Costume fixation (Get your mind out of the gutter)

[proditor]

I was pondering which costumes I considered to be the best designs and I realized I have a flag suit fixation. My list was something along the lines of:

Guardian (Alpha Flight)
Union Jack
Captain Britain
Captain America
Patriot (Rising Stars)
Red Guardian (Soviet Super Soldiers)

So yes, I apparently dig flag suits. What is your favorite costume design/color pattern/what have you?

[Snake Gandhi]

Flash's costume is very good, as is Spider-Man's.

I'm also partial to the original Batgirl costume as well.

[Chimpira]

I am with you there for the design on Union Jack. I have loved his costume since I was a kid. For some reason I have always enjoyed Hal Jordan's Green Lantern costume. Funny because I did not read GL until last year. Go figure.

[Supreme Serpent]

Several previous threads (no pun intended), such as:

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31418&highlight=costume

But another one doesn't hurt. ;)

Agree on the flagsuits as a general category that frequently works well.

I'm also fond of battlesuits - various Iron Man outfits, Titanium Man/Crimson Dynamo, Beetle, Guardsman, etc. Maybe it's the helmet, as I also love Dr. Fate's and old-school Magneto's outfits.

[Chuckg]

You know, I tried to think of what costumes I really liked, and I came to the conclusion that I'm not much of a costume person.

For example, I think the best-dressed superheroine of 2005 was Cassandra "Batgirl III" Cain -- and that's because she did a lot of her adventuring in civilian clothes. (Her Batgirl /costume/ is just plain fugly.)

I don't hate costumes, I just seem not to like them. They're just another kind of clothes, attractive or unattractive both on their own merits and the hotness of whoever's filling them.

This glimpse into my head brought to you by me. If it bores you, feel free to skip. :)

[proditor]

Chuckg, what did you think about the X-men's costume free days?

[Blue]

How would skipping... Oh, n/m.

;)

I always liked Adam Warlock's costume. It's not easy to make red & Yellow work. Maybe ti's the soul gem :)

I could never get over how a hottie like the Scarlet Witch (dressed quite appropriately) would be involved with the Vision, who had perhaps the worst fashion sense of any popuplar hero.

Moon Knight had kind of an interesting look. Never cared much for the hero though.

[Chuckg]

Chuckg, what did you think about the X-men's costume free days?

I'm not remembering that right now. I may not have read it, or have read it and forgotten it. Around what time period was this?

And Blue -- agreed. Adam Warlock deserves kudos for being able to pull off a stylish look using a color scheme that on virtually anybody else would be considered proof of color blindness, if not outright brain damage.

[MCMaenza]

I always liked the original Huntress (Helena Wayne) costume. Zatanna's classic fishnets and top hat work best.

[Suleyman Rashid]

I always liked Ted Kord's costume. How many other heroes could pull off robin's egg blue? And Oliver Queen's costume during the Longbow Hunter days rocked.



And of course, there's always Power Girl...

[Blue]

Agreed. I don't get the point of the fishnets... but I like 'em ;)

[Chuckg]

Animated Zatanna's stage magician outfit, while very similar to Comics Zatanna's , looks just so much hotter for some reason.

Then again, pretty much /all/ of Timm's artwork is stunning. And so are all the characters depicted.

[proditor]

It was recent, like the last 5 years or so? Can't be more specific as I had bailed a bit before that and I get most of my X-titles news 3rd or 4th hand these days. It was whichever title is now in the hands of Whedon (IIRC) and he put them back in costumes.

[Chuckg]

Ah, in that case, haven't read it. With the exception of Whedon's run on ASTONISHING, I've pretty much been ignoring the X-Titles since the 90s. :(

[OddHat]

I never much liked costumes that didn't look practical. I prefer adapted street clothes.

The Shadow, Green Hornet, any Mask, Cape, gloves and Suit guy works well for me. It's something that hides your identity and is fast to get into. Throw off the mask and cape and you can pass for a normal guy on the street.

Skimpy Heroine costumes probably are practical from a casual identity protection point of view; if you're used to seeing someone almost naked, you're not likely to recognize them in casual street clothes. On the other hand, I expect Vampirella goes through a lot of spirit gum.

