Costumes in films like “Batman” and “Superman” sometimes garner praise, while at other times, they fall flat. Some designs, upon their initial reveal, sparked significant backlash from fans, who expressed their displeasure with fervor. While certain outfits eventually won over audiences once seen in context, others remained infamous, never escaping their initial negative reception.

Several factors contribute to the strong reactions superhero costumes can evoke, from significant deviations from the original comic designs to simply appearing awkward in live-action settings. Regardless of the cause, these ten infamous DC superhero movie costumes highlight the fluctuating reception of DC Comics adaptations among the general public.

In Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” Superman underwent a significant transformation for the big screen, stepping away from the nostalgic loyalty shown in 2006’s “Superman Returns.” Henry Cavill’s debut as Superman saw the character abandoning the iconic red shorts traditionally worn over his suit. This change paralleled a similar redesign in the New 52 comics era, aiming to modernize Superman’s look. The absence of the red trunks, which had often been a subject of ridicule, marked a new chapter for the character.

With Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” Superman was due for a drastic overhaul for the silver screen, especially after 2006’s “Superman Returns” had proven too loyal to earlier “Superman” adventures. For Henry Cavill’s inaugural take on the superhero, Superman would be ditching the red shorts he wore on the outside of his superhero outfit. It was a change mirroring a similar costume shift in the New 52 comics incarnation of Superman that was also featuring around that time. For this new decade, Superman would no longer wear a part of his outfit that had occasionally drawn derision.

When it was revealed in 2011 that Cavill’s Superman would have an unusual costume, the internet didn’t respond with immediate praise. Instead, criticism and uncertainty reigned supreme, while the final film version of the outfit didn’t ease the detractors. Adorned in a largely plain blue costume, Superman looks a little odd. Those red trunks were vital in breaking up the color palette of his attire. Despite its controversial presence in “Man of Steel,” Cavill’s Superman never did don those red booty shorts. Not even the theatrical cut of “Justice League,” with all its bright colors, restored this part of the character’s wardrobe.

2025’s “Superman,” with its classical aesthetic, ensured this piece of the Superman wardrobe soared across the big screen once again. Thus ended an odd era for Superman’s costume in cinema.

In the final days of April 2015, Warner Bros. released a glimpse of Jared Leto’s Joker in “Suicide Squad,” the first live-action movie incarnation of the supervillain since Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning iteration of the character in “The Dark Knight.” To say the internet did not respond with enthusiasm was an understatement. This Joker’s wonky appearance, complete with a forehead tattoo that labeled him as “damaged,” metal teeth, and so many other oddball features, was an immediate punchline. Certainly, the fact that this was a wild departure from any pre-existing comic version of Joker inspired some of the vitriol. Nobody could expect the character to look like this on film.

However, the deluge of controversy surrounding this character’s costume largely surrounded how unthreatening he looked. This Joker looked like a weaselly YouTuber or Twitch streamer, much less someone terrifyingly unpredictable like the clown prince of crime. Leto’s bizarre outfit amplified criticisms that this Joker wasn’t a character that would strike fear into the hearts of Gotham citizens. Plus, certain elements, like the laughing mouth tattoo on his left hand, seemed to lapse into parody. 

People are very protective of how beloved comic book characters like the Joker are rendered in cinema. However, the vitriol aimed at Jared Leto’s Joker and his design was not just irritation related to canon fidelity. It reflected valid frustration over some extremely miscalculated visuals.

Nearly a decade into the live-action “Batman” movie franchise, controversy erupted over the superhero outfits worn by the titular superheroes of “Batman & Robin.” Costume designer Jose Fernandez donned these characters in attire that wasn’t just colorful and plastic-looking, but unusually … anatomical. 

The real reason the nipples were added to Batman’s costume was to make the outfits resemble Roman armor. What sounded sensible to Fernandez and director Joel Schumacher ended up stirring a backlash from every corner of the world, from ordinary moviegoers to Batman co-creator Bob Kane. “Batman” and “Batman Returns” director Tim Burton was also no fan of this design choice, which remains divisive to this day.

