Matt Murdock serves as the protector of Hell’s Kitchen, New York, both as a defense attorney and the vigilante known as Daredevil. As a member of the legal fraternity and someone who took the oath, it would be frowned upon for Matt to go around the city using his signature billy club to beat up evildoers, so he conceals his true identity through a costume. However, like most superheroes, the Man Without Fear has been through some attire changes since his debut in 1964 — sometimes due to the nature of the adaptation or a specific era being renowned for its bonkers tendencies.

Look at the 2003 “Daredevil” film as an example. What’s up with that skintight costume? How is a hero meant to be agile when they’re wrapped in all that constricting leather? On some level, Ben Affleck’s “Daredevil 2” being canceled was a blessing for the actor, because there’s no way that costume was comfortable. And that isn’t even the worst Daredevil costume. There have been some really terrible ones over the years, but for every stinker, there’s a great costume that really captures the spirit of the character. For this list, we’re ranking Daredevil’s top costumes (and by top costumes, we mean the ones that are particularly well-known, whether that’s for how good or bad they are) from worst to best based on practicality, authenticity, and suitability for the story they appear in.

From long-sleeve tops under t-shirts to sideways baseball caps, the ’90s contained a lot of crimes against fashion. Sadly, superheroes suffered in this era, too, as artists decided to have a field day with their looks. 1993 saw poor Daredevil get one of the most hideous updates to his costume yet. In “Daredevil” #321 — by D.G. Chichester and Scott Mcdaniel — the Man Without Fear turns into the Man With All the Gear as he rocks up in a new armored costume. The reason for this change is that his previous outfit has been damaged, so Matt Murdock decides to switch up his look and add more protection to his attire.

This darker costume features a red armored chest plate — as well as other red accents — and includes silver shoulder pads, knee pads, thigh pads, and wrist guards. Unquestionably, it gives Daredevil the appearance of an NFL player. From a practical perspective, the extra protection makes sense. After all, Matt’s superpowers don’t include a healing factor or invincibility. That being said, couldn’t he have added all these upgrades and just kept everything in red? Instead, he looks like a cheap superhero toy compiled by using pieces from various other action figures.

If you’ve ever tried to rank every “Hulk” movie from worst to best, chances are you placed 1989’s “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk” near the bottom of your list. Sure, Lou Ferrigno looks great as the mean, green smashing machine, but the rest of this TV film? Meh. It boasts the live-action debut of Matt Murdock, though, with “Street Hawk” star Rex Smith portraying him here. In the story, Matt represents David Banner (Bill Bixby), who is on trial after he has been framed. Like any good superhero movie, Daredevil and Hulk team up to stop the bad guys, led by John Rhys-Davies’ Kingpin.

Sadly, Smith’s Daredevil doesn’t suit up in his classic red apparel. Instead, he wears an all-black costume with no devil-horned mask. Now, there is precedence for this: 1981’s “Daredevil” #168 by Frank Miller has Matt Murdock donning a ninja-style black outfit in a retelling of the hero’s origin story. However, the costume depicted in Miller’s comic is stripped back in a cool way. Matt’s attire is loose-fitting and he even wears sneakers with it. He could simply be out for a jog if it wasn’t for the mask. The version worn by Rex Smith looks more like a cheap spandex Halloween costume. While fans of the character surely enjoyed seeing Daredevil appear in live-action, perhaps it would have been best if he had stuck to his regular civilian attire for this film.

Not every classic Marvel cartoon reached the heights of “X-Men: The Animated Series.” For example, “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,” which aired between 1981 and 1986, definitely doesn’t have the same staying power. It’s not the worst superhero cartoon ever produced, but the animation doesn’t hold up in a lot of places. The show fails Daredevil in particular, who appears in costume — albeit briefly — in a Season 3 episode titled “Attack of the Arachnoid.”

Matt Murdock’s costume in “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends” falls victim to a common superhero trope — underpants on the outside. Daredevil’s undies (as well as his boots and gloves) are a darker shade of red than the rest of his costume, and it looks very odd. The goofy yellow “DD” logo on his chest doesn’t really help matters, either. It may be in keeping with the animation style of the show and the time period, but surely we can all agree that the Man Without Fear should stick to wearing his underwear underneath his pants.

Once upon a time, a “Daredevil” movie trilogy almost happened. Plans changed after everyone watched the 2003 live-action film starring Ben Affleck as the titular hero and realized it was nothing more than a  knock-off version of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man.” Then, there’s the costume — a controversial talking point. Look, everyone should blame the early “X-Men” films for forcing superheroes to trade in the spandex for leather, but “Daredevil” takes it one step further, even by early 2000s standards.

