Like a teenager’s oily and hormonal face, Spider-Man is no stranger to change. New powers, a strange stickiness in the bed sheets attributed to pent-up web fluids, and a constantly shifting life dynamic make for a webhead who never stays in one place for too long. But you want to know what really changes the most? The wardrobe from where the arachnid-themed hero pulls his threads from.
Spider-Man’s core costume is the stuff of timeless legend, a beautiful red, black, and blue design from Steve Ditko that has seen few changes along the decades. That doesn’t mean that Spidey hasn’t adopted a few new costumes over the years! The first major change was his classically minimalist black symbiote suit, the clone saga saw Ben Reilly adopt a sensational outfit, and Civil War saw Spider-Man dress up in his brilliant crimson costume, complete with extra appendages.
For 2021, Spider-Man’s next costume is…well it’s something different, I’ll say that much. Designed by Dustin Weaver, Spidey’s new costume ditches red for bold white, features plenty of orange piping, and gives him nightmare fuel eye highlights. The overall shape harkens back to the classic Spider-Man costume shape and design, and have I mentioned yet how much those goggle eyes freak me out?
The new costume will be donned in Amazing Spider-Man #63, following a two-part story in which the webhead faces off once against the Kingpin. I do hope no harm befalls the current Spider-Man costume in an optional brouhaha. “This design was really a collaborative effort between Nick Spencer, Editor Nick Lowe, and I,” Weaver said in a Marvel announcement.
They reined in the weirder and more techy features I was bringing and helped create something that I think is simple and both futuristic and classical. I can’t wait to see Patrick Gleason really bring it to life!
If anyone can make this costume work, it’s definitely Gleason. Having created one of the most visually dynamic runs of Batman from 2011 through to 2015, and then following up with work on Teen Titans, Superman, and Young Justice, Gleason’s art has been hotter than ever since he jumped ship to Marvel in 2019. That, and I give the costume nine issues before Spider-Man digs his most iconic costume out of storage yet again.
Last Updated: January 5, 2021