Power armor usually works.

[Chuckg]

In the 'Secret ID Secure' contest, I'd like to nominate the Spoiler's (Stephanie Brown, ROBIN and BATMAN comics) original costume.

Bodysuit, cape, hood, full face mask with eyeholes covered by that opaque one-way white lens stuff. You couldn't see her hair color, eye color, or skin color, let alone facial features. And if it hadn't been for the fact that she was stacked like a brick outhouse, you wouldn't have been able to tell her gender either. :)

She later on started wearing a costume that showed her blonde ponytail, but it still hid the face.

[teh bunneh]

The Question. He looks completely average from a distance, then you realize he has no face at all -- how cool is that? :thumbup:

[Radar]

The Man Called Nova - simple but classic.

[keithcurtis]

Spider-man has one of the most graphically interesting costumes ever. Which was why the black uniform business was nearly criminal.

I like costumes that have a symbol—Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Wonder Woman, the X-Men—since that symbol can be used in so many ways. Remember Dark Knight Returns, as the Amercian flag subtly shifts it white to yellow? You just know who you're looking at. And what they're about.

Keith "And of course, Power Girl, for obvious reasons" Curtis

[Redmenace]

Captain Marvel, the Kree one, and his son have always worked for me. Vindicator and Captain America are my runner ups, one look and you've got the concept.

Many of the designs of artist Mark Bagley, who did the Thunderbolt's look and later Strikeforce Morituri, are very good.

The silver age Green Lanterns and Flash are timeless classics.

[CrosshairCollie]

I like capes and primary colors, it seems. Superman and Quasar's costumes rule for me. Red, yellow and blue together shouldn't work, but somehow, it does.

I liked Adam Warlock's costume in Infinity Watch; black bodysuit, red gloves and boots, red cape with gold lining inside.

Marvel Boy (Vance Astrovik) had a rockin cape, the way Bagley drew it.

Except for the ugly headgear, I even liked Shatterstar's original costume with the half-cape (especially when he appeared in the New Warriors annual, art by Bagley).

On a sidenote, I glanced through an issue of X-Men the other day, and I freakin' HATE those costumes. Too much black. I liked Jim Lee's costumes, nice and colorful. Of course, what happened was that the guy who made the X-Men movies didn't want the color, and since the movie was popular, the comics crew was forced to adopt it ... bleah.

[Enforcer84]

I tend to like costumes based on colors. Avoid green and Purple and I'll probably be happy. I never liked the Hulk's look until he started wearing a black t-shirt and brown pants.

I dig capes too.

[Log-Man]

I've always like Guy Gardner's GL outfit; vest, ski boots and all.

Spidey's red and blue, and Barry Allen Flash's outfits are classics. Nova is an old favorite. If we're including armor, I love Rocket Red's Apokolips armor.

Green Arrow with the hood is possibly my all time favorite.

[LoresLost]

The Alex Ross' Captain Marval (Shazam) is great. Also I always liked Doctor Fate as well

[Hermit]

God help me, I actually liked Booster Gold's costume, even with High collar. There was something about it that just sang how it was all about him. :)
And yeah, I like Nova (Rich) as well, maybe blue and gold just work for me period.

Captain America wisely has the sense to make his stripes vertical. I really think his shield is part of it to such a degree that it has come to symbolize the man.
I join those who praise the costume of Union Jack. UJ's outfit has always impressed me more than most flagsuits, maybe because it is so simple yet elegant.

As for the ladies, I was warped to enjoy fishnets by black canary and Zatanna as a lad and juvenile as it may sound, I have very little problem with the super heroine in revealing garb, particularly if the lady in question is nigh invulnerable or can fly (High boots and stilleto heels are not a problem when you don't run anyways), but Raven's Perez outfit from the eighties with flowing cloak and cowl struck me as awesome. Perfect for the whole mysterious sorceress type.


I'm sure there are lots more that I'm forgetting. I do wonder why they keep mucking with Spider-Man's costume. Seriously, it is such a classic look, but it looks like he'll be getting a new one soon thanks to Stark.

