Some new pics from Empire magazine http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=23011 Heeeeeellllooooo!
It's a sexually provocative outfit. No question about it. Swimsuit-style costumes for women are common in superhero comic books. But we don't see this sort of thing very often onscreen (probably because there have been very few superheroine movies). I think that director Zack Snyder deserves credit for using costume designs that are very close to those drawn by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. Snyder could have copped out and covered up Silk Spectre's legs, as was done in the case of Jennifer Garner's Elektra.
There's some more iconic imagery here, wow: http://gallery.filmofilia.com/gallery/movie_posters/image/5/
Those sure are purty. I'm still not quite sold on Silk Spectre II's costume, though. She never looked quite that (and this is a word I rarely use) skanky in the comic.
Can't remember if this has already been posted, but the official blog has all kinds of great stuff... http://rss.warnerbros.com/watchmen/ ...including hi-rez versions of the Comic Con posters. And check out the videos of Dave Gibbons, talking about all the attention to detail on the film.
For those who may not know, at least some of those posters are direct recreations of house ads that appeared in the DC titles back in '86--possibly they all are, but if so, I never saw a few of them. Silk Spectre II is supposed to look "skanky", more or less. That's the motif established by her mother. Her comic costume is basically a swimsuit with a see-through blouse over it and high heels. I think the movie costume is a big improvement, though, as the one in the comics didn't do much for me.
Hey, WOW! Part 10 of this interview with Alan Moore was linked on Chris Roberson's blog, but I just had to find the rest... YouTube - Alan Moore #1 ~ The Legendary Years YouTube - Alan Moore #2 ~ The Legendary Years YouTube - Alan Moore #3 ~ Insight into Jerusalem YouTube - Alan Moore #4 ~ V for Vendetta YouTube - Alan Moore #5 ~ On Super Heroes Parts 6 & 7 appear to be missing YouTube - Alan Moore #8 ~ His favourite Super Hero YouTube - Alan Moore #9 ~ The Simpsons YouTube - Alan Moore #10 ~ Advice for young Artists
It's worth noting that the "Silk Spectre II" costume seen here is actually a bit LESS provocative than the one in the book. Take away the yellow bits of the bodysuit... and leave only the black strap-over portion. Then put a sheer pale-yellow silk coverlet over the whole thing... Of course, in real life, any woman who tried to do anything remotely physical in that getup would end up naked within moments. So it really does make sense to have done what was done to her costume, though I don't like the 'latex bondage gear" aspect of it (a little lycra would've been better!)
I have a set of those old posters you refer to, and yes, I recognize several of the new movie versions. Exactly true about the Spectre costume... even going so far as to mention that her mother was a popular "character" in those little "tijuana bibles" from the 1940/1950s (pocket-sized porno comicbooks, basically) and that Sally ("mom") never really minded it so much. And you can't take that aspect away from the character, because it's a core element that comes into play when Laurie finds out some ... interesting... facts about her own past.
If anyone complains that Silk Spectre's spike heels are a bad choice for a crimefighter, let's remember that artist Dave Gibbons gave her the heels first. This is a largely faithful adaptation.
^Her shoes actually came off a time or two in the comic...I don't see that happening with this costume. The whole premise of the original Silk Spectre was that she was mainly a PR super-hero, trying to use sex dressed up as superheroism to sell a modelling/acting career that never got very far. Laurie was presumably groomed with the same intentions, and while we never saw any evidence of her turning her super-hero work into that sort of career, she did wind up making a living out of sleeping with the H-Bomb....