One of the most important characteristics for most super-heroes is their secret identities. As Watchmen and The Incredibles have shown us, super-heroes just can’t live normal lives. And the most common way of hiding these secret identities is with a costume. And like everything in life, these costumes vary in degrees of awesomeness. Today I’ve compiled a list of what are, without a doubt (in my mind at least), the best three outfits ever donned by a crime-fighter (or villain).

Iron Man - Unique among heroes because he has no super powers, Tony Stark more than makes up for his deficiencies with the most technically advanced suit currently on the billion dollar market. He can fly, is crazy strong, and–as demonstrated in the recent Iron Man movie–has a kick-ass navigation system. It also happens to be just about the coolest looking thing you could ever wear. Drawbacks? Well, as the movie also showed us, it can be quite ungainly to put on. Plus, you have to have a hole in your chest to put the batteries in.

Venom & Carnage - These two get bonus points for having suits that are actually alive. The alien symbiotes that attached themselves to Cletus Kasady and Eddie Brock created two of Spider-Man’s greatest adversaries. But who has the better suit? Venom gets points for being the first, but loses them all after being turned into a whiny emo baby in Spider-Man 3. Carnage’s suit, on the other hand, is much more powerful–allowing him to transform his hands into dangerous weapons, among other things–, albeit not as loyal. It is constantly seeking the strongest possible host, at one point even bonding with the already super-powered Silver Surfer to create the incredibly awesome Cosmic Carnage. So it’s a toss-up, loyalty versus power.

Johann Kraus - One of the lesser known members of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Johann Kraus is more dependent on his suit then most heroes. In fact, he is his suit. Kraus is nothing more then a spirit, his body having been incinerated years ago. He is able to maintain a physical form by housing his ectoplasmic spirit in a containment suit. And while his suit doesn’t give him any kind of super powers like the others on the list, it does keep him alive, and that’s pretty cool.

---

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

---

<A class="APCAnchor" HREF="http://affiliates.allposters.com/link/redirect.asp?AID=99627454&PSTID=4&LTID=16&lang=1" _fcksavedurl="http://affiliates.allposters.com/link/redirect.asp?AID=99627454&PSTID=4&LTID=16&lang=1">Buy Posters at AllPosters.com </A>
(more…)