Not all comic supervillains wear capes, but some do wear underpants on the outside of their costumes. Fashion faux pas or fashion nouveau? You decide.

Supervillains are supposed to be suave and cool. They wear suits or tuxedos, or even menacing masks or helmets. However, not all supervillain costumes are as intimidating as the villain might hope. In fact, some costumes look downright silly – especially the ones with underwear on the outside.

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Readers are used to superheroes wearing underwear on the outside of their costumes, but it's certainly less common with villains. When a villain wears underpants on the outside of their costume, it certainly catches the eye – for better or worse! However, regardless of their wardrobe reasoning, it's never a good idea to get on a super villain's bad side, even if they do look goofy.

A classic Spider-Man villain deserves a cool costume. Unfortunately for Max Dillon, he doesn't get one. Sure, the lightning bolts zigzagging up the costume and the lightning mask is neat; however, the bright yellow briefs Electro sports are puzzling at best. It makes sense to break up the field of green on his bodysuit, but it comes off as silly. In fact, the lightning bolts on Max's chest look like yellow suspender belts, which only adds to the comedy of errors. Still, one shouldn't point out the obvious oddness without wearing rubber-soled shoes.

Victor Fries and his costume first made their appearance in Batman #121, written by Bill Finger with artwork by Sheldon Moldoff. Sadly, Mr. Freeze's wardrobe leaves much to be desired. His trademark glass helmet is present, but it's the only aspect that carries over into his more recognizable blue and black costumes.

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In his early days, Victor's costume is yellow with red/pink accents, including a pair of underpants that put Superman's red fashion statement to shame. However, no matter how his costume first looked, readers should be thankful Mr. Freeze ended up looking far cooler in subsequent comics.

Roderick Kingsley is a fashion designer – a fashion designer! – who became obsessed with being a masked supervillain after he stumbled upon one of Norman Osborn's secret lairs. Kingsley made his fortune selling his fashion designs, but his expertise didn't translate well for his rendition of Osborn's Green Goblin. When Roderick created Hobgoblin, he stole much of the outfit from the Green Goblin, yet decided to add orange briefs to the costume. It's such an odd choice, it's laughable. Kingsley's main goal was to avoid the insanity that plagued Norman, but unfortunately, he wasn't able to avoid the fashion faux pas of Hobgoblin's outfit.

Slade Wilson is the original comic book mercenary with the last name of Wilson. He first showed up in New Teen Titans #2, written by Marv Wolfman with artwork by George Perez; however, his costume wasn't anything close to the iconic orange and black suit readers have come to love. One such iteration of Deathstroke's classic look came with a pair of striking orange briefs. Wilson may be a dastardly tactician and conniving mastermind, but the orange underpants undermined his authority somewhat. It was a strange choice for his otherwise commanding presence.

Thanos is one of the biggest bad guys in the Marvel universe, but he can't seem to make up his mind about his costume. In multiple instances, Thanos is seen in what can only be described as "a golden codpiece." For a man obsessed with death – to the point he falls in love with Mistress Death – the golden underpants are a wild choice. Readers see Thanos go up against the greatest of superheroes and emerge victorious, but no one wins with golden underpants.

The O.G. of wearing underpants on the outside of a costume has to be Superman. Clark Kent arguably pulls off the red underpants better than any other superhero in the multiverse. So, when Bizarro made his first appearance in Superboy #68, written by Otto Binder with artwork by George Papp, it was only natural to give him the exact same costume as Superman.

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Often seen in slightly different or darker colors than Superman, Bizarro is a good clone when it comes to staying true to the original blue and red color theme. What readers love about Superman's costume is present in Bizarro's, which means another feature for those iconic red briefs.

Gustav Hertz worked in a mechanical factory in Nazi Germany when his arms were caught in a machine, leading to their amputation. During his recovery, Hertz learned to use his mouth and legs only, gaining incredible strength while harboring hatred for all machines. The Nazis heard his story and sent him to America to undermine the USA's defense systems. The Armless Tiger Man used his strength to destroy machines for the Nazis while moonlighting as a cannibal. However, the oddest thing about Gustav is his bright yellow bodysuit with black underwear. That's all he wears and all he needs.

After Phillip Cobb was laughed at for his lack of villainous reputation, he went on to create the persona of Signalman. The costume he created took inspiration from the road signs and symbols that control society. This resulted in an interesting costume, made even funnier by Cobb's striped underwear. Sure, it resembles a construction sign, but yellow and black striped underpants? Really? What a bold decision! However, despite his confident wardrobe, Batman never had an issue defeating Signalman. Next time Phillip decides to go pro, maybe he'll think twice before wearing stripy underwear.

It's sometimes hard to tell whether a costumed character has underwear on the outside of their outfit or it's just shaded a little darker. That isn't the case for Magneto. Ever since his first appearance, Magneto's most iconic costume has been his helmet, cape, and all-red suit equipped with a pair of purple underwear.

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To be fair, the underpants pull the whole costume together; however, it's plain to see that Erik pulls on a pair of underwear over his pants. It's an odd choice, even if it makes his costume look cooler, but Magneto isn't someone worth teasing, so it's best to ignore the silly purple underwear.

Metal underpants still count as underpants, which is exactly what Anakin Skywalker wears when he's Darth Vader. One of the most ruthless men in the galaxy has a whole contraption on his chest to help control his breathing and other vitals, but Darth still needs a pair of undies on the outside of his outfit. Why? No one knows. However, it does add an interesting element to an iconic costume. With an all-black outfit, it's hard to break it up and make it more pleasing to the eye, but the black underwear does a good job of standing out enough to bring the whole outfit together. Readers have to wonder if Vader wears the metal on the outside to stop chafing, but no one would risk a swift force-choke by asking.

Next: 10 Superheroes Who Actually Do Wear Underwear On The Outside

Patrick is a husband, father, and nerd who has been consuming comics, video games, movies, television, and role-playing games since his earliest years. He's a new writer, excited to share thoughts and opinions that bring a little light to the world.