Dressed in the tightest red leather imaginable, no one knows if Matt Murdock is kitted out to fight crime or hit an EDM club. For an acrobatic hero who is meant to hop from rooftop to rooftop, this apparel doesn’t look like the most practical choice. Plus, wouldn’t all the criminals hear him coming from a mile away with all that leather creaking and squeaking?

The only reason that this particular Daredevil costume isn’t at the bottom of our list is the mask, which is comic book accurate and actually looks pretty cool. It’s the best thing about the outfit by far, and it looks great on the leading man — say what you will about Affleck’s tenures as Daredevil and Batman, but the man possesses a jawline that looks ripped from a comic book.

Daredevil looks great in black or red, but what about both at the same time? Fans witnessed this in 2015’s “Daredevil” series by Charles Soule and Ron Garney. The creative team seemingly decided to amalgamate Daredevil’s dark look from the “Shadowland” arc with his traditional attire. The result is a black base costume with red highlights around the eyes, belt, boots, chest, and wrist — think of it as a toned-down version of the infamous armored attire from the ’90s.

It’s a cool look that pays tribute to different eras of the character and complements the darker storyline at play. However, it works best as a temporary makeover, a one-time deal rather than a full-time reimagining. It’s appealing for a brief period of time, but it doesn’t feel like it’s Daredevil at the core. In fact, this outfit makes him look like Marvel’s Batman. It’s a comparison often used to describe the Man Without Fear, though it’s not exactly accurate (Bruce Wayne doesn’t have a law degree, for starters).

In 2022’s “Daredevil” series — by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, and Rafael de Latorre — the Man Without Fear teams up with Elektra to lead the Fist, an organization set up to keep the Hand in check. Along the way, his costume undergoes a transformation. It’s goodbye to the classic attire and hello to a black and red costume that features spikes on the fist, a padded vest, and a hood. Daredevil keeps his classic horned helmet, but he must have lost his razor during this period: Matt Murdock’s usually smooth face now has a full-blown and rugged ginger beard that puts Thor’s facial hair to shame.

It’s not exactly a bad look — in fact, this rugged version of Daredevil is actually pretty fun — but it’s a big departure from the character we know and love, which is why we couldn’t place it any higher on this list. What’s interesting is that Zdarsky has similar facial hair. When he was asked by a reader if he based the character’s “scratchy beard” on own, he replied on his Substack, writing: “Actually, Daredevil’s beard is very soft, so no. But can we just appreciate how beautiful Marco draws it?” No arguments about that — whether you like Daredevil’s beard or not, it looks great on the page.

Charlie Cox has gone on record saying that he dislikes Ben Affleck’s suit in 2003’s “Daredevil” — mind you, so has Affleck. However, it wasn’t like Cox’s Daredevil suit was universally praised when fans saw it in “Daredevil” Season 1. Some were of the opinion that the mask was too bulky and constraining on the actor, and that the rest of the costume looked too much like armor. There’s also the fact that the mask covers his nose, which isn’t the case in the classic comics. 

These were legitimate complaints, though thankfully, Cox’s look improved for the second and third seasons of the show, as the costume designers tweaked various aspects of it. Cox’s final suit in the Netflix series strikes the perfect balance between pleasing the fans and all-round practicality. After all, in the real world, it’s unlikely that a vigilante would hit the streets without some kind of armor protecting their face and body. A nose covering might not be totally loyal to the source material, but it feels right in the gritty world of the show, as does the titular character’s overall look.

In 2004’s “Daredevil 2099” by Robert Kirkman and Karl Moline, readers discover that Wilson Fisk won the war between himself and Matt Murdock. The Kingpin exterminated Daredevil once and for all. However, in this futuristic world, there’s a new person claiming the mantle: Samuel Wilson, the Kingpin’s grandson. Samuel’s costume pays homage to the past but applies some technological sensibilities. In fact, this Daredevil outfit shares more in common with Iron Man’s armor than the Daredevil costumes of old.

Samuel’s Daredevil suit possesses rocket boosters to propel him into the air, which means he doesn’t need to leap from building to building like Matt Murdock did in the past. The armor also offers him protection from bullets, which is never a bad thing when you’re a vigilante. The coolest part of Daredevil 2099 is how his mask possesses tracking software so he can target criminals. Then, like RoboCop, his armor opens up for him to grab his non-lethal guns and make sure no one gets away. Merging Daredevil’s classic look with other styles doesn’t always work, but this is an example of how to do it right.

