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The most famous, the most infamous, and most forgotten of all of Marvel's Spider-Man costumes

Spider-Man has had some amazing costumes in his crime-fighting career - and some not-so-amazing costumes, too

Amazing Spider-Man #692 cover
Image credit: Humberto Ramos (Marvel Comics)

Peter Parker was never a fashion icon, but he's had more costumes than Cher from Clueless had outfits in her closet - even on the best of days. Between iterations of his classic original duds to numerous event-based upgrades (like a certain black one-piece number!) and even the variety of mind-bending ones from Peter Parker variants across the Marvel multiverse, Spider-Man is a bit of a clothes horse - and now, we're judging it all.

This is the latest topic in Popverse's new weekly series Famous, Infamous, and Forgotten - a vigorous, opinionated, and intense look at one specific corner in the pop culture realm we inhabit to pick out the most famous version of it all, the most infamous version of it all, and the most forgotten version of it all.

And now, into Spider-Man's wardrobe closet:

The famous Marvel's Spider-Man costume: John Romita Sr.'s redesign

Amazing Spider-Man #100 cover
Image credit: John Romita Sr./Frank Giacoia (Marvel Comics)

Although Spider-Man creator Steve Ditko created what Spider-Man and Peter Parker would look like, the most famous version of Spider-Man's costume isn't Ditko's, but rather his successor's, John Romita Senior. While not nearly as obviously drastic a change as Daredevil's around the same time period, Romita codified what Spider-Man looked like and streamlined the design in terms of details on the very ornate design - from the webbing to the eye-shape and even the logo on the front and back of the costume - which then became the standard in comics, merchandise, and all the movies and cartoons there are.

The infamous Marvel's Spider-Man costume: The Spider-Man Armor Mark 1

SpiderMan Armor Mark 1
Image credit: Alex Saviuk (Marvel Comics)

While Peter Parker only donned this suit once back in 1993, he will be forever known for wearing this by his friends and enemies alike. This costume, dubbed Spider-Armor Mark 1, debuted with the reasoning of it was the only thing that'd help Spidey withstand the attacks of a upstart new villain group called the New Enforcers. The costume, which probably sounds like a sack full of pots & pans thrown off the Empire State Building, was gladly taken out of commission that very same issue.

The forgotten Marvel's Spider-Man costume: The Rorschach

Spider-Man Rorschach
Image credit: Giuseppe Camuncoli (Marvel Comics)

The Spider-Verse is a vast place, and in that web of continuity there exists a Peter Parker Spider-Man that will look at all of us Spider-Fans who are looking up for salvation, and he'll whisper 'No.'

Why? In one of the many universes of the Marvel multiverse is a Spider-Man based on Rorschach from DC's Watchmen series. This Spider-Man has to date made one lone appearance, in 2014's Amazing Spider-Man #9, jumping in to be a part of the Spider-Army that was fighting against the Inheritors.

There he is, above with the familiar trenchcoat and hat of Rorschach, and a Rorschach Test-like version of his Spider-Man mask to boot.

It also works as a meta allusion to the co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko - who also created the DC hero the Question, which Rorschach is based on.

Where do you find more of this Rorschach Spider-Man? There's only the above comic, but if you ever find yourself in Earth-19338 you should look him up.


Want more? Make sure you've read our list of all the best Marvel Comics stories of all time, and the most powerful Marvel Comics characters (yes, you can debate in the comments!).

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant was editor-in-chief and Popverse co-founder. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)

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