This Halloween, the streets and the parties are going to be a Spider-Verse according to a costume study

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11 cover
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11 cover (Image credit: Andrew Robinson (Marvel Comics))

Spider-Man is once again the most popular Halloween costume in the US, according to research from search analytics firm SEMRush (via Rush Order Tees).

Spider-Man's popularity is no doubt the primary driver for the popularity of the costume, but the variety of Spider-Man costumes available to buy (or make) doesn't hurt eother. In addition to the classic Steve Ditko Spider-Man, there are versions out there you can buy based on Sara Pichelli's Miles Morales Spider-Man, and even Steve Butler's Ben Reilly Spider-Man costume.

Spider-Men (Image credit: Humberto Ramos (Marvel Comics))

Interestingly, there was a Halloween costume that appeared eight years before Spider-Man's first appearance that some speculate was the inspiration for the character.

This year's Halloween costume study has even broken down the post popular Halloween costume in every state, with strong showings for other comic characters such as Captain America and Superman with two states each. Although the only state where Spider-Man is the most popular costume is in Illinois, the costume had a strong secondary showing in numerous states making it the overall national pick.

Here's the superhero characters which won over states:

  • Captain America - Massachusetts, Pennsylvania 
  • Superman - New Jersey, South Dakota
  • WandaVision - California
  • Spider-Man - Illinois
  • Black Widow - Connecticut
  • Batman - Missouri
  • The Flash - Montana
  • Harley Quinn - North Carolina
  • The Joker - Nevada

In a companion study of over 1000 individuals, Harley Quinn was voted the most attractive costume of 2021, with Black Panther rated third (Cinderella squeezed in between the two).

At the same time though, Harley Quinn was also named the most overplayed costume as well as the most offensive.

If you're looking for a superhero Halloween costume but for reasons aren't looking to spend a bunch, we have some recommended budget superhero Halloween costume ideas as well as where to source everything.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)