Costume Rating 6: All New X-Men

[oldmanwinters]

I'm of the opinion that the classic Barry Allen Flash costume (and even 90s redesign with Wally West) is just about the best looking suit in all of superhero-dom.  Just look how popular it is on The Big Bang Theory!   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6vamUfmdUs

I love the Captain American uniform too (with or without the texture), because it taps into my patriotic spirit.  But The Flash costume is just about the best there is.  It doesn't ever need a major change.

[Helix]

In regards to Captain America in ANY version of his costume: does it bother anybody else that the blue parts of his costume are not the same blue that is actually on the United States flag? Or is it just me?

[oldmanwinters]

In regards to Captain America in ANY version of his costume: does it bother anybody else that the blue parts of his costume are not the same blue that is actually on the United States flag? Or is it just me?

I always prefer his darker blue color palette whenever I play him on the Marvel Vs. Capcom series.  It just looks a bit more dignified.

[Helix]

Well, then at least one person in the world agrees with me.

[Podmark]

I think it's time for another costume poll. Today we'll look at classic Cyclops and current Green Arrow.

Cyclops - Giant Size era


Green Arrow - New 52

[Podmark]

My ratings:

Cyclops - 2 (dislike it)
I opened up uncannyxmen.net's Cyclops page and was looking over his costume page, and this is probably my least favorite costume for Scott, always has been. Something about it just seems unbalanced, too much yellow on the lower half and mostly plain dark blue on the top. It's not terrible, but I find it unappealing.

Green Arrow - 4 (like it)
This one was really hard for me to rate but I'm giving it a borderline 4. Really seems to depend on the artist, but I like the colour scheme, general design, hood, and younger clean shaven Ollie. I'm not as big on the boots and arm guards, they look a little over designed. And while trying to find a good picture for this poll I saw a lot of drawings that looked pretty bleh. There's something missing that would like me really love it, but still I find it a pleasant design.

[Tomato]

Cyclops - 4

I actually really like that costume... admittedly I actually like the Astonishing redesign more (the Cassiday one, not the abomination with the 20 friendship bracelets that came pre-NOW), but the Giant Size era just IS Cyclops to me. There are better versions based on this costume, but they all come from this one.

N52 Green Arrow - 3

It's decent. It's certainly one of the better n52 costume designs, but he really needs a beard... even Arrow had the good sense to give their hip young Oliver Queen a beard. He just isn't Ollie without the goatee. And no, I'm not just saying that because I happen to be sporting an awesome goatee of my own lately.

[Podmark]

admittedly I actually like the Astonishing redesign more (the Cassiday one, not the abomination with the 20 friendship bracelets that came pre-NOW)

I actually really like the second Astonishing costume. It might be my favorite Cyclops costume, but I agree the forearm and leg band are too much. They needed a clean-up.

[Tomato]

admittedly I actually like the Astonishing redesign more (the Cassiday one, not the abomination with the 20 friendship bracelets that came pre-NOW)

I actually really like the second Astonishing costume. It might be my favorite Cyclops costume, but I agree the forearm and leg band are too much. They needed a clean-up.

I hated it... even discounting the bracelets, you had the triple seams on the shoulder which would restrict his ability to move his arm, the lack of belt to break up the mass of blue black color on his torso,, and the random logo on his chest. It's an unbalanced mess of ideas that don't make any practical sense.

[Courtnall6]

Cyclops - 5

Ding ding ding...we have a winner! My all time favorite costume for Scott. Followed closely by his first X-Factor costume. As Tomato said....this IS Cyclops.

Green Arrow - 3

Not too bad. One in the very very very low percentage of the Nu52 designs I can actually stand. I agree with Pod on the armguards and boots....too much going on there. Biggest complaint. No goat! Not Green Arrow with out his trademark chin wiskers!

[Podmark]

I do like the X-Factor costumes.

