Back in 2002, superhero movies were about to change for the better thanks to the release of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 1. Watching a character who only appeared on book pages swing across real buildings and crawl over concrete walls was simply magical. Even if Spider-Man was created in 1967 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he was also reborn in 2002 with a brand new face. After all, Tobey Maguire and his iconic super-suit forever changed how worldwide audiences pictured the wall-crawler, and there has been no return ever since.
Up to this date, three different actors have portrayed Peter Parker across a great number of projects on the big screen. Each and every one of them has sported many iconic looks that have redefined over and over again what Spider-Man looks like to fans. Some may prefer the tech-based suits Tom Holland wears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Others may love the insanely realistic look of Andrew Garfield's costumes. And there are those who believe classics can't be beaten.
With over fifteen Spider-Man suits on the big screen, there has been something for everyone's liking. However, we can't deny some of them are more widely acclaimed than others. So with that in mind, it's time to rank every costume our friendly neighborhood hero has ever worn in live-action projects and determine which one can be crowned as the best.
Note: In the '70s there were two live-action show adaptations of the web-slinger: the Amazing Spider-Man series, and the Japanese Spider-Man show. However, those suits won't be included in the following ranking as we'll focus on all the costumes released since Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie instead.
15. Vigilante Suit
You'd be excused if you forgot all about the vigilante look in the first Amazing Spider-Man movie. I know I did, and it wasn't until sitting down to write this article that it finally came to mind; "Oh yeah, this suit was a thing, wasn't it?". Aside from the fact that Peter briefly wore it and that it has a red face mask, there's nothing in there that indicates this is something the wall-crawler would wear when saving the world.
Home-made costumes in Spider-Man movies are designed to look like something a broke teenager could afford to make on his own without any help or too much effort. With that in mind, it can be said this costume shattered expectations. However, that's the only aspect where the vigilante look managed to triumph since both Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire had a better beginner suit than Andrew Garfield by a long shot. At least those two sagas tried to come up with an original design that captured the essence of Spider-Man while making it look low-cost. This one just disappeared from collective consciousness as if Thanos snapped his fingers to make it go away.
Home-made suits are supposed to be a solid starting point for Spider-Man. Audiences should see the potential in his first design. Maybe Peter isn't quite ready to be New York's iconic protector yet. Perhaps he doesn't have the experience necessary either. However, he's reaching for that goal, and it should be represented on his first attempt at a super suit. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with this design.
Andrew Garfield poured his heart and soul into portraying Spider-Man, so it's a shame he will go in history as having the shortest-lived Spider-Man franchise and one of the least iconic live-action suits. However, not everything went bad for the British actor in the costumes department, but more on that later.
14. Wrestler Suit
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man franchise is as timeless as it is iconic. This is where the superhero-movie spell began for many of us, and it was all with one suit in particular: the wrestler suit. Tobey Maguire's first costume has a few nostalgia points going on for it. Even if its lack of lenses signals Spider-Man hasn't arrived quite yet, its big spider logo serves to let audiences know Peter Parker is no more and that something greater is coming our way.
That's not to say this costume is close to being perfect by any means. If you didn't grow with Sam Raimi's iconic superhero franchise, or if we're just being completely honest, there's not much else going on with the wrestler suit. It serves as a character introduction, but after Peter designs the proper Spider-Man suit that will accompany him throughout the rest of the trilogy, this home-made look is rapidly forgotten.
The suit was a necessary step towards adapting Spider-Man on the big screen. As soon as Peter gets his revenge on the man who killed his uncle and learns his powers need to be used with great responsibility, the genius teenager ditches the amateur costume and takes on the superhero persona we all know and love. The wrestler suit is just that - a transitory step towards a greater goal. Its white gloves, lack of lenses, and overall childish look prevent it from getting a higher spot on the list. However, this isn't the worst homemade suit out of every Spider-Man movie either and it earns some points for that.
13. Stealth Suit
We need to talk about what makes an iconic and recognizable Spider-Man suit. For audiences to see a brand-new costume and think to themselves "This definitely belongs to Spidey", it would need to have two basic things: a spider symbol on the chest and leaf-shaped lenses. That's it, there's no need for more. Ideally, there would also be a web pattern scattered throughout, but it's not necessary since the comic book symbiote suit doesn't have one and everyone knows it belongs to the wall crawler.
Two things are not too much to ask from a Spider-Man suit, and even then the stealth suit from Far From Home failed to include one of them. Take out the lenses, and no one would guess the heavily padded costume was made for Peter Parker to wear in a high-production movie without it being his rookie suit.