Why all the fuss? Some comic book geeks lamented how the detail wasn’t rooted in the comics or prior “Batman” features. Others have expressed confusion over what in-universe purpose the nipples would serve when Batman and Robin are fighting crime. Further criticism was aimed at how those perky nipples obliterated any tension in the superhero scenes. With so much derision connected to the infamous Bat-Nipples, it’s no wonder even George Clooney has expressed disdain for them.

As long as comic book movies get made, there will always be controversy over how superhero costumes get translated to the silver screen. It’s doubtful, though, that any will come close to generating the controversy of these specific male-presenting nipples.

After Kristen Wiig got in shape to play Cheetah in “Wonder Woman 1984,” it was time for her to don the character’s super-heightened feline appearance for the film’s finale. Thanks to the power of a magical wishing rock, Wiig’s Barbara Minerva (who’s been wearing jackets and dresses covered in cheetah spots the whole movie) transforms into a humanoid cat creature (complete with a tail) that can go toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman in combat. Arriving as the capper to “Wonder Woman 1984,” Cheetah’s super-powered form left much to be desired.

Realized as a CG entity, Minerva’s Cheetah just didn’t look right, particularly in the face, where the character just looked like Wiig with extra layers of mascara on. Draping the figure in dim light and blue color grading made her extra off-putting to look at. Cheetah’s equivalent to a “costume” was realized with realism to spare, sure, but fans didn’t feel like she looked either intimidating or interesting. This foe was one of many visual elements in “Wonder Woman 1984” that didn’t click in execution. The classical aesthetics that director Patty Jenkins was aiming for in this sequel struggled to flourish against an often clumsy script.

Even with these larger creative problems at play, the design of this version of Cheetah left many dissatisfied. Kristen Wiig deserved a better “costume” to don for the climax of “Wonder Woman 1984.”

The 2004 superhero film “Catwoman” was always going to offer a new vision of its titular superhero. That included having Catwoman’s alter ego be Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) rather than Selina Kyle, and ensuring the character wouldn’t rub shoulders with Batman and other Gotham City regulars. Then there was the character’s scantily clad crime-fighting outfit, which didn’t go over well with comic book fans. Audiences got their first look at the costume in 2003 via a photoshoot that “Catwoman” director Pitof detested, particularly with how Warner Bros. delivered the images the general public. 

The fact that this Catwoman outfit barely resembled any of her costumes from the comics was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to complaints. Though Pitof said he wanted something salacious for Catwoman to wear in the film, many people found the revealing results to be comically excessive. The negative blowback to this costume was so pronounced that Berry still remembers the toxicity decades after the motion picture’s debut. 

Berry still stands by the unique outfit she wore in “Catwoman,” and she enjoyed the ability to inject something new into the character’s pop culture mythos. However, for many, this superhero costume was a microcosm of everything that went wrong. It was a widely lambasted costume for a despised motion picture.

After the character’s jankier superhero costume in “Justice League,” Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen/The Flash donned a new, streamlined superhero costume for their 2023 solo film “The Flash.” Gone are what looked like black strands of barbed wire littering the costume or exposed grey patches from underneath the outfit. Now The Flash was fighting crime in a bright red costume covered in golden streaks. It was technically faithful to the comics, but director Andy Muschietti’s execution of it flopped. On-screen, the Flash’s costume looked off in all the wrong ways.

Part of the problem was the suit’s off-putting textures. It may be a byproduct of how “The Flash” was lit, but Barry Allen seems to be covered in rubbery material that’s oddly organic looking. Worse, its surfaces looked the wrong kind of artificial on-screen. The golden lines across every inch of this hero’s wardrobe, meanwhile, made the costume too busy. These, and plenty of other shortcomings, ensured that “The Flash’” would be widely criticized — and for more than just the suit. 

Fidelity to the source material will only take something so far. The results need to be enjoyable, too, and there “The Flash” failed to get up to speed.

The evolution of Batman’s Batsuit has led to this character donning a wide array of costumes in order to become Gotham’s savior. For 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” Ben Affleck’s first time playing Batman saw him donning an outfit with tiny ears, a tight fit, and a dour color palette even by the standards of previous movie Batman costumes. Most of which were gray, yes, but did something with the details. While “Dawn of Justice” director Zack Snyder has called Ben Affleck the best Batman ever, the internet didn’t share his response when the first image of Affleck in his Batman suit dropped online in 2014. 

