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Practical Women's Superhero Costume Redesigns

I like how Arrow has dressed both Black Canary and Huntress, very practical...
Curious how Hawkgirl will be dressed in the spinoff...
 
Why would Supergirl need even the lightest level of material "armor?"

If you think about it, if you're going to be out fight crime and the occasional supervillian, wouldn't you want to be dressed in loose fitting (not baggy) clothing, or short sleeves and shorts, that offered you the maximum freedom of movement?

In the first Ironman movie, it put forward that the reason Stark choose shiny gold and bright red for his suit is that he is a "look-at-me" egomaniac, Powergirl might have a cleavage window in her garb specifically because she want her boobs on display.

All the protection Wonder Woman needs are her bracelets, what's wrong with her clothing having a patriotic design?
 
Wonder Woman doesn't quite have Superman levels of invulnerability so she does need some level of armor or protective clothing.
 
Quite so. I can't but think of Edna Mode saying how she used to design for gods. Superhero costumes shouldn't look like they came off the rack at Ninjas-R-Us. They should be outlandish and flashy like the characters who wear them.

Oh, but dontcha know, the artist believes in social justice for women, and thinks that they shouldn't be nude or nearly naked, henceforth, these costumes.

Don't start high-fiving me just yet, Tex. I don't think you understood my point (or Kodos', if I may speak for him). You and I aren't on the same side of this issue.

First off, what kind of misogynist monster wouldn't believe in social justice for women, or all people? :wtf: How did that somehow become a bad thing to believe in? It's bizarre to see you start so many threads about racism in the media and comics and yet always be so completely blind and antagonistic toward sexism issues.

Secondly, my issue is not with making more practical costumes and less overtly sexualized designs for female superheroes, my issue was purely with the blandness and sameness of the designs here, in that they all look like variations on the generic futuristic leather with pads X-Men costumes from DoFP and have more dark colors and Earth tones than a Hugo Boss catalog from 1942. Where's the brightness, where's the color, where's the symbology, where's the variety? I'm not asking for boob windows and thongs, though.

That was meant to be a joke, I apologize.
 
Also (since she's used as an example), Carol Danvers current Captain Marvel costume is actually a good example of practical, but still an interesting superhero design.

Agreed. Her previous outfit was basically just a swimsuit, so the current one is a great improvement. It's smart and classy, with some nods in the design to to military uniforms. But it's still bright and colourful and most definitely a superhero costume, as opposed to some sort of bland generic-looking kevlar body armour.

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The designs in the OP make sense, but are boring beyond belief. The new Power Girl redesign is nice, and I also like some of the designs from Project Rooftop that BigJake linked to earlier in the thread.
I understand the need for flashy clothes and distinctive designs, but in all reality most superheros would just have regular clothes, perhaps slightly modified to accommodate their particular powers.

I've never really understood this attitude. Its like telling complaining that Wizards in various media don't dress realistically. Superheros are fantasy. If you can believe a man can fly, why can't you believe he'd do it while wearing red trunks on the outside of his pants? I'll take colorful spandex or other similarly unrealistic attire over realistic attire any day of the week. Not that there aren't some superhero looks that are realistic and cool. But, the whole point of the genre isn't realism in general, even though some people would like it to be.

In all fairness, imagining what superheroes would look like "in real life" indicates that I have bought into the fantasy. :)

As Spongebob says let's use our - IMAGINATION -
*makes rainbow with hands

Most superpowers would work perfectly with normal clothing - the Syfy show Alphas demonstrated that rather nicely.
Super speed, temperature modification, moisture manipulation, and a few others would require specialized clothing, but in most cases any clothing choices would be based on personal preferences or a desire to make a public impression.
 
I always wonder where these various superheroes get these costumes.

I know some of the origins for some of the old heroes, but the middle and modern age ones, did they make them themselves, hire a tailor, go to a shop?

Maybe the only one on the rack that fit Power Girl had that window?

My problem is less with the costumes and more how the people are drawn. I don't care how they are dressed, if every woman is triple D and has a 20" waist and a big butt, it's hyper sexualized. Aren't there any normal shaped women with powers?
 
I agree with everyone who says the new designs are too similar to one another. Plus, they're just dull, especially compared to the vibrant and colorful (and varied) originals.

Personally, I think if you're following the adventures of a guy who can fly, is super strong, impervious to all harm, can see through solid objects and shoot heat rays from his eyes, worrying about whether his costume makes real-world sense is kind of missing the boat. :D
 
In all fairness, imagining what superheroes would look like "in real life" indicates that I have bought into the fantasy. :)

As Spongebob says let's use our - IMAGINATION -
*makes rainbow with hands

Most superpowers would work perfectly with normal clothing - the Syfy show Alphas demonstrated that rather nicely.
Super speed, temperature modification, moisture manipulation, and a few others would require specialized clothing, but in most cases any clothing choices would be based on personal preferences or a desire to make a public impression.

Well, yeah, most costumes aren't "needed", but that doesn't mean they need to go or aren't something cool. Whether the hero wears them to intimidate people (like Batman) or just to stand out, costumes in general are a cool part of superheros to me. Its not about whether there is any reason for it (although there obviously is sometimes). Its just part of the genre. There is room for everything of course, but street clothes/generic Kevlar style "realistic" costumes just don't fit a lot of characters in the genre. A lot of Superheroes are colorful and over the top, and that's part of the fun.

