With Halloween fast approaching, and comic book movies vastly more popular than in previous years, there’s been a boom in comic or movie-to-comic related Halloween costumes. There are a lot of costumes out there other than the standard Batman and Superman of Halloweens past, and it can be hard to find the perfect combination of geeky comic book fan and Halloween enthusiast. Join me as I take a look at the best — and worst — comic book hero Halloween costumes for this year in this five part, one-week-only series of Geek Chic: be a superhero for Halloween!

Today, we start with Part 1: Best Adult Male Costumes.

Spider-Man Deluxe Adult Costume: You can’t go wrong with the friendly-neighborhood look if you’re a skinny geek boy that’s not afraid to sling a few webs.
-The good: It’s a classic costume, simple and hard to mess up (just don’t get the “muscle” versions, which look sort of ridiculous). Spidey is a good choice for those of normal height and weight, or those who are slightly underweight (I’m talking about you, Geek Boy).
-The bad: The gloves are sold separately, bumping the cost of the costume from $55 to $68.
-The ugly: For God’s sake, if you’re going to wear this costume on Halloween, wear a cup. I don’t care that this costume is only mildly tight-fitting. Nobody wants to see your junk.
-BONUS!: You can also buy a “Back in Black” version of the Spider-Man costume that’s a little looser in the pants area and costs about $20 less.

Wolverine Origins Deluxe Adult Costume: Oh, Wolverine. Yes, here’s that yellow spandex we all know and love. Even the muscled version of this costume is pretty decent!
-The good: For the fact that this is a costume made of yellow and blue spandex, it’s still pretty freakin’ good looking. Unlike with Spidey, you don’t have to be an underweight geek to pull it off! Plus, if you want to go for the “mask pulled down” look, you can also get a pretty awesome Wolverine wig to wear instead of the mask.
-The bad: Again with no gloves, Marvel? What gives? This time, there are no gloves that are sold separately. At least it comes with the claws, yeesh.
-The ugly: Again, wear a cup. Also, this is not the costume for you if you’re taller than around 5′7″. Tall guys, I’m sorry, but there’s no Wolverine love for you; it’s just not cannon enough for me!

GI Joe Cobra Commander Adult Costume: Okay, to be honest, I’m not sure what came first in GI Joe: the dolls, the toys, the comics or the 80s cartoon; but you know what? This costume is too freakin’ awesome to leave off the list.
-The good: It’s Cobra Commander. Plus, there are gloves! Take that, Marvel costumes!
-The bad: Your ears will show, and that’s a little weird.
-The ugly: This costume is a little more on the expensive side. It’s $75, and the leg dagger isn’t included; you’d need to buy it for an additional $12. Once again — and I can’t stress this enough — wear a cup. Wear a cup, wear a cup, wear a cup. I know that these aren’t really tight compared to a costume you might make for yourself for Comic-Con, but there is no time or place that a woman wants to see your manly bits sticking out awkwardly from beneath your costume. It’s just not sexy. At all.

Green Lantern Adult Costume: If you were my boyfriend, I’d make you wear this. That’s how sexy it is. In fact, if it didn’t have a muscled chest plate thing, I’d wear it.
-The good: This is a great-looking costume. It’s Hal Jordan, which makes it the best and means you won’t look all ridiculous like Kyle Rayner. You could also probably finagle being John Stewart in this costume as well if you’re going for classic, afro John Stewart over the more modern costume look.
-The bad: Et tu, DC? Why no glove-love? Luckily, it’s not that expensive to buy white gloves.
-The ugly: It apparently doesn’t come with the ring. What the eff, dude? Seriously, no Green Lantern ring with your Green Lantern costume? I mean, sure, you can buy one separately at just about any comic book store, but still. That’s harsh. And if you don’t know by now to wear a cup with your costume, guys, you’re a lost cause.

Watchmen Rorschach Adult Costume: Ever said to yourself, “I wish I had a Halloween costume where I could wear my own black slacks and loafers”? Well, your wish has been granted!
-The good: It’s hard to muck up something like a Rorschach costume. In fact, if you have a trench coat, a scarf, and a tan fedora already, you can skip out on buying the entire costume and just buy the mask. Heck, you can buy the fedora, too.
-The bad: Again, there are no gloves. Also, you have to own your own slacks and loafers. At least you don’t have to wear a cup with this one!
-The ugly: Really, there’s no big turn off to this one at all. It even comes in plus size, which I heartily approve of in this case; unlike with Spidey, you big boys won’t look like a chump wearing a fedora instead of spandex.
-BONUS!: Get your friends to dress up with you in Comedian, Ozymandias, and Silk Spectre costumes. Avoid the Night Owl costume at all costs, though.

Batman Dark Knight The Joker Deluxe Adult Costume: Y so srs, internets? All joking aside,  the Joker is another classic that most anyone can enjoy.
-The good: This costume actually looks good, comes with gloves, and has pinstriped pants. Pinstripes!
-The bad: It’s a little pricey, but if you don’t mind wearing your own non-pinstripe pants, you can get a version of this costume that’s top-only for about half the price.
-The ugly: The mask is atrocious. Seriously, it’s one of the most ugly, horrible things I’ve ever seen. Thankfully, you can get some cheap dollar Halloween makeup for Walmart and paint your face up yourself; of course, if I was doing that, I’d be going for the more Mark Hammil look of the Joker from the Animated Series. If you want to stay with the pure Dark Knight look, however, there’s an actual Joker makeup kit you can buy.

That’s it for Part 1 of my Geek Chic Halloween guide. Stay tuned for tomorrow when we continue this week-long series with Part 2: Best Adult Female Costumes!