[Sketchpad]

Always been a big fan of Nova's look ... though I think he needs to loose the bucket these days. I like the generic X-Men uniforms when drawn Yellow & Black (rather than the high-gloss with blue). Black Widow's slicker outfit is well done when drawn right ... Hawkeye's outfit is awesome! One of the few people who can pull of purple. I also like Arsenal's original look, as well as most of the Titans "grown-up personas". The only exception is Troy's ... sorry, I dug the red Wonder Girl outfit :D I think I may also be one of the few people who liked the brown-red & yellow DD outfit ;)

[Trained Chicken]

I always liked Adam Warlock's costume. It's not easy to make red & Yellow work. Maybe [it's] the soul gem :)

It's amazing that most everything in clshing colors that was not designed by Jack Kirby looks like crap. The only costume I like featuring red and yellow prominently is Mr. Miracle (who has judicious amounts of green, too).


I could never get over how a hottie like the Scarlet Witch (dressed quite appropriately) would be involved with the Vision, who had perhaps the worst fashion sense of any popuplar hero.
That was part of their charm; they looked beyond the costumes (or in Vision's case, his skin) and saw each other from the inside out.

Moon Knight had kind of an interesting look. Never cared much for the hero though.
Chuck Dixon, legendary Batman and Punisher scribe described Moon Knight this way (and I'm paraphrasing): "Moon Knight would have to stand up on a chair to kiss Batman's ***. He's a great costume with nobody inside."

You know, flagsuits are a very good basis for a costume, since they are already iconic both by definition and because we're so used to seeing the patterns. This does not detract from the costume designing skills of those artists who use flags as their "whole cloth" (punch me now ;) ), but it does indicate why they are so nearly universally successful.

Three costumes I admire for their simplicity and strong asthetics all contain large amounts of violet and black: The old Huntress costume (don't get me started on the travesty of the new one), Marvel's Paladin costume (supremely rendered by Ron Lim in Captain America years ago as well as in other places), and the Prowler costume. More than any other work, I suspect Todd McFarlane based Spawn's costume on the Prowler's. If you can dig up his Prowler back-up story in ASM Annual 1989 (I think; it was Spidey's Totally Tiny Adventure), you will not be disappointed in the similarities.

Other than that, there are some really great iconic looks. Batman, of course, is the ultimate in iconography- his silhouette is literally a bat's. Cap's shield is transcendent of it's flagsuit origin to represent everything good and just in the world. Thor's hammer, Iron Man's facemask, Cyclops' visor... GL's ring emblem. Each evokes a very specific, heroic sentiment.

Furthermore, there are another group of costumes that are nearly as iconic: the serpent motif. Any villain in a serpent costume of any variety shows up, and you know he's a bad guy, and you should probably punch him before he gets too far. Serpentor, Marvel's Serpent Society, DC's Kobra, Loki's and Hela's head horns... all speak of evil and evil intent.

A third group of costumes which are very strong on superheroes is the "knight in shining armor" motif. Whether carried into the present day with characters like Steel and Iron Man or kept fairly authentic like Marvel's Black Knight in his more authentic incarnations, these costumes speak of martial prowess and the power of a solitary individual to be more than a man (or woman). Even characters who are marginally medieval in motif, such as The Swordsman or Hawkeye or Green Arrow seem to have this strong, martially-adept feel to them. Though this last style of characters has a more, and forgive me for this mangling of use, "chaotic good" feel to them, and less of a law-and-order feel.

What I do find interesting is that the characters I most admire or identify with are not necessarily the same ones whose costumes I like. But it sure helps.

[Trained Chicken]

The Alex Ross' Captain Marval (Shazam) is great. Also I always liked Doctor Fate as well

Alex Ross' anything kicks ***.

[Marketeer]

One of the few female heroine costumes that is both stylish and functional:

Big Barda's armor.

:thumbup:

[starblaze]

Spider-man has one of the most graphically interesting costumes ever. Which was why the black uniform business was nearly criminal.

