Costume Talk

This topic is born of pure boredom and I got to thinking about costumes over the years. I won’t say “best” or “worst” because that’s subjective so we will go with “favorite” and “least favorite”.
No rules but I personally stuck with costumes in main continuity and with the same identity vs superhero persona. Example: only costumes Bruce wore instead of other Batman costumes when someone else wore it. That rules out Azbats.
Batman
Favorite. I really like this version from The War of Jokes and Riddles. It’s classic but different and it stands out to me that his belt isn’t yellow. I’m also not a fan of the outside underwear and this excludes that.
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Least favorite.
I actually don’t really have a least favorite costume for Bruce so I had to be a little more specific. I generally like Capullo’s Rebirth design but the way the cape sits on the shoulders always felt off. I particularly disliked the way Romita drew it.
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Wonder Woman
Favorite.
I like the Rebirth costume that became more common around the time Jason Fabok worked on Justice League.


Least favorite.
The costume designed by David Finch is an abomination, in my opinion. It’s so busy and just doesn’t make much sense tactically. Not that her bikini costumes do either but this is just clunky and ugly.

Dishonorable mention.

Preview for my next post

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Superman
Favorite.
With respect to the classics, I am not an underwear on the outside fan and liked this Rebirth (common theme) costume a lot. This pic isn’t great but I couldn’t find many with the red boots. The Rebirth with the blue boots doesn’t work as well.
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Least favorite.
Not much to say besides I just thought this look was kind of dumb. And the accompanying storyline wasn’t great either.

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I really love the more simple Bat costumes. The way he looked in the animated series was perfect, even though I know it isn’t “practical”.

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Batman wise, my favorite is the Rebirth costume – while I get what you mean about the cape and I’ll agree that a lot of artists seemed to have no idea how do to it, but I loved the logo and belt design of it.

I agree that Diana’s current look is my favorite. I wasn’t a fan of the Finches’ design either – not as much because of the look, but I hated that Meredith wrote it in as her “growing up.” It just did not sit right with me.

With Superman, while the Rebirth look was okay, I much prefered the design that came after the “Superman Reborn” event.

I think this is one of the best costumes that Clark has ever had.

As for his look in Truth…I don’t hate it. I like the shoutout to the Flischer era with the black S. I liked some of the stories that came from the Truth period – most notably the Action Comics arc by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder where he was protecting a group of protesters from being gunned down by the police, which is honestly one of my favorite Superman stories and I think most needed. That said, when it comes to T-shirt and jeans Supes, I much prefer the one from Morrison’s Action Comics run (which I still think was the last truly great Superman ongoing story).

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Supes has such a classic look, and when they embrace that I’m reminded why the theme song from the movie chokes me up everytime

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As anybody who’s read my posts knows, I’m a Big Wally West Flash fan (just look at my profile pic!)
That being said, I actually prefer Wally in his 90’s suit over his current Rebirth costume.
Crimson red reflective material with
Gold trim and boots
Boots and white lenses over the eyes


That of course leads back to Barry Allen and I really prefer him in the classic Infantino style uniform
Scarlet Red basic with open eyes and bright yellow accents
straight across lightning belt (as opposed to Wally’s V-style) and yellow boots with wing tips

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Superman

Favorites
My personal favorite doesn’t come from a comic or movie. It’s the from this statue designed by Ivan Reis.


I like the unique take on the classic trunks look. The different materials/textures. The piping details. The big raised House of El symbol. There really isn’t anything I don’t like about this costume.
If I were to stick to the comics though, I would go with this slight update to the classic costume (also drawn by Ivan Reis). I like the cuff detail and the raised S.

Least Favorite
If I had to pick something the main continuity Clark Kent wore, it would probably be this one from the New Krypton story.

