Words in Balloons

We all know what comic book characters such as Batman and Superman look like. They are so ingrained in our culture that anyone can mentally picture their images.

Sometimes, though, that image can vary, and it can be due to publishers introducing costume redesigns for characters as a way of modernizing or giving a different take on a character. Marvel and DC have released countless redesigns lately. Here are some of the worst and best.

With its recent re-launch, DC Comics redesigned costumes for many of its popular characters. Some are great and modernize the characters tastefully. Wonder Woman, for instance, had always looked odd in a lot of situations with her one-piece swimsuit outfit, but DC has allowed her to sometimes wears pants! Not so weird looking anymore!

Animal Man is also better since ditching his orange and blue spandex with a leather jacket, changing to a much less garish blue and white, which benefits the current horror-themed run.

But the reboot has also introduced some of the worst redesigns in the past decade.

Plenty of female characters have been needlessly sexualized, but it’s actually Superman who got it the worst. His standard cape and blue spandex are still intact, but he has lost the red

underwear in place of a belt. After seeing Superman with the red undies for so long, it feels awkwardly like seeing him naked without them. It’s awful. Every time I look at him now, I see a Ken doll with a Superman paint job.

Marvel, on the other hand, has been constantly acing costume redesigns throughout the past few years, including those of Captain America, Rogue and Hawkeye.

Nothing Marvel has come up with looks like it belongs to another decade; it all looks remarkably modern and smart. The company also deserves credit for the fact that most of the costume changes have come with an actual story element to warrant them.

Of all the redesigns, though, the best from either company (hell, maybe even the best ever) is last year’s redesign of the Fantastic Four. By dropping the blue spandex and the stylized “4” on their chests, the redesign gave Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Thing black and white spandex outfits that look like stylized lab base attire.

Not only do they look modern, they get right to the essential parts of their characters. After all, the Fantastic Four have always been more of a superhero science team. And because the Human Torch died, it also has a wonderful plot element because the team is no longer four.

Costume redesigns can be a strange thing and have the power to fundamentally alter someone’s perception of characters. The best costumes, such as those of the Fantastic Four, keep in mind the true spirits of the characters and/or make them look less goofy.

While I don’t like picking sides, Marvel has definitely led the redesign charge while DC has ruined the look of its most iconic character.