Spider-Man does whatever a spider can, and he looks good doing it. In addition to his spectacular spider-powers, Peter is one of the best-dressed heroes in the Marvel Universe. Over the years, Peter Parker and other Spider-Men like Ben Reilly and Miles Morales have worn some slick Spidey costumes. Let’s take a peek inside Spidey’s closet and rank his top 10 costumes.

In order to make this a fair ranking, we’ve decided to exclude Steve Ditko’s traditional red and blue costume from the list. The costume is arguably the gold standard when it comes to Spidey suits, and nothing comes close. It’s the reason why it remains his standard suit across modern comics, movies, television, and birthday party napkins. Putting it on this ranking would be unfair to the other suits, so in order to make things more balanced, let’s declare the red-and-blue suit the automatic winner and do the rest of our ranking without it.

How we ranked Spider-Man’s costumes

For a suit to qualify for this ranking, it must be a Spider-Man costume worn by someone using the Spider-Man identity. This means that Spider-Gwen’s costume doesn’t qualify, since it’s a Spider-Woman costume, not a Spider-Man costume. Some costumes, like Miles’s traditional red and black outfit or Peter’s red and blue suit, have had many variations over the years. For the purpose of this list, we’re considering redesigns and variations of the same costume unless there was a significant design change. For example, Ben Reilly’s Spider-Man costume is a redesign of the red and blue suit, but it has enough new design features that it can be considered its own suit. Conversely, Spider-Man’s Oscorp suit (seen in Zeb Wells’s Amazing Spider-Man run) is virtually the same as the red and blue suit, with only one or two small design tweaks, therefore it doesn’t count as a separate costume.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #10 - Iron Spider

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #529

Spider-Man’s Iron Spider outfit was designed by Tony Stark during a period when the tech mogul had taken Peter under his wing. The armor included mechanical spider arms, repulsor grenades, pulse cannons, and a glider. However, Peter soon learned that the suit had come at the price of his privacy, as Stark had placed surveillance devices within the armor. Peter abandoned the armor after splitting with Stark during Civil War, but he’s occasionally worn variations of the suit for special missions.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #9 - Bombastic Bag-Man

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #258

One of Spider-Man’s most iconic looks was nothing more than a prank from Johnny Storm. In Amazing Spider-Man #258 Peter went to the Fantastic Four’s headquarters to remove his alien costume. Needing something to wear home, the FF loaned Spidey one of their old uniforms. Spidey put a paper bag on his head to hide his identity, and Johnny secretly put a ‘kick me’ sign on his back, something the Wall-Crawler didn’t notice until a group of New Yorkers had already photographed him. It was one of Spidey’s most embarrassing moments, but also one of his most memorable looks.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #8 - Big Time era stealth suit

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #650

Spider-Man created his stealth suit to repel Hobgoblin’s sonic screams. The costume, which Peter built using materials from Horizon Labs, had the power to warp light and sound, which made it impervious to sonic attacks. Its light warping powers also allowed Spidey to temporarily become invisible. The suit would glow green or red depending on which ability was being used. Kaine would later steal this suit and use it during his time as the Scarlet Spider.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #7 - Future Foundation

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #658

This suit was given to Spider-Man when he joined the Future Foundation. The suit was made of unstable molecules, which gave it the power to repair itself or even change its appearance. This meant that Spider-Man was able to switch between his white and black Future Foundation uniform and his traditional costume depending on his mood. It was a cool design, and it’s a shame Spider-Man stopped wearing it after the Future Foundation ended.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #6 - Spider-Armor

First appearance: Web of Spider-Man #100

Spider-Man built his Spider-Armor in order to battle the New Enforcers. The pseudo-metallic material made Spider-Man bulletproof but limited his speed and agility. The armor shattered after a villain named Thermite blasted it with ice, but Peter wasn’t too heartbroken at losing it, realizing his speed and agility were more valuable than being bulletproof. While the suit has been retired, it’s still made appearances in alternate reality stories, including the final two episodes of the 1994 Spider-Man animated series.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #5 - Spider-Punk

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #10 (2014)

Including this one on the list is tricky since it belongs to Spider-Punk, not Spider-Man, However, Spider-Punk has used the Spider-Man codename from time to time, so his outfit counts as a Spider-Man costume, and what an outfit it is. The sleeveless jacket and the spikes make this one of the coolest looks any Spider-Man has ever worn.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #4 - Scarlet Spider costume

First appearance: Web of Spider-Man #118

The Scarlet Spider outfit was created by Peter Parker’s clone Ben Reilly using a red bodysuit and a sleeveless hoodie. The costume was reviled by fans when it was first introduced, but it’s aged really well, with modern fans appreciating the bold design. Yes, it’s a quintessential ‘90s design, but in the age of ‘90s nostalgia, that’s what makes it so special. Plus, it looks really good when it’s drawn by Steven Butler or Tom Lyle.

(And yes, it counts as a Spider-Man costume because both Peter and Ben called themselves Spider-Man while wearing it)

Spider-Man suits ranked: #3 - Miles Morales classic suit

First appearance: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5 (2011)

After becoming Spider-Man, Miles Morales quickly realized that it was disrespectful to wear Peter Parker’s costume. S.H.I.E.L.D. gifted Miles his own outfit with a distinct red and black design. The suit’s basic design and color scheme have served as the basis for nearly every costume Miles has worn since, and thanks to films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it’s become one of the most recognized Spider-Man costumes worldwide.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #2 - Spider-Ben costume

First appearance: Sensational Spider-Man #0

This costume, which has been nicknamed Spider-Ben by fandom, was worn by Ben Reilly during the Clone Saga. At the time Peter Parker had temporarily given up his identity as Spider-Man, and Ben had been forced to give up being the Scarlet Spider when the hero had been framed for a series of crimes. Ben decided it was time to take on the Spider-Man identity but wanted his own unique look. The costume looks like the traditional Steve Ditko uniform, but the spider emblem is enlarged, and the web-shooters are on the outside (much like Ben’s Scarlet Spider outfit). The costume was famously worn by Spider-Girl for years, and in many ways, she made it her own.

Spider-Man suits ranked: #1 - The black costume

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #252

In terms of alternate Spider-Man costumes, they don’t get more iconic than the black suit. It was introduced as an alien symbiote in the aftermath of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and once Peter discovered the suit was alive, he immediately discarded it. However, the look was still popular with readers, so Peter began wearing a cloth version of the costume in Spectacular Spider-Man #99. For a time in the late ‘80s, Spider-Man would alternate between his traditional red and blue costume and the black costume depending on the story.

There was a period where Peter wore the black costume exclusively after his red and blue suit was destroyed in Web of Spider-Man #17. Peter eventually retired the black costume due to its association with Venom, who was now wearing Peter’s old alien suit. However, Peter has occasionally brought the costume back from time to time as the need arises. Since this suit inadvertently spawned the creation of Venom, it’s not only one of Spider-Man’s most iconic costumes, but also his most consequential.

What do you think? Do you agree with our ranking? Which costume would you put in the number one spot? Sound off in the comments section!

Marvel's most reliable superhero has proven he can do a whole lot more than just 'whatever a spider can.' Swing into Spidey's history with Popverse's...

• Best Spider-Man comic books 
• The best Spider-Mans (or is it Spider-Men?)
• Spider-Man movie watch order
• Spider-Man's actors, ranked
• The best Spider-Man suits
• and the Spider-verse explained!

Just watch out for that radioactive blood.