The great juxtaposition of Daredevil is that he’s a good guy who fights crime in a costume resembling the devil. In 2024’s “Daredevil” #6 by Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder, the creative team decides to play even further with the symbolism and change the appearance of the Man Without Fear. In this storyline, Doctor Strange helps Matt Murdock deal with all his inner turmoil in an effort to unlock his valiant spirit and get him back to fighting crime the way he does best.

Of course, Matt becomes Daredevil once more, but this time, his costume is all white. Not white with red or black trims and accents — an all-angelic white. Daredevil is reborn (not for the first time in the comics, but we digress) and his soul has been cleansed from all that plagued him before. The white costume proves to be striking, and is, in our opinion, one of the best variations yet. There’s something more intimidating about it, like this vigilante has been sent from the heavens to clean up Hell’s Kitchen. Unfortunately, it didn’t last too long. Matt was back in the red suit two issues later, but it made for a memorable change.

While the average person associates Daredevil with the all-red costume, he wore a different colored outfit when he debuted in 1964’s “Daredevil” #1 by Stan Lee and Bill Everett. In this issue, he wears yellow and red apparel. The base costume itself is yellow, while his bodysuit, gloves, boots, and belt are all red. The reason for him utilizing this specific color scheme is to honor his late father Jack Murdock’s old boxing robe, so there’s a sentimental link between the character’s past and present here.

Daredevil didn’t wear this costume for too long, trading it in for the more recognizable red look, but it has made the occasional appearance in the comics since the ’60s. A version of this suit made its live-action debut in “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” as Charlie Cox’s Man Without Fear rocks up, squares up, then gets down with Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters. Reportedly, the use of this costume was the one condition that allowed “She-Hulk” creators to use Daredevil in the series. Regardless of how fans feel about “She-Hulk” (it has proven to be one of Marvel’s most divisive offerings), no one can deny that Matt looks great in this eye-catching upgrade on Daredevil’s original gear.

Comic book writer and artist Frank Miller doesn’t like sticking to the script. Whenever he gets his hands on classic characters, he likes to leave his own distinct mark. Case in point: 1993’s “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear,” which Miller created with John Romita Jr. This is where Daredevil rocks the aforementioned ninja-inspired, stripped-back black outfit that seemingly informed Matt Murdock’s attire in 1989’s “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk.” In Miller and Romita Jr.’s reimagined version of Daredevil’s origin story, the titular hero wears a simple black ensemble before graduating to full-blown superhero threads.

In “Daredevil” Season 1, Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock wears an all black makeshift costume to fight crime for the majority of the episodes. It’s somewhere between the one from “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear” and “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk” in terms of design, and it’s better than both of them. It’s tight-fitting like most great superhero outfits but doesn’t scream spandex, and the forearm/knuckle wraps give it a nice edge. It really suits the tone of the story and the street-level nature of the character. Matt isn’t fighting aliens or supernatural villains, after all; he’s locking horns (not literally in this case, as his mask is a simple black wrap) with crime bosses and their goons. No need for capes here.

Fans feared the worst for Charlie Cox’s Daredevil after his show’s cancellation on Netflix. Years thereafter, one question kept coming up: Is Marvel’s “Daredevil” getting a reboot or not? The answer arrived in 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” when Cox returned as Matt Murdock and news spread that he would get a Disney+ show under the Marvel Studios banner titled “Daredevil: Born Again.” A new start also meant a new suit for the Man Without Fear. It’s an upgrade of the costume he wore in Netflix’s “Daredevil” show, but it sticks closer to the color scheme of the classic red outfit from the comics.

While some fans wish that the Disney+ Daredevil suit was sleeker and that they would do away with the armor, this is likely the closest a live-action Daredevil costume will come to looking like the best-known Daredevil outfit from the comics. It’s definitely the best live-action Daredevil we’ve seen to date, but there’s no disputing that the classic red suit from Marvel Comics remains untouchable as the most definitive attire for the Man Without Fear. It debuted in 1965’s “Daredevil” #7 and would go on to become the defining Daredevil look in the decades that followed. On top of switching from red and yellow to totally red, the new costume also came with thigh holsters for Daredevil’s billy club and the single D on his chest became the iconic DD, instead. It’s simple but memorable, and it will never be topped.

Want to read more about Hell’s Kitchen’s favorite son? Check out the untold truth of Daredevil.