The Most Iconic Superhero T-shirts of All Time

We all grew up with a favorite superhero. Batman? Mighty Mouse? At CustomInk, we’re all for showing love for your favorite superheroes right on a tee. You might have seen our 100 most iconic t-shirts of all time list—we’re taking a closer look at some of the most iconic t-shirts by genre to see what really makes them cool. Our list of the top ten most iconic superhero t-shirts is super awesome, and might even inspire you to create a superhero tee of your own.

10. Punisher Skull

The ultimate antihero, The Punisher appeared for the first time in 1974 in The Amazing Spiderman comic #129. His black shirt with large white skull on the chest is so fierce, the original had bullets for teeth. The iconic skull has two origins in the comics. The first being that Punisher chose the skull while fighting in Vietnam. The second is that the skull came to him in a dream, and he uses it on his chest to distract criminals that might otherwise aim for his head.

9. Mighty Mouse

Here he comes to save the day! Airing off and on from 1942 to 1987, this super-powered rodent fought everything from alley cats to animated Nazi’s. The story goes that Might Mouse originated from an idea by Izzy Klein, who originally pitched a character named Super Fly. But his boss, Paul Terry, nixed his idea, and later reintroduced it as Super Mouse. The character was renamed Mighty Mouse since another comic featuring a “Super Mouse” was about to be released. What a mouse. WHAT A MOUSE!

8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Turtles on the halfshell, turtle power!” How can you not love four butt-kicking turtles named Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael? The turtles were designed by Kevin Eastman and a fellow artist friend, Peter Laird. Likely inspired by Eastman’s summers playing with snapping turtles in Maine, they came up with the characters in their living room one night. Little did they know what a hit it would become!

7. Transformers – Autobots Logo

There’s something to robots from outer space that can turn into cars and trucks. And this Autobot logo t-shirt shows just why. From cartoon series to billion dollar movie blockbuster, these “robots in disguise” rock. Interestingly enough, the Transformers weren’t actually born from comic books—the toys came first, later leading to the comic books, cartoons, and movies we’ve come to love!

6. Green Lantern

“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!!!” -The Green Lantern Oath. The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was created by Martin Nodell, a writer and artist. Nodell was inspired to create the Green Lantern when he was on a subway and saw a train operator waving a lantern with a green light.

5. Thundercats

Spaceships? Check. Cat-like humanoid aliens fighting interstellar battles? Check. Lion-O, Cheetara, and the gang? Check. Created by Tobin Wolf, the Thundercats dominated Saturday Mornings from 1985 to 1989, and produced a sick logo t-shirt to boot. “Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! ThunderCats, HO!”—not to mention an earworm worthy theme song.

4. Captain America

Lone white star. Blue bullseye. Red and white rings. Step aside baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. This is what hard-core Americana should look like. This t-shirt remains one of the more powerful patriotic expressions to capture young minds. What began as a Marvel comic has become a modern-day obsession with Marvel fans. Captain America still appears alongside the Avengers on the big screen. The t-shirt’s logo, Captain Steve Rogers’ shield himself, is his primary defense and weapon against enemies. The iconic round shield was originally more triangular, however, but was changed due to its similarity to another comic.

3. The Flash

What could be cooler than a big ol’ shiny, gold lightning bolt on your chest? Uh, running at the speed of light, thank you very much. The Flash was created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, and first appeared in November 1939. In its history, 4 different people have taken on the name of the Flash. But the logo wasn’t always the lightning bolt we’ve come to recognize. The now famous bolt first appeared in 1956, when Barry Allen was the actor behind The Flash

2. Batman

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na, BATMAN! Ok, but seriously, it’s hard not to get excited when you see this iconic symbol. Since the Dark Knight first appeared in 1939, he’s donned a version of the Batman symbol. In the original comic, the bat didn’t even have ears or a head! It wasn’t until 1964 that the comic introduced the yellow background (1966 for movies). Today, the logo has evolved into a stealthier, buffer, if you will, version of itself. But the classic remains recognizable by all generations.

1. Superman

The literal power of this phenomenon can be seen on t-shirts everywhere and with the seemingly endless television and movie remakes in nearly every decade of Superman’s existence, this story (and t-shirt design) isn’t getting old anytime soon. First introduced in 1938, the logo has come a long way since its original, almost squiggly-looking “S”. Though different colors have been experimented with through the years, it looks like the classic red and yellow is here to stay.