I like costumes that have a symbol—Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Wonder Woman, the X-Men—since that symbol can be used in so many ways. Remember Dark Knight Returns, as the Amercian flag subtly shifts it white to yellow? You just know who you're looking at. And what they're about.

Keith "And of course, Power Girl, for obvious reasons" Curtis

Ah, but with web-pits or without?

[Supreme Serpent]

Love the Hobgoblin. It's exceedingly rare when a knock-off look is better than the original, but Hobby did it. The addition of the cape & cowl is fantastic. Lots of shots of shrouded face emphasize the menace. I still remember one issue during the Gang War storyline where he's talking to the Rose on a balcony, looking like a total bad***. Great image.

[Lord Mhoram]

Captain America's costume is a classic.
I like the classic lines of Superman as well.
I've always liked the FF's costumes.
Wildfire (from the Legion) has a cool looking costume/suit, as does Iron Man.
I dig Deathstroke's, especially the mask.
I love Samatin's with the odd cape thing that attaches at the wrist.
I loved Nightwing's first costume (yeah the owe with the yellow belt and "wings") sue me.
Badger's costume is pretty cool - the read and blue with the paw print.

[stitches]

I"m quite partial to costumes that included trenchcoats. Gambit's original blue, black, and purple costume (and even his days in the yellow and blue X-Men uniform) are great examples

[J.J.]

My faves include Kid Flash (Wally) and Captain Marvel (seriel/Alex Ross style). Which gives me an odd red & yellow lightning bolt vibe. I don't use those colors often, myself.

I like Vortex & Morningstar (1st suits) from the Elementals, Aquaman's camo suit, Tarantula and Amazing Man from the All Star Squadron, Spidey remains a real nice balance (except the back spider design), and there were some neat things done with Faze 1 Fazers designs (not many know who they are) like Imposter. Iczer 1 & 2 rock. Ultraman (the giant japanese guy). Firestorm is slick, too.

[ArmlessTigerMan]

Not strictly costumes, but I've always liked the look of 'monstrous' characters: Sasquatch, The Thing, and alien Green Lanterns like Kilowog. They seem to provide a nice contrast to the clean lines of costumed heroes.

I also have a secret fondness for goofy golden age costumes:Flash's costume is a goofy helmet, a long sleeve red shirt, and what looks like skin tight jeans. It just works. Hourman, Starman, and Red Bee are all visually interesting to me. I don't know why.

[ShinDangaioh]

Guy Gardner's costume when he had the yellow ring. Blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a leather jacket with a stylized gold G on the chest.

Sho Fukamachi's Guyver armor(and the Gigantic upgrade) Its shilloutte says don't mess with me.

Linda Danver's Supergirl costume in the final PAD Supergirl issue.

Amethyst's normal costume. It's one of the few times purple and orange worked together.

In the villian category: Justice Lord Superman

[MK Blackout]

Am I the only one who LIKED Spiderman's black costume?

[Suleyman Rashid]

Love the Hobgoblin. It's exceedingly rare when a knock-off look is better than the original, but Hobby did it. The addition of the cape & cowl is fantastic. Lots of shots of shrouded face emphasize the menace. I still remember one issue during the Gang War storyline where he's talking to the Rose on a balcony, looking like a total bad***. Great image.


I'll second this. Hobgoblin's a much better visualized character than the Green Goblin.

[Chuckg]

Visually, yes, otherwise, oh dear God no.

[Supreme Serpent]

Visually, yes, otherwise, oh dear God no.

True. Hobgoblin's a powerful combatant (using inventions created by another), a criminal well suited to the enforcer role he played w/Rose. The Green Goblin, otoh, frequently qualified as a mastermind, and was a scientific genius.

[proditor]

I like Vortex & Morningstar (1st suits) from the Elementals...I love Willingham's designs and art. The one thing that I really really liked about the Elementals was that there was a lot of white used in the costume designs. In "The Natural Order" (IIRC?) Someone else did the intro and talked about how stunning it was to have these huge fields of white in superhero costumes. Still, I'd put Morningstar's 1st costume up against pretty much anything created since then in terms of sleek style.

