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PSA: It's Time to Stop Redesigning Superhero Costumes for Every Movie Already
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Ubiquitous
Sep 16, 2016, 9:16:05 AM9/16/16
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The reveal of Batman's new costume from next year's Justice League
highlights one of the stranger things about contemporary superhero
movies. Namely, the inexplicable need to change superhero costumes
between installments.
On a cynical marketing level, the tweaking to costumes for each new
installment in a series makes terrifying sense, allowing for brand
new merchandise — action figures, t-shirts, and anything in between
— to be sold featuring characters that have already appeared in
numerous movies and on innumerable merchandise to date. But that
real-world business reason aside, the in-story rationale for
redesigning heroes between movies feels somewhat … thin.
Take Marvel's Captain America, for example. In 2011's Captain
America: The First Avenger, we are shown that the colorful costume
exists as a propaganda tool, which explains why the hero — who
appears to be anything but the kind of man to give a second thought
about what he's wearing — sports a different costume in each of his
subsequent appearances, from the colorful Avengers look through the
more sober Captain America: The Winter Soldier look, the back-to-
being-colorful-but-with-sensible-boots Avengers: Age of Ultron
costume and finally the cargo-pant-and-shoulder-strap ensemble of
Captain America: Civil War. It's… all about branding… maybe?
Similarly, Thor's costume changes between his first solo movie,
Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron, as do
the outfits of Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Falcon between their
various appearances. Do any of these characters seem like they'd be
concerned with their appearance to the degree that they'd tweak
costumes in their downtime? Really? Tony Stark and the Iron Man
armor, sure; that kind of evolution and redesign makes sense,
because it's totally within his nature to be unable to stop himself
for making changes. But Thor?
Of course, it's not just Marvel that foists redesigns on its
characters that make little sense: Superman was actually wearing a
different costume in Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of
Justice, although the changes were perhaps unnoticeable to the
casual viewer. Perhaps he got bored and made some alterations at
super speed between failing to file stories as Clark Kent and being
worshipped as a false god. And Batman apparently loves to have a new
look for every occasion — he has three different costumes in BvS
alone, so the new look for Justice League shouldn't come as any kind
of surprise.
(It does, however, conjure up images of Bruce Wayne spending hours
alone in the Batcave, convinced that maybe this time, he can crack
that Bat-motif once and for all. But I digress.)
Perhaps I'm simply spoiled by reading comics in which superhero
costumes stayed static for decades at a time; Superman's costume
only received cosmetic changes — mostly to the length of his cape
and how people drew the "S" — for more than three quarters of a
century, while Captain America's was essentially static for roughly
the same amount of time. Or maybe it really is the incongruity of
imagining a distracted Ant-Man thinking, "What if I had different
gloves?" when he changed size each time.
Either way, it seems as if there should be a little less turnover
when it comes to superhero couture… until the movie universes
introduce their own version of professional super-costumier Paul
Gambi, at least.
--
General Powell, who voted for an inexperienced, anti-military,
unvetted leftist in '08 & '12 (but is Powell's race), called Trump a
racist.
highlights one of the stranger things about contemporary superhero
movies. Namely, the inexplicable need to change superhero costumes
between installments.
On a cynical marketing level, the tweaking to costumes for each new
installment in a series makes terrifying sense, allowing for brand
new merchandise — action figures, t-shirts, and anything in between
— to be sold featuring characters that have already appeared in
numerous movies and on innumerable merchandise to date. But that
real-world business reason aside, the in-story rationale for
redesigning heroes between movies feels somewhat … thin.
Take Marvel's Captain America, for example. In 2011's Captain
America: The First Avenger, we are shown that the colorful costume
exists as a propaganda tool, which explains why the hero — who
appears to be anything but the kind of man to give a second thought
about what he's wearing — sports a different costume in each of his
subsequent appearances, from the colorful Avengers look through the
more sober Captain America: The Winter Soldier look, the back-to-
being-colorful-but-with-sensible-boots Avengers: Age of Ultron
costume and finally the cargo-pant-and-shoulder-strap ensemble of
Captain America: Civil War. It's… all about branding… maybe?
Similarly, Thor's costume changes between his first solo movie,
Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron, as do
the outfits of Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Falcon between their
various appearances. Do any of these characters seem like they'd be
concerned with their appearance to the degree that they'd tweak
costumes in their downtime? Really? Tony Stark and the Iron Man
armor, sure; that kind of evolution and redesign makes sense,
because it's totally within his nature to be unable to stop himself
for making changes. But Thor?
Of course, it's not just Marvel that foists redesigns on its
characters that make little sense: Superman was actually wearing a
different costume in Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of
Justice, although the changes were perhaps unnoticeable to the
casual viewer. Perhaps he got bored and made some alterations at
super speed between failing to file stories as Clark Kent and being
worshipped as a false god. And Batman apparently loves to have a new
look for every occasion — he has three different costumes in BvS
alone, so the new look for Justice League shouldn't come as any kind
of surprise.
(It does, however, conjure up images of Bruce Wayne spending hours
alone in the Batcave, convinced that maybe this time, he can crack
that Bat-motif once and for all. But I digress.)
Perhaps I'm simply spoiled by reading comics in which superhero
costumes stayed static for decades at a time; Superman's costume
only received cosmetic changes — mostly to the length of his cape
and how people drew the "S" — for more than three quarters of a
century, while Captain America's was essentially static for roughly
the same amount of time. Or maybe it really is the incongruity of
imagining a distracted Ant-Man thinking, "What if I had different
gloves?" when he changed size each time.
Either way, it seems as if there should be a little less turnover
when it comes to superhero couture… until the movie universes
introduce their own version of professional super-costumier Paul
Gambi, at least.
--
General Powell, who voted for an inexperienced, anti-military,
unvetted leftist in '08 & '12 (but is Powell's race), called Trump a
racist.
Bill Steele
Sep 16, 2016, 3:28:33 PM9/16/16
to
the lot. Now each movie is a separate project. They hire a director,
photographer, composer and so on...and a costume designer,who expresses
his/her unique style. At least they seem to take a cursory look at the
comic book before they start.
They probably don't save the costume from one movie to the next because
they figure it will be a different actor.
Obveeus
Sep 16, 2016, 4:12:06 PM9/16/16
to
monotony by their employer tends to change their clothes every once in
awhile? I saw a promo at the theater today...BATMAN is going to dress
up as THE ACCOUNTANT in his next film.
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