SubscribeNote: In the years we’ve been doing Project: Rooftop, the contributors to the site have often discussed other heroes (and villains) that are in need of a wardrobe change. We’ve been lucky enough to receive several art contributions of characters that have been on our personal wishlists, but there remains many that are still waiting their turn in the makeover chair. So today we decided to make our wishlists public and point out some heroes in need of a costume redesign. We encourage the artists reading to take these to heart and come up with your own redesigns! – Chris Arrant
Chris Arrant:
One of the unique things about the superhero genre is how it gives its character’s a set of work clothes they are supposed to wear day-in and day-out. It’s their uniform—and their brand—and over the years, we’ve seen some drastic redesigns and some gradual shifts to some classic (and not-so classic characters). For me personally, I think the best redesigns that have recently taken place in the real fake world of comics are probably Darwyn Cooke’s Catwoman redesign in 2001 and 2007′s redesign of Thor by Olivier Coipel. Both heroes sorely in need—and both heroes were well taken care of.
With that in mind, here are some other heroes I feel are in need of a wardrobe facelift.
The Phantom. One of the first superheroes from the bygone pulp days, the Phantom actually holds the distinction of being the first superhero with a skin-tight suit. Although slight variations have been made to him over time—very slight—the Phantom looks like a four-color throwback in today’s modern world. With the history of the mantle of the Phantom, the transition to a new Phantom would be an ideal time to consider a trip to the seamstress.
Black Knight. Okay, maybe he’s not in the same class as the first two—but hey, he’s one of the earliest Avengers. In his most recent appearances as a member of Captain Britain’s MI:13, he’s showed up in more casual wear with a helmet and sword…while that’s an improvement somewhat, I felt it went too far into Casual Fridays for me. A medieval knight as superhero—all the clunky armor seems contrary to the spirited swordplay of the man, but I think there’s a way somehow. What say you, artists?
Firestorm. There’s fire still left in this hero if the recent focus in the pages of the recent Brightest Day series, but he’s been returned to the costume straight out of the ’70s. The closest to being good has been the Jason Rausch design from 2004 by Criss Cross, which was expertly revised in covers by Brian Stelfreeze, but it’s still nothing definitive. If DC has any hopes of carving out some continued success from the character, some more thought needs to be put into the visuals—and the story.
Jon Morris:
The Martian Manhunter. The giant green monster look works for the Hulk because they’ve kept it simple. With the Manhunter, he’s got one of everything from a flared collar to a bandolier to patriot boots, and none of it looks alien except in the sense that his culture may not have a concept of godawful eyesores. I know we’ve got one of these in the pike for the JLA Redesign, but I’d love to see MM taken on en masse.
Susan Storm, The Invisible Woman. The other three members of the FF have such distinct looks – The Thing is is The Thing, the Human Torch always has his flaming persona, and Reed Richards always gets the most use out of the FF’s standard issue jumpsuit by stretching it into dynamic shapes – but Sue literally and metaphorically vanishes. Whenever they do get new costumes, most of the time Sue ends up wearing the exact same thing the boys do, styled for the boys, like she’s wearing an older brother’s castoff pajamas. And when they HAVE given her a unique costume, well, it’s stuff like that weird bondage/bikini thing from the Tom DeFalco years. I’ve always thought she desperately needed her own look, something uniquely “Invisible Woman.”
The Spectre. Or, at least, this new Spectre. They went and gave us a new Spectre, and … he has a goatee, ta-daa, the end. It’s disappointing, especially given the slightly frustrating “you-can-tell-he’s-a-black-man-because-he’s-got-a-goatee/Let’s-make-sure-he-looks-like-Samuel-L-Jackson” motif which dominates African American superhero character design. The events surrounding Crispus Allen’s transformation into the Spectre were dramatic enough that he deserved his own design, not just having a sharpie marker taken to the old design.
Note: Lots more after the jump! – D.T.
Tim Callahan:
I can think of a few characters who could use some new duds.
Superboy. Conner Kent. He looked fine when Francis Manapul drew him in “Adventure Comics,” but it’s still a costume with high-waisted jeans and a t-shirt, like something someone’s uncle wears to the cookout because he thinks it will make him look young.
