The 10 Best Costumes In 2016’s Marvel And DC Films

2016 has been quite the year for superhero movies. We kicked things off with the R-Rated Deadpool (a film no one expected to be as successful as it ultimately was), and followed that with two more critical and commercial hits from Marvel Studios in the form of Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange. Warner Bros. also kicked off their DC Films Universe, though their fortunes weren't quite as good. This was supposed to be the start of great things for the brand, and while Suicide Squad performed a little better than expected at the box office, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice did not, and both received overwhelmingly negative reviews. X-Men: Apocalypse also disappointed, and what looked like it would be Fox first $1 billion Marvel movie could now lead to a complete franchise reboot. Regardless of how you felt about all of the above, there's no denying that each and every one of them delivered some very unique looking superhero and supervillain costumes. No matter how good or bad a comic book adaptation is, they always have the potential to show off some amazing suits, and this year's efforts definitely delivered. 10) Harley Quinn Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was one of 2016's biggest breakout characters, hence why she'll soon get a movie of her own. Her costume, however, was a little hit and miss, and while there weren't many male fans complaining about her skimpy attire, there are a number of more comic accurate looks which would have been far more exciting to see in Suicide Squad. For most of the film, the villain was plastered in reminders that she's the Joker's property, something which largely proved irrelevant considering the fact that the entire subplot regarding their relationship ended up on the cutting room floor. Still, it largely worked, and if nothing else, Harley definitely earns a spot here for the brief moment we got to see the character in her iconic black and red jester's outfit. 9) Doctor Strange Doctor Strange has deservedly performed well at the box office, and while it's impossible to fault the movie's visuals, the Sorcerer Supreme's costume sadly wasn't spellbinding enough to earn a higher place here. It was, however, still a great look for the character, and you have to give Marvel Studios credit for finding a way to bring his classic appearance to the big screen in a realistic manner by making his costume the clothes he's given to train in. With any luck, it will be refined and improved upon by the time he returns in Avengers: Infinity War, and we've actually already had a taste of that in the Taika Waititi helmed mid-credits scene which tied into Thor: Ragnarok. Look closely and you'll even notice the magical hero's wearing his yellow gloves from the comic books. 8) Cyclops The X-Men franchise has always struggled to please fans when it comes to the costumes worn by both the heroes and villains, but things took a turn for the better in X-Men: Apocalypse when the team were finally given their classic suits in the closing few minutes. None of them were perfect, but it was a big step forward for the series, and Tye Sheridan's Cyclops in particular really stood out. Rocking a look which will be instantly familiar to fans of the source material, it finally appears as if the character will get the costume he deserves after being stuck in boring black leather for his other big screen appearances. Given how poorly Scott Summers have been treated in the comic books in recent years, that's good news for fans, but who knows what his future holds now that the series may be rebooted. 7) Deadshot Will Smith's Floyd Lawton was another standout in the otherwise disappointing Suicide Squad, and Deadshot's costume was one of the movie's biggest accomplishments. While he didn't wear the mask anywhere near as much as he probably should have (which is inevitable these days as studios look to promote these adaptations around the big name actors they cast), we still got to see him shine in a number of great sequences. Among them were that rooftop escape, a battle against The Enchantress' minions, and a roll call which saw the masked villain striking an iconic comic book pose. Deadshot is a character who'd definitely be great to see more of in the DC Extended Universe, and when he does eventually return, we're hoping that there won't be too many changes to his costume, if any. 6) Wonder Woman When the first official image of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was revealed, the response was mixed. Many fans complained that the costume was too drab, while others seemingly developed an unhealthy obsession with the size of the actress's breasts. Thankfully, the Amazonian warrior's costume ended up looking pretty much perfect in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Zack Snyder finding a great balance between the character's classic comic book appearance and an updated look which was appropriate for a woman used to entering combat situations in ceremonial armour. As divisive as the movie was, the moment where Wonder Woman first shows up to help out in the battle against Doomsday has been widely praised by fans, which is due in part to the fact that she looked so damn awesome up on screen. 5) Captain America Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers struggled to get Steve Rogers' costume right, and while it was nice to see his "Super Soldier" duds in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, those muted tones weren't what many fans really wanted. As a result, it wasn't really until Avengers: Age of Ultron that Marvel Studios managed to perfect his appearance, and that thankfully carried over into Captain America: Civil War. There weren't too many drastic changes here, but this is definitely the best the star spangled superhero has ever looked on film. The Russos also deserve extra kudos for the fact that as soon as Steve goes on the run and becomes a fugitive, the "Avengers" patches on his arms have been removed from his suit. 4) Black Panther Concept art of Black Panther was well-received, but Captain America: Civil War set photos had fans fretting. The costume did not look very good, and many people started worrying that Marvel Studios had dropped the ball when it came to T'Challa's appearance. Thankfully, some CG enhancements ensured that Black Panther ended up looking great in live-action, and he would eventually go on to steal the show as far as costumes go. His comic book counterpart's appearance is actually quite bland in comparison, so the decision to enhance it with a Vibranium weave definitely paid off, as did the general design (the helmet in particular was much better than it otherwise might have been). When Black Panther rolls around in 2018, we're hoping that there have been no changes made to his suit whatsoever. 3) Batman Ben Affleck's Caped Crusader sported two costumes in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and both looked like they were lifted straight out of the pages of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. The fact that the graphic novel heavily influenced the movie explains why, but Zack Snyder deserves all the credit in the world for bringing them to live-action is such a faithful manner. Fans frequently complain about superhero costumes not being close enough to the source material, but that wasn't an issue here, and Ben Affleck looked absolutely perfect in both his regular Batsuit and the armoured version which he wore while heading into battle against the Man of Steel. We've seen a lot of different Batsuits over the years, but these two have to be ranked among the best. 2) Spider-Man Despite the movie itself being utterly abysmal, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 arguably delivered the most spectacular and comic book faithful version of the wall-crawler's suit to date. As a result, the pressure was on for Marvel Studios to make their Spider-Man stand out from previous iterations while also making fans happy. Thankfully, they succeeded, and while the Tony Stark designed outfit had some unique alterations, the fact that it was so close to Steve Ditko's old school artwork was met with a lot of love from moviegoers when he showed up in Captain America: Civil War. He may not have been sporting the web pits many would like to see, but the fact that Marvel found a way to incorporate his expressive eyes is fantastic and makes this costume a massive win for the studio. 1) Deadpool When Deadpool made his big screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he could not have looked any further from his comic book counterpart. As a result, even when the Merc with a Mouth's solo movie was announced, there was a lot of concern that Fox wouldn't give Wade Wilson his classic costume. Luckily, they did, and it was absolutely perfect. The fun montage which explained why the anti-hero suited up worked brilliantly, and the fact that Deadpool looked like he'd stepped straight out of the pages of his Marvel Comics adventures ensured that fans were completely satisfied. Looking back over 2016's superhero movies, there were a lot of great costumes, but this one - which even included the moving eye pieces - most definitely stands out as the best of them all.