History Main / EvilCostumeSwitch

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', Princess Peach gets one when she is possessed by the Shadow Queen. Her pink dress turns black, and the blue jewels turn red. She has a cape and a [[HighCollarOfDoom collar]] that goes behind her head in a fan like way. Also, her skin is white and she has [[ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow purple/pink eye shadow]].

** Played with Yugi and his good SuperpoweredEvilSide. Sometimes, Yami Yugi throws his jacket over his shoulders and wears it like a BadassCape, demonstrating that "EvilIsCool".

* In ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'', [[spoiler:every male Minor Land villain got an EvilCostumeSwitch when they were brainwashed. And all of them plus [[SmurfettePrinciple Siren]] get a GoodCostumeSwitch after being de-brainwashed]].

** When [[spoiler:Uryuu]] joins the Vandenreich, he gets their classic uniform. [[spoiler:That has almost no difference to his old costume theme.]] Now he wears a BadassRobe and looks like a soldier. It sympolizes that he has lost his individuality.

* [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Regina]]]] from ''DokiDokiPrettyCure'' was already evil when she was introduced. She underwent a HeelFaceTurn later, but still had her RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver costume. The episode after her HeelFaceTurn, [[spoiler:her father [[BigBad King Jikochuu]]]] brainwashed her, and the red parts of her costume has become purple. It's an even ''[[EvilCostumeSwitch More Evil Costume Switch]]''!

* [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Regina]]]] from ''DokiDokiPrettyCure'' was already evil when she was introduced. She underwent a HeelFaceTurn later, but still had her RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver costume. The episode after her HeelFaceTurn, [[spoiler:her father [[BigBad King Jikochuu]]]] brainwashed her, and the red parts of her costume has become purple. It's a even ''[[EvilCostumeSwitch More Evil Costume Switch]]''!

** During the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' Battle City story arc, immediately after Malik's subconscious dark side takes over and he becomes [[EvilerThanThou even more villainous than before]], in the very next scene, only minutes later, he has traded his lilac vest and black pants for a black shirt, beige pants and a [[BlackCloak purple cape]].

* III Arclight from ''[[Anime/YuGiOhZexal Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal]]''. During Episode 47, the middle of a mini-arc and his duel with [[spoiler:Yuma Tsukumo]], he gains gladiator-type armor, complete with cape and helmet and everything. Definitely marked that he was getting serious, considering that right after, he [[spoiler:took away Yuma's 'kattngu', essentially making him lose all self-confidence and will to win.]] Not even mentioning how in Episode 48, he [[spoiler:killed Astral, Yuma's best friend. While he did help revive him in Episode 49...]] It marked a serious change from III's normal personality.

* During ''Anime/YuGiOh'''s Doma Arc, Mai Valentine's previously white halter top was replaced with a black one to reflect her [[FaceHeelTurn new evil status]]. She also got a pair of [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high, black leather boots.]]
** During the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' Battle City story arc, immediately after Malik's subconscious dark side takes over and he becomes [[EvilerThanThou even more villainous than before]], in the very next scene, only minutes later, he has traded his lilac shirt for a dark purple one and a [[BlackCloak matching cape]].
* In the second season of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX,'' the bad guy's team's color is white because of the religious overtones of his cause of destroying the world and rebuilding paradise, and all the brainwashed members of his cult wear white. In the episode when his first convert returns to normal, he swaps the white trenchcoat for his traditional black one -- and his normal outfit underneath inexplicably reappears along with it. In addition, Kaiser Ryo dons a black trenchcoat after his FreakOut and Judai wears full-body armor after being taken over by his [[spoiler:SuperPoweredEvilSide]]. And under [[spoiler:Yubel's possession]], Johan wears a sleeveless outfit that otherwise resembles bondage gear, cranking up the HoYay with Judai to even more ridiculous levels.

* Perhaps the most memorable and well-known example is Franchise/SpiderMan's black costume. When Peter first found it during the ''Comicbook/SecretWars'', it just gave him unlimited web shooters. He discovered that it was the cause of his fatigue, taking his body out at night while he was sleeping. Reed Richards figured out that the suit was alive and trying to bond with him. His rejection hurt it and it tried to fight back. After he got rid of it, it found Eddie Brock, turning him into Comicbook/{{Venom}} and giving them both the means to fight Spider-Man. In a way, Spider-Man's black costume is a reverse switch: the ''costume'' turned him evil (or just amplified his aggression to feed off his adrenaline, depending on the explanation).[[hottip:*: The evil side of the suit and everything that came with it was actually caused by a RetCon. Fans grew tired of the black suit and wanted Spider-Man's iconic red and blue back and the writers needed a justification for him to get rid of it.]]

** Clark wears blacks, greens, and reds when evil instead of his usual blues, reds, and yellows. Subverted in season 9, where his superhero costume is black and silver, but he is still good[[hottip:*: Clark has turned his back on human emotions, so the black and silver represent Krypton, since the Kryptonian uniform is black with a silver S]].

