Costume Changes : Does every change bother you ?

[Static]

I am not against costume changes if i like them (which for everyone will be in their opinion of course). It makes sense in the new 52 at least that since the past was changed slightly, it would change some of the choices they made.

Ones i liked: Superman (although i do miss the undies), Green Arrow, Harley, Hal jordan.
Ones i hated: STATIC. (As a static fanatic i didnt like it, the symbol was ugly, the suit didnt seem interesting)
the rest i didnty have much of an opinion on

[Dr. Jan Itor]

Raven's costume is the only one that I don't really like in the New 52.
Superman's is by far the best change. Getting rid of the trunks makes him actually seem like The Man of Tomorrow.
Superboy's new look is okay, but still infinitely better than the jeans and T-shirt look.

[Sirzechs]

No wings when its not in use

[Waterfall]

Most of nu52 costumes are good. I love Superfamily and Wonders' outfits. I only love Flash's suit when he's drawn by Manapul. He really knows how to make it look sleek. Booth on the other hand? *rolls eyes*

I like Black Canary's costume and Batgirl's both versions. While colors of Nightwing is off, I like the general sport look.

There are however really bad designs as well...Wally West, Raven, Starfire, Red Robin, Robins (except Damien) etc.

[exile001]

I'm cool with change. Batman's costume has been getting better and better since the 70s. As has Robin's.

I think Shawn Martinbrough's version was best for Batman, but its still looking great.

I like a lot of the New 52 updates as well. Superman's is probably the most distracting to me, but a lot of that is the stupidity behind the idea that an invulnerable man needs to appear to be wearing armour. Lol.

That said, change can be horrible. Anyone remember Booster Gold's bulky armour from the 90's? Brrr.

[mathew101281]

I can honestly say that I dearly have no manner of consideration for costumes and in fact am constantly baffled by the attention other fans pay to them.

The ONLY costume item that has ever bothered me was that "Dr. Strange" collar, which seems like it would obstruct one's vision to a ridiculous degree (and yes, I'm ignoring how most helmet-masks would work in real life).

I have this crazy idea that super-heroes need to ditch the skintight suits in favor of things that are constructed more realistically, even if they do remain distinctive in coloration, but I know I'm the only person who feels this way and pretty much come across as a crackpot when I talk about it

I'd argue that costumes are the defining element of the genre(even more so then superpowers) .

[ReverseReverseFlash]

Pretty much what everyone else has said. If its a good redesign and shows character progression, then I like it.

Green Arrow, for instance. You could track his entire career over the years by how his costume evolved and elements changed. Then the New 52 hit and took that logical progression and regressed him into an over-armored trope that doesn't seem to have a reason to wear what he does. Why all that armor? He's an archer.

Batman is another good example, although I don't like the militarization of his design lately.

Superman is a somewhat negative example. it isn't about the trunks or the collar, per se, but more about how those things have shifted the perception of the character. The collar seems arrogant or a status symbol, while losing the trunks robbed the design of it's color balance. It seems the other Supermans in the multiverse have a better 'update' to his costume.

[GlennSimpson]

I'd argue that costumes are the defining element of the genre(even more so then superpowers) .

I suppose it comes down to a belief that we could get a wider acceptance and audience if the books shifted slightly from "super-hero" and more towards "sci-fi/fantasy". It seems like a normal guy gets weird powers and uses them to fight bad guys while in his regular clothes, it's "science fiction" but as soon as he puts on the funny costume, he becomes a "super-hero". I am oversimplifying, but that's the general idea.

[Vexham28]

I don't mind a "refinement" to a costume as long as its essence is intact. For example, Aquaman's updated costume in Brightest Day just gave him a higher collar and sleeker pants; otherwise, he still looked like himself. On the other hand, giving J'onn pants--blech!

This. I'm all in favour of little *tweaks* to costumes.

[steeplejack2112]

Yes, I hate all of them.

I agree with the exception of Dr. Fate. His update is pretty cool.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I suppose it comes down to a belief that we could get a wider acceptance and audience if the books shifted slightly from "super-hero" and more towards "sci-fi/fantasy". It seems like a normal guy gets weird powers and uses them to fight bad guys while in his regular clothes, it's "science fiction" but as soon as he puts on the funny costume, he becomes a "super-hero". I am oversimplifying, but that's the general idea.

IDK... I honestly believe the most influential/relevant sci-fi universe in the last decade is the Mass Effect universe; and everyone there has a distinctive, almost super-heroey look. OTOH, Captain America spent the most part of his last movie in civilian clothes. So, the line has been blurred on that aspect.

Also, no costumes would mean a severe fall on merchandise, along with other problems.

[thetrellan]

Only when special considerations apply. For instance, those red suits you mentioned? Combined with the way Kirk is drawing him, Reed looks too much like Plastic Man in red and black, so the color scheme doesn't work for me. Really the only who ever wore red before was Johnny, and they took his powers away for the current arc.

Really, though, my complaint is less about the colors, more that I'd like Reed to look more like Kirby imagined him originally. Less taffy, more stretch lines.

Although I will say I don't see the need to redesign their uniforms every 2 years. I get why the Wasp does it, it's her hobby, but seriously, what's up with that?

[Punisher007]

The word "realistic" is a description used by other posters, I just responded to it.

As for Wonder Woman and the Amazons, you're just wrong. There was always lots of skin and outfits reminiscent of swimsuits.

The Golden Age



Pre-Crisis



The New 52

A few things:

1. There's a difference between what she wears her personal time and what her SUPERHERO costume, that she publically fights crime in looks like. THAT is why I hate the swimsuit look.
2. Different times, different standards. What worked decades ago doesn't automatically work here.
3. The first two New 52 designs still look at least somewhat like battle uniforms, they do NOT look like swimsuits. The latter two are just bad designs.

The Gal Gadot movie costume is much more like how WW should look (although perhaps with more color to it).

[Blackfist]

3. The first two New 52 designs still look at least somewhat like battle uniforms, they do NOT look like swimsuits. The latter two are just bad designs.

Not really, that is somewhat how male warriors did, wore very little so that they'd be able to put on armour later. The Greek Warrior woman is hard to get any details on but Roman women wore Tube tops like on the left but just panties like on the right when not in battle

[GlennSimpson]

IDK... I honestly believe the most influential/relevant sci-fi universe in the last decade is the Mass Effect universe; and everyone there has a distinctive, almost super-heroey look. OTOH, Captain America spent the most part of his last movie in civilian clothes. So, the line has been blurred on that aspect.

Also, no costumes would mean a severe fall on merchandise, along with other problems.

I think you could have distinctive clothing, just clothing that is more plausible. While not by any means an expert, my general impression of the G.I. Joe characters is that most of them are wearing outfits that are a play on military stuff, and it manages to be distinctive (and sell toys) without being skintight (other than like the ninja who wears ninja clothes, which is all good, because, ninja.)