Cool Costumes Continued

Here are some more costumes that stand out from the crowd:

Captain Universe 

Though many people have held this power and costume, the basic suit remains the same for everyone. It comes to a person (or even to an animal once) whenever that being is in need of help. After the adventure is complete, the power usually leaves.

For a brief period, the Uni-power bonded with various superheroes like Daredevil and even the Silver Surfer trying to find out what was wrong with it. At that time it took on a more blended look of itself and that particular hero's costume.

The idea of the power and suit being transferred to people in need and then leaving afterward is a nice nod to heroes like Hawk & Dove, while the suit itself is a cool basic blend of white and a universe design.

Punisher 2099

Oh man, I loved this book back in the day. The re-imagining of the Punisher character is hard to imagine, but somehow they stayed true to the character while still giving us something new.

The costume gives a nod to the original Punisher suit. The skull is sill there along with newer concepts like shoulder pads and gauntlets. Unfortunately the character was killed as the 2099 line was ending.

This is one of those titles I'm hoping they'll put out in TPB form someday. Spider-Man 2099 and X-Men 2099 both have a collection, so I don't know why he can't pull one as well.

Red Hood

The first Jason Todd look for Red Hood is a winner. Completely functional in every way and about as sparse as you can make it design-wise, this really is an outfit you'd think a street warrior would grab as he prepared to take down Gotham's biggest crime bosses.

And just think, the helmet keeps him safe from a head shot if any bad guy should get lucky.

Unfortunately Grant Morrison threw him into some sort of crazy costume that looks just plain stupid. Red Hood will return to his original look in the new DC reboot, which may just be the only good thing to come out of that crazy reboot stuff.

The Eradicator

A tough-looking version of Superman's own costume, the Eradicator made his "cool costume appearance" during the Death/Return of Superman storyline time. As for his actions: think of a cross between Superman and the Punisher.

I am the first to say the sunglasses weren't necessarily the best choice of a mask. At the time, however, they did a good job of giving him a reason to wear them (his eyes were sensitive to the light) and it did add to the possibility that maybe he was really Superman in there somewhere.

I think the black-and-blue color theme worked pretty well here and for the subsequent costumes. Unfortunately he died at the hands of Doomslayer in a recent Action Comics storyline.

Jack of Hearts

 A truly crazy-looking guy, Jack of Hearts has a costume that fits his persona. Keep in mind though that the suit was needed to keep his crazy nuclear body from blowing up and killing everyone around him. That being said, it's a good thing it looked like something out of a set of playing cards when he needed it.

 This one has to be considered the most flamboyant costume on this list and Jack is dead now anyway (twice...the second time killing Scott Lang/Ant Man in the process), but he still deserves a spot in here.

Stupid Identities: Patch Logan

While there are some pretty cool secret identities floating around, there are times when comic book writers seem to stretch the boundaries of believability a bit. Case in point: Wolverine's stint as "Patch" in the beginnings of his first ongoing series.

During John Byrne's turn on the X-Men, he gave a lot of love to Wolverine (they were both Canadian) and soon created a breakout star. Any comic with him on the cover sold quickly, and then the time came to give Wolverine his own miniseries and eventually his own ongoing series.

Then the series came out and strange things began to happen. First, we lost the familiar costumed look everyone expected from the feral mutant tough guy. Instead of the mask and brown-and-tan or even yellow-and-blue spandex look, we were treated to a black number that made it appear Wolverine was doing some ballet work on the side. This was done because at the time the X-Men were presumed dead and this was a way to keep himself in action without giving away the fact that he was, in fact, Wolverine.

The claws were absolutely no indication of that whatsoever.

"Ignore the claws. I'm a normal guy."

Then we got a look at Wolverine's new secret identity: Patch. Looking at the character, it was fairly easy to see what Marvel was shooting for. Raiders of the Lost Ark was a pretty popular film and anyone looking like Indiana Jones was sure to be a hit. Take Marvel's most popular mutant and tie him in with one of the most popular action hero movie characters of the time and throw in a little Bogart from Casablanca...what could go wrong?

Wolverine was dropped into Madripoor, a locale created for the miniseries and the rest is history. Who would recognize this man now because he had such a convincing disguise?

But look at this and think about it. Who has perhaps the most immediately recognizable hairstyle in the comic book world? Do you see many other characters with this weird "hair everywhere" look (except maybe Beast)? Now throw in his liberal use of adamantium claws from time to time and you get this incredibly obvious "secret" identity.