Star Sapphire. I get that she—and her Zamaron sisters — are sexed-up as part of their power set, but it’s a little too sleazy stripperish for the Green Lantern universe. How about something more elegantly sexy? Or something that doesn’t look like a spin-off of Lady Death?
Geo-Force. He’s a prince of a far-off land. He’s one of the guys Batman chose to hang out with back in the old days. He’s terribly tormented about the death of the sister he never really knew he had, and even when he found out about her, she was evil pretty much immediately. And his costume needs some help. The yellow and green “GF” look didn’t work at all, and the classic brown-and-slightly-lighter brown doesn’t distinguish him enough. He deserves better.
Ms. Marvel. She has a military background and she dresses like that? With the sash belt and everything? Her ongoing series was about trying to become the hero she never knew she could be, and even if that series is over, she still needs a costume that matches that go-get-’em attitude. Something more iconic. Something to give her the nobility of a hero.
Nova. I’m just not feeling the bladey shoulder pads in his more recent look. The helmet can’t be changed, but he needs some new clothes to go along with his more important (if secret) status in the Marvel U.
Vito Delsante:
For me, Project: Rooftop represents childhood wish fulfillment at it’s most creative; everyone wanted to be Wolverine, but maybe that yellow and blue number was too yellow for you. So we broke out the magic markers and the crayons and went to work on our version of the ultimate costume. We live (and some of us, work) in an industry where redesigns pop up every few years. It might be in a different line of comics (Marvel’s Ultimate line, for example), or it might be in a relaunch (Starman, Firestorm, etc.). Whatever the case may be, here’s my list for characters that need a little bit of a pick-me-up in their closets.
Taskmaster. He’s a great villain, but I think he’s still considered B- or C-List. Why? That costume. Yes, I get it. You can mimic the fighting styles of anyone you see…and apparently, you can also mimic Daredevil’s blindness because brother, you are wearing too much to be considered a top notch threat. He had a different costume for a little while (designed by the UDON guys) which was…ok, but not great. It’s a shame because this guy could be A-List.
Darkseid. He. Is. Wearing. A. Skirt. I don’t care how bad ass he is, or the fact that Jack Kirby created him. He. Is. Wearing. A. Skirt. Here’s a case where you have an A-List villain, the cream of the crop, and we’re supposed to cower in fear of him while he wears a tunic? Thanos laughs at this guy. Why? Say it with me…He. Is. Wearing. A. Skirt. Now granted, pants won’t necessarily make him…better, for lack of a more appropriate word, but he just isn’t scary to me. Darkseid is the epitome of evil…let’s make him LOOK like it! This might be a wholesale redesign or a matter of creating a costume that really says “universal evil,” but whatever it is, it can’t be a skirt.
Mister Miracle. My second Kirby character. Kirby is a sacred cow in comics; He’s the King, after all. But after watching the Tim Gunn interview/costume critique on Crazy Sexy Geeks that has made the rounds, I can’t help but think that these guys are right; he’s a Christmas ornament. The design is great (it perfectly captures Kirby’s unique design sense), but it’s somehow flawed (I point to the colors, specifically). I liked how he looked Seven Soldiers, but I don’t know…I get the feeling Miracle could be taken to another level.
Metamorpho. He’s too close to Ultra, the Multi Alien for me (who, technically, followed Metamorpho, chronologically). It’s a classic Ramona Fradon design, but I think he can be updated. I wonder…what if he was Rex Mason in a costume and he just used his powers? That takes away from the character some, but I think there’s a lot that can be done with him yet. Again, I think it might be a case of color palette. Do those colors truly define the power set he represents (an elemental that can shapeshift and transmute)? Or are they an antiquated look that can be changed to better suit those powers? Again, he’s a classic character with a classic design (one I quite like), but if DC instilled an “Ultimate” style reimagining, I don’t think he’d look like this.
The Question. Ok, he’s (and she’s) actually not in need of a redesign. The Question, whether it be Sage or Montoya, is a pulp style detective with little need of color and flash. But, I just wonder what he/she would look like if he/she had a more traditional superhero tights look (akin to the Golden Age Sandman going from the trenchcoat to the gold and purple mask and tights). Who wants to take a swing at this one?
Rachel Edidin:
Gambit. In a sea of iffy costumes, Gambit’s classic look stands out as singularly awful. He’s the only superhero with a costume so bad he has to cover it up with a trenchcoat. This can not stand.