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic showed his desire to conquer the world in ''WebVideo/{{Kickassia}}'' by dressing up as [[Film/StreetFighter M. Bison]].[[hottip:*:Of Course!]]

[[caption-width-right:300:A MiniDressOfPower to [[StockingFiller garters and fishnets]]. This [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains has to be evil!]]]]

Contrast GoodCostumeSwitch. Sometimes overlaps with SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains. See also AdaptiveArmor.

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* Perhaps the most memorable and well-known example is Comicbook/SpiderMan's black costume. When Peter first found it during the ''SecretWars'', it just gave him unlimited web shooters. He discovered that it was the cause of his fatigue, taking his body out at night while he was sleeping. Reed Richards figured out that the suit was alive and trying to bond with him. His rejection hurt it and it tried to fight back. After he got rid of it, it found Eddie Brock, turning him into Comicbook/{{Venom}} and giving them both the means to fight Spider-Man. In a way, Spider-Man's black costume is a reverse switch: the ''costume'' turned him evil (or just amplified his aggression to feed off his adrenaline, depending on the explanation).[[hottip:*: The evil side of the suit and everything that came with it was actually caused by a RetCon. Fans grew tired of the black suit and wanted Spider-Man's iconic red and blue back and the writers needed a justification for him to get rid of it.]]

* The current {{Supergirl}}, Kara Zor-El, was hit with black kryptonite in ''Supergirl'' #3, causing an evil duplicate to suddenly emerge from her body. Said evil clone materialized from her body already wearing a black costume. Apparently, evil kryptonite clones have black clothing as part of their very nature. This trope was also lampshaded an issue later, when evil Supergirl switched her costume with the original's at superspeed, in an attempt to fool Batman and Superman as to who was the evil clone.

* When {{Daredevil}} finally snaps in Shadowland, he begins wearing an all-new black costume with longer horns, red lining, and wrist blades. When Spider-Man shows up to [[WhatTheHellHero call him out on the whole psychosis thing]], he [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this whole trope.

* While possessed by TheDarkSide in ''[[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Spider-Man 3]]'', Peter is actually seen going into a clothing store and buying more black.

* During the final act of IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade, Dr. Elsa Schneider wears a military style riding outfit, complete with black tall boots and black leather gloves, to symbolize her alliance with the Nazis. This outfit proves to be fashion over function, since she clumsily trips over her boots twice during the grail temple's earthquake and the leather glove slips from Indy's hold when she tries reaching for the grail.

* Parodied in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. Barney's backstory reveals that he became the womanizer he is today due to being rejected by one woman. Classic EvilCostumeSwitch style, Barney shaves, aggressively pulls on his sleeves, then the camera pulls away to reveal his new, entirely black suit.

* In the first season of ''WhoWantsToBeASuperhero'', when the Iron Enforcer became the Dark Enforcer, Stan Lee gave him a new (almost entirely black) outfit.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark wears blacks, greens, and reds when evil instead of his usual blues, reds, and yellows. Subverted in season 9, where his superhero costume is black and silver, but he is still good[[hottip:*: Clark has turned his back on human emotions, so the black and silver represent Krypton, since the Kryptonian uniform is black with a silver S]].

* The "Justice Lords", AlternateUniverse KnightTemplar versions of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', all wore redesigned costumes with much more black and monochrome. Except for Justice Lord Franchise/{{Superman}}, that is, whose costume was mostly ''white'', reflecting his more black-and-white view of morality than "our" Superman.
** Note that Franchise/WonderWoman's famously {{Stripperiffic}} outfit becomes extraordinarily ''conservative'' for her evil version, either inverting the trope or reflecting the moralizing KnightTemplar philosophy.

** Beast Boy...doesn't actually get an evil costume, unless you count his {{Shapeshifting}} into The Beast, then yes, all the Titans had an Evil Costume at some point or another.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', when the [=HenchCo=] made Mood Reverser was accidentally used on Ron, he simply continued to wear a fictional villain's costume for the rest of the episode. His villain outfit was, in fact, quite lame. His regular clothes turned to a [[Series/HappyDays Fonzie-style]] badass look. Also, [[PaintItBlack his skin turned blue]] as a result of getting an infusion of blue-skinned Dr. Drakken's evil, while Drakken's reverted to pink fleshtone.

*** Shego began dressing in a Teacher uniform after being hit by the Moodulator. GoodCostumeSwitch?

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' Doctor Octopus' first battle against Spider-Man is fought in the civvies he wore during his FreakLabAccident. The fight is soon cut short when his [[CombatTentacles tentacles]] run out of power. He plans to get another, longer-lasting power source, but when he next confronts Spidey, he's also undergone quite the EvilMakeover, having donned a BadassLongcoat and replaced his NerdGlasses with equally {{badass}} {{goggles|DoNothing}}.

