: This is everything I want. I mentioned previously that I wish they had leaned harder in the black details of the Homecoming suit or abandoned them and I think this is the perfect outcome. The white of the eyes pops perfectly against the color scheme, the segmented fingers pick up everything I like about comics suits, and the smaller spider logo takes a cool Iron Spider idea and makes it work. 10/10
Dave: There’s something off with this suit. The eyes are great and I like the gloves, but the cut away in the arm revealing red, and the grey cut away on the waste don’t look right. The boots are solid, but then the darker color isn’t quite what I want either. This is a darker suit for a darker time in Peter’s life, but why abandon the blue all together? 6/10
Eric: Ew, I don’t like this one. Why did they make it worse? The red portion stops so awkwardly high up on his stomach, and that spider is puny! Score: 2/10
Nathan: While the logo is still a little too small for my tastes, the white accents around it help it stand out a bit more. I’m not a huge fan of trading the blue for black, but I won’t deny that it’s a striking design that also makes some sense for a Spidey in mourning. 8/10
Far From Home Stealth Suit
Credit: Sony
Forrest: Annnnnd too far. They did a good job keeping this recognizable as Spidey with the eyes, but it’s a weird mix-up of Noir elements and modern tactical stuff that I don’t really care for in the end. Exposed fingers? 4/10
Dave: They had an opportunity to go with a Spider-Man Noir look and went more in the direction of Spider-Ninja. I don’t hate it, but it also looks way too generic save for the eyes. Also, for a suit like this why would you not cover his finger prints?! 4/10
Eric: This is alright. Sleek and black, good eyes. But like the others said, it doesn’t take the Noir influence as far as it could. 6/10
Nathan: I really dislike the exposed fingers. It’s kind of a confused design, aiming for a nod to Noir while still looking like something that S.H.I.E.L.D. would issue. The end result looks like Sam Fisher in Spider-Man cosplay. 5/10
The Electric Company
Forrest: I mean, sure. The cut out eye holes are disarming and off putting but this kind of speaks to how recognizable and easy to do a spider-man costume is, and how a real person could actually make one. 5/10
Dave: Spider-Man looks sad yo. It’s too simplistic but it is from another era. 4/10
Eric: I hate those eyes a lot. 2/10
Nathan: Not the worst for small appearances on a children’s show in the ’70s. But this Spidey’s eyes make it look like he’s always wondering why God saw fit to breathe life into his sad, gaunt frame. 3/10
Toei’s Supaidaman
Credit: Toei | Marvel
Forrest: “The Emissary from Hell” himself! I actually love the Toei Spider-Man (Supaidaman) a lot. It’s a really silly show that doesn’t get like any of Spider-Man right, but does establish its own tone and ideas well. This is the only time I’m going to go to bat for a wrist guard, because it actually makes sense for Leopardon, the robot. Otherwise no wrist guards! 7/10
Dave: I kinda dig the eyes even if they are completely original to this suit. The mask looks right too. The boots on the other hand…nah. Also that arm thingy is silly. No! 6/10
Eric: Hell yeah! The best Spider-Man. He looks like regular Spider-Man, but with a metal bracelet thingy and an evil looking mask. The emissary from Hell is looking good. 9/10
Nathan: I actually love this design. This show was essentially Spider-Man mixed with Kamen Rider, so the little embellishments make me happy. The ballet flats are bit silly-looking, but I dig the wrist device and those mean-as-hell eyes. 8/10
Spider-Man 1977
Forrest: Weird strainer eyes and all, this is a whole look. I respect what they were going for and it again touches on how easy it is to make Spidey out of a few elements but the separated gloves, boots, and extra wrist guard and belt really weigh it down. 4/10
Dave: Did somebody poke out Spider-Man’s eyes?! The leather boots and belt kinda work somehow, but it’s also baggy and ill made. 5/10
Eric: That belt and those…goggles-like eyes?…are horrible. Awful. 2/10
Nathan: It’s rough. I actually like the utility belt, but otherwise this looks like the sad Spidey you’d see at the grand opening for a car wash. 2/10
Winner: Iron Spider
While there was a stunning three-way tie for second place between The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Homecoming, and Supaidaman, all having 30 points, Iron Spider came dressed for battle and won it by a narrow margin of just one more point coming in at 31. Our Peter Parker Fashion Friday column wasn’t too kind to the comic iteration of the suit so we’ll chalk it up to a fondness for Tom Holland and thankfulness that this one has less gold going on than that one.
Credit: Sony
What would we have done if everyone did come out in a tie, you ask? Give it to this guy of course:
Credit: Toei | Marvel
Thank you for joining AiPT! during Spectacular Spider-Month! Be sure to check back in every day for more Spider-Man content including interviews, features, opinions, and more!
Credit: Marvel
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