Iron Fist. World’s first disco martial artist. Iron Fist is in desperate need of an update, or, at the very least, some serious collar reduction. And, speaking of superheroes who have continued to evolve while their costumes remained stuck somewhere in the mid seventies…
Power Man. Some of the best costumes are made from accessorized street clothes–just look at Starman or the Question. Unfortunately, Luke Cage’s is not one of them; the cartoonish chains were bad enough, but now that he’s lost them, he just looks like a dude in sunglasses who can’t or won’t button his shirt.
Green Arrow. Monochromatic. Peter. Pan. Costume. ‘Nuff said.
Huntress. Huntress is an interesting, nuanced character, stuck in an exceptionally generic unitard (and let’s not even mention the unfortunate midriff cut-out). I’d like to see her in something that’s more distinctive and better-personalized.
Jessica Plummer:
Wonder Girl. It’s been said before, but from the ratty old wig she debuted in to the arm-restraining Christmas sweater she’s sporting now, the poor girl cannot catch a break. Is it possible to give Cassie something coherent, age-appropriate, and uniquely her while being simultaneously Wonderful?
Rip Hunter. A red and green jumpsuit does not say “time traveller” to me. It says “Christmas elf.” I don’t care how hardcore his stubble is. Dan Jurgens has made several valiant efforts to cool-ify Rip’s costume over the past couple years, and heck, the t-shirt and jeans work well enough for a dude who spends most of his time in a lab berating Booster Gold, but can we give him something more superheroic and temporally apropos, just for funsies?
Stargirl. Bike shorts. Bare midriff. Look, I know she debuted in 1999. And now thanks to that costume, so does everybody else.
Guy Gardner. They’ve taken it easy on the hair lately, but come on. A turtleneck, a wide-collared vest, that ridiculous Elvis belt, and stretch workout pants presumably purchased at Lady Foot Locker? It would be the worst Green Lantern costume of all time if everything else he’s worn, ranging from a midriff-baring tank top (Yes. He really did this.) to no shirt and fakey-fake tribal tattoos, wasn’t worse.
Ultra-Humanite. Okay, I suppose there’s no reason a giant albino gorilla with psychic powers couldn’t wear a red-and-gold support truss with bondage suspenders and a little modesty flap. But that doesn’t mean he he should. Ultra’s the oldest supervillain in comics and a formidable foe even for Kryptonians. I think he’s earned the right to look legitimately intimidating.
Wayne
/ July 17, 2010Hawkeye. The wing-mask and loincloth just don’t work for me.
Jim Gitman
/ July 17, 2010Wow, Delsante has bad taste. If you pick five costumes in need of a redesign and Mister Miracle is the worst of the lot, you’re in trouble.
Taskmaster and Metamorpho could tone down the orange and MM’s costume might be cleaned up a bit, but those are all great costumes.
Chad Raymond
/ July 17, 2010Seven Soldiers suggested a wild new take on New Gods, the lines on 7S:Mister Miracle were very fresh. His problem is that he’s not surrounded by the outlandish, pure color and determinist brand that his costume and story imply. Which, of course, is the point of his story. He could use a trip to his own “Asgard” to cement the brand. Similarly, the Darkseid of Final Crisis was an improvement, but I can’t recall if it retained the skirt.
I agree about Metamorpho, who had a slight improvment as the renamed Shift. Firestorm is also a mess. I kind of wish Firestorm had ditched the concept of Ronnie Raymond + Martin Stein and gone a Black Alice DC Team-Up route with the latest Jason Raush iteration. Every costume would be different, but absorb aspects of the superhero absorbed into the Matrix.
Suprised no one went with Storm. She has thousands of looks, but nothing serves as well as her original look and distinctive tiara.
Vito
/ July 17, 2010I don’t understand why this is indicative of my “bad taste.” I was asked to name a few characters that I thought could use updating or changing. Why is that a bad thing? Because you disagree? That’s supposed to be the point. We don’t all agree on any of these characters, hence we have our own lists. I could have easily said Spider-Man and Superman, but I didn’t.
How about we wait for someone to hit one of my suggestions…maybe you’ll see what I mean?