** Also, Ozai in the finale, kind of. [[spoiler:He switches to more regal looking robes when he declares himself Phoenix King and goes off to obliterate the Earth Kingdom.]] In this case, it's less an EvilCostumeSwitch than an ''Eviler'' Costume Switch.

* [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Princess Jasmine]] gets one of these in TheAnimatedSeries, thanks to Abys Mal and a flower that causes LaserGuidedAmnesia. In her new identity as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "The Scourge of the Desert"]], she wears a dark-blue version of her usual clothes, a [[InTheHood hooded cape]], her hair in a ponytail (just like how she wore it when she was [[GoGoEnslavement Jafar's slave]] in the original movie), and [[WhipItGood wields a whip]]. Interestingly, after getting her memory back, she keeps the outfit (and the whip), wearing it as a SpyCatSuit when Aladdin & Co. infiltrate Mozenrath's city.

* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', when [[spoiler: Aqualad]] [[FakeDefector fakes]] a FaceHeelTurn, he trades his [[spoiler: red and blue swimsuit]] for a suit of black PoweredArmor.

* ''{{Metalocalypse}}'' - Toki goes all dark and evil, forsaking his childlike ways, and to illustrate the point, wears blood and lots of big spikes.

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* In the 2012 adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'', the Once-ler starts out in a simple Depression-era cheap suit while he's simply trying to improve the world. When he becomes the Greed-ler, though, he switches to a flamboyant dollar-bill-green outfit that's a cross between a pimp and a steampunk factory owner.

* III Arclight from ''[[Anime/YuGiOhZexal Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal]]''. During Episode 47, the middle of a mini-arc and his duel with [[spoiler:Yuma Tsukumo]], he gains gladiator-type armor, complete with cape and helmet and everything. Definitely marked that he was getting serious, considering that right after, he [[spoiler:took away Yuma's 'kattobingu', essentially making him lose all self-confidence and will to win.]] Not even mentioning how in Episode 48, he [[spoiler:killed Astral, Yuma's best friend. While he did help revive him in Episode 49...]] It marked a serious change from III's normal personality.

** Yes. Anakin Skywalker gets sexier and sexier the more evil he gets. Very odd that none of the Jedi seem to notice as he goes off to kill the Jedi younglings that he is wearing black, has put on eyeliner, and has glowing yellow eyes! I mean, shouldn't Obi have said "Hey, great new makeover, but it sort of reminds me of someone..."
*** Obi-Wan wasn't present for that part, but none of the other Jedi there noticed and -- now that we mention it -- Obi-Wan wouldn't have noticed even if he ''was'' there.
** Inverted with Luke in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', though; he dressed in black after becoming ''more'' good and Jedi-like.
*** May be a case of played straight: Luke is very arrogant and lethal on Jabba's sailbarge. Though he is more skilled as a Jedi, the black arguably represents his flirting with the Dark Side.

* In ''Film/WarriorsOfVirtue'', [[spoiler:Elysia goes from a high-neck, long-sleeved white dress with a cloak to a sleeveless orange dress with exposed cleavage after her HeelFaceTurn]].

[[caption-width-right:300:A microskirt to garters and fishnet...\\
maybe it's not so evil.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', [[spoiler:Professor Impossible]] makes the switch following his HeelFaceTurn with Phantom Limb.

* When Gambit of the X-Men was made into Death by Apocalypse, not only his hair turns white and his skin blue-black (say it with me: Uhhh!), but he finally gets the memo that [[RuleOfCool black cloaks are cooler]] and wears a black bondage cloak instead of his usual, shabby trenchcoat.

* When [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Barnacle Boy]] turns to TheDarkSide, he gains a villainous cape and his overall appearance grows darker.

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* And how can we forget Vampire Willow from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', with her spiffy threads? (Not to mention, her black ink job in the climax of Season 6.)

* In ''Film/{{Legend}}'', Mia Sara's character, Princess Lily, does a FaceHeelTurn and gets a whole new outfit plus Gothy makeup and, I think, a hair dye job. If the Lord Of Darkness (Creator/TimCurry) could come up with all this while living in a cave complex, he's probably now in Japan selling to the [[ElegantGothicLolita EGL]] crowd and rich-rich-rich.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'' does this to Tony Almeida by having him switch to a shaved head, a beard, and a black leather jacket when he's working with the terrorists at the beginning of season 7. [[spoiler: It then gets doubly subverted and inverted: Almost immediately it's revealed that Tony is actually [[TheMole undercover]] and secretly working with Bill Buchanan and Chloe O'Brien to stop the terrorists, but later on three quarters into the season it then reveals he's working with another set of terrorists. By the time Tony's done this, he's actually ''lost'' his leather jacket by that point.]]