Has Batman hurt the genre where costumes are concerned?

[roach]

it actually had a bunch of followers pre release of TDK...made even worse when the non make up Joker pics were released

 

[Chris Wallace]

Same school of thought from which we got the argument that the Goblin pics were fake & the Superman Returns images were just poorly lit.

 

[BlackLantern]

The Denial Brigade...ah

 

[Chris Wallace]

Exactly.

 

[BlackLantern]

so what do we all think of the Captain America and Thor costumes? and does it show a decent progression in terms of costumes on screen?

 

[roach]

IMO
Thor's suit is very good. We are seeing the evidence of staying true to Thor's look and making minor modifications to it.
The Cap suit is the finished product of when they looked at the Cap suit and deemed it too silly for film. So aspects of Cap's costume was removed

 

[BlackLantern]

while the wings may look good on the page (and they do) I believe they would look ludicrous on film

 

[Original Spawn]

I actually have no problem with almost every new costume that was made.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

while the wings may look good on the page (and they do) I believe they would look ludicrous on film

Agreed. The wings are pointless.

 

[Chris Wallace]

so what do we all think of the Captain America and Thor costumes? and does it show a decent progression in terms of costumes on screen?

Love Thor's, hate Cap's.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Realism is the wrong word, justification is probably a better alternative, 'why would this character wear this costume?' is the question, and really there's nothing wrong with asking it. I think in film, especially if the character is to be treated seriously a la Batman or Iron Man, you have to at least try to give some rational reason as to why this person would start to wear some ridiculous outfit. I think they days of simply accepting 'that just how it is' for these big name characters are over.

But who is asking the question? Who decided that justification was needed and acceptance was over? Spider-Man and Superman never had a reason for taking up a costume and nobody questioned it.
When I look at the concept art for Captain America, along with the fan manips for SUperman and for the Spider-Man reboot, I would definitely say the costume aspect is suffering.

 

[El Payaso]

^ It's suffering from an improvement over gratuitousness (or whatever the word is actually written).

 

[roach]

But who is asking the question? Who decided that justification was needed and acceptance was over? Spider-Man and Superman never had a reason for taking up a costume and nobody questioned it.
When I look at the concept art for Captain America, along with the fan manips for SUperman and for the Spider-Man reboot, I would definitely say the costume aspect is suffering.

exactly...there really wasnt a need to justifiy Captain America's suit.
Hollywood is over thinking the costumes. When a character has an iconic look that has been the same since the creation of the character then thats the way it should be in the movies. The Spiderman costume should look like the comics suit...same with Supes, Bats and Cap.
To inject a sense of realism in the costume...in a movie with supersoldiers, indestructable shields, red skulls and cosmic cubes is silly. No one debated endlessly the costume Perseus wore in Clash of the Titans???

 

[Chris Wallace]

^ It's suffering from an improvement over gratuitousness (or whatever the word is actually written).

What has been improved?

 

[Chris Wallace]

Came across another thread and couldn't resist posting it here.

I though a side by side comparison of all of the big budget superhero costumes since X-Men would be interesting. I left Iron Man and the Hulk out for obvious reasons. Have I missed any?

Looks like the more lighter hearted movies (apart from SR) go the 'tights' route, while the grittier ones go for more substantial materials.

 

[BlackLantern]

out of all of those, and Iron Man aside, DD is my favorite to date...it looks functional for what DD does

 

[roach]

exactly it looks like it offers some measure of protection while being light enough for him to fight in and do acrobatics in

 

[E-Man]

I'm still scratching my head over why a lot of people didn't like DD's costume. It's close enough to the comic version, but it's not spandex like everyone hates. Did they want it to be bright red or something? That costume is damn near perfect.

 

[BlackLantern]

pretty much how I felt....a lot of people had some weird issue with the mask part not being attached

 

[Chris Wallace]

out of all of those, and Iron Man aside, DD is my favorite to date...it looks functional for what DD does

Functionality is fine, so long as it's not at the expense of the costume looking good. (Not that I have a problem with DD's look; this is just in general.) We have to keep in mind that these aren't people attempting to fight crime in the real world; they're actors trying to convey the appearance that they are. They are wearing these costumes in a controlled environment, with stunt doubles and special FX to ensure the risk to their own personal safety is minimal at worst. So we don't need to over-analyze it with what will or won't work in the real world. But we are, and it's taking us further and further away from the look that has in many instances defined the character for decades. Spider-Man's movie costume was fine. IMO, better than fine; it was perfect. Faithful to the original look-aside a few minor fanboy nitpicks-with enough flash and pizzazz to be eye-catching and memorable on film. And the most common fanboy nitpicks are that it looked TOO stylish. Yet somehow, Spidey is rapidly becoming the exception while Batman and the X-Men are rapidly becoming the rule. Where did this mentality that faithful costumes can't work in movies? Who said that they have to be darkened up or toned down or completely revised? Where are the movies which have faithful costumes AND good plots that have failed so horribly that Hollywood doesn't believe in them?

 

[BlackLantern]

I think its about context....Batman is out there fighting dirty murderous criminals so people expect his suit to look like it can take a beating

I have always wanted the X-men to have a uniform look, I liked the old uniforms from the 60s, the black and gold ones

they should look like a commando unit IMO

 

[Brother Jack]

pretty much how I felt....a lot of people had some weird issue with the mask part not being attached

Yeah, I've always hated that mask. It barely conceals the secret identity and looks like it could fall off. It should have been more like Batman's cowl, which covers the head while still leaving the mouth open.

 

[roach]

I think the DD cowl is designed that way so he could turn his head.

Batman's movie costume does look like it could take a beating but its not mobile

 

[Brother Jack]

I think the DD cowl is designed that way so he could turn his head.

The costume was made out of leather, or something similar to it. Turning his head wouldn't be a problem.

 

[roach]

or the various times the story called for his cowl to be pulled off