Superhero movies have to get a lot of things right to convincingly translate stories from the pages of a comic book, but some costume changes are utterly baffling. Obviously, movies can’t perfectly replicate comics.

Comics are renowned for having heroes strike impossible poses, with impossible physiques, and spectacular superpowers that don’t exist in reality. However, it’s the job of these major Hollywood productions to take those ideas and translate them to the big screen.

However, movies tend to take creative liberties, and this can lead to some bizarre changes to iconic comic book costumes. So, while some changes are necessary, others just don’t make sense.

10

The Infamous Batman Suit

In Batman & Robin, George Clooney dons the cowl in one of the most absurd versions of the batsuit ever imagined. And the reason this suit stands out is because of its ridiculously large, exceptionally defined, and uniquely colored nipples.

The costume sculptor, Jose Fernandez, has since spoken about his inspiration for the design being linked to Greek statues (via Esquire), but even this doesn’t explain the extent of the nipple suit.

For one, Greek statues don’t make the nipples a vocal point, they’re just there, and it blends in with the larger design. Whereas Clooney’s suit put the attention on this hard rubber protrusions that extend from the suit in the most baffling way.

9

The Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four heroes originally appeared in 1961, and at that time, the costumes appeared to be blue and white jumpsuits with almost no detail. In some ways, this is very similar to what the MCU is now doing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, though there are some clear additions to make it work on screen.

Now, 2005’s Fantastic Four may have been trying to replicate the sense of a large jumpsuit, but the design ultimately felt deeply boring. Everyone is in the exact same outfit, and all of them are just two tones of blue.

Somehow, this manages to be even less charming than the classic comic design. It’s just a shame that it wasn’t expanded a little, or made slightly more interesting.

8

Green Lantern

Now, for a very different approach, the 2011 Green Lantern movie cast Ryan Reynolds as the iconic Hal Jordan, but it appears to have forgotten to transform him into his superhero alter ego. What I mean by that is the fact that this movie opted to make every Green Lantern moment in full CGI.

Obviously, creating a hero who can create anything at will, and do incredible things that appear magical is a difficult task. And CGI certainly would give filmmakers more flexibility. But, it resulted in most of the film feeling at best like a bad animation, and at worst, like an uncanny valley horror.

Just including a practical suit for reference, or for moments where Hal isn’t flying and actively using his powers could have made all the difference. Even if just for the mask, which could have made a huge difference.

7

The Punisher

In 1989, Dolph Lundgren was arguably at the height of his career as an action star. And when he landed the role of Frank Castle in The Punisher, it could have been a game changer for Marvel movies.

And by all accounts, he did a pretty great job as the ultra-violent vigilante superhero. But the biggest issue in this movie is the distance it tried to create from its comic book origins.

Instead of creating one of the simplest comic book costumes of all time, a black t-shirt with a white skull on it, Castle just wears all blacks throughout the movie. It’s a huge disappointment considering the potential this movie could have had.

6

Suicide Squad’s Joker

We have had some incredible performers tackle the role of Joker over the years, and, in all honesty, that’s kind of a blessing and a curse. While this is an iconic character from the comics, actors want to leave their mark on a role.

And, when Jared Leto, who is a great actor in many situations, appears as the Joker in Suicide Squad, it’s one of the more unique adaptations to ever appear on-screen, to such an extent that it no longer feels like the Joker.

The tattoos, the always shirtless look, the makeup, and the lack of distinct features that feel like the Joker from the comics led to this being a deeply controversial version of the character that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

5

Catwoman

Halle Berry is an incredible actress who did an excellent job playing Storm in the Fox X-Men franchise. However, her role in another superhero project was not nearly as well received and part of that may have been down to how poorly Catwoman adapted this iconic DC character.

Clearly, the movie opted for Sєxy over substance, and they went with a suit made of straps and leather instead of any sort of practical protection and comfort it could offer. It felt incredibly disingenuous for the character, and it didn’t work in the context of the story.

4

X-Men: The Last Stand’s Juggernaut

On a similar note, X-Men: The Last Stand sees another character strap up in favor of anything resembling the comic books. Juggernaut is an incredible villain who has the ability to build momentum and run through anything.

However, when he appears in The Last Stand, his costume is pared back to straps around his torso, and a helmet that he appears to detest wearing considering how often he takes it off. But the helmet is an essential part of the suit, and in the comics, it often requires enormous effort to remove the helmet.

3

X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool

Ryan Reynolds returns to the list with yet another character who ended up being a disappointing imitation of his comic book counterpart, but this time, to an even larger degree. Reynolds has become famous for his role as ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool since he first appeared in his solo film in 2016, but that wasn’t the first time he played the part.

Back in 2009, Reynolds was cast as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine where he would appear opposite Hugh Jackman’s iconic Wolverine. However, the character is almost unrecognizable from the comics.

Initially, he wears a regular mercenary suit with nothing to suggest he is ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool. But after William Stryker gives him some upgrades to turn him into the Merc with the Mouth, he removes his mouth. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool in this version has his mouth sewn shut, and opts for hospital trousers instead of any recognizable suit.

2

Steel

Shaquille O’Neill is a huge Superman fan, and he even earned himself the nickname ‘Superman’ during his time as a professional basketball player. However, when he got a chance to play a superhero in a DC тιтle, it was the much lesser-known role of John Henry Irons in Steel.

This is a supporting character in Superman stories who has had a lot more screen time since the 1997 movie came out. However, the movie failed to properly capture even this character.

From the lack of a large flowing red cape, to the obvious rubber suit, the movie failed to replicate the iconic Iron Giant that they could have delivered with a little more attention and care.

1

Daredevil

Today, Daredevil is earning a reputation as one of the MCU’s most popular heroes. However, when the 2003 movie came out starring Ben Affleck, it got a lot of mixed reactions.

While there are plenty of reasons behind the movies’ mixed response, one key detail that was wrong from the start was the costume. Yes, it was very, very red, but the all-leather design does not suit the character at all.

Remember, the Man without Fear is blind, and relies on his other senses in order to fight and get around. So a leather suit that is noisy and thick is likely more restrictive than anything that would conceivably be of any use to Matt Murdock or any other superhero for that matter.