Alice
/ July 17, 2010Can we nominate Noh-Varr’s new “Protector” costume for a redesign? The black and white was a nice throwback, but dear God, the look of the costume itself is hideous. Even Djurdjevic’s art wasn’t able to save it as it is now.
Hymmis
/ July 17, 2010@ Rachel: But Iron Fist DID get a redesign, in “The Immortal Iron Fist”. Granted it wasn’t much (no collar and a yellow version of his dragon-tattoo on his shirt), but it did the job.
@ Vito: Darkseid wore a SKIRT? Truth be told, I haven’t read many comics so my exposure to him is through Superman/Justice League animated series. There he has tights/spandex pants so it’s not that noticeable. But I figure that if I’ve followed the comics, I’d still not see it until someone points it out.
Jovita
/ July 17, 2010Scarlet Witch, please! I’ve been waiting forever for someone to do something with her in the comics. Can’t stand her hair poking out of her helmet thing….
Jim Gitman
/ July 17, 2010I think that I’m as entitled to declare that your taste is bad as you are to declare that any one of those costumes is ugly or outdated. There are any number of choices scattered among the lists that I disagree with, but you managed to go 5 for 5. Plus you did it in a fairly aggressive manner (“blindness”/”skirt”/”Christmas ornament”), so I’m surprised that you’d be at all bothered by my response.
(your blog did just talk me into buying Black Hole, and I suppose that calls my true estimate of your taste into question)
Adam
/ July 17, 2010@Chris: YES! JUST YES! I have waited soooo very, very long for J’onn to get a MARTIAN outfit. I mean, comon! Your saying a telepathic alien cop would SERIOUSLY just walk around in skivvies? Uhuh. I ain’t buyin’ that.
@Vito: I happened to like the choices. I have just as much respect for Jack Kirby but those two New Gods need some visual overhauls. Regarding Metamorpho (they changed his name to Shift? ), I find his look to be extremely iconic. He may be in his underwear but due to the anture of his powers I doubt he has a choice…thats just my feelings though. Oh and Taskmaster is B-C list becasue well…he’s not really a bad guy. Just some hired gun who doesn’t really hold a grudge against anyone ,unlike another mercenary named Bullseye
@Rachel: Green Arrow? Really? But I thought that was his whole shtick? Y’know modern, real-life Robin Hood…OHTHATGIVESMEANIDE NEVERMIND!!!!111ONE
@Jessica: Yeah Star-Girl needs a new look. Something a little more reminiscent of the Golden Age since that is kinda the setting of the JSA….isn’t it?
Richard Robilotto
/ July 17, 2010I think Psylocke is in desperate need of a makeover. I don’t really mind her ninjakini, but no matter what costume they give her, they always go back to the same one. I think she needs something new, and she needs to stick with it.
Also, whenever someone redesigns her costume online, they always make it a sluttier offshute of her current one. Even some of her in comic costumes are just different versions of the ninjakini.
After the woman got stabbed in the stomach, and resurrected, what costume did they give her? leather pants and a tiny tiny bodice that has her WHOLE midsection showing. It doesn’t make sense to have a woman afraid of dying again to show that much skin, especially when she’s baring the place where she previously has been stabbed. This woman has been though a lot, and at the very least she should get a new costume.
Bob Prodor
/ July 17, 2010Dare I say it, I like Alex Ross’ new bloody (or maybe it’s grapes) fur-underweared Phantom!
I think it’s novel idea, and it answers the striped shorts conundrum.
Jemma Salume
/ July 17, 2010Is this post intended as a challenge? I think it’s a challenge. The gauntlet’s been thrown down, artists! Let’s get to work! :D
Richard Robilotto
/ July 17, 2010Héctor Barros
/ July 17, 2010I´m with Jemma, this is a cristal-clear challenge. Maybe we can team-up?
Calvin Vankeersbilck
/ July 17, 2010Honestly Martian Manhunter and Darkseid are wearing some of the skimpiest outfits in comics. Namor should also fit in that list but he has some leeway because he’s a swimmer.
Dean
/ July 17, 2010I would like to second:
- Firestorm
- Martian Manhunter
- Star Sapphire
- Gambit
- Power Man
I disagree with:
- Sue Storm
- Ms. Marvel
- Darkseid
- Green Arrow
- Guy Gardner
I would like to suggest:
- Storm, who is wearing an awkward fusion between the Cockrum look and the movie costume.
