With the recent announcement of the DC Relaunch lots and lots of information has smacked us in the face. Like who’s who? What’s happening to “such and such”? Where is my favorite character going? And what the hell are they now wearing?
I thought I’d take the time to spotlight some of the more bizarre fashion designs that we are going to be “looking forward” to in recent months. Now I haven’t been to the future to see if these costumes stick around. I’m just as fearful as the next geek, and trying to understand some of the “bolder” choices.
But lets dive in and discuss, shall we?
HAWKMAN
Here we have archaeologist Carter Hall, who became Hawkman with the help of his anti-gravity Nth Metal and wing harness.
Hawkman’s costume has always had a very martial air to it, but he’s had a lot of revisions and each one had its own costume quirks, some good, some bad. In later years when they brought in the Egyptian origin his costume started changing to match, but the basics remained constant: Battle Mace, wings, harness, hawk helmet, etc.
This new version of Hawkman emphasizes the Savage part of his theme, with a new wing harness, stronger-looking weapon, meaner looking helmet and claws. It’s got a bladed look to it that makes him look threatening and scary; his mace looks more like an axe. Not much is know at this time of his new origin. Will he still be a resurrected Egyptian warrior or more of a barbarian?
What I do know is, I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley.
BLACK CANARY
Dinah Lance has been the Black Canary since 1983, and has had some questionable outfits. Most were short-lived and forgettable. In recent years she’s mostly known for a leather jacket, fishnets, and sometimes-unrealistic footwear.
I’m sure there were many idea passed around as to what to do with her new costume. I would love to see what didn’t make the cut because, for me personally, this doesn’t work.
The shoulder pads and fishnets on the arm alone are silly-looking. And where did the boots go? She’s worn heels and worn heavy leather boots. I liked the boots; they gave her an “I can kick your ass” vibe.
But here, are those just sandals? Yeah, perfect for a fight, those are!
SUPERMAN
No matter how many redesigns Superman’s outfit has seen, they always seem to go back to what works. He is the number one superhero, the one all superheroes strive to be. His costume is as about recognizable as his name.
They’ll give him long hair, long or a short cape, shift his outfit towards blue or red or add a high collar. They eventually go back to what works, because Superman’s costume, like Superman himself, is an ideal.
The new Superman design is not good. That’s as positive as I’m going to get. It stinks of what was bad in the 90s, the Dark Age of Comics, where Rob-Liefeld-inspired artists felt the best way to make a stirring character design was a combination of unfeasibly large guns, grotesque muscles and unthinkable anatomy, and pouches, pouches everywhere.
About once every 10 years they change the Superman costume, and every time fans and news organizations worldwide sit up and take notice. How many times are we going to play this game? Each time they give him a redesign, they end up dropping it, because the best design they can find is the one he’s had since 1938!
If it’s not broke, why fix it?
In looking at this new design I have to ask: “Why does he need armored boots”? He’s the man of steel; he could be running around naked and just as invincible. And how many people are aiming for his shins?
The belt: someone in the office was like, “hrm… make it red this time.” The “S”: seems about the same. But I’m sure that’s just due to the fact it’s a worldwide-recognized symbol and corporate wont allow that to be changed too much.
I don’t mind them getting rid of the red underwear, but the outfit does seem to be missing something.
For me this is about the worst decision. But we shall see.
SUPERGIRL
Originally, Supergirl’s costume was designed mostly to mirror her counterpart’s look.
Since her debut in the 1950’s Supergirl has had more costume than you can shake a stick at. Some have been great, others have been less than worthy for a superhero that is related to the big guy. I personally like her 70’s look and try to forget the headband look of 1984. But even if you didn’t like a costume, it probably won’t stick around too long- as recently as her 2004 reintroduction, Supergirl was redesigned for a more modern look.
Supergirl’s new book is going to focus on her teenaged years, possessing all of Superman’s powers but none of his innate affection for the people of Earth. She’s been given a fitting design for this one- her costume still evokes the Superman vibe, but has a bit of an alien, otherworldly edge to her, lacking the human touches of prior designs. It really makes her look like more of an outsider, and could help tell some great stories.
THE TEEN TITIANS
When it comes to the Teen Titians I’m going to focus on Wonder Girl II (Cassie Sandsmark), Superboy (Conner Kent), Red Robin (Tim Drake, the third Robin) and Kid Flash II (formerly Impulse). All have had a variety of outfits, especially Cassie and Tim.
I’m of mixed emotions here. Kid Flash looks very busy to me, just lines and shapes running all over. Reports say he might get a new costume by issue 2. Maybe that one will be more pleasing to the eyes. Simple is always better.
I grew accustomed to, and ended up digging, the previous T-shirt and jeans outfit Superboy’s been rocking for a while now. But the new one doesn’t look super anything – he looks like a skater kid. And don’t get me started on that tattoo. He might as well be working as a model at some sort of high end trendy store where pants cost 200 bucks.
I don’t get the Wonder Girl look at all. I enjoyed that she liked to change up her costume every few years, while still keeping a tie to the themes of the Wonder Woman mythos.
This new look is a weird departure from the past. And what with the barbed wire lasso? How much bloodshed is in store for her with each use? It’s hard to tell this is a Wonder Girl design at all.
Now, I’m a huge Red Robin fan, and the more I look at this new outfit, the more I’m okay with it. Tim’s previous Red Robin outfits were always somehow hollow, lacking that certain something something. And while the mask reminds us that he once was a Robin, the rest of the design is very distinctive and all his own style. It gives him a sense of being his own man at last, stepping out once and for all from Batman’s shadow.
And I really like the feather-cape. Can’t say why, just do. But while most of these costumes would stop me dead, this Tim’s outfit I can work with.
HARLEY QUINN
When I first saw Harley Quinn in 1992 I was captured by the two-toned solid black and red design. The outfit’s crazy-clown vibe clearly evokes the Joker without being a copycat. Altogether, it’s one of the best designs I’ve ever seen in comics.
What makes it so good is its simplicity. Harley doesn’t have a bunch of add-ons (patterns, or leg-pouches, etc), so the starkness is striking. And the design’s versatile – depending on the artist, the harlequin look can become downright creepy. Harley’s outfit just emphasized an already great character brought to us by the great Paul Dini.
So it’s probably not surprising that this is the other costume, aside from Superman, that I am not thrilled with at all.
This isn’t Harley. Harley’s always had a sort of creepy fetishized element to her, but this new outfit all but removes the jester theme in favor of a generic fanservice warrior woman with a barely-noticeable jester collar. There’s little trace of the ex-psychologist turned criminal thanks to the Joker’s influence in the new look.
There are few aspects of the new design that work. The new weapons- a knife and a heavy mallet- I rather enjoy. But the cluttered, generic look is a whole new direction from the elegant design that made her such a recognizable character.
So there we have some of the few designs that really bug me the most. I’m a fan of change: if it’s for the greater good, then so be it, change the iconic suits. But if we’re changing them for change’s sake alone, then I can’t get behind that.
And like I said some of these are just not good. Some have good starts and maybe over time there will be little tweaks here and there. Hopefully the stories are solid enough to make you forget the costumes they’re wearing. I’m excited and fearful for this new reboot of the universe that brings me such joy. I just hope everything pans out for everyone involved.