Will Batman still be Batman without his suit? Will Spider-Man still be Spider-Man without his suit? Will Superman still be Superman without his suit? The answer is yes to all three even with Batman relying on his suit. But the suits that superheroes and super villains wear get fans and others to instantly recognize them. They add to their aura, their presence, their mystic, their icon status. Superman still has those powers but get him out of the suit, no one knows him. Needles to say, the suit is just as important as the character’s name, powers, origin and mythos. When they jump from page to screen though, it’s a delicate and sensitive balance. The director and costume designer need to incorporate all the elements, or most of them, in the suits but some suits are hard to translate. Over the last dozen years, some attempts have adapted the suits well, others have made a few new additions, others have taken large liberty. But suits now are being more faithful to what they look like in the comic books. For some of those iconic suits, it works. For others, it falls short.
Whenever a new suit is announced, it sends fans into a frenzy. Some love the new suit while others are quick to point out all the flaws and shortcomings. The most recent frenzy was when James Gunn revealed the new Superman suit. It brought back the vibrant red and blue that was replaced by darker tones in Snyder’s version. The new Superman suit also brought back the golden shield on the back of the cape. And of course, the trunks are back. This was more than enough to get the approval of some fans. However, due to the trunks, the baggy nature of the suits, the lines, and the logo, it received criticism. Now, with some leaks coming through, details on the suit are clearer and has fans divided much more. The thing with Superman’s suit is that it’s so iconic it ventures into something that’s pious. Quite frankly, it’s not a difficult suit to adapt either. But since things need to change at the same time it needs to be traditional, it does make it difficult to maintain true comic book accuracy. Superman has always been the symbol of hope so it would make sense that his colors be brighter to reflect that. On the other hand, no matter how its done, when a director decides to go with the trunks, it will spark those ‘wearing underwear on the outside look’ comments and thoughts. Which as traditional as it is, does make Superman, and any other character that go with that accessory, look cartoony in live action. As a symbol of hope, that wardrobe decision goes against the grain.
At the same time, suits need to stay with what came before and not stray too far. One of the most famous cases are the suits in the first few X-Men movies. The more famous X-Men have their own style of suits but all share a royal blue and yellow design. Although some of the suits may look similar to another, they all have their own exclusive, independent style. A few iconic in their own right. But when the films came out, all the suits matched, and each of them was stripped from those iconic colors and were given an all-black scheme. Even though seeing the suits immediately links them to the live action versions, they weren’t accurate at all. And since the X-Men were popular at that time in the comics, they should have received the suit accuracy. Even villains like Magneto and Juggernaut couldn’t get it right even with simple but classic suits. It’s one thing to be original but that originality should not triumph traditional in some cases. Case in point, Marvel’s Spider-Man’s and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s suit were that classic and red but with a white spider logo. In met that balance. In other cases, fans get proto suits that take a long time to get into comic book accuracy, much like Scarlett Witch. Even up to her last outing, there wasn’t much accuracy there. Instead in was a lot of dark red, black, and leather. Nothing that came close to how she looked like in the books. In her first debut, Harley Quinn didn’t quite get it right. Even though she was a rising star at that point, fans know Harley Quinn to at least have an asymmetrical, black and red body suit. Fans were a little disappointed to see what she wore because it went against her iconic look among other reasons. David Ayer and the costume designers chose to walk far from a classic comic book suit. It wasn’t until The Suicide Squad where fans got that iconic suit (also one of the best Superhero suits in comic book films), be it everyone saw it for a few minutes. Decisions like these could go against fan’s passion for these characters because it’s the suits that’s the first layer of recognizability. It’s the suits that bare similarities over time that keep these characters iconic. Afterall, they are the first thing that comes to mind when a character is mentioned. The first thing that’s seen when an image is presented. So, they mean something. But when a director and costume designer make drastic changes, it kind of takes something away from the fans that greatly outnumber the director and designers.
Then again, accurate suits can work but there is a catch. Making a one-for-one replica between the comic book suit and a live action suit is very difficult. So, that’s why a little touch of modernization needs to be thrown in there. Real world practicality and limitations need to be added. One of the best superhero suits to ever be put on screen is Deadpool’s suit. It still keeps the red and black look but there is practicality and real-world elements. It’s much more than a skin tight rubber suit. It’s tactical, layered and multi textured. A suit that looks like it could exist in real life while keeping a comic book flare. Wolverine’s new suit in Deadpool & Wolverine fits the mold a bit too. His suit is also tactical and multi textured and moves away from the skin tight suit to appear like Kevlar. That Harley Quinn suit in The Suicide Squad keeps her own red and black and fits the criteria mentioned above. While all these suits – plus a few more – adopt real world, tangible elements they do not stray far from their comic book suits. That’s how to make appealing, acceptable and accurate suits. Using the comic book elements as a base then deciding which real-world element would best represent each part of the suit. It makes the suits feel real, believable, cool without it look out of place and cartoony.
Superhero suits are in major thing to a character and fans. The suits are the closest thing that fans can get to becoming these characters. Even when actors put the suits, they feel different, they feel like the character. So, they have to be treated with respect. Make them look believable, acceptable without straying far from the source material or making them look overly exaggerated with accuracy. Their needs to be a fair middle ground. It could be difficult due to a character’s long run, number of costumes and/or the complexity of the suit itself. Fans on the other hand will have their personal opinion on anything related to their favorite character. Since there are numerous of fans, each with their own perception on what a suit will look like, it’s impossible to get one that everyone likes. The best a suit can do is please most fans. That’s why it’s such a delicate balance.