Please keep in mind he was in Madripoor fighting guerillas and even the Silver Samurai, using nothing more than a fishnet for a mask and still no one figured out who he was.

The black costume died a quiet death eventually and Wolverine was back in his normal costume again, but the Patch identity has come back many times over the years to be used whenever a comic book writer saw fit.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that this costume actually got a figure recently. It's in a two-pack set with Silver Samurai and reprints the second issue of the Wolverine comic book series. If you're a completist, you can add this to your collection of the 400 other previously-offered Wolverine figures.

Make fun of Clark Kent's glasses all you want, but at least he changed his hair style a little when he put them on. Imagine how ticked he'd be to find out all he needed to do was just throw on an eyepatch and the world would be none the wiser.

So Many Masks

Several weeks ago we had a poll asking which type of mask you'd wear if you were a hero. You never really realize how many there are out there until you break them down...which we'll do right now.

Domino Mask

Worn by: Nightwing, Green Lantern, Robin, etc.

Probably the most famous type of mask, it also covers just about the least of the face. I still have a hard time believing this would fool anyone, but it apparently has for years.

The mask begs the question "What in the world is keeping it on your face?" First of all it has to be something that will stay on in the middle of a fight no matter how sweaty you get. But then it has to be removable without ripping the skin around your eyes off.

Yes, I know Green Lantern's mask is created by his ring and is therefore part of the costume, but Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, and many others have had this little thing stuck to their faces for years without a problem or reasonable explanation.

Cowl

Worn by: Batman, Nighthawk, Red Robin, etc

The most popular choice in our poll, the cowl serves this purpose of keeping the hair covered at least. Now it's not necessarily as easy to figure out who you are under the mask as the domino mask would be.

Add to that a certain streamlined effect and you have a pretty cool look. The fact that it's attached to the flowing cape doesn't hurt either. All in all it can be a fairly intimidating appearance when it's done right.

There's a reason Batman's iconic look has stayed with pop culture for decades. It's an old faithful design that just works.

Full Face Mask

Worn by: Spider-Man, Union Jack, Deathstroke, etc

For a real mystery man look, it's hard to go wrong with this type of mask. Covered completely, heroes sporting this look have that mystery surrounding them that leads a lot of people to wonder what person is really under all that.

Truthfully though, it's hard to imagine Spider-Man without his full mask. And Deadpool just doesn't seem as funny any other way. Union Jack was able to use the look to his advantage to fool Baron Blood into thinking he was an old man when in actually he was young Joey Chapman.

There are a lot of advantages to going this route...though the cost of material goes up a little. That, and it's hard to figure out how you can breathe that well in a tough fight with cloth on your face.

Goggles

Worn by: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, Vigilante, etc.

Now this one is hard to pull off right. The first time I read a Plastic Man comic in the 70's I couldn't figure out what was going on with his eyes. Which way was he supposed to be looking? Eventually I figured it all out and the craze seemed to catch on.

Now heroes like Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle have added to the mix of using a functional mask. I mean, when it's raining outside which hero can still see in a torrential downpour? Try that Spider-Man!

Seriously though, I think this could be considered cheating just a little.

Sunglasses

Worn by: Nomad, Hitman, Blade, etc.

If you're not up for goggles, there's always a cheaper way out through sunglasses. While I consider Jack Munroe's Nomad to be one of the best heroes out there and best costume for a casual hero type, I've never been one to follow how he kept the sunglasses on. Also, how are they handy in a fight indoors?

It's really hard to see a hero pull this off and not look like someone off "Jersey Shore", but it's been done. Oddly enough, this is the one look that looks best in the movie versions of the characters. It's hard to pull off a mask on a real person, but sunglasses always look tough.

I almost threw Cyclops in with this group, but I'm not really sure it would be fair. I think he'd fall more under a mixture of the goggles and sunglasses crowd.

No Mask

Worn by: Superman, The Sentry, Punisher, etc.

Of course, there are those who skip masks altogether and just say "Here I am. Look at me!" It's usually done by someone with nothing to hide because their identity is public (like the Punisher) or they look differently when in their secret identity (like DC's Captain Marvel or The Sentry). And yes, Superman hides behind glasses (even dumber than a domino mask) and still folks can't figure out who he is.