- Starfire, the deep cleavage on a one-piece swimsuit was tacky even when it was more fashionable.
- Captain Atom, the silver re-design was a neat idea that is a little incomplete.
- Wonder Man. Has that guy ever looked cool?
dnwilliams
/ July 17, 2010The Vision. Such a cool character, with a great power set, totally ruined for me by the costume and colour scheme. That costume is a crime against humanity. Ghost has been one of my favourite characters since I started reading Thunderbolts, and I know I wouldn’t have liked him all that much had he not had his amazing costume redesign. It’s annoying that truly awful and garish designs are stuck to.
I feel a similar way about The Martian Manhunter. The characterization in The New Frontier made me realise it was a character I could really like, but not with that costume.
Firestorm, Star Sapphire, Huntress are all dreadful.
Power Man just needs a costume. ANY freakin’ costume will do. Generic Black Male #616 is not good enough. Bring back the silver crown and the yellow.
Guy Gardener is so easily fixed it’s not even funny. The amount of indie kids that have a short back and sides hairstyle with floppy swept bangs and make it work, the fact that with a tweak or two his jacket could look as cool as what Luke Skywalker wore in RotJ…He’s a pen stroke away from being The Cool Looking Lantern.
Tim Kirk
/ July 17, 2010How about Tigra? Is she around anymore? I don’t read much Marvel anymore. (Astro City and DC have been getting my love.) Yet I loved Tigra, though she needed a makeover. Tiger-girl is fine, but please do something more interesting than a bikini?
Most of the suggestions make a lot of sense to me. I’m more than willing to take a look at what people do. (I wish I were anything resembling a talented artist.)
coleman
/ July 17, 2010the problem with a lot of characters on this list is that there HAVE been some pretty serious make-overs done to the characters. Martian Manhunter in particular has gone through TWO major redesigns….the all-blue elongated head suit that he wore when dying in Final Crisis and his new Brightest Day costume with pants and a more coherent bandolier look. The problem with a lot of the characters listed above is that they have indeed gone through pretty major costume changes in the past few years…do the contributors not actually keep up with comic books?
With Susan Storm, two points: her power is to become INVISIBLE which kinda makes the concept of a definitive costume kinda moot, and she’s also a MOTHER, another big character aspect. As the “first family” of the marvel universe, I’m ok with them having a cohesive team uniform.
The Spectre: Best Spectre was Kingdom Come’s naked Spectre. just sayin’
Daniel
/ July 17, 2010I did and sent a Martian Manhunter recently, i thought you guys might have dug it. anyhoo in case that never got through:
http://dio-03.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2ph03t
Jon McNally
/ July 17, 2010I’m surprised there aren’t more X-Men on this list.
Jon McNally
/ July 17, 2010You know, upon further reflection I realize I haven’t read an X-book since the Nineties (aside from X-Statix First Class, neither of which inspired my comment above). I should learn to keep my mouth shut :)
Jon McNally
/ July 17, 2010Umm … Better make that, “… aside from X-Statix and First Class …”
I’m battin’ a thousand today :(
M.D.G.
/ July 17, 2010A lot of these character HAVE been redesigned… but the redesigns never seem to stick.
That being said, Sean Gordon Murphy has a great Gambit design on his deviantart site.
http://seangordonmurphy.deviantart.com/art/Wolverine-J-142181172
(There are some other redesigns in there, too)
Karl Savage
/ July 17, 2010I thought Martian Manhunter was wearing that full-body blue get up with red piping now. I don’t read the DC superhero stuff, so I’m not current with what he’s currently decked out in. The costume I’m talking about is the this one- http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X2Flh5CSe80/SFRtHBCqatI/AAAAAAAABSo/WyQEQ71kBX0/s400/Bad%2Bcostume.jpg
I like this one, especially the high collar.
Karl Savage
/ July 17, 2010Or to be more discerning, I think it’s a big improvement from his bare chested costume. I think they could still push it further and make it really stand out.
curgoth
/ July 17, 2010I always thought being tacky was an integral part of Wonder Man’s shtick. I mean, he’s Mr. Hollywood in a universe centered on New York.
