SubscribeNote: Icons are hard to redesign. The characters are so popular, as are their costumes, that it’s hard to break with what they’re best known for and create something new that matches up to that built-up awareness. But Samir Barrett does just that with his impressive redesign of Marvel’s super soldier. I love what he’s done with the wings, turning them from being little more than vestigial adornments to being a major part of the design. And using the blue on the chest as an armored piece on top of a skin-tight suit is great as well. – Chris A.
Edwin
/ May 17, 2012The mask being a helmet, the chest and shoulder armor with the star ‘n wings, armored elbows and knees and the gun holsters are all so nice. I don’t know if this would be official, but I can dream.
JSG
/ May 17, 2012Wow,this is great it looks like a cross between the Captain amercia armor in the first movie with his Avengers armor.I love the shades of blue on this !
Manny Cartoon
/ May 17, 2012Love this! It totally ties together the movies and the comics. If you saw this one cover after seeing the movie I would totally see this selling.
I could totally see this in the ultimate universe. It’s too much to be Steve 616 but hey if they can replace White Fury with Jackson Fury I guess they can do this.
Fluffy
/ May 17, 2012This is awesome. I really think Cap is overdue for a makeover. Don’t get me wrong, his uniform is pretty timeless. I just think it’s time to replace the scales with some light armor like this. I also like that the gear that attaches his shield to his back is part of the suit. I always thought it was a stretch to assume the straps on the back of the shield would also be used to carry it like a backpack only to quickly adjust and be used like handles.
Colin
/ May 17, 2012Nice! The wings on the shoulders and chest are a little much for me but I really like how the darker blue was incorporated into the design. I’d also agree that this is a nice solution to the helmet wings that have always seemed kinda wonky to me.
Fluffy
/ May 17, 2012I will say this: I don’t really care for the “A” belt buckle. It’s just a bit too much.
Andrew Kilian
/ May 17, 2012Great idea! Maybe this will make it’s way into Avengers 2.
Edwin
/ May 17, 2012I think if he was somehow tied to the Airforce (New Cap maybe?) then those wings would be more appropriate
Eric Ways
/ May 17, 2012i really dig this design. the wings on the chest are a hit with me as well as the white kneepads and dual shades of blue. its a winner in my book.
Tom Brazelton
/ May 17, 2012For some reason it’s the wings adjacent to the star on the chest that I think is the best part of this design. In theory, it’s kind of superfluous. But in practice, it works!
Thomas Fummo
/ May 17, 2012Brilliant. Love everything about it :)
Dedpool
/ May 17, 2012Awesome design. More utalitarian and armored than what Cap usually wears. Definitely some movie influences., and some Ultimate too. Really a solid piece and the wings next to the star on the chest actually seem like an upgrade.
Tim
/ May 17, 2012I like it, but I’d drop the wings from the helmet and shoulder pads, and the A on the belt buckle.
Pete Peters
/ May 17, 2012This is pretty great, it’s about time that scale mail Cap’s been rockin’ to be replaced by some sort of hard plastic armor, and this design pulls it off great! Though I do think the star in the collar (His bare neck kind of bugs me, too) and the wings on the shoulder (Could have been replaced by captain rank insignias) are too much, the A on the buckle too. But the wings on the chest do wonders for the character iconography, I can see the logo plastered all over T-shirts and the like! Oh, one last thing… Two guns? Wouldn’t handling a gun AND the shield be kind of… Clunky? Excellent design overrall, props to the creator!
anka
/ May 17, 2012this has got to be one of my favourite redesigns ever.
Itlas
/ May 17, 2012leave the wings around the star,give a classic look to the A of the helmet and it’s a perfect Captain America’s costume for a movie,much better than The Avengers movie costume,expecially the helmet
Neer-Do-Well
/ May 17, 2012Fantastic design. When I saw the wings on the chest, for some reason my mind flashed to the seal of the President of the United States. Also, I don;t know why people haven’t gone for the over-armour look. Really good work!
kalorama
/ May 17, 2012Other than the knee pads and the overabundance of wings, I think this looks great.
Ren Malone
/ May 17, 2012I agree with most of the others that the wings on his shoulders and the ‘A’ belt buckle need to go. Also, the straps that connect to his shield look a little too much like the straps on a child’s backpack. I’m not sure about those kneepads, but they could work if the shape was altered. I don’t know why, but the stripes on his stomach annoy me. Isn’t a red stripe always supposed to go in the center? I could be wrong. I like the guns though, and the addition of the wings to the star on his chest creates an emblem that is more unique. And I definitely think the solid armor looks better than the scales. Great job, Samir!
JohnnySorrow
/ May 18, 2012I really like the use of armor instead of the scale-mail. It’s a pretty practical redesign while keeping it’s iconic hero elements. I like the color choices and the details of the straps and holsters. The only thing I would suggest is to maintain the practicality throughout the design. The boots seem more classic comic book design, whereas as modern military-style boot I think would fit better. As others have mentioned, the “A” belt is a little much. Captain America should have a red center stripe on the abdomen. Lastly, his shield should be bigger; that size wouldn’t offer much protection. It’s a pretty wicked design overall. I like it much better than the movie version.
Aaron Rivin
/ May 18, 2012Absolutely love this!!! Great job!
James W
/ May 18, 2012Wow, this is great. Cosign on ditching the chest-wings and the A-belt – everything else is perfect.
