Daredevil: Born Again brings the best of the Netflix shows back to the Disney+, and fans of that dearly departed show are ready to see their favorites again. Daredevil has never reached the level of someone like Spider-Man, but in some ways, the hero is actually the best character in the Marvel Universe. The reason for this is simple — the comics. Daredevil has starred in some of the greatest comics of the last forty years, with titanic runs by Frank Miller, Ann Nocenti, Karl Kesel, Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Mark Waid, Chip Zdarksy, and more having kept Daredevil high in the esteem of critics and fans. Daredevil’s visual identity was formed by these artists, and they’ve given Daredevil characters some of the greatest costumes ever.
Daredevil doesn’t have as flashy a world of some of Marvel’s other street-level heroes, but that doesn’t mean these characters aren’t dressed to kill. There have been some fantastic costume designs in the Daredevil comics, ones that have given these books their amazing visual identity. These 10 costumes are the best in the Daredevil comics, showing off fierce fits that Daredevil can’t actually see.
Daredevil’s Yellow and Red Costume
Daredevil debuted in this costume and while his red get-up is vastly superior, that doesn’t mean that the yellow and red isn’t an excellent costume. It’s basically a prototype for the later costume, except that it goes in a brighter direction. Daredevil was much more like Spider-Man back in those days, so giving him a brighter costume made sense for his swashbuckling superhero adventures. The yellow definitely looks good, especially with how well it matches the red, making him look like a yellow devil wearing a red singlet with amazing gloves and boots. The mask is perfect, completely covering the eyes, and debuting the devil horns, a key aspect of Daredevil’s design. This is a wonderful costume design, and belongs among the best of Marvel’s Silver Age.
Daredevil’s Shadowland Costume
Let’s be clear before we get started — “Shadowland,” a street-level Marvel crossover that focused on Daredevil possessed by the demonic leader of the Hand the Beast as he turned Hell’s Kitchen into his personal ninja kingdom, is a terrible story. It had potential, but was born from one of the few bad Daredevil runs of the last four decades. However, it’s impossible to deny just how awesome Daredevil’s costume was in the story. It traded red for black, looking like a slick bodysuit made from the very fabric of night itself. The DD symbol got much bigger and was changed to red, appearing to be written in blood. Daredevil looks amazing in black and this costume got everyone excited that maybe “Shadowland” would be a good story. It wasn’t, but the costume remains S-tier.
The ’90s Daredevil Armor
The ’90s were certainly a time in the comic industry. The decade was embodied by the “extreme” motif, proliferated by heroes and villains with “blood” and “death” in their names, big guns and blades, and the most overdesigned costumes imaginable. Giving heroes armor became a trope and Marvel embraced it. Characters like Spider-Man and Captain America got armor, and eventually Daredevil did as well. Often, these armored costumes weren’t exactly great; they rarely if ever fit the characters in them. However, Daredevil’s armor is phenomenal. The black and red is a near-perfect color pairing. It’s not bulky, so it doesn’t impede Daredevil’s movement. Finally, it gave Daredevil an extremely fierce look, one that fit the more grim and violent aesthetic of the ’90s. It still has fans to do this day, and even got its own flashback comic series.
Kingpin’s White Suit
Kingpin first debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man, so this one can seem like a little bit of a cheat. However, Daredevil and Kingpin have become inextricably linked over the years. Kingpin is, on the whole, wonder character design — a bald, square bruiser who looks like the most intimidating crime boss ever — and his tailored suits are an important part of that. Kingpin is impeccably dressed at all times, and his best suit is the white one. There’s something about this mountain of a man in a massive white jacket and slacks that makes him even scarier. White is an interesting choice for someone who is going to spill as much blood as Kingpin does too, but it shows that Kingpin doesn’t care if his clothes get bloody. There are no consequences for his actions, and the white suit is perfect for the greatest criminal in New York City.