Hmm. He perhaps needs the Queer Eye for the Positronic Guy? Now I’m getting Wonder Man ideas…
kalorama
/ July 17, 2010Jon,
I think you are missing the point with Martian Manhunter. His costume isn’t supposed to “look alien” or represent anything about his Martian heritage. Hie entire look (including his morphed muscle-bound physical appearance) was created as an attempt to mimic the look of Earth’s superheroes so as the better fit in. Yes, it looks ridiculous. But that’s how superhero costumes look through the skewed prism of his alien perceptions and, at the time, unfamiliarity with Earth culture and the very concept of costume superheroes. I know it was a joke, but you hit the nail on the head when you said “his culture may not have a concept of godawful eyesores.” How could they? As I recall, the people on Mars didn’t even wear clothes. How would he know what is and isn’t bad fashion?
Looked at in a certain light, it’s actually kind of an interesting commentary on the garishness of traditional superhero costumes.
Alice
/ July 18, 2010The problem with trying to give Tigra a new look is that, well, she’s covered in *fur* (or at least is supposed to be, some artists forget that). I don’t like the bikini either, but given what superhero costumes tend to be made of, pretty much anything more covering than her Marvel Adventures one-piece would have her passing out from heat exhaustion in a fight.
Then again, this is a universe where unstable molecules in costumes are the norm and at least one fashion-designing heroine used to be fluttering around. Surely there’d be *some* options available to poor Greer. As long as she doesn’t end up in something like that unfortunately-patched leather-and-cheetah-print outfit that Barbara Minerva’s been wearing for the past few years, it’d be an improvement.
Alice
/ July 18, 2010I liked the red hooded cape she had in the Exiles relaunch, but the rest of that costume was kind of a disaster. Maybe pick and choose the better elements of her assorted costumes and work with that? Sans the helmet, though, because I agree with you that it seriously needs to go.
Zalthazar
/ July 18, 2010I feel like I’m the only person on earth who really liked UDON’s Taskmaster costume.To this day I don’t know why it didn’t stick with the character.Still,heres hoping for a good One-shot or a brief mini-series.
Mario Silva
/ July 18, 2010UDON’s Taskmaster is a riot suit with guns,
http://www.allamericanblog.com/2008/02/05/is-a-six-pack-on-a-riot-police-suit-really-necessary-3/
The solid energy glove solves the problem of the character’s too many weapons, but it seems to me that it removes the best part of the character’s design challenge: it’s gear!
Daniel Heard
/ July 18, 2010Ms MARVEL! Not “iconic”? I am at once agast and charmed by the challenge of redesigning one of the best costumes of all all time. I dunno if I’m up to it . . .
MaGnUs
/ July 18, 2010Mr. Miracle is supposed to look like a Christmas ornament: HE’S A CIRCUS PERFORMER!!!
@Richard Robilotto: “Ninjakini”… LOL!
@Curgoth: Data’s positronic, Wonder Man’s ionic. :)
brainypirate
/ July 18, 2010Can we please get two new rules for super-costumes???
1) No trunks-over-tights for men. You can make interesting looking pants without having to resort to BVDs….
2) No pubic-stubble exposure bathing suits for women. I don’t like seeing bikini bottoms cut so high that I have to worry whether the heroine had her wax recently enough to be safe in public!
Thank you.
And if I had my druthers, I’d redesign the entire Kirby Fourth-World: not just the costumes, but the entire style (circles and squiggly lines!), which I just find ugly and dated. Kirby’s not a sacred cow–highly revered, certainly, but still capable of some truly garish design concepts.
Dean
/ July 18, 2010brainypirate – yeah that kirby guy, what was his deal??
Michael
/ July 18, 2010Is it just me, or have most of these heroes “desperately in need of a redesign” already had a redesign?
Martian Manhunter just got a redesign post Brightest Day. Two of them if you want to look as far back as the Infinite Crisis redo.
Darkseid: so Final Crisis never happened then? Say what you will about it, but the redesign used in FC was gorgeous.
Mister Miracle: see Darkseid above. JUST had a redesign.
Iron Fist has had a brand new design for his costume since his comic came back about three years ago. See New Avengers for it. It’s sleek and badass.
Power Man has had a new look since Bendis brought him into the Avenger…so about a solid decade now of a new look, yeah? Black t-shirt. Jeans. Makes Superboy look like a ponce. Works for me.
