Superheroes tend to be thought of as monolithic icons by much of
the public, but comic book fans know they have evolved over the
decades.
Powers develop, supporting casts change and origins get re-
freshed. Costumes, too, have evolved, to keep up with changing
social norms (or at least the whims of comic book writers and art-
ists and the occasional film or television stylist).And let’s give credit where credit is due. Superman was wearing
underwear as outerwear some 50 years before Madonna made it a
fashion statement.
Here’s a collection of 80 years of comic-book work attire. Calling
these characters fashion trendsetters may be a stretch but their
wardrobe choices have gone in and out of vogue — even though the
characters themselves have remained curiously ageless.Granddaddy of Them All
Most people know Superman’s
familiar red-and-blue costume
and his chest emblem. The
Man of Steel first appeared in
1938, when he resembled a
circus strongman. While his
color palette has stayed fairly
consistent, other aspects of his
costume got more refined over
the years, including his styl-
ized “S” emblem.
The 1990s were rough: He
died in 1992 and returned the
next year with a black body-
suit, a silver “S” shield and
long hair. Then in 1997, he
received one of his most shock-
ing (and most temporary) new
looks: an electric blue-and-
white suit.
When DC rebooted its he-
roes in 2011, Superman was
reimagined in an armored look
with a high collar and red
piping. The red trunks were
eliminated until 2018.The Swinging ’60s
Marvel, the other longtime
comics juggernaut, had a
renaissance in the 1960s,
bringing with it flawed heroes
and sartorial innovation.
Lanky Peter Parker, before he
became Spider-Man, initially
wore a disguise to save himself
from teasing when he accepted
a challenge to win $100 if he
could survive three minutes in
the ring against a beefy
wrestler.
Peter soon fashioned his
famous costume, which looks
like a seamless, full-body suit
(think footie pajamas) but is
actually separates. In 1984,
during an adventure in space,
Spider-Man famously donned
a black-and-white costume,
which turned out to be alive.
The ’60s also brought a
sense of egalitarianism in team
uniforms. Susan Richards, the
Fantastic Four’s Invisible Girl,
and Jean Grey, Marvel Girl of
the X-Men, wore unisex duds
that were similar to those of
their male teammates.
Hail to their comic book
creators, Jack Kirby, for draw-
ing the women as attractive,
but not cheesecake (that would
come later, by others), and
Stan Lee, for coining “unstable
molecules,” the material that
allows costumes to shrink,
burn, stretch and transform as
needed.Street Fighters
The ’70s, often an era of
ridicule for nonsuperhero
fashion, brought an instance
of a hero mocking his own
costume. In his 1972 debut,
Luke Cage calls his outfit
“hokey”: a low-cut, bright
yellow shirt, tight black pants,
a metallic headband and
wristbands, and giant chains
worn as a belt.
Further down this crooked
path of heroism is the Pun-
isher, a vigilante with no mor-
al reservations about killing,
who first appeared in 1974. He
has a more traditional cos-
tume, including a large skull
emblazoned over his torso.In recent years, his symbol
has been co-opted by some
police and law enforcement
personnel, though Gerry Con-
way, who created the antihero
told Forbes in June: “The
Punisher is representative of
the failure of law and order to
address the concerns of people
who feel abandoned by the
legal system.”
When a martial arts mania
swept the nation, comics re-
sponded with a number of
characters, including Shang-
Chi, Iron Fist and Richard
Dragon, many of them clad in
somewhat unimaginative
combat attire.‘A’ Is for Accessory
Comic books in the ’90s are
known as a period of excess:
Speculators could not get
enough of new No. 1 issues,
gimmick covers or stories that
promised to change every-
thing (long before every sea-
son of “The Bachelor” pledged
the same).
This era is also notable for
heroes one-upping one an-
other with costume adorn-
ments: massive shoulder
pads, arm and leg straps and
enough pouches that would
turn Batman’s utility beltgreen with envy. The artist
Rob Liefeld, who was guilty
of some of these designs,
even parodied himself in 2018
by creating The Pouch, a
crime fighter made up of
pouches.
Jackets were another popu-
lar choice during this era.
Many of the Avengers wore
them, sporting the team’s
logo on the shoulder. Not to
be outdone, in 1994, Wonder
Woman donned bike shorts, a
leather bra and a cropped
jacket, for about six months.The Influence of Film and Television
When the X-Men movie fran-
chise began in July 2000, the
mutants traded their brightly
colored skintight comic book
looks for black leather. “You
actually go outside in these
things?” Wolverine (Hugh
Jackman) asks in the first film.
“What would you prefer?
Yellow spandex?” says Cy-
clops (James Marsden).
In the comics, some mutant
uniforms went down a similar
path until a return to tradition
in 2004. This was discussed bythose same X-Men: When
Cyclops tells the team that it’s
time to act like superheroes,
Wolverine says, “Is this gonna
be about tights?” Cyclops
responds that superheroes
wear costumes, and “quite
frankly, all the black leather is
making people nervous.”
In 2016, Jason Momoa began
portraying Aquaman on film.
The next year, the comic book
version was depicted with
darker hair, like the actor’s,
and, as of 2019, similar tattoos.From Ms. Marvel to Captain
It took nearly four decades,
but Carol Danvers, an Air
Force officer introduced in
1967 who would go on to be-
come Captain Marvel, finally
received a costume worthy of
her stature. But it was a
bumpy road.
When Danvers became Ms.
Marvel in 1976, she wore a
midriff-revealing variation of
the male Captain Marvel’s
costume. Two years later, she
got a costume that combined
the typical superhero “swim-
suit” look with high boots.
But in 2012, the artist Jamie
McKelvie designed a costume
that was more like a military
uniform, similar to what thecharacter wears in the 2019
“Captain Marvel” film star-
ring Brie Larson.
The character has already
inspired the next generation
of champions. In 2014, Kamala
Khan, a Muslim teenager in
Jersey City, became the new
Ms. Marvel. Kamala is a
tremendous fan of Captain
Marvel and has a dream
about meeting her: “I want to
be you. Except I would wear
the classic, politically incor-
rect costume and kick butt in
giant wedge heels.” (In reali-
ty, she opts for a modest
costume influenced by her
cultural traditions.)MARVEL ENTERTAINMENTClosets Full of Power Suits (and a Few Regrets)
By GEORGE GENE GUSTINESOver the years, the attire of superheroes has often been less heroic than comical.
4 ST THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020FROM LEFT: ROB LIEFELD; MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT; DCDC LEFT AND MIDDLE, MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT; RIGHT, DC LEFT AND MIDDLE, MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT; RIGHT, DCMARVEL ENTERTAINMENT
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