Batman

Favorite
This guy manages to almost always look good. Up until recently, my pick would have involved something with the yellow oval bat symbol, which I think is iconic. I also like to see different colors on a costume. However, if I had to pick one favorite, it would be the Batman Damned costume by Lee Bermejo. It achieves contrast in a different way, with multiple materials, textures and shades of black/gray, and it just looks badass.

Least Favorite
Anything with ridiculously long ears, like this. Just no.

Wonder Woman

Favorite
New 52, particularly when drawn by Cliff Chiang. I miss it.

Least Favorite
Gonna have to agree with @SWhite’s pick

Honorable Mentions: Really like the Earth One designs for the Trinity

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Lets do a rundown of the bat-family

Favorites: Rebirth suit


It has a lot of color to the suit, it pops off the page with exaggeration and it works. The golden symbol works effectively due to it reinforcing the many themes already set up in Snyder’s run and the purple cape is a nice touch.

Least Favorite: The “Justice” Armor


This suit feels a bit much to me. It feels like the 66 batmobile became a transformer and melded with batman. It feels clunky, tacky, and made to sell toys.

Favorite: Rebirth suit


Much better design compared to the new 52 one. I feels like the classic Tim Drake Robin design, but improved to fit more modern day standards.

Least Favorite: New 52 suit


One word; WINGS!

Favorite: New 52 suit


Similar to the Rebirth Batman suit, it has color that pops. The purples and yellows really make this suit stand out to me and makes it seem unique.

Least Favorite: Rebirth suit


The suit itself is fine, but the mask bothers me the most. It is so easy to find out Barbra would be batgirl because that mask is so revealing. All it takes is for the mask to slip off and bam, Babs is done.

Favorite: Rebirth suit


This suit is iconic for a reason. It’s a perfect design and is what people think of when they think Nightwing. It just works and thats good enough.

Least Favorite: First Appearance


Great V-neck there buddy, wanna go to the disco?

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Honestly, I really liked the wing design of Tim’s New 52 suit. I think it gave him a unique look and outline, and it highlighted that he was the techie of the Robins.

The rest of the design is a little…90s, I’ll grant that, but I think ditching the wings is throwing the baby with the bathwater.

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A lot of the New 52 designs were weird to me because I felt like Jim Lee just added lines to everything. He is an exceptional talent but it made all of the costumes a little too similar, especially since the characters were just starting out and it’s not like they were coordinating.

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I think the same reason they’re weird to you is one of the reasons I like ‘em. I guess my taste veers towards busier designs. I like to see some details in a costume… wrinkles, piping, stitching, etc. Superman’s and Batman’s costumes from Earth One do that in a more subtle manner.

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I feel this way about all the “eye” masks. Like… is Green Arrow really not instantly recognizable with that goatee of his? Suspension of disbelief :slightly_smiling_face:.

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Here’s mine:
Fave= ‘The Blur’ suit.

  • Cool
  • Casual
  • Worn by Tom Welling
  • Faux leather
  • Tom Welling
  • Jeans
  • That cool half zipped symbol
  • Just to make sure I mention it, Tom Welling

Least Fave= The ‘Never Happened’ suit
Nicolas Cage will finally get to play Superman

  • Not cool
  • Long hair on Supes
  • Spray paint looking symbol
  • Nicholas Cage as Supes
  • Looks like a Halloween Costume
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why does this description make me love this suit?

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@moro @SWhite
I totally agree ab the Earth 1 suits. I just loved the we-don’t-know what-superheroes-should-dress-like look.

I do, however, like the 52 suits. I feel like they were a little basic, but I thought they created a more connected look that became endearing. True, it made no sense starting out, but I came to love it.

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I don’t know if it works for Superman, but I think it would totally work for Superboy, either Conner or Jon.

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I think a black and red one would be cool for Conner
Stylish Legacy Man Steel Motorcycle Red and Black Leather Biker Jacket

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Oh man, that would look totally rad on Conner.

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Yeah. I have the actual jacket from the show, but I almost bought this one. I looooooved the leather, real-world look of Smallville’s costumes

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