It was nice to see some love for Nova, he did/does have a clean and very good look. As to his headgear, I will admit to being partial to the bucket myself. He's getting the "Essential" treatment in like Febuary/March, so run out and grab 500 pages of Nova comics for like 17 bucks. ;)

[MCMaenza]

Nova's original look was rather cool (looking forward to the Essential next month). About the same time, the original design for Firestorm's costume stood out at the time it debuted.

[bigdamnhero]

Another vote for red & blue Spidey-wear. Also possibly the only superhero costume that looks as good on the big screen as it did in the comic.

I also used to love Dr. Strange's get-up, with the cloak and the Eye of Agamotto or whatever.

As for women, one of my favorites was always Ms. Marvel's blue-with-lightning-bolt-and-red-sash.

Worst costume? I gotta vote for the X-Men's yellow spandex. U. G. L. Y.


bigdamnhero
"You got somthing against gutters?"

[Peregrine]

I always liked Brainwave Jr's (Infinity Inc.) costume myself. The open-top cowl has a certain appeal to it.

[Kelcyron]

Am I the only one who LIKED Spiderman's black costume?

I liked it too. It's the costume that I use for the Spiderman homage I'm currently running (even bought the heroclix to use as a figure for it).

Kelcyron

[Tiree]

I guess I like the Dark Costumes - Black and Grey's. I mean how are you going to skulk the night without it?

I also like the utilitarian style of clothes, where you have the utility belt or combat gear and restraints. The stuff that reminds me that they are soldiers, and they are going to get into a fight.

For pulpish stuff, I like the trenchcoats and eye masks. Normal clothing used in a non-standard way. One of my favorites characters I played had a Tux and a black mask...

As for characters: US Agent, Dark Pheonix (she just looked hot in red!), and the White Queen in her lengerie!

[Mutant for Hire]

I tend to favor the more military uniform look. Utility belts, clothes that looked like they wouldn't rip when you looked at them. Things along the lines that you might actually expect paranormals in the real world to wear going into action.

Which is not to say I didn't love the swimsuit to fetishwear look for the women, but on the whole I tended to find that a little implausible for action. Of course it's perfect for lounging around the base tho.... ;)

[SatinKitty]

I'm kinda neutral on most costumes, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: Invictus' new costume must GO.
The old Flare costumes were pretty cool.

[Log-Man]

When it comes to teams, I do like a certain uniformity. I've always like the elegant simplicity of the FF's costumes. I'm not overly fond of Johnny's red outfit, but at least it still worked. I also liked it when the X-Men tried to do a more uniform look. Cyclops looked the best in it, but he was the prototype. Cyke looked best with his hair showing, i never liked the bald blue look.

[Sketchpad]

It was nice to see some love for Nova, he did/does have a clean and very good look. As to his headgear, I will admit to being partial to the bucket myself. He's getting the "Essential" treatment in like Febuary/March, so run out and grab 500 pages of Nova comics for like 17 bucks. ;)

Oh I know :D I'm so there when it comes out!

[Springald Jack]

I tend to favor the more military uniform look. Utility belts, clothes that looked like they wouldn't rip when you looked at them. Things along the lines that you might actually expect paranormals in the real world to wear going into action.


I more or less am the opposite I like costumes that look like super-costumes. It's the iconography that is a big part of Supers for me.

[Kristopher]

I've never cared for skintight costumes, or the cheesecake costumes for female characters. Give me something I can believe a character fighting and risking their lives in. Military fatigues and martial arts garb are not, for example, skintight and skimpy.

[WhammeWhamme]

I've never cared for skintight costumes, or the cheesecake costumes for female characters. Give me something I can believe a character fighting and risking their lives in. Military fatigues and martial arts garb are not, for example, skintight and skimpy.

wrt: Martial Arts Garb... it would have been tricky to _make_ them be skintight in the eras in which they were formalized.

Given that gymnasts and the like favour skintight (less likely to interfere with motion?), I have to opine that _may_ be realistic, if your aim is to maximise freedom of movement.

