"Practical" Super hero costumes
I've been noticing a trend when ever comic book characters get a redesign now. Now only does it make the news (why?), but it also recives heaps of praise for being "practical"
This article popped up on yahoo abit ago.
toybox.io9.com/are-we-entering…
Sooooo am I the only one who things "practical" = boring?
There seems to be a bit of gushing and it's about time for Spider-woman getting a new costume annnnd then you look t the full image
here static.comicvine.com/uploads/o…
That's it? Really? She zips up her jacket and then: BAM! Superhero!
... And people give me shit for not wearing a mask.
Frankly I think this and many of the "practical" redesigns need to be redesigned to be actual COSTUMES.
But that's just me discuss minions!
This article popped up on yahoo abit ago.
toybox.io9.com/are-we-entering…
Sooooo am I the only one who things "practical" = boring?
There seems to be a bit of gushing and it's about time for Spider-woman getting a new costume annnnd then you look t the full image
here static.comicvine.com/uploads/o…
That's it? Really? She zips up her jacket and then: BAM! Superhero!
... And people give me shit for not wearing a mask.Frankly I think this and many of the "practical" redesigns need to be redesigned to be actual COSTUMES.
But that's just me discuss minions!
Comments41
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Well for a person the is making their own comic book and comic book universe. I have had to make all my own outfits and especially with my female characters making their out designs "practical"
Example #1
The yellow girl is named Pulsar and she is a Speedster, her outfit is designed like a track suit with hard carbon-fiber guards on the joints.
The purple girl is Gravatara, is a gravity manipulator. and while her arms are uncovered and she has a small chest window (cause that is how she rolls) her legs and gloves are padded to help absorb impacts while hitting, kicking and punching stuff.
Flashfire has a more traditional look, with some modern casual flare.
Permafrost, while her outfit my not look like it is practical, it is more traditional than the catsuits most female heroes wear, but actually a long shirt is very practical for taking combat stances while still not being as reviling. also with it being made of a material that has the strength of titanium when its temperature drops to below zero temperatures, she also has her added ice armor that she uses most of the time.
Armory is in a armored suit so you know...
then you have my other designs that attempt to mix classic superhero outfits with more modern and practical aspects. blainedaymon.deviantart.com/ga…
Example #1
The yellow girl is named Pulsar and she is a Speedster, her outfit is designed like a track suit with hard carbon-fiber guards on the joints.
The purple girl is Gravatara, is a gravity manipulator. and while her arms are uncovered and she has a small chest window (cause that is how she rolls) her legs and gloves are padded to help absorb impacts while hitting, kicking and punching stuff.
Flashfire has a more traditional look, with some modern casual flare.
Permafrost, while her outfit my not look like it is practical, it is more traditional than the catsuits most female heroes wear, but actually a long shirt is very practical for taking combat stances while still not being as reviling. also with it being made of a material that has the strength of titanium when its temperature drops to below zero temperatures, she also has her added ice armor that she uses most of the time.
Armory is in a armored suit so you know...
then you have my other designs that attempt to mix classic superhero outfits with more modern and practical aspects. blainedaymon.deviantart.com/ga…
As far as the briefs-on-the-outside look goes, I'm pretty sure it comes from circus acrobats, who often used costumes like that at the time Superman was first published. Why they did that I can't say, unless it was to prevent a drooping crotch problem.
There's that though now the pants are sorely missed.
Just so long it's not jeans and a t-shirt or sweats I don't care too much. I know I'm lame. XD
But Superman is so cool. I mean just fix the hair put on a pair of glasses, a causal outfit and BAM! The villains are so stupid they don't recognize you. And if he's caught wearing the costume when he's supposed to be Clark Kent, people think he's cosplaying or just wearing a Superman costume. XD
But Superman is so cool. I mean just fix the hair put on a pair of glasses, a causal outfit and BAM! The villains are so stupid they don't recognize you. And if he's caught wearing the costume when he's supposed to be Clark Kent, people think he's cosplaying or just wearing a Superman costume. XD
I'm of two minds on the issue.
Firstly, I happen to fall into the category of fans who believe that we should be having the conversation on portrayal of women in entertainment and media. Not just comics or video games, mind you, but the two do have a history of being "boys club" industries, and the vast majority of people who work within them are still men. Now that statistics are showing that as much as nearly half the fan/consumer base is female, it only makes sense to take measures to make them feel more welcome in the community, from a business perspective at the very least and an ethical one as well. Part of that includes treating female characters with the same respect as their male counterparts, rather than simply as objects of fantasy or desire. I stress that I do not believe that fan-service is itself inherently bad or wrong; I simply believe that it should be balanced, done in a tasteful way that respects the characters themselves and fans of all genders who may be reading.
