A few eyebrows were raised when the New Zealand  teams revealed their new collaborative .

In round five of the competition on March 14 and 15, themed the Super Kids' round, the five teams will run out in the designs.

It will be a strange sight, with the Hurricanes, who historically run a black-and-yellow colour scheme, in the red-white-and-blue of Captain America, and the Blues in a jersey bearing an eye-catchingly dominant red panel in their red-and-blue Spider-Man tribute.

As it happens, deciding which team represented which Marvel character was about more than simply matching colours.

The Blues will have a Spider-Man inspired strip.

“We were able to decide which character would most inspire players and our fans,” Chiefs chief executive Simon Graafhuis said.

“[It’s] worth noting this wasn’t just about colours, it was about inspiration and which characters would resonate best and reflect what each club stood for.”

Warren Carney, managing director at Classic Sportswear, said the jersey concepts were developed closely with Marvel, and designed alongside the five teams to “reflect their Marvel aesthetic”.

The Chiefs will wear a Black Panther-inspired kit, the Crusaders being inspired by Iron Man and the Highlanders by Hulk.

The collaboration has been in the works for about a year, and the clubs saw it as an opportunity to drive more awareness, engagement, and excitement for the competition.

Graafhuis said the collaboration was between the New Zealand teams and Marvel, not New Zealand Rugby or Super Rugby Pacific, and would not comment on the monetary value of the two-year deal.

The Highlanders as Hulk.

“This was about driving greater interest and engagement of our NZ Super Rugby teams and the 2025 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season with a broader fan group which is really key for us.”

Super Kids' round will see the Hurricanes take on the Highlanders, the Crusaders host the Western Force, and the Blues meet the Chiefs.

With the collaboration only being with the teams whose apparel partner is Classic Sportswear, Moana Pasifika were not involved.

It’s the latest in a growing list of Super Hero-inspired sports jerseys.

The NRL first had a Marvel Super Heroes round in 2014, which returned the following season, continuing until 2017.

South Africa’s Super Rugby teams followed suit, with designs similar to the New Zealand ones revealed today, in the 2019 season.

Still in the Super Hero theme, but not Marvel associated, the Melbourne Rebels wore a  and the Reds featured a Flash-inspired strip in 2015.

Away from the hero theme, the NBL introduced Looney Tunes round in 2019.

 joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.