Assuming you don't need it for protection ("dude, I can take a bullet 1000x better than Kevlar can..."), or disguise (okay, this one is a bit bigger... although you _could_ call it as something along the lines of 'Policemen wear noticeable uniforms...')

[Mutant for Hire]

Actually, I should correct my previous post. I prefer plausible skintight costumes in plausible circumstances. For example, flyers have excellent reasons for wearing skintight costumes. They don't want something the wind will catch and try to rip off them, not to mention slowing them down. Aquatic heroes are another case where something skintight makes a lot of sense. Catburglars are another category.

However even in those cases I tend to dislike the bright gaudy colors. The original Fantastic Four garb is one of the few superhero costumes that don't make me twitch. Something in dark utilitarian colors.

[Zeropoint]

I think there is something to be said for the costumes-as-modern-heraldry concept. The idea of heraldry is to allow observers to identify the wearer in the chaotic environment of the battlefield. The modern super operates on a battlefield far more chaotic than that of medieval warfare, what with the movement powers and energy blasts, and it could be hard to get a good look at the combatants. Even if you could, most supers conceal their faces to protect their identity.

Colorful costumes serve this purpose: when Spider-man sees a man in silver-gray armor and a green hooded cloak fighting a man in a red, white, and blue costume carrying a shield, it's easy for him to figure out which one he should help.

Zeropoint

[Trained Chicken]

I think there is something to be said for the costumes-as-modern-heraldry concept. The idea of heraldry is to allow observers to identify the wearer in the chaotic environment of the battlefield. The modern super operates on a battlefield far more chaotic than that of medieval warfare, what with the movement powers and energy blasts, and it could be hard to get a good look at the combatants. Even if you could, most supers conceal their faces to protect their identity.

Colorful costumes serve this purpose: when Spider-man sees a man in silver-gray armor and a green hooded cloak fighting a man in a red, white, and blue costume carrying a shield, it's easy for him to figure out which one he should help.

Zeropoint

Totally repped!:thumbup:

[Catacomb]

I'm a fan of Thor's costume, I also like Batman's and Spawn's.

[Trained Chicken]

Thor is totally heraldic. You can't miss the shiny hat with the wings on it. Batman is totally iconic. I can't think of black grey and yellow without thinking of Batman. I can't think of a bat without thinking of Batman. I can't think of a caped silhouette without thinking of Batman.

Spawn is Prowler in a new color scheme.

[Mr. Negative]

So yes, I apparently dig flag suits. What is your favorite costume design/color pattern/what have you?


I simply can't believe I'm the only one who loves (No. Make that LOOOOOOOOVES) Spider-woman's costume.

This would be the Jessica Drew Spider-woman, the one with the red and yellow suit with the "web-wings" (or web-pits, as someone unglamorously put it).

The one currently being drawn by Frank Cho (ZING!).

I like the colors (eye-catching, and reflective of many spiders). I like the pattern. It's skin tight and revealing, but in no way skimpy (as it covers her entire body, other than her nose and chin). As someone with unconscious pheremonal powers over men, the whole skin tight and revealing thing actually has a functional purpose for Jessica, unlike most other female supers.

Did I mention that Frank Cho's drawing her (ZING!)?

[Hermit]

I can totally agree on that 'ZING' :)

[proditor]

I simply can't believe I'm the only one who loves (No. Make that LOOOOOOOOVES) Spider-woman's costume.

This would be the Jessica Drew Spider-woman, the one with the red and yellow suit with the "web-wings" (or web-pits, as someone unglamorously put it).

The one currently being drawn by Frank Cho (ZING!).

I like the colors (eye-catching, and reflective of many spiders). I like the pattern. It's skin tight and revealing, but in no way skimpy (as it covers her entire body, other than her nose and chin). As someone with unconscious pheremonal powers over men, the whole skin tight and revealing thing actually has a functional purpose for Jessica, unlike most other female supers.

Did I mention that Frank Cho's drawing her (ZING!)?Yeah, I have to admit to feeling...uncomfortable...when I see her in New Avengers. To quote noted sage Garth Algar, "She makes me feel funny, like the time we climbed the rope in gym."