The Top 10 Superhero Sneakers of All Time

Collectors of sneakers and comic books share a handful of common traits: both can be nerdy, territorial types prone to spending absurd amounts of time and money on their hobby. Both passions come with the burden of explaining them to people not in the know. At social functions, during small talk at work, or when catching up with relatives, these people may be expected to defend the significance of an Air Jordan 1 from 1985 or an ancient issue of Action Comics. Collectors of both kinds will go to great lengths to protect these artifacts, treating them as treasure and stacking them up in secret preserves.

The interests of the comic book lover and the sneaker obsessive will occasionally find a perfect middle ground in the form of special edition shoes that reference (officially or otherwise) the characters of comic lore. A pair worn by an animated Spider-Man onscreen becomes a real-life colorway launched in conjunction with the web slinger’s latest movie. A classic basketball shoe is re-imagined as the footwear for a member of the Fantastic Four. Gathered here are what we believe to be the very best of these superhero sneakers, ranked.

The list groups certain shoes together—big packs that all feature the same silhouette were worth considering as one entry so as not to bog down the rankings. It features both official collaborations with superhero properties and shoes that merely reference their heroes. The list ignores a great deal of superhero style sneakers that are downright tacky, that go too far in flaunting their source material to be anywhere near tasteful designs that one can actually wear. It even groups in a couple of villains because some of those shoes are too good to ignore and every superhero needs a villain.

The Air Max 95 is one of Nike’s greatest sneakers ever. That’s not up for debate. The “Human Torch” version of the shoe, fashioned after the fiery character from The Fantastic 4, is not one of the best versions of the shoe ever, but it’s certainly one of the most recognizable. Released in 2006 as part of a pack for the crew of superheroes, it often gets overshadowed by the “Invisible Woman” Air Force 1s from the collection. But some could argue that it’s louder and bolder than a pair of see-through AF1s, which isn’t an easy task. Even if you weren’t into superhero shoes at the time, the “Human Torch” 95s were so 2006 sneaker culture that it almost hurt. Patent leather 95s in a gradient of orange and yellow, to make up for the flames from the character they embodied. You would see these shoes all over NikeTalk and people planning fits to match them with. It’s not a sneaker that held up as years went on, but it’s something that made a splash when it came out. —Matt Welty

Arguably the most iconic superhero and sneaker silhouette on this list, the Air Jordan 1 “Origin Story” took the Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” and gave it a slight remix to coincide with the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Heavily inspired by art in comic books, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was one of the most unique comic book movie releases in history (until it was usurped by its own sequel this year, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), featuring an animation style that looks like it was straight off of the page of the comics it comes from. In order to match that aesthetic, Jordan Brand dressed this shoe up with 3M reflective dots across the entirety of its upper that pay homage to Ben Day dots, a common drawing style used in retro comics. Finished off by an icy translucent outsole and a blue and red tongue, this Air Jordan 1 perfectly matches the color scheme of the friendly neighborhood superhero, but also stays subtle enough to look like a clean “Chicago” colorway. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Miles Morales can be seen wearing “Chicago” 1s in a number of scenes throughout the film. —Ben Felderstein

Brendan really said it best in our Slack channel last week, but Ronnie Fieg has an incredibly impressive ability to make a sneaker project feel special. And that’s exactly what he did with the release of his Kith x Marvel x Asics ‘X-Men’ collection. Simply put, it is the most “fun” that I’ve had cracking open a box of sneakers in as long as I can remember. Much like Fieg, I am a huge collector and an even bigger superhero nerd. So having the shoe not only come with a special edition comic book and an actual PSA-graded trading card but also having the shoe be a mystery until you rip it open led to a tremendous unboxing experience. On top of all that, Fieg’s Gel-Lyte IIIs do a perfect job of clearly presenting themselves as X-Men sneakers without going too far over-the-top and becoming tacky. Each version features the signature colorway of the character represented with co-branded details on the heels and insoles. Of course, the packaging of a sneaker shouldn’t always be a shoe’s highlight, but the experience and mystery behind this release combined with strong product makes for one of the better superhero sneaker executions of all time. —Ben Felderstein

Not many of the sneakers on this list were worn for heroic feats in real life, but the “Kryptonate” Nike Air Foamposite Lite sure was. Nate Robinson laced up the pair for the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk Contest to face off against reigning champion Dwight Howard and tackle the big man’s “Superman” persona head on. With a modernized Foamposite design and a seemingly glowing green upper, the shows popped off the TV screen and were later released at House of Hoops Harlem on St. Patrick’s Day, an event that Robinson himself showed up for. Nate ended up winning the contest, too—then did it again the next year for good measure. —Riley Jones

Long before any and every black-and-white Nike got tagged with the “Panda” nickname, these Foamposite Pros were said to represent something far more treacherous: Marvel’s Doctor Doom supervillain. The unofficially themed colorway is remembered as part of Nike’s “Fantastic Four” pack, although it wasn’t quite as on the nose as its superhero-inspired counterparts. While the pack’s Air Force 1, Air Max 90, Air Max 95, and Dunk High all closely mimicked their character’s colors and textures, the “Dr. Doom” Foamposite Pro was more reserved in its execution. It received a retro in 2016, a reissue that missed the peak window of Foamposite hype and felt a bit underwhelming as a result. 