On the other hand, it is always possible to tell when publishers are just pushing a gimmick to try and bump sales. It's pretty clear when something is being changed just for the purpose of change (and to drive the hype wagon) and it always comes across as highly patronizing and insincere. To the credit of the Big Two (Marvel in particular), many of the efforts made in the last year or two to better represent women have been quite well done. The new Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite titles, and characters like She-Hulk and Black Widow have also been receiving fine development and high praise. Unfortunately, once the marketing department picks up on a trend, they tend to beat that horse to a bloody pulp, not being able to tell where to draw the line. "Something that worked for those characters must obviously work for all characters," is pretty much the flow of logic they seem to work with.
Until I've read the story itself, I won't be able to say one way or the other whether Spider-woman's new costume was actually worth the hype. I have a feeling though that this is going to turn out the way Batgirl did; while Babs' new outfit and direction has a certain back-to-basics appeal to it, I just don't feel like the hype generated by/for it was worth the payoff, not to mention that her old outfit was perfectly fine to begin with and didn't really need to be changed.
Firstly, I happen to fall into the category of fans who believe that we should be having the conversation on portrayal of women in entertainment and media. Not just comics or video games, mind you, but the two do have a history of being "boys club" industries, and the vast majority of people who work within them are still men. Now that statistics are showing that as much as nearly half the fan/consumer base is female, it only makes sense to take measures to make them feel more welcome in the community, from a business perspective at the very least and an ethical one as well. Part of that includes treating female characters with the same respect as their male counterparts, rather than simply as objects of fantasy or desire. I stress that I do not believe that fan-service is itself inherently bad or wrong; I simply believe that it should be balanced, done in a tasteful way that respects the characters themselves and fans of all genders who may be reading.
On the other hand, it is always possible to tell when publishers are just pushing a gimmick to try and bump sales. It's pretty clear when something is being changed just for the purpose of change (and to drive the hype wagon) and it always comes across as highly patronizing and insincere. To the credit of the Big Two (Marvel in particular), many of the efforts made in the last year or two to better represent women have been quite well done. The new Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite titles, and characters like She-Hulk and Black Widow have also been receiving fine development and high praise. Unfortunately, once the marketing department picks up on a trend, they tend to beat that horse to a bloody pulp, not being able to tell where to draw the line. "Something that worked for those characters must obviously work for all characters," is pretty much the flow of logic they seem to work with.
Until I've read the story itself, I won't be able to say one way or the other whether Spider-woman's new costume was actually worth the hype. I have a feeling though that this is going to turn out the way Batgirl did; while Babs' new outfit and direction has a certain back-to-basics appeal to it, I just don't feel like the hype generated by/for it was worth the payoff, not to mention that her old outfit was perfectly fine to begin with and didn't really need to be changed.
I see your point. I think the over all thing that seems off putting is to me is the obsession with making the woman look 'normal' but it's perfectly fine for the men to be exaggerated. Seriously no one flipped their shit when spider-man crawled up the side of the building but when a woman does it it's objectification. Oh that double standard.
There is a difference though between "objectification" and "idealization." I don't want to go into it too much because such conversations rarely end up being productive and are usually more of a headache than a benefit, but I think it's worth pointing out that when male objectification actually does happen, there is often a huge backlash made by a vocal segment of the fanbase, with no sense of irony or self-awareness.
For a recent example (in video games mind you, but still) all you have to do is look to the reveal of the male protagonist for the new mobile Final Fantasy game Square Enix announced a little while back. Said character whose name I can't be bothered to look up is portrayed in very revealing armor and in poses which are more common for female characters, and has very "feminine" features. This is what male objectification actually looks like (and it's something I'm actually okay with; if you're going to objectify one gender you need to be able to accept the same of others. I still have no desire whatsoever to play the game, but it has nothing to do with the design and everything to do with my broken trust in Sqeenix as a company). Male gamers became uncomfortable and raised a huge stink over it. Compare this to a character like, say, Kratos from the God of War series. He arguably wears far less than the previously mentioned mobile FF hero, or most male video game heroes in general, but (male) gamers rarely complain about it (except when they are trying to derail conversations about female representation) because the purpose of Kratos' design wasn't to objectify men; The intention was to make them feel powerful, ie: a power fantasy, and the hetero male fanbase eats it up. The Dragon Age series is another example, because gay male relationships are made an option, and every time a new game is released a segment of the fanbase will always become vocal over it (but same sex female relationships are totes fine because, hey, its sexy right?) While the medium may be different, the situation is very similar in comic books, though thankfully it rarely reaches the same level of s**t-sanity that we've come to expect from the fringes of the gaming community.