Green Arrow just got a redesign in his comic. He IS a green Peter Pan. Stated piece of the origin, right there. Not seeing the point you’re trying. to. make. with. clever. punctuation.
Not trying to be mean about the whole thing, but a little research (like walking into a comic shop sometime in the last five years) goes a long way, Rooftoppers.
Scalfin
/ July 18, 2010Black Night could probably be improved simply going with the correct armaments that King Arthur would have worn. Can you imagine how terrifying it would be for some nut in quilt and lamellar coming after you with a kite sword and viking sword/glaive would be?
Bryan
/ July 19, 2010I tend not to like modern re-designs of super-heroes.
I’m not diggin’ this trend as of late to make a super-hero’s costume look “real”, or even make sense. They live in a world so far removed from our own. I honestly don’t want their clothes, their lives, their universe, to be anything ordinary or realistic. Just let them wear weird, impossible costumes with underware on the outside and over sized capes and ridiculous helmets and girls fighting in swim suits and go-go boots and. I feel like we’ve lost some of the fun and joy of comics by trying to drag them into our reality.
Vito Delsante
/ July 19, 2010Looking forward to hearing what you think of Black Hole…it’s a great book!
Back to your regularly scheduled programming…
Vito Delsante
/ July 19, 2010I like this, Daniel! The cape makes it for me.
Vito Delsante
/ July 19, 2010We’re not saying that they didn’t, Michael. We’re just saying that these characters are worthy of better. I’ll admit ignorance regarding Darkseid in Final Crisis, but all I remember was a new helmet/headdress.
I think that for us, individually and as a unit, we went into this saying, “Let’s get folks thinking about these characters in new and different ways and see if we can’t change it up a bit. Like my suggestion for the Question…there’s nothing wrong with it, but I was wondering out loud what his/her “superhero” look would be and thinking maybe our regulars (or a new class) could see the same thing. It’s all for fun, don’t forget.
E Morgan
/ July 19, 2010I was TOTALLY going to suggest the Star Sapphires on my own. I showed the same picture above to a group of female friends and they all couldn’t believe their eyes. In the bad sense of the phrase. Seriously, the artists who design such “outfits” should be forced to wear a real version of it, complete with all the nipple tape needed to keep it clinging to the body.
…I would also like to nominate Amora the Enchantress. What is up with her leggings? Her outfit is painfully boring, and her bubble-print stockings are just mind-boggling.
Bruce A.
/ July 19, 2010E. Morgan: “I was TOTALLY going to suggest the Star Sapphires on my own. I showed the same picture above to a group of female friends and they all couldn’t believe their eyes. In the bad sense of the phrase. Seriously, the artists who design such “outfits” should be forced to wear a real version of it, complete with all the nipple tape needed to keep it clinging to the body.”
Talk about serendipity. “A real version of it” showed up on hawtness.com, one of the NSFW subsidiaries of I Can Haz Cheezburger a few days ago. Rather than nipple tape, the costumer/model used several unobtrusive and strategically placed transparent plastic ties.
Pretty spectacular. (Both costume and costumer.)
Picture here
Comments on the hawtness.com post, including a number from the costumer here
Bruce A.
/ July 19, 2010Apparently screwed up the link on the solo picture, but it’s included at the top of the comments page.
Shiny Jim
/ July 19, 2010Considering what we got last time he was redesigned, I’d rather J’onn stay as he is.
Mario Silva
/ July 20, 2010I think there is room for the whole spectrum of costumes . Even when taking a very realistic approach to supers, you have alien/magic tech and culture to take into account. Basically, a more realistic approach would mean WEIRDER outfits and looks for most of them.
E Morgan
/ July 20, 2010A beautiful job on the costume construction, but I hold to my original opinion that the costume is ugly and highly impractical.
Blue
/ July 23, 2010Hey guys, I’d love to hear some feedback on the redesigns I did for Stargirl, Star Sapphire, and Mister Miracle. Hop on over to my blog, won’t you?
http://bluedelliquanti.blogspot.com/2010/07/project-rooftop-submissions.html
JD
/ July 23, 20101.The Black Hood
2.Stripesly
3.The Sprit
4.Rocket Racer