It’s also worth mentioning the more direct Dr. Doom influence on MF DOOM’s Nike SB Dunk High collaboration from 2007, which could have been part of the reason Nike didn’t go all-in on the Dr. Doom details for the Foamposite Pros a year prior. —Riley Jones

No, Ultraman isn’t a comic book hero, and he might not be that recognizable in the Western world, but he’s still a colossal figure in Japan and one of the first heroes to earn a tribute shoe. The important thing to understand about the Nike Dunk Low “Ultraman” is that it arrived before colorways with backstories became the norm. The sneaker first released in 1999 as part of a Japan-exclusive Dunks in Nike’s Co.JP line. It’s a pretty straightforward reversal of the colorblocking on the original grey and red UNLV version of the Dunk High, but the flip on the established colorway earned it a nickname associated with the most famous alien hero from the Ultra Series. Because of its regional exclusivity and pop cultural weight, the Nike Dunk Low “Ultraman” was one of the first collectible versions of the Dunk, and one that helped set the tone for the shoe in the 21st century. It still looks good decades later—so much so that Nike is planning to retro the shoe next year, which will make the first proper return of the “Ultraman” Dunks. —Brendan Dunne

The Nike SB Dunk High “Incredible Hulk” is, well, incredible. The sneaker is such a good combination of shades of green with a brown Swoosh. It’s also one of the earlier Nike SB Dunks. Released in 2003, the “Hulk” Dunks were around before many people were into Nike SB. When people started jumping on the brand’s bandwagon from 2005–2007, pairs like the “Hulk” were a badge of honor, because it likely meant that you had been into SBs longer than the average collector. The sneakers also have something unique about them with their all-suede upper. They’d age nicely. Unlike other releases, such as the “Sea Crystals,” that looked worse with time, the Hulks almost started to look better for many people that wore them. There was also a GS version of a “Hulk” Dunk Low with denim on it, but they were nowhere near as good as the OG pair. Sadly, chasing down a pair of these is going to cost you over $1,000 on today’s market. —Matt Welty

The “Chaos” Nike Zoom Kobe 5 originally released in 2010, inspired by Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. The theme played into the intensity Kobe Bryant was known for, which could be perceived as villainous at times. (Don’t worry, Nike later dropped a black and blue Batman-themed colorway of the 5 too.) The sneaker helped launch the Kobe 5 into what would become one of the most popular models in the line’s history, and is among the most recognizable single entries into the series.   

The colorway returned on the Nike Kobe 6 in an almost direct recreation, and has popped up in variations in the years since, including on the Nike Kobe AD. Notably, when the “Chaos” 5 was brought back in Protro form in early 2020, it was followed by a grey-based “Alternate” version. This exclusive colorway launched in collaboration with NBA 2K20 and could only be purchased by gamers who had completed an in-game challenge. —Zac Dubasik

Remember when we said that this list would exclude the downright tacky? If there’s any pack of superhero sneakers that cross that line while still being brilliant it’s this, the official Marvel collaboration with A Bathing Ape on the brand’s Bapesta shoes from 2005. Bapestas back then felt collectible in the way rare comic books often do; they were shoes that you had to seek out and really plan to buy—whether that meant taking a trip to Japan to source them or saving up enough money to acquire them on the secondary market.

This pack of shoes marked one of the first times a comic book maker entrusted a streetwear brand to make use of its intellectual property on sneakers. Each features a sizable Marvel logo on the heel to make clear its origin. The colorways nodded to heroes like the Hulk, Cyclops, and Iron-Man, all with bright panels of the Bapesta’s signature patent leather, a material that could look at times lurid, but made sense here when channeling tales of comic book heroics. The group went over the top with the packaging, too, with each shoe coming in a blister pack that had them looking like action figures. This remains the benchmark for official tie-ins between heroes and sneaker brands. —Brendan Dunne

Undoubtedly the most memorable pair from 2006’s “Fantastic 4” pack is the “Invisible Woman” Air Force 1. The hallmark of the colorway was its translucent toe box and quarter panel, a playful nod to the hero’s powers. Creative executions like that may be a bit more commonplace these days, but back then it was something to behold to see such an outlandish approach to an icon like the Air Force 1. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the first time Nike had used the material. That honor goes to ESPO’s Air Force 2 that released two years prior. Of course, the see-through material allowed the wearer to get a bit creative with their sock choice, which added even more to the allure of this limited edition colorway. Some even took it to incomprehensible extremes. We’ve all seen the infamous photo of someone even rocking them barefoot. Sure, the see-through panels would fog up if your feet got a bit sweaty and pairs aged horribly because the window is now piss yellow, but the novelty of the “Invisible Woman” Air Force 1 has kept it in the conversations decades later. It’s hard to think about superhero sneakers and not immediately be reminded of this one. —Mike DeStefano