Whatever the reason, this is the easy way out. Fight as hard as you want to and never worry about someone seeing your face because your mask got shredded. I can't say I'm a fan of this though. For me, I think it's always cooler to see a hero in some form of mask. The only exception I'll give is the Punisher. I think he'd look a little weird wearing one for some reason.

Helmet

Worn by: Ant-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Fate, Forbush Man, etc.

For real protection, it's hard to go wrong with a good old-fashioned piece of metal on your head! Whether you're using it to control an entire suit of armor like Iron Man or just to hide your identity like Red Hood, you can't say anything about the functionality of one. However, hiding the costume takes a lot of creative thinking when you can't just cram it all under your tuxedo and walk in.

I've always  thought artists probably love drawing helmeted characters more than anything else. No worries about emotion on the face or anything...just a blank slate.

The only character easier to draw would have to be the Question.

Hood

Worn by: Green Arrow, The Spectre, Moon Knight, etc

While hiding identity, I have to say this one would be hard to justify as safe. Think about it: your peripheral vision is absolutely shot. True, you're ready for a rainstorm, but if someone comes at you quietly from the side you are dead.

Also, how do you keep this on your head while you're running after (or away from) a bad guy? When I have my hood on and I go running to my car in the rain, it always flies back and lets me get soaked.

Functionally, I have to say this one is at the bottom of the barrel. Yes, the "mysterious stranger" look works when stepping out of the shadows...but it's not the best choice in a fight.

Over-the-Head Mask

Worn by: Captain America, Hawk and Dove, the Atom, etc.

I'm not sure of the official name for this look, so let's just say it's a cowl without the cape kind of thing. It's been popular for years with everyone from the Flash to Vindicator wearing one.

The thing that makes this one slightly less believable is the way the heroes usually have it during "casual times". Most of the time their whole head is through the mouth part with the mask laying behind their head until the pull it up over their head and on. That sucker would be so stretched out it would blow off in a light wind.

There is a variation of this mask where the hair is seen. Marvel's version of Captain Marvel and the original Captain Britain look are two heroes who go that way with it. Again, I'm not sure what it's officially called though. You know what I mean, right?

Weird Everything-But-The-Face Mask

Worn by: Puck, Justice, The Angel, Gambit, etc.

Ok, I had no idea what you actually called this one, but I've seen it from time to time. I guess this would be considered a "face frame" more than a mask.

I suppose this one would be more for those heroes who want to wear a mask, while still wanting people to know what they looked like underneath. This might even fit into the "no mask" category.

Maybe you're proud of your hair, or maybe you just like the way you look in the mirror, either way, if this is your choice it's not very functional for anything other than keeping your ears warm in the wind.


There are a lot of characters that fit into combinations of categories that I didn't cover. For example, Magneto would fit into the helmet/face-frame mixture. Doctor Doom would fit into the helmet/hood group. Deadshot would be an entirely new combination, with full-face mask/eyescope group. The combinations are endless.

As you can tell, it would be impossible to categorize them all. Hopefully I've covered the most often used ones though.

The Many Costumes of Spider-Man

The first comic book I ever owned and followed every month was Spider-Man. Starting with "Essential Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5" I have been reliving those great childhood moments all over again. While I miss the color, I can't complain about the price Marvel is charging for these multi-issue trips down memory lane.

Looking back on the wall-crawler's long and sometimes-tumultuous career, he's had a lot of costumes! Some were good moves, while others might have stumbled a bit.

Here are some of the more memorable ones:

The Original

This blue and red beauty is the one that started it all and still remains pretty much the same today. There is something iconic in the suit, and while I find it impossible to believe a high school kid could have possibly sewn something so intricate, I gladly suspend my disbelief to enjoy this costume.

The movie version kept surprisingly close to this and I appreciated that. While the X-Men ran around in black leather, Spidey got to stay in costume (and made them oodles of money for doing so).

Say what you will about the stories he's been involved in over the years, this suit is the best.

The Black Suit

I still vividly remember the day I picked up this issue from the comic book shop and sat in stunned silence. They had taken my favorite hero of all time and robbed him of not just his costume, but even the basic colors I had grown to love!

Of course, this suit had a TON of cool new abilities and opened the door for some pretty nice things. Eventually this suit would even turn out to be a bad guy itself and lead to some amazing drama before becoming Venom. Even today this suit is still a recurring part of Spidey's storylines. The "Back in Black" story arc was a great return to form for the character with the dark costume reflecting the darker change Peter himself was going through with Aunt May's injury.