Granted, there's a narrative reason why this design is made to look unrecognizable. It would be easy for the world to guess Spider-Man's secret identity if both he and Peter Parker happened to be in Europe at the same time, especially since both of them live in New York. However, there are still two fundamental problems with this look; First, Peter still ends up wearing a "classic" Spider-Man suit near the end of the movie despite being in Europe, completely blowing his cover and making the stealth suit useless. Second, and most importantly, it feels uninspired.
If Sony truly wanted to throw away everything that makes an iconic Spider-Man suit, they could've done so in a more spectacular way. There have been many weird Spider-Man suits over the years, and Far From Home had the perfect opportunity to use any of them instead of the bland look they went for.
What about creating a blue and white costume with white molecule patterns to adapt the Captain Universe suit? Or maybe going all-in and using the Noir design? Even throwing a paper bag on Peter's head and adapting the Bombastic Bag-Man would've been more entertaining. Yet, all we ended up with was a missed opportunity. That's not to say the suit looked bad in live-action, but it definitely could've been better.
12. Homemade Suit
Don't let Shocker's insults towards the homemade suit fool you, this is the best rookie look Spider-Man has ever sported on the big screen. It's also perhaps one of the most charming superhero designs created for a live-action project. Besides, it passes the test of being something a broke teenager could make on his own without investing too much time or resources. Simply put; this homemade suit can't be beaten.
Unlike Tobey Maguire's and Andrew Garfield's beginner Spider-Man costumes, this one has many of the character's iconic features. The inclusion of lenses is not only an improvement over Tobey's wrestling suit (since they were lacking in it) but also serves a purpose by helping Peter not be bewildered by his new arachnid senses. The famous red and blue color palette missing in Andrew Garfield's vigilante suit is now finally used. Furthermore, Peter's web-shooters stand out a lot, making up for a great part of the costume, unlike the suits of Tom Holland's two predecessors.
Granted, even if this is the best homemade Spider-Man look to date, it can't compete against the "official" suits that we've seen across many projects now. After all, it's only worn by Peter because he was stripped away from the Stark suit in Homecoming's third act. It's not like this would be the wall-crawler's go-to option after acquiring other upgraded costumes. Perhaps Peter keeps it just to remind himself where he came from. But aside from that... yeah, there's no need to keep this suit when you have an Iron Spider armor with you.
11. Inside-out suit
If we're being completely technical, this suit and the upgraded suit are one and the same. But given that they look absolutely different it's only fair they get two separate entries on this list. Unfortunately for the inside-out suit, it ranks lower than its more-than-awesome counterpart. Not to say this design looks bad by any means - there's something really special about the black and gold color palette covering Spidey as he swings through the night sky. But let's not pretend that the only reason this suit was created wasn't to sell more toys.
Granted, you could say the same about other costumes in this list (looking at you, Integrated Suit), but at the very least those have both a better reasoning behind their creation and a design that tries a little bit harder to be something unique and special. This is just a change of colors with a few cables popping up that came to be because someone threw paint at Spidey. In a movie so packed with iconic characters and special moments such as No Way Home, this design is one of the few aspects that didn't manage to be memorable whatsoever.
No one left the movie theater thinking "Man, that inside-out suit was one of the best things about No Way Home". On the contrary, the very same thought did cross many fans' minds when talking about the classic costume that Tom Holland wore at the end of the film. It just goes to show that the love and care that was put into creating that final look for the wall crawler wasn't there when it came to this excuse for more merchandise. You could completely remove it from the movie and nothing would change at all.
Still, we can't deny the combination of colors looks gorgeous. This suit may be just an eye candy, but at least it succeeded in that aspect.
10. The Amazing Spider-Man suit
This is perhaps the most divisive Spider-Man suit ever created. Some people hate it, others love it, and a few of us hate to love it. With all the split opinions about it, it's only fitting it ranks just barely at the top then of the list.
The first Amazing Spider-Man movie wanted to differentiate itself from the Toby Maguires movies by any means necessary. Instead of the optimistic tone the original movies were known for, Mark Webb's first Spidey movie opted to be gritty, dark, and more realistic. Almost all scenes involving Spider-Man took place at night, and Peter Parker was portrayed more as a "cool" awkward guy than a straight-up nerd. Of course, the big-time changes also had to apply to Andrew Garfield's suit as well.
There's nothing bad with wanting to create something new and unlike anything that's ever been done. Subverting expectations could very well pay off. However, much like the rest of the movie, the suit tried a little too hard to differentiate itself from what came before it. If Marvel's Spider-Man for PS4 taught us something is that even the slightest of changes (such as having a white spider logo) can make up for the biggest of differences. There's no need to redesign absolutely every detail of the classic suit, and yet that's what happened with The Amazing Spider-Man.
