Any attack powerful enough to hurt characters like Shazam, Superman, Supergirl, Powergirl etc, isn’t going to to be stopped by armor.
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Any attack powerful enough to hurt characters like Shazam, Superman, Supergirl, Powergirl etc, isn’t going to to be stopped by armor.
Well, first of all, it depends on the type of armor and the type of weapon. Kryptonian body armor, for example, could be more durable and reflective than any substance on earth.
Hypothetically, imagine New52 Superman and Green Arrow got into a feud (Clark voted for Hillary, Ollie voted for Bernie- it was the 2016 DNC primaries all over again ;) ). Green Arrow has a kryptonite arrow. Now, if Green Arrow shoots t-shirt and jeans Superman with that kryptonite arrow, it goes straight through and pierces him, right? Because it's kryptonite, negating his normal invulnerability, and he buys his t-shirts at a local store in Metropolis that uses cheap materials. :) However, let's say Green Arrow shoots his kryptonite arrow at Kryptonian armor Superman- maybe it bounces right off, because the armor is more than strong enough to stop an arrow, and wouldn't necessarily have any special vulnerability to kryptonite.
Similarly, imagine Superman is on a planet that orbits a red sun (This seems to happen more often than one would think). Suddenly, his armor is very helpful, because while he's now depowered and as vulnerable as a human, his armor remains at whatever his armor's full strength was initially.
One could also imagine an armor that would reflect light away from heroes, preventing them from being vulnerable to people tossing a flash-bang in their direction, or an armor that had more of a ricochet effect than Superman's skin that could help. For example, I think typically, when bullets hit Superman, they just fall to the ground. Maybe with body armor, they bounce off a bit. I'd have to check the comics it was featured in to see what bullets did when they hit Kryptonian body armor, but even if *it* didn't reflect bullets and stuff, some theoretical armor in the future might.
It's also worth noting that characters may wear armor to look intimidating or cool, and that they may have some special connection with it for sentimental reasons. For example, I thought Superman was more imposing in the New52 body armor and high-collar, and he probably had a special attachment to it because it was one of the few things he owned that came from the planet of his birth.
Finally, though this wouldn't apply to Superman in most cases, a hero *like* Superman might wear armor to disguise that he is an alien or a meta-human or a mutant or whatever. He could claim that he's a regular human being and that the strength comes from the armor, the way it was for Lex Luthor when he flew around claiming to be Superman for a while.
No superhero is really invulnerable. At best, they're just really hard to hurt. If they're wearing armor chances are it's tougher than them.
Unless your name's Steel, Rocket Red, or Iron Man, armor on superheroes is dumb.
Superman's costume has been impervious to harm for most of the pre-Crisis period.
[QUOTE=Carabas;3781930]Superman's costume has been impervious to harm for most of the pre-Crisis period.[/QUOTE]
Fans started wondering why bullets didn't chew up the costume.
It goes back to the Fleischer shorts, when he used his cape to shield Lois from molten metal in "The Mad Scientist".
[QUOTE=Jody Garland;3782214]It goes back to the Fleischer shorts, when he used his cape to shield Lois from molten metal in "The Mad Scientist".[/QUOTE]
A cape should be the only armor Superman needs.
Wonder Woman is the one that mystifies me. She can withstand blows that level buildings but can be wounded by conventional weapons?
[QUOTE=Jody Garland;3782214]It goes back to the Fleischer shorts, when he used his cape to shield Lois from molten metal in "The Mad Scientist".[/QUOTE]
"The Mechanical Monsters" actually
Armor is an easy visual shorthand to indicate that clothing won't easily be damaged, which is great for new readers who won't know about indestructible Kryptonian threads.
For a character whose 'invulnerability' goes away when someone shines red sunlight on him, whips out some green glowing rocks, uses magic, etc., etc. armor sounds like a good idea, actually. (Plus there are people like Doomsday, Ultraman and Black Adam who can punch hard enough that he's not really 'invulnerable' to them.)
Also; Corollary - heroes (or villains) who *aren't* invulnerable, and deliberately go into fights with bullets and explosions and energy blasts flying around *without* armor are dumb.
[QUOTE=Sutekh;3783286]For a character whose 'invulnerability' goes away when someone shines red sunlight on him, whips out some green glowing rocks, uses magic, etc., etc. armor sounds like a good idea, actually. (Plus there are people like Doomsday, Ultraman and Black Adam who can punch hard enough that he's not really 'invulnerable' to them.)
Also; Corollary - heroes (or villains) who *aren't* invulnerable, and deliberately go into fights with bullets and explosions and energy blasts flying around *without* armor are dumb.[/QUOTE]
I agree with both points. IMO, disagreeing with them is just comic-book conservatism.
[QUOTE=DrNewGod;3782521]"The Mechanical Monsters" actually[/QUOTE]
You gave me an excuse to go back and watch those shorts, so thanks for the correction!
[QUOTE=Johnny Thunders!;3782450]Wonder Woman is the one that mystifies me. She can withstand blows that level buildings but can be wounded by conventional weapons?[/QUOTE]
This one has always puzzled me. If she can punch someone like Superman really hard, her skin should be able to withstand a bullet or a blade.