The Captain Universe Suit

I love the Captain Universe costume by itself, so seeing Spidey wear it for a while was a treat. At first he just discovered an incredible boost in his powers with no explanation, but later on it was discovered that he had been given the Captain Universe power to defend Earth against an upcoming threat (hint: purple world eater).

On a side note, I would love to see Captain Universe show up again as a regular character in a comic book. For a while he was part of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but the suit and power have been AWOL lately.

The Iron Spidey

I can't throw this in as one of my favorites, but I have to give it a place here.

During the Civil War storyline Spidey's suit went through quite the upgrade by Tony Stark. The addition of actual spider legs was just the beginning of the weirdness. The subtle changes to the costumes colors to more closely resemble Iron Man didn't help things much.

I know there are very vocal folks on the internet who think this costume is a classic that deserves a comeback, but I can't say I'm one of them.

The Future Foundation Suit

With the death of Johnny Storm, the remaining members of the Fantastic Four decided to ditch the blue and white look for something a little more modern. Spider-Man--perhaps the most standard and recognizable hero in the Marvel Universe--steps in to take Johnny's place on this new team and they give him a new costume (so they can look like a team).

If there was ever anyone who needed to develop a backbone and say no when folks keep tossing him a new suit, it's Peter Parker. Unfortunately we're treated to this little black and white number. It does have a color-changing ability that is convenient, so now they can play with the design from time to time until they find something that works.

The New Armor Suit

Ignoring the one-shot armor suit that showed up in Web of Spider-Man #100, the newest costume change for Spider-Man involves a bulletproof suit that begs the question: "50 years in comics and it took you this long to think 'bulletproof'?"

Unlike the cumbersome earlier version, this armor seems to let him keep the agility he's known for while still being able to take a bigger hit than the old days. It seems like a cross between the old black costume, the Iron Spidey suit, and Ronin.

Will it last more than a dozen issues? Only time will tell. It will be interesting to see how they sell putting him back in threads after this though.

Honorable Mentions:

The Scarlet Spider

I'm going to look at the two suits Ben Reilly wore next. While I know he wasn't technically Peter Parker, he did run as Spider-Man for a bit and this Scarlet Spider costume deserves mention.

This suit remained faithful to the original concept of Spidey's costume while tweaking things a little. Of course, the blue vest is a dead giveaway that this was a creation of the 90's. Then again, during this same time X-Force was running around with vests and every new hero seemed to be considering it so we'll forgive the fault.

Ben didn't stay in this costume forever. When it was discovered (for a while anyway) that Ben was the original while Peter was the clone, he moved into a costume better suited to the role.

Ben Reilly Spider-Man

This one was a return to form. The writers had created this Clone Sage mess that left the comic book world scratching its head. In putting Ben forward as the new "real" Spider-Man they wanted to give him a look all his own while still giving a nod to the original.

Hey, at least this suit kept to the red and blue color scheme. I can't complain about this one. I thought the half-boots were a pretty cool idea, though the web shooters reminded me a bit of the old 70's TV series version of the suit.

There's even an action figure of this one out there if you're a fan.

Spider-Man 2099

Hands down my favorite Spider-Man costume, this one ends our list with a bang.

When Marvel introduced their 2099 line in the 90's, the only two titles I followed were this one and Punisher 2099. This character's origin was original enough to make him different, but similar enough to make him familiar. After the 2099's entire lineup cancellation, he dropped off the radar for years.

Spidey 2099 was last seen as a member of the Exiles (during the heyday of the title). He now resides in some alternate universe with his own Mary Jane living happily ever after. A younger version showed up in the TimeStorm 2099 miniseries, but I'm not sure it's in the same continuity

6 Annoying Things About Comics

It's been a very long time since I've looked at something like this, so I thought I'd continue on with more.

Even though comic books are complete fantasy, they do follow a certain set of rules of their own. Even heroes who can fly have laws of gravity and physics around them that the comic writers adhere to. However, have you ever read a comic story and thought, "Even in a world where men can run faster than light and can fly, that doesn't make sense!"? Here are a few of the things that always confused me:

1. How can you be the worlds fastest man and yet carry on a conversation with others while fighting?

Imagine standing still and having someone rip past you in an F-15 jet telling you about their day. Number one, how much of that would you actually hear? Number two, what kind of witty response could you come up with?

