Aside from superpowers, costumes become an integral part of any superhero's identity. Moreover, costumes become one of the first things people check in new superhero films and games. Interestingly, costumes of the Avengers in Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers game have quite a unique take that's both similar and different from popular Marvel media. However, as most fans could tell, the Avengers have more costumes in their respective comics that might make for interesting outfits in the game.
Moreover, despite the different costume names, fans can easily identify the inspiration for the outfits in Marvel's Avengers. However, the comics seem to have cool yet relatively unpopular outfits the Avengers might wear in their day-to-day skirmishes. Interestingly, just what are these underrated outfits?
10 Original Uniform (Black Widow)
Black Widow's first appearance in Tales of Suspense 52 (1964) charmed a lot of fans back in the day. After all, Natasha sported quite a different outfit compared to her modern getup. As the Black Widow, Natasha wore a black one-piece and an all-over fishnet, paired with a cape and rather cheesy "W" earrings and a "B" cape clasp. At the time, this gave Natasha a top-tier spy look, ready to look for hidden intel and do espionage.
Granted, seeing this 60s look in Marvel's Avengers does make Natasha look a bit outdated. However, it's interesting to see how the game might recreate such a costume to fit a modern setting, like with the other alternate costumes of some heroes. For instance, they may try to adopt the same 60s fashion costume without the fishnet, or perhaps use a similar fishnet and stockings aesthetic like Black Canary of DC Comics.
9 Destroyer Armor (Thor)
In speaking of throwbacks, one of Thor's adventures resulted in the Son of Odin losing his powers. Moreover, the mystical Destroyer Armor attempted to absorb the God of Thunder's soul. Thankfully, Thor's consciousness managed to overtake the armor, using it for himself.
Unfortunately, Thor's tenure with the Destroyer Armor didn't last long. However, it would feel awesome to become the God of Thunder wearing armor that surely heralded his enemy's destruction. The dreadful helm coupled with the multiple plates gave Thor quite the menacing appearance.
8 Iron Destroyer (Iron Man)
Prior to Iron Man's iconic Bleeding Edge armor, Tony Stark actually merged Asgardian weaponry with Stark technology to form the Iron Destroyer. Moreover, the incorporation of Uru weaponry proved helpful in the Avengers' efforts against the Serpent, Odin's brother.
Interestingly, the Iron Destroyer looks different compared to Tony's other armors. For instance, Iron Destroyer adopts the Asgardian Destroyer look. As such, this armor replaces the red-gold aesthetic with a sleek grey and glowing lines of orange energy. Moreover, the spikes adorning the plates made Tony look like an Asgardian warrior. Thanks to the enchanted nature of Uru, the Iron Destroyer's typical arsenal of repulsors and beams now have mystical energy properties.
7 Exoskeleton (Captain America)
After a biochemical reaction with the Super Soldier Serum, Steve finds himself paralyzed and in near-death. Thanks to Tony's help, a special Stark-designed exoskeleton managed to help Steve recuperate. Steve used this special Exoskeleton suit for a few issues, which resulted in the Captain donning quite the awesome armor that made him resemble more a knight than a soldier.
In terms of aesthetics, the Exoskeleton looks like a plated version of Captain America's usual costume. However, Stark upgrades included mini-missiles in forearms to counter missiles, and disruption beams. Granted, Marvel's Avengers gives Steve a Stark-Tech Armor that seems to be inspired by the comics' Exoskeleton - but it's not an actual full-body suit.
6 Thunderstrike (Thor)
In one of Thor's adventures, the God of Thunder sees himself merging with the essence of architect (and side character) Eric Masterson. After some messy body-separation-merging moments, Eric Masterson became Thor for a short while. Afterward, Odin had his forgers create a special mace for Eric, called Thunderstrike. Despite not being Thor Odinson's costume, Marvel's Avengers can adapt this costume for Thor due to its sheer awesomeness.
In essence, the costume ties Thor's hair into a ponytail and gives him a sleek leather vest and leather-plated boots. Despite being rather "ordinary," this look does give off a much-desired Wild West vibe to Thor, who already sports a lot of civilian wear in the game anyway.
5 SKIN Armor (Iron Man)
Before Iron Destroyer, Tony created the SKIN Armor. Interestingly, the SKIN Armor came as a result of Tony tinkering with new designs after his previous armor had become sentient. With this new armor, Tony implements a Stark Card identification system as well as the Jocasta AI. However, what's interesting is its inherent abilities.
For instance, the SKIN in the armor symbolizes its primary alloy that can become as hard as Adamantium or bouncy like a ball. As such, the gold parts of the armor can "flow out" of the chest plate - a feature that the Extremis and Bleeding Edge armors will improve. Moreover, the SKIN Armor looks imposing with its diamond-shaped upper body design and neck-to-shoulder pads.
4 Infamous Iron Man (Iron Man)
Victor von Doom also dons the mantle of Iron Man in his own Infamous Iron Man series. This time, Victor gives the Iron Man suit an upgrade fitting for Latverian royalty. He replaces the red-gold aesthetic with his signature grey tones, making the suit bulkier and possess three chest holes that glow with the green shades of Doctor Doom's recognizable energy signature.
Adding this suit in Marvel's Avengers will give quite a unique spin to Tony's armors. Players who want a real "change" in Tony's suits can rely on the Infamous Iron Man armor to give them both a sense of regal nobility, knowing its design had come from one of the most powerful people in the Marvel Universe.
3 HYDRA Captain (Captain America)
"Hail Hydra" had become one of the most infamous lines of Captain America in the recent years of Marvel Comics. In Secret Empire, HYDRA gets to infiltrate the very core of Marvel superheroics as they somehow got to change his entire backstory. Complicated story aside, HYDRA Captain does give quite the new look to Captain America — one that symbolized his mission to infiltrate and destroy the Avengers from within.
The suit abandons the flag-inspired costume of the Captain. Instead, HYDRA Captain gives the suit its signature green and yellow color scheme. The suit retains the signature "A" and star on the chest and shield. However, everything else in the suit transformed HYDRA Captain into an enforcer of HYDRA's schemes. It'll be interesting to see how Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics can adopt this look in Marvel's Avengers.
2 Prometheum Armor
Heroes get tired too. And Tony Stark initially wanted to retire his role as Iron Man due to all the scandals and burnout he's had. However, after a near-death experience, Stark found itself inside the Prometheum Armor to keep himself alive. This incident inadvertently marked Stark's return to superheroics. Interestingly, Tony created this armor during the Heroes Reborn storyline, where Franklin Richards created an alternate reality where superheroes were reborn after the Onslaught Crisis.
Unlike other Iron Man armors, Prometheum sports an interior gold suit that appears to be composed of tubes. The red armor plating also had a lot of space and breathing room, creating an edgier look.
1 Bucky Barnes (Captain America)
When Steve Rogers dies in the comics, Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) assumes his identity for a short while. As Captain America, Bucky wears a slightly-modified variant of the suit. Unlike Steve's usual getup, Bucky's is composed of a black tactical suit with various pouches. In addition, the top portion sports the usual Captain America aesthetics, such as the "A" faceplate, the stars, and the banners this time in a triangular shape, like Cap's old armor.
Adopting this armor into Marvel's Avengers can hopefully give Steve a sleek armor similar to Natasha's, but with the same tactical nature of his armor. Moreover, having the Bucky Barnes variant may be a welcome change of pace to Captain's extremely tactical appearance in the game.