But even if Sony didn't need to go all in with the changes, the result is far away from being horrible. Truth be told, this Spider-Man suit can look gorgeous at times when Peter is swinging through the air in the middle of the night. It also helps the special effects are some of the best the wall-crawler has seen to date, making this costume seem real and tangible at all times. And let's be honest, there's something special about the way the yellow eyes contrast against the night sky that no other Spidey look will ever be able to replicate. At the very least, no one can deny this design is unique.
9. Integrated Suit
Speaking of costumes that didn't have a good reason to be created, but that came to be anyway, we need to talk about the Integrated Suit. This costume is a perfect analogy for a paid cosmetic upgrade on a video game. You purchase it because it looks nice, and maybe because you'd like to show it off to your bigger and wiser brother who happens to be Tobey Maguire in this case. However, you don't equip it expecting it to have any major impact on the gameplay, story, or any other aspect of that video game.
The integrated suit exists just to inject a little variety into Peter's wardrobe, and - you guessed it - to sell more toys. That's not something innately bad in itself. However, its design wasn't mind-blowing enough to make it a fan favorite either.
Worse of all is that this suit is the one Tom Holland's Peter Parker uses when Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire finally show up in No Way Home. If you look at the three Spider-Men together, chances are the Integrated Suit could be your least favorite of them all. Of course, some people love it more than the other two costumes (which is absolutely fine), but the overall consensus seems to be that Tom Holland sported the least iconic look during the third act of the film. The worst part is that, if he had worn the standard upgraded suit - a suit, mind you, that he already had - then it would've been a closer competition between the three.
The Integrated Suit's design attempts to be a perfect mix between a "classic" Spider-Man look and the tech-based armor Tom Holland normally sports in his superhero trilogy. The gold spider logo superbly compliments the rest of the suit while also managing to stand out on its own. It's great to look at, but it would've been better if it had kept the Iron Spider claws to add more functionality to it.
Overall, we could've done without Integrated Suit, but it didn't have the worst excuse to be created nor is it the worst-looking costume either. In fact, it looks great. Just, not too great to make it surpass the following entries on this list that we're about to discuss.
8. Iron Spider
There are many strong opinions about Tom Holland's tech-based suits in the MCU. Some fans think is a nice way to modernize a character that already happened to be a genius and use various gadgets in the first place. Others think one of Spidey's greatest strengths is that he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders without getting any major help from other heroes or his super suits.
Both points of view are completely valid and speak to how Spider-Man represents something different for every one of us. But at the end of the day, it's clear most of the hate towards Tom Holland's over-reliance on tech can't be held against the Iron Spider armor. After all, it is a direct adaptation of the Civil War comic book suit that Tony Stark created and gifted to Peter Paker. Tech elements such as the iron claws were originally included in the comic book costume as well. Perhaps the only major difference between both versions of the armor is the final look, but its origin stays mostly the same.
There were plans for a more comic-book accurate design at some point during the production of the MCU movies, but the end result ended up looking completely different. That's not a bad thing, however, as the Iron Spider suit looks stunning in live-action. Besides, it's probably one of the most functional Spider-Man suits ever due to its integrated A.I. and battle-ready metal claws. Maybe it overstayed a little bit its welcome in the MCU, but it was faithful to the origin of its comic book counterpart while also having a unique spin thanks to its new design. The end result is an iconic big-screen adaptation of an iconic Spider-Man suit.
Well done, Marvel.
7. Stark Suit
Okay, I know that placing the Stark suit in seventh place may be controversial. To be honest, I'm still second-guessing if it should rank higher on the list as I'm writing this. After all, it looks absolutely gorgeous, and it's incredibly faithful to Spider-Man's first look when he was created in 1967. Besides, it has no shortage of gadgets that make it incredibly useful. Whether you're on board with the idea of Spidey relying on tools gifted by another hero to save the day or not, we can't deny this suit is as practical as it gets.
With that being said, there are two reasons why it doesn't quite reach the heights set by other Spider-Man costumes. First and foremost; there were many, many times when it did not look as sharp as we would've hoped in Spider-Man: Homecoming. That had nothing to do with the design itself but with the VFX shots of the movie. Is it unfair to take points off from the Stark Suit due to its not-so-polished effects? Maybe, but it's also perplexing how the wall-crawler could look more unrealistic in a live-action project that was made in 2017 in comparison to the first of Sam Raimi's movies that premiered in 2002.