Paul Bonzulac
/ May 18, 2012I love this redesign. Love the different shades of blue, the bare neck and helmet (which they should have kept for The Avengers), the guns and the holsters and the wings on the chest. Also, I’ve always hated the temple wings; even as a child I’d put my thumbs over them to see what he looked like without them because I thought they looked ludicrous. I’ve seen a lot of attempts to redesign them, but this is the best I’ve seen so far; coming off the jaw rather than the temples and streamlined back, they look like an essential part of the design of the helmet rather than canary wings just inexplicably pasted on.
Of course, I have to get my nit-picks in! I don’t like the wings on the shoulder pads; maybe stars like the Ultimate version or bent metallic stripes like in The Avengers? Also, the biceps are too white. Perhaps if they were the color of the knee pads they wouldn’t seem so jarring. Also, I’m not sure about the tiny gloves, though they’re not bad and are a definite improvement over the big flaring elf gloves from the original design.
But, like I said, those are all nit-picks. Overall, perhaps the best redesign I’ve seen. I hope Kevin Feige is paying attention!
Bunx05
/ May 18, 2012Hands down one of the best redesigns I’ve ever seen. This should have been the movie costume. I absolutely love this.
Cap’s costume in the comics (in my opinion) is one of the few costumes that’s actually a disservice to the character. Cap is a leader; strong and direct, with a great tactical sense. His costume has never reflected this. He needs a steamline look that shows his strength and his backround as a soldier. And I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one who’s wondered what the wing dings and scales are about (not to mention the highly improbable boots).
Alex Kobahr
/ May 18, 2012Grew on me.
dnwilliams
/ May 18, 2012This is BRILLIANT. You can see the influence of the movie costume, but this is DEFINITELY the way they should’ve gone with the mask!
dnwilliams
/ May 18, 2012Same here! Had to comment twice, even!
DannyIndeed
/ May 18, 2012That right there is a grade-A redesign. No complaints.
Toyebot
/ May 18, 2012Great design! HAs the feeling of best of all era’s together!
Scadilla
/ May 18, 2012I’m not super sold on the two shades of blue, but I do love the design. That head piece is great and I love the lines.
Seamus Mac
/ May 18, 2012This is great – I can see why a lot of people are talking cinematic over this; the two-tone lends to a level of depth in the design more commonly attributed to screen than page. The ear-wings are such a simple and elegant solution to a gaudy execution of the iconography that I can’t believe no one had thought of it before. I don’t hate the chest-wings, but maybe subdue them a bit, by leaving them as a white outline, or maybe using the two-tone… and I agree with people that the shoulders need something that better compliment their contour. Steve wouldn’t carry guns outside of wartime (although Bucky would be all over it), and there are other ways to suggest armoured joints, like suggesting a more flexible material on the inside (like in Bourassa’s YJ designs of Batman, Robin and Nightwing). Overall, I’m with the consensus that this is one of the greats, definitely better than Bryan Hitch’s clunky Ultimates redux of the last decade. A mashup of this and Anka’s Animated Cap would be amazing (topped with the suggestion someone made on his about the two-stripe badge that signifies a captain’s rank).
About the chain-mail and buccaneer-boots of the original design: Silver Age Cap was the embodiment of the US’s Declaration of Independence: He is the Ultimate of upstanding Americans; he values nothing more than the individual’s freedom. As such, the pomp in his costume was supposed to harken back to the Spirit of ’76 as well as allude to anthropomorphised national icons like Uncle Sam, Columbia, Britannia, etc. In that context, those trappings make sense but in a more practical design, are better served in more concentrated areas like the shield, star, and perhaps some light motifs.
Bryan
/ May 18, 2012Two words…
FINAL JUSTICE!
Jonn
/ May 19, 2012Since S.Mac mentioned it, here are those Young Justice designs.
http://philbourassa.deviantart.com/art/YOUNG-JUSTICE-Nightwing-300406052?
http://philbourassa.deviantart.com/art/YOUNG-JUSTICE-Tim-Drake-301733312
http://philbourassa.deviantart.com/art/YOUNG-JUSTICE-Batman-240875114
Season 1 Robin (Dick Grayson) wears short sleeves and gloves.
Tice with a J
/ May 19, 2012What really impresses me here is what Samir has done with the wing motif. The wings are a central part of Captain America’s look, but I’ve never seen a way to do them that doesn’t seem either silly or bland…until now.
The stripes on the lower torso still seem a little gauche (the red-suspenders-on-white look he had in “The First Avenger” is my favorite take), but those wings set this redesign apart.
Daniel Heard
/ May 20, 2012“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory.”
“Less is always more.” – Coco Chanel.
I LOVE THIS DESIGN. A lot, but a few things need to go before it’s ready for primetime.
One less blue shade, one less A, on less set of wings, and it’s perfection dunked in awesome sauce.
Marshal
/ May 21, 2012I think this is really really fantastic. My ONLY qualm is the wings on the shoulders feel a bit like overkill, what with the wing-shaped elbow and knee pads and the wings on the star. The wings on the star is a great addition. I like the suggestion from a previous commentor to replace the shoulder wings with military ranking-style emblems.
Dale
/ May 22, 2012Love this design! No one’s mentioned the part I find most clever– look at his chest armor, it’s in the shape of Cap’s original shield!
Edwin
/ May 23, 2012Son of a Dalek, he’s right!
Ben Hatke
/ May 25, 2012Nice. I really like this one a lot. It’s one of the best Cap helmet designs I’ve seen.
-Ben
B
/ May 31, 2012Love the chest emblem! Like the idea of the pants being all dark blue and the padding being and even darker blue, but keeping the chest part that lighter color.