This brooding shot of Affleck’s Batman (staring downwards in an interior environment) showed off a costume that many complained about and few found intimidating. The latter response was made clear by the omnipresent “sad Batman” memes that popped up all over the internet. The specifics of the costume were either ignored or greeted with a shrug. Instead, people only saw the costume and its gloomy presentation as perfect fodder for silly memes where Batman pushes people on swings or has rings tossed onto his little ears.

By summer 2015, the reception around Affleck’s Batsuit would start turning around. Many now consider it one of the film’s highlights, not just a launchpad for comedy.

The primary villain of “Suicide Squad” was The Enchantress, a relatively obscure comic book baddie. This gave the film’s costume designers and artists freedom to reimagine the character without offending decades of pop culture “tradition.” The results certainly gave comic book geeks a version of the character they’d never seen before. Unfortunately, it was an outfit most wished they could unsee.

The Enchantress appeared on-screen draped in a grey bikini, as well as lots of grime and chains covering other portions of her body (along with a gigantic crown littered with eyeballs at her most powerful point). The outfit caught plenty of backlash, earning accusations that it adhered to misogynistic standards of what men and women wear in comic book movies. One could never imagine General Zod or Ronan the Accuser wearing something this bare. These critiques were amplified by larger controversy over how “Suicide Squad” handled all of its women, particularly Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

In hindsight, another big problem with The Enchantress’ outfit is its failure to slay. Compare this attire to the delightful outfits Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter don for their concerts. They embrace costume changes that radiate vivid colors and specific creative visions. The Enchantress, meanwhile, is draped in drab hues and looks more like a backup dancer from a Limp Bizkit music video. “Suicide Squad” gave Enchantress an unprecedented costume, only to enchant us all with some utterly disastrous results.

“The Dark Knight Rises” was once so shrouded in secrecy that theories  abounded over what director Christopher Nolan’s third “Batman” film would look like. That included how he would translate beloved comic book individuals like Bane or Catwoman to the silver screen. Fans were protective of these characters as it was and “Rises” could not escape this phenomenon. The first whispers of what the latter’s costume would look like in Nolan’s hands did not exactly go over well with the comic book crowd.

Initial set images of Anne Hathaway in the Catwoman outfit drew ire for ditching the most stylized elements of the character’s comic book costume. The blowback grew so intense that Hathaway herself had to release a statement reassuring people that they’d barely seen anything of her Catwoman yet and that the full version of the character in “The Dark Knight Rises” would blow everyone away. Part of this reception might’ve been intertwined with the internet’s larger, toxic response to anything Hathaway touched in the early 2010s. Of course her stepping into a famous comic book character would cause a blowback, through no fault of her own.

Thankfully, Hathaway’s final version of this beloved thief went over much better than those first reactions suggested. Nowadays, when every version of Catwoman is ranked from worst to best, Hathaway’s iteration is regarded as one of the greatest. What a far cry from the initial toxicity greeting her.

Is there a more infamous superhero movie costume than the CGI Green Lantern outfit in 2011’s “Green Lantern”? When the film’s teaser dropped in November 2010, this digital outfit was so appalling that it became an instant joke. The problems with this superhero costume were glaringly apparent, including how disconnected it looked on the live-action Reynolds. He didn’t look like he was suiting up for battle so much as he looked like he was starring in a cheap commercial. The pulsating, veiny lines littered across this costume were also an eyesore. Then there was his CG mask, which looked comically fake.

Everything about this all-digital costume was a total bust. In the years since its release, it has been referred to as a microcosm of everything that went wrong with “Green Lantern,” including how it focused too much on digital effects nonsense and not enough on engaging characters. At least “Green Lantern” leading man Ryan Reynolds got a lot of mileage out of the gag in his subsequent superhero efforts. 

2016’s “Deadpool” saw Reynolds’ Wade Wilson specifically require that his new superhero outfit not be “green or animated,” and the infamously bad flick would return for more skewering in “Deadpool 2” two years later. As long as Reynolds can snark about it, this outfit’s failings won’t vanish from our memories. We wish it would, though.