TL;DR: The main difference between male character designs and female character designs is actually that, for all intents and purposes, there is no difference. Both are being designed mainly by male creators to appeal to a male audience. I'm not saying that there isn't any male objectification. It does exist, and that can't be denied; it is however, far less common than certain detractors would have us think.
Though as I said, and to return to the original talking point, I do feel that publishers have started a trend of changing female costumes primarily as a marketing scheme, with no real purpose beyond a patronizing attempt to increase sales, and better representation needs to go beyond arbitrary wardrobe changes to truly be effective. At the very least, I think we can all agree that the publishers really, really need to remove their heads from their posteriors and stop taking their readers for granted.
For a recent example (in video games mind you, but still) all you have to do is look to the reveal of the male protagonist for the new mobile Final Fantasy game Square Enix announced a little while back. Said character whose name I can't be bothered to look up is portrayed in very revealing armor and in poses which are more common for female characters, and has very "feminine" features. This is what male objectification actually looks like (and it's something I'm actually okay with; if you're going to objectify one gender you need to be able to accept the same of others. I still have no desire whatsoever to play the game, but it has nothing to do with the design and everything to do with my broken trust in Sqeenix as a company). Male gamers became uncomfortable and raised a huge stink over it. Compare this to a character like, say, Kratos from the God of War series. He arguably wears far less than the previously mentioned mobile FF hero, or most male video game heroes in general, but (male) gamers rarely complain about it (except when they are trying to derail conversations about female representation) because the purpose of Kratos' design wasn't to objectify men; The intention was to make them feel powerful, ie: a power fantasy, and the hetero male fanbase eats it up. The Dragon Age series is another example, because gay male relationships are made an option, and every time a new game is released a segment of the fanbase will always become vocal over it (but same sex female relationships are totes fine because, hey, its sexy right?) While the medium may be different, the situation is very similar in comic books, though thankfully it rarely reaches the same level of s**t-sanity that we've come to expect from the fringes of the gaming community.
TL;DR: The main difference between male character designs and female character designs is actually that, for all intents and purposes, there is no difference. Both are being designed mainly by male creators to appeal to a male audience. I'm not saying that there isn't any male objectification. It does exist, and that can't be denied; it is however, far less common than certain detractors would have us think.
Though as I said, and to return to the original talking point, I do feel that publishers have started a trend of changing female costumes primarily as a marketing scheme, with no real purpose beyond a patronizing attempt to increase sales, and better representation needs to go beyond arbitrary wardrobe changes to truly be effective. At the very least, I think we can all agree that the publishers really, really need to remove their heads from their posteriors and stop taking their readers for granted.
These day function overrides fashion in the superhero world. Every piece every stich serves a purpose. Now let's hope Batman won't trade his cape and cowl for a leather jacket and jeans
Oh don't tempt them. Im sure someones thought of it.
There are some things that are so iconic that they can't be changed
... *cough cough*
And then there are hybrid costumes, such as for The Question. He wore specially treated street clothes that changed color when exposed to a gas in his belt buckle. More to the point, he applied a fleshtone mask to his entire face. He could see, breathe, and speak through it, but the gas made it all but impossible to remove. A different gas undid everything. This way, a baseball cap and maybe upturned collar let him look like a civilian and walk the streets without drawing crowds,yet remain anonymous.
Starman, at least the one I used to read, wore a typical costume, but could alter his features as will, so no mask needed.
Starman, at least the one I used to read, wore a typical costume, but could alter his features as will, so no mask needed.
Wasn't Batgirl wearing Kevlar molded body armor ALA Dark Knight before this hoodie redesign?
I'm not sure "practical" costumes are really much more practical, if at all. When it comes to clothing that doesn't restrict movement, between loose and skintight/stretchy it's probably close to a toss-up and comes down to personal preference more often than not. It sure seems to in MMA. At least with skintight you can make a case that you're less likely to snag your clothing on something.
As far as the possibly-too-sexy female costumes go, they're not too much skimpier than what female gymnasts wear.
As far as the possibly-too-sexy female costumes go, they're not too much skimpier than what female gymnasts wear.
Oxymoron.