The second reason this costume didn't secure a higher spot on the list is that Peter Parker didn't make it himself. Call me old-fashioned, but I do believe one important aspect of the character is when he uses his wits and limited resources to stand on his own. Some of the suits we've talked about were gifted to Peter by someone else like Tony Stark, Nick Fury, or (technically) even Doc Ock. That's not something bad in itself but pales in comparison to when Peter takes the time to do the most with what he has and create something unique.
Leaving these two negative aspects aside, the Stark Suit is both charming and beautiful. It pays homage to the wall-crawler's first comic book appearance while also differentiating itself from anything Tobey Maguire's and Andrew Garfield's Peter Parkers wore. That was no easy task, but the MCU scored big time with this design, and in the process it let audiences know that the web-slinger was truly back home.
6. Sam Raimi's original suit
Early 2000s superhero movies were a little bit strange in a way. They seemed to try and break into mainstream media by being more serious than the comic books they were based on. Even if the first two original X-Men movies are absolutely fantastical, key characters like Wolverine lacked a comic-book-accurate suit. Instead, Fox opted to go for something a little bit more "mature" to display on the big screen. Perhaps all of this was done to avoid suffering the same fate as the arguably childish Batman & Robin (which, I kind of get). However, there was one superhero movie that didn't shy away from adapting the look and feel of its source material, and that was Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.
Not only did Tobey Maguire's first suit successfully include all the iconic features of a classic Spider-Man look, but it also redefined what the wall-crawler would look like on the heads of many fans. The web pattern famously stands out from the costume instead of being embedded in it as it appeared on comic book pages. Furthermore, the eyes are far more triangular and "rigid" as well unlike the ones in other masks our friendly neighborhood hero has worn. However, the big spider logo on the back and the bright blue and red color palette make it, by all means, a proper Spider-Man suit. One that looked outstandingly great for a movie that's more than twenty years old now.
Watching this version of our friendly neighborhood hero swing through the sky for the very first time in live-action was thrill-inducing and jaw-dropping. It would've been different for the worse if his costume wasn't on par with the amazing special effects and perfect soundtrack playing on the back of the scene. Fortunately, Sam Raimi and Sony managed to design an iconic look that still feels timeless to this very date.
5. Symbiote Suit
The symbiote suit's worst sin is taking the easy way and just painting Tobey Maguire's costume black instead of implementing a brand-new design. As a result, iconic elements from its comic book counterpart are missing, such as the big-white spider symbol on the chest. But even with this drawback, Spider-Man 3's symbiote suit manages to look very hard-core.
I mean, how can you not love this look? It is dark, imposing, and slightly terrifying. After all, it's quite literally meant to represent the dark side of Peter Parker, a teenager who usually is very polite and caring. Not only does this suit strike fear in the eyes of criminals and supervillains, but it also grants its host with enhanced abilities. Most new Spider-Man suits are just that - a cosmetic upgrade that lacks any major functionality change. But not this. Not the symbiote suit. It wields an immense amount of power that could break even the strongest of wills and make your favorite web-slinging hero act in an unrecognizable manner.
Most of the scenes in which the symbiote suit appeared took place at night. But while it would sound like a disaster in the making to mix a black costume with a night sky, the result is nothing short of epic. As Peter Parker himself would put it: "This is something else". Maybe the symbiote suit's design is a little bit far off from its comic-book counterpart. Maybe it forced Peter to commit cringe-inducing actions such as dancing on the sidewalk. But we can't deny the result looks absolutely gorgeous. Let's just hope this isn't the last of the black suit we ever see on the big screen.
4. Revamped Sam Raimi suit
Sometimes you just can't beat a classic.
Between the events of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, there was a difference that not many people might have fully noticed: Tobey Maguire's suit underwent a minor revamp. A few tweaks and adjustments were made to ensure the iconic costume could be the very best it could be, and the result paid off without a doubt. No matter how cool the Black suit was, nor how ground-breaking the original Sam Raimi costume turned out to be, this is the best look Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker ever sported.
The lenses are smaller this time around, allowing for the rest of Spidey's mask to breathe. The front spider symbol increased in size while the opposite occurred for the back symbol. The wall-crawler's globes opted to include a different web pattern, and there was a change in colors for the suit's boot soles. All of these minor changes can be appreciated here:
The most noticeable differences between the Spider-Man (2002) suit and the Spider-Man 2 (2004) suit pic.twitter.com/q7oVCbzFNp
— All Things Raimi Spider-Man (@EARTH_96283) February 4, 2021
We've previously discussed how some suits had no apparent reason for existing besides selling more merchandise. However, the changes in the revamped suit were so minor that we can't imagine they were done for parents to purchase more toys. Instead, their only purpose is to improve as much as possible over something that was already iconic in the first place. No wonder Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 is considered to be one of the best superhero movies ever if even small details such as these were done with love and care.