Typhoid Mary’s Modern Costume
Typhoid Mary is a mutant with DID, with her alter becoming a pyrokinetic villain that is known for battling Daredevil and, later, the X-Men. Typhoid Mary’s first costume is a slice of the ’80s brought to life, the purple shirt, metal shoulder pads, black briefs, and fishnets looking like they walked out New York City’s Danceteria. It’s such a good design, and it kicked off the first of Typhoid Mary’s amazing costumes. Her latest costume is a pastiche of that older suit, bringing in the purple shirt, briefs, and fishnets back, but adding an awesome black cloak. It’s all topped off by her face paint and her hair, which went from a Jheri curl-esque ’80s masterpiece to a wild perm, looking like fire come to life on her head. Typhoid Mary has always been on the cutting edge of fashion, and sometimes that means going back in time a bit.
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King Daredevil Costume
Daredevil is one of the few Marvel heroes where every variation on his costume clears the high bar set by its predecessors. It’s hard to pick a bad Daredevil costume and one of the better versions of his costume came from the landmark Chip Zdarksy & Marco Checchetto run, who gave readers the best Daredevil costumes of the last twenty years. Daredevil embraced his ninja side in the run, going to war with the Hand clan of ninja like never before and becoming “King Daredevil.” This led to him getting a new costume and it’s breathtaking. It brought black back to Daredevil’s color scheme, which definitely fit the darker leanings of the character at the time. The knuckle spikes on the gloves are awesome, a little touch that says a lot about who Daredevil was at this time. The sashes in the front and back give him the air of a monk who can beat up anyone he finds himself against. The flared neck shouldn’t be as cool as it is, but it gives the costume a very interesting feel. It’s a shame that it didn’t last longer.
Elektra’s Original Costume
Elektra is Daredevil’s most important lover, and she’s always looked the part. Elektra Natchios decided to become an assassin after the murder of her father, training to become one of the deadliest martial artists of all time. She chose a strange color for her missions of death, going with an eye-catching red number that would become her defining look. The thigh high boots and long gloves are perfect design choices as well. An argument can be made that the black version of this costume is better than the red, but the primary red version is what everyone thinks of when they think of Elektra.
Elektra’s Daredevil Costume
Elektra has played a huge role in Daredevil’s life, fighting against and alongside him. She’s an extremely skilled combatant, and their partnership led to her taking up the heroic mantle of her famous lover, taking his place for a time while he was imprisoned and then joining him on his mission against the Hand. Elektra’s Daredevil costume is very much like the Daredevil ninja costume, but it feels a bit more superhero-y than that look. It definitely feels like exactly what Elektra would wear as Daredevil, every little design choice adding to the whole. It’s a perfect costume, one that fits the character and shows that she isn’t the kind of person to mess around.
Bullseye’s Costume
Bullseye and his original costume have something in common — they don’t miss. Bullseye has had several looks over the years — even wearing Hawkeye’s purple masterpiece during his time with the Dark Avengers — but his best costume remains the first. Bullseye likes a challenge, so instead of just wearing a dark costume for stealth purposes, there’s a whole lot of white in the costume. Bullseye doesn’t care if anyone can see him; in fact, he wants to be seen because he wants to fight. Bullseye is a character with a healthy sense of humor, and the costume actually fits that. It’s just ridiculous enough for him to wear something that stands out as much as this costume does. It’s an iconic design.
Daredevil’s Red Costume
Daredevil’s red costume is perfect, there’s really no other way to describe it. The yellow and red costume was a great look, but the red costume took everything about it and made it that much better. Red just fits someone with “devil” in their name, and the darker coloration has allowed creators to showcase the shadows inside of Matt Murdock. There’s really not a bad aspect to the design. The cowl and mask with the little horns are amazing, along with the red eyes and the “DD” emblems on the chest. The billy club holster breaks up the sleek silhouette of the costume, but it just works. Daredevil is easily one of the best looking Marvel characters ever, with a costume that redefined the character in the decades to come.
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