Sorry, but it's true. People have commented on the impracticality of some female superhero's sexy outfits, and in any other genre I'd agree; but with superheroes, impracticality is a staple of the genre. I mean, Batman's bat ears and wings should hinder him as much as Wonder Woman's sexy heels; the bright colors that Robin, Superman, Aquaman, etc. choose should make it difficult to sneak up on villains; and what, pray tell, is the logic of wearing briefs over your tights?
Superheores can't have practical outfits. End of discussion.
(IN B4 angry fan boys try to defend Superman's red briefs over his sexy blue tights.)
Sorry, but it's true. People have commented on the impracticality of some female superhero's sexy outfits, and in any other genre I'd agree; but with superheroes, impracticality is a staple of the genre. I mean, Batman's bat ears and wings should hinder him as much as Wonder Woman's sexy heels; the bright colors that Robin, Superman, Aquaman, etc. choose should make it difficult to sneak up on villains; and what, pray tell, is the logic of wearing briefs over your tights?
Superheores can't have practical outfits. End of discussion.
(IN B4 angry fan boys try to defend Superman's red briefs over his sexy blue tights.)
Exactly. The notion of a guy who dresses as a Bat and fights crime is just as impractical as a woman in a star spangled ass hugging leotard and 6 inch heals fighting crime.
Also when did the concept of Superheroes stop being 'FUN' ad end up as 'The seriousus buisnessess'?
Also when did the concept of Superheroes stop being 'FUN' ad end up as 'The seriousus buisnessess'?
Probably at the turn of the century, when everything suddenly had to be "dark and edgy." The same thing happened with the fantasy genre. Anything that wasn't a Shrek-esque parody had to be either an "epic" Lord of the Rings knock off, or a "dark" fairy tale retelling.
I completely agree! That's what I liked so much about the Guardians of the Galaxy film. It was fun! I mean, I like dark and edgy too but not all the time 
!
!Oh yeah I see what you mean. I'd like to see a throw back to the Swords and Sandels era more often and ya know FUN super heroes stories.
I can appreciate both. I've honestly always been a fan of "civvie superhero costumes" myself for some time, but that doesn't take away my appreciation for classic, iconic superhero outfits either.
It truly depends on individual designs. I think the new Spider-Woman costume is fine (I personally don't understand the glasses/mask thing, but the rest of it is okay) versus, say, the Batgirl costume which sounds good in theory but I don't see how that mask stays on and the belt looks absolutely ridiculous.
I also can't help but wonder why Spider-Woman was up for one of these redesigns when her costume was fairly non-offensive. It covered everything, there were no random boob windows or anything, and was fairly iconic. The more cynical part of me wants to suggest this was a knee jerk reaction to the Manara cover or Marvel trying to cash in on DC's Batgirl redesign.
It truly depends on individual designs. I think the new Spider-Woman costume is fine (I personally don't understand the glasses/mask thing, but the rest of it is okay) versus, say, the Batgirl costume which sounds good in theory but I don't see how that mask stays on and the belt looks absolutely ridiculous.
I also can't help but wonder why Spider-Woman was up for one of these redesigns when her costume was fairly non-offensive. It covered everything, there were no random boob windows or anything, and was fairly iconic. The more cynical part of me wants to suggest this was a knee jerk reaction to the Manara cover or Marvel trying to cash in on DC's Batgirl redesign.
I'm guessing it has to do with the stink over the cover and the Batgirl thing. Or that they want to get Spider-woman in a movie and know no one will be willing to wear it (I turn you to Electra and the Juggernaught). To me the costume is just lazy due to it primarily being street clothes. Kind of like Conner Kent or Wonder Girl in the latter half of the old 52. If your going to do a costume do an actually costume that doesn't look like what you where wearing 2 seconds before the Green Goblin attacked. (seriously Invincible did a bit over this lol)
Aw. I actually love the Conner Kent t-shirt and jeans costume. It's one of my favorites. Wonder Girl on the other hand, the costume she had earlier in the TT run (the more reddish one) was fine, while the one she had post-OYL (the blue jeans and the symbol that awkwardly wrapped around her arms) was bad.
And when did Invincible do that? I can't seem to recall.
And when did Invincible do that? I can't seem to recall.
Well the gag in Invincible was more of how Atom Eve didn't have a mask on and was recognizable (I believe it was their Teacher who was turning people into explosives that pointed it out). Now I do agree I do like Connor's t-shirt/ jeans look as it fits his character of not wanting to be like Superman... Wonder Girl not so much. Hers is jut lazy... But then most of the Teen Titans stuff post-OYL was lazy.
Oh, ha. I remember that. I wouldn't say Eve fits the trend; her is still very much a superhero outfit, just without a mask.