The Style Evolution of The Avengers

Image via Complex Original

Hulk

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962)
Created by:  Jack Kirby

The not-so-jolly green giant wasn't always so green.  In fact, he was actually gray when he first debuted. It was after the first issue had printed that Stan Lee decided to change up his color to green. In the comics, the gray-skinned Hulk would be developed into an alternate personality with Nucky Thompson-era gangster tendencies, named Joe Fixit.

Hulk's most iconic piece of attire is probably his purple pants, which were alluded to in The Incredible Hulk when Betty Ross goes shopping for fugitive Bruce Banner while they hide out in a hotel room. What's changed in his portrayal though, is we've gone from covering bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno in green paint, to increasingly more detailed CGI models, ranging from Ang Lee's initial attempt, to the current film incarnation, which is actually modeled to look more like actor Mark Ruffalo. Ironically, Hulk is still voiced by Lou Ferrigno in the film.

Thor

First Appearance: Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962)
Created by:  Jack Kirby

The Norse god is usually seen kicking Asgard in his sleeveless, Nordic-inspired armor and helmet, and trademark red cape. The circular details on his costume are meant to be conductors of electricity.  In recent years, Thor's comic costume has undergone two lasting changes. The first is the sleeveless, capeless look of Ultimate Thor, who exists in an alternate Marvel reality grounded in less fantastic ideals, meaning that while he blabbers on about being a god, people in that world think he's just a crazy guy with one hell of a powerful hammer. The second is a recent redesign by Olivier Coipel, which wraps the character in a black cloth and long-sleeve, chain-mail like armor.

His Thor movie costume is an amalgam of his classic look and modern, Coipel redesign, with the long sleeves and black motif. For The Avengers, his sleeves get replaced with a pair of red gauntlets, a nod to the original red bracelets he rocked in the comics.

Captain America

First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Created by:  Jack Kirby and Joe Simon

Cap's World War II roots are often explored, and his classic costume hasn't changed much when it got translated to film. Sure, he's rocked a lot of different togs during his decades-long career of heroing — among them, a murdered-out stars and stripes outfit that would become the costume of U.S. Agent, and more recently, a simple long sleeve T-shirt with the stars and stripes motif he rocked as plain ol' Steve Rogers. Overall, it's a simple outfit that isn't hard to get wrong, which is why it was surprising that his 1979 T.V. movies had his kit so, so off the mark when they were able to pull it off in the 1944 serials starring Dick Purcell. In the '90s, Matt Salinger (yep, J.D. Salinger's kid), looked the part in a pretty accurate costume, but that couldn't save the movie from being horrible.

In Captain America: The First Avenger, fans of his original togs get a shout-out when Cap is enlisted to sell war bonds. The wings on his head and goofy red boots are shown to look pretty ridiculous. When he finally starts kicking some ass, he throws on a brown moto jacket, before getting fully kitted out as the Cap we know and love. Taking a cue from the comics' Ultimate Captain America, he doesn't have wings protruding from his helmet. Instead, they're painted on, paying homage to the classic costume detail. For The Avengers, his outfit resembles his comic counterpart even more, with the addition of futuristic-looking red boots and gloves. Maybe the Cap of today loves Raf Simons and Pierre Hardy?

Iron Man

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963)
Created by:  Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby

To simply list all of Tony Stark's armor in one sitting is a post unto itself. Here's a rundown of what armors made it to the movies. First, his Mark I armor from Iron Man was done pretty well, although in the film he switches to his sleeker, modern-looking armor pretty quickly, in the comics he stayed that way for a while, looking like the precursor of Bender from Futurama. In fact, in the first Avengers comic, the only makeover he got was a gold color on his bucket-like armor.

The Mark III armor more accurately represents his classic comic appearance, with the red and gold color scheme. In Iron Man 2, Tony dons a silver and red suit that transforms into a briefcase. The color scheme pays homage to the comics' Silver Centurion armor. When he redesigns his armor to the Mark VI, he implements the triangular chest plate from the comics' Extremis armor, which was what Stark was rocking in the books around the time the film came out. In The Avengers, the new Mark VII suit returns to a circular chest plate inspired by Iron Man's classic look, and cool features like shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.

Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #57 (Sept. 1964)
Created by:  Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Don Rico

Although there have been several characters who've assumed the Black Widow identity in the comics, redheaded Russian babe Natalia Romanova is definitely the most memorable in the hearts of fanboys.

Hot girl in a catsuit? Check. Weird bracelets? Check. Black Widow symbol belt buckle? Yep. Congrats costume designers, you hit the nail right on the head with this one.

Nick Fury

First Appearance: Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1 (May 1963)
Created by: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s HNIC wasn't always an Avenger, and wasn't always black. He got his start as a WWII hero, leading his Howling Commandos into battle. The Marvel cinematic universe pays their respects to this series in Captain America: The First Avenger, except instead of Fury, Captain America leads the Howling Commandos into battle. It also isn't Fury's first foray into cinema either. In 1998, the white version of Nick Fury made his debut in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., where he was portrayed by none other than David Hasselhoff... in a bondage-friendly leather jumpsuit.

It wasn't until 2001's Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #5 that black Nick Fury made his appearance. He was actually modeled after Samuel L. Jackson, so obviously the choice as to who should play him in the movies was made long before The Avengers was set to film. Style-wise, he's often seen in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s standard-issue white and navy blue tactical onesies, but in the film, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are dressed like run-of-the-mill government dudes in suits. Although Samuel L. Jackson essentially portrays Fury as Shaft with an eyepatch, we can't hate on the leather trench coat he rocks in the films.

Hawkeye

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #57 (Sept. 1964)
Created by:  Stan Lee and Don Heck

Let's be real: Clint Barton's purple and blue costume just straight up would not fly in the Marvel cinematic universe. For real though? You work for a government organization, are a highly-skilled marksman and assassin, and you're gonna dress in a Robin Hood costume designed by Prince?

Thankfully, when Hawkeye makes his grainy film debut — a cameo appearance in Thor — the costume designers seem to have borrowed his style cues from his Ultimate universe counterpart: a decidedly more professional family man with a penchant for shades and tactical, functional gear.