You can say all that in a second?

The correct answer is: nothing (unless you're an auctioneer).

And yet, the comic writers continued to let Flash and his villain of the month talk it out while trying to fight it all out. And we're not talking about a quick sentence here or there...we're talking entire conversations with enough time for response on the part of the normal-speed villain. And yet the guys could never hit the Flash with any ray or weapon?

2. Why didn't Superman just throw Doomsday into outer space?

Works every time.

Superman's battle with Doomsday was supposed to be the stuff of legend. Here was the monster who would finally kill the Man of Steel. But through the whole thing I kept thinking: Just throw him into outer space! I mean, once you've decided to kill or be killed for that big ending, just skip the "be killed" part and toss him. Let some other planet with stronger heroes finish him off, or let him just wander on Jupiter and die of boredom.

Come to think of it, why didn't Superman just do that for most of his too-close-for-comfort fights? Giant robots he would get beat down with a million times before hitting would have been a simple matter of flying behind them, grabbing them, and going straight up until you see stars around you before letting go. End of fight.

3. Why set up an elaborate trap to kill the hero, then leave without watching it work?

If you spent weeks putting together some cool death trap, then you finally got that hero you've always wanted to kill into it, wouldn't you want to see if it worked? I mean, how do you test something like that other than finding the dumbest henchman in your posse and saying "Hey, stand right here for a second."

Yet time and again Batman would be put into one trap after another and then the villain would leave to spend his stolen money or whatever and the Caped Crusader would escape. With all the bad guys trapped together in Arkham, you'd think they'd talk to each other and say, "You know, I left when he was in my trap and now I'm here too...heyyyyyyy, wait a minute...I think I've got an idea...what if we stayed in the room until he was dead?"

And all those elaborate traps costing thousands of dollars when a simple bullet would have ended things quickly and cheaply? Hey, if your villains are named Penguin, Joker, and Clayface they can't be too smart, right?

And speaking of Batman gripes...

4. How can you wear a mask under a mask and yet no can see the pointy ears?

Batman had this annoying little habit during the 70's and 80's of wearing his mask under the mask of whatever thug he was pretending to be. Seems a little redundant to me, but whatever.

It's the ears, Batman. I promise.

Sure enough, when the jig was up he was ready to rip off the fake mask and reveal his regular pointy-eared one underneath...yet no one in the group was smart enough to say, "You know, it looks like something is living under Ted's face right now. I don't think that's really his skin. Hey...he's wearing a mask!"

I guess their inattention to detail is what made it so easy to beat them time and again, eh?

5. No one notices the goatee...really?

No resemblance

Put on a pair of sunglasses, walk up to your best friend, and say "hey". Chances are exceptionally good they'll start talking to you and even call you by name. Why? Because a little something hiding just your eyes can't stop someone from recognizing you. Except in comic books, where a little piece of cloth can confuse even your closest allies.

Suspending that disbelief I can do, but when Oliver Queen wears a forked yellow goatee (and he's the only guy in any of the comics who does...even looking at background characters in crowd scenes) and Green Arrow wears a forked yellow goatee, how can no one do the math? Seriously, why bother with the mask? But then again, we have that little inattention to detail that allowed so many heroes to maintain a secret identity through the Bronze Age of comics.

"Here comes trouble! Clark, look...Clark? Where'd he go? Hey, look, it's Superman!" And it's never obvious to anyone. That's why comics were so much fun back then.

6. How can you change into an elaborate costume that quickly?

Tux to this in 5 seconds flat

With the exception of the Flash and Superman (and maybe Hawk and Dove), a costume change should take a few minutes. Consider how quickly you change from work clothes to your "hanging out" clothes. It takes time, right? So how is it that heroes can see a villain attack in panel 1, then jump on them in panel 3 in full regalia and ready to go. Even allowing for that old "I'm wearing my costume underneath this tuxedo" rule that every hero seemed to follow, it still takes a minute.

Does he have tearaway clothing on at all times?

Doesn't even break stride

Forget superheroing, going from tux to costume in 5 seconds should qualify you to be a headliner in Vegas!

And how do you stuff a cape under a shirt and not have someone thinking you've got some kind of deformity going on back there?


What about you? What comic book trends annoy you when you read them?