Alphas I found really boring when I tried to watch it, and I wouldn't call it a superhero show. It was a sci fi show about people with powers. To me they weren't superheroes, so it made sense they went with the aesthetic they used. I think a bit of unreality (which is an actual word) is needed for something to be a superhero story. It doesn't need to be colorful costumes or anything like that, though. Heroes for example is a superhero show to me, it has time travel and an over the top crazy villain among other things and just had the feel of a superhero thing, but its still closer to reality than a lot of other superhero stuff. Alphas was the closest I've ever seen to a hard sci fi style take on superheroes, but like I said I think it went too far and just wasn't in the superhero genre.
 
I loved Alphas for its almost realistic portrayal of superpowers. It was a great show, albeit a bit overwrought at times.

Heroes is another good example of "supers" wearing regular clothes.
 
Someone needs to make a movie -- or a mini-series -- about the ESPers comics from back in the day. Those were badass.
 
I think it was DC's Phantom Lady, who admitted that she could never usually beat up men twice her size if they wern't distracted by her 3/4 naked body, and meanwhile on the other side of the genderline, Ma Kent said that her son's costume was so tight that no one would be looking at his face, in the pilot to The Adventures of Lois and Clark.

:)
 
Sorry, but being the old-school dude that I am, I prefer my superheroines sexy, leggy, and a bit revealing.

Yeah, some folk just love to act like they're so enlightened.

Sorry if I sound sexist to the more sensitive types in here, but hey, I'm old school. That's just me. Take it or leave it. At least I don't try to be pretentious about so-called "enlightenment."
 
Yeah, some folk just love to act like they're so enlightened.

Sorry if I sound sexist to the more sensitive types in here, but hey, I'm old school. That's just me. Take it or leave it. At least I don't try to be pretentious about so-called "enlightenment."

giphy.gif


Golly gee, never heard that one before.

Speaking as a member in good standing of the Cultural Marxist Re-Education Committee, what I prefer to see in any genre is variety. There's room in my cosmos for, like, The White Queen as sexy as she wanna be and a Wonder Woman who wears (gasp!) pants, depending on what actually fits the character.

What I don't get is people who are instantly threatened at the idea that not every superheroine needs to look like her costume came out of Stripper's Discount Warehouse... to the point of blathering about how people are being "pretentious" or "white-knighting" or whatever when the subject comes up. That seems incredibly stupid and insecure and needlessly defensive to me. But hey, that's just me. Take it or leave it. I'm old school like that.
 
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Yeah, some folk just love to act like they're so enlightened.

Sorry if I sound sexist to the more sensitive types in here, but hey, I'm old school. That's just me. Take it or leave it. At least I don't try to be pretentious about so-called "enlightenment."

giphy.gif


Golly gee, never heard that one before.

Speaking as a member in good standing of the Cultural Marxist Re-Education Committee, what I prefer to see in any genre is variety. There's room in my cosmos for, like, The White Queen as sexy as she wanna be and a Wonder Woman who wears (gasp!) pants, depending on what actually fits the character.

What I don't get is people who are instantly threatened at the idea that not every superheroine needs to look like her costume came out of Stripper's Discount Warehouse... to the point of blathering about how people are being "pretentious" or "white-knighting" or whatever when the subject comes up. That seems incredibly stupid and insecure and needlessly defensive to me. But hey, that's just me. Take it or leave it. I'm old school like that.


You're certainly welcome to your opinion, BJ. I have mine.

No, not every superheroine needs to look like old school Wonder Woman, Supergirl or Power Girl. I have no expectations that any newly created heroines should dress like that, and I'm fine with that.

But hey, you wanna say I'm stupid, insecure, and needlessly defensive? Oh, well. At least "pretentious" is not an insult. So, I'll be the bigger man, and let you swing from that one for a bit. :)



And as much as I like Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes, I am amused when people try to use him to convey some "condescending" sense of indignation. :)

I find it further amusing that you seemed to be the defensive and insecure one by thinking you're jumping my case when I said nothing personal about anyone...especially you. I even apologized to those who might be sensitive to my seemingly old school point of view. Truly, I am amused. :guffaw:'

But at least I won't call you "stupid" because I am a far bigger and better man than that. ;)
 
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I have no expectations that any newly created heroines should dress like that, and I'm fine with that.

Good. Now all you have to do is come to terms with old characters being reimagined however the current era needs them to be and you'll be living in the real world. :techman:

At least "pretentious" is not an insult. So, I'll be the bigger man

:guffaw::guffaw::guffaw:

Whatever you say. (I was, by the way, insulting your argument. I did not say that you are in essence stupid or insecure. So you can spare me the lame injured dignity routine.)

EDIT: Oh, there's more.

But at least I won't call you "stupid" because I am a far bigger and better man

It's bit late to pretend you were taking the high road, champ. Nobody put a gun to your head and forced you to come waltzing into the thread with passive-aggressive assertions about everyone else's "pretentiousness" or "sensitivity." If you were the "bigger man" that wouldn't have happened. If you'd like to move on from that, then great. Let's do.
 
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