Even if both suits are almost identical, audiences can notice something must have happened to them between Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man 2. Peter's costume just looks better for some reason, and the very first time I watched the movie I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Spidey's mask is easier to look at in the sequel, and it is due to an almost imperceptible change in the shape of the lenses.
Maybe fans won't immediately pick on all of these differences, but they will know there's something special about Spidey's look in Spider-Man 2 that wasn't present in its predecessor. As a result, it's impossible not to rank this suit higher than the other two outfits in Sam Raimi's amazing movie trilogy.
3. Upgraded Suit
If you were to take Spider-Man's first ever comic-book suit made all the way back in 1962 and adapt it to the big screen, this is exactly what it would look like. Every aspect, from the underarm webbing to the shape of the lenses, appears to pay homage to the original look the wall-crawler sported when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko first created him. Needless to say, it's absolutely beautiful in live-action.
Tom Holland's upgraded suit opted to drop the blue color everybody expects from our friendly neighborhood hero in favor of black. But even when that may sound like a striking difference from his design on comic-book pages, it didn't end up being that way. The original color palette for the wall crawler's costume had a very dark blue that sometimes appeared to be more like black due to how Steve Ditko drew texture shadows. With that in mind, the upgraded suit is as comic-book-accurate as it can be. Besides, not only does Spider-Man look phenomenal in it, but it also holds great narrative importance.
Tom Holland's Peter Parker had only created one suit for himself - the homemade suit - before this. Both the Homecoming and Iron Spider costumes were given to him by Tony Stark himself. Additionally, the Night Monkey look was created by Nick Fury alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. This is the very first "official" Spider-Man suit Peter Parker made in the MCU, and that makes it all the more special. Besides, this one (thankfully) had better special effects in comparison to the Stark Suit.
It's a shame a pedestrian had to ruin it by throwing green paint on it in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
2. Tom Holland's classic suit
Thirty seconds. That's how long it took for this suit to be ranked among the best looks the wall-crawler has ever showcased on the big screen. When a design is that good, you don't need more than half a minute for everyone to fall in love with it.
The entirety of Spider-Man: No Way Home led to Peter starting a brand new life that's closer to what we've come to expect of our friendly neighborhood hero in comic book pages. After the whole world forgets Peter Parker ever existed, he's forced to move to a new place all by himself. Devoid of any close friends or relatives due to Aunt May's passing, the teenager's life took a turn for the worst. But even if it felt like it was the end of a chapter for Peter Parker, it was just the beginning for Spider-Man. And with a new beginning, a new look was also necessary. Fortunately, Far From Home delivered big time with the classic suit.
The bright blue and red colors resemble the color palette used in the Spectacular Spider-Man costume, allowing for a sense of familiarity and charm. The new spider logos on the front and back of the costume are less minimalistic and more in line with other designs the wall-crawler has sported in comic books. Finally, the only thing that seems to remain from Tom Holland's previous suits are the lenses, and that's great since they're basically a replica of the ones used by Spider-Man in his first appearance back in 1962. Every aspect of the suit seems meticulously picked to allow for the best outcome possible, and it was definitely worth it.
Far From Home saved the best for last as Tom Holland's new look feels both timeless and classy but with a lot of charm. Let's just hope we can see more of this suit in future MCU projects.
1. The Amazing Spider-Man second suit
There were many, many problems with The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. The second movie was too cramped, the "untold" storyline about Peter's parents led nowhere, and Sony was so focused on setting up an interconnected world of projects that it forgot to tell a memorable Spider-Man story that could stand on its own. However, there was one saving grace amidst all of the chaos, and it was Andrew Garfield's last suit.
Not only is this the best the wall-crawler has looked on the big screen in terms of special effects, but also in terms of design. The big, wide lenses give Spidey a very amiable look, making him truly seem like a friendly neighborhood hero. Furthermore, the web pattern stands out just enough to give the whole suit different textures while avoiding looking too similar to Tobey Maguire's costume. Finally, the red and blue tones are perfect as well - not too bright, but not too dark either. To put it simply; there's nothing wrong with this design at all.
The suit is just delightful to see, and it was also put to great use with the movie's opening swinging sequence. The two of them combined make for two minutes of perfect Spider-Man action that never fails to put a smile on my face.
The web-slinger is as popular as superheroes get. With such a big fanbase, it is normal for people to have opposing opinions about him and his different adaptations. However, almost everyone agrees this is the best Spidey has ever looked on the big screen, and that's saying something. Too bad the movie itself didn't have the same care and love put into it as the costume did, or maybe Andrew Garfield would still be around as the MCU's one and only Spider-Man.