I think the lack of beard would bother me if this was a the old universe. With the new DC universe that lack of a beard seems appropriate. Although I seem to recall Ollie did have beard earlier in the New 52...

[Cyber Burn]

Classic Cyclops - Can I give him a 10? I guess I'll have to settle for a 5. One of the first books I ever picked up was Uncanny X-Men #199, with the opening splash page portraying an awesome shot of Cyclops. It made for an instant favorite.

N52 Green Arrow - Maybe a 3, it's overly busy, and it just doesn't properly represent Ollie.

[Tomato]

I do like the X-Factor costumes.

I think the lack of beard would bother me if this was a the old universe. With the new DC universe that lack of a beard seems appropriate. Although I seem to recall Ollie did have beard earlier in the New 52...

He's been depicted as having a stubble a few times, but not a beard.

What gets me about your argument is, again, Arrow. That depiction is about as loosely tied to the comic book version as an adaptation can really be, and he STILL has a beard. If I took ANY of the Green Arrow costumes Oliver is most known for, but drew them without the beard, they wouldn't look right to me. They would look like Red Arrow.

[BentonGrey]

Interesting choices...

Cyclops: 4
I like this one a lot.  It's really the classic Cyclops costume, and it works really well.  Once upon a time I didn't like it, but it grew on me when I read through the Claremont run and learned to actually like Cyclops.   For me, despite its obvious 90s flaws, the Jim Lee design is Cyclops.  Still, objectively I realize that this is probably a better costume.  It could use "something" one the chest or shoulders (hence part of my love for the Jim Lee version), but it's still a great design.

New 52 G.A.: 1
This costume is pretty much everything wrong with the New 52 designs.  It's bland, boring, and yet still over-designed.  It's a generic hero-archer, but not Green Arrow.  I definitely miss the goatee, and this thing is trying so hard to be "hip" that it hurts.

C, I wasn't aware that Ollie was famous for his goat herds.

[Podmark]

He's been depicted as having a stubble a few times, but not a beard.

No idea if this was used in the actual pages, but there was this cover at the beginning of the New 52:
http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/f/f5/Green_Arrow_Vol_5_1_Textless.jpg
Certainly looks more like the traditional Ollie.

One thing I forgot to mention is all throughout Trinity War I kept saying to myself that Green Arrow looked like Hawkeye.

It's a generic hero-archer, but not Green Arrow.

I find myself wondering what makes Green Arrow Green Arrow, or more generally what makes a costume non-generic? Take the Cyclops costume for example. If I were to remove the visor and take away the x on the belt what about that costume says Cyclops? Those two elements are present on nearly all Cyclops costumes, so the classic costume really seems about as generic as you can get.
There's some costumes that are obviously specific to a character, Spider-Man is a simple example, and Batman and Superman have very iconic design elements that are present in each of their costumes. Most (all?) of Cyclops' costumes seem generic to me. And this Green Arrow costume looks like GA to me, especially if you throw on a beard.


I'm glad I made this thread. I find it interesting seeing people's views on costumes.

[Tomato]

Well, to be fair, Cyclops' orginal outfit was basically just the classic x-men costume without the vest. Heck, most of the graduation costumes were just minor modifications of the original costumes (Beast's was just a swap of red for the yellow) but I specifically like the idea of Cyclops maintaining that tie to the original X-men outfit... part of his character, especially in the beginning, was that he couldn't really have a life outside of the X-men. As such, his costume never really had that drastic change you saw in the other x-men outfits... It's another reason I really love the NOW costume as much as I do, because it's such a huge break from his identity as an X-man.

[Courtnall6]

This costume is pretty much everything wrong with the New 52 designs.

Hawkman, Flash (Barry and Jay), Deathstroke, Captain Marvel...sorry Shazam! (Ugh), Bizarro, Harlequin, Martian Manuhunter, Darkseid, ALL of the Teen Titans, and the list just goes on and on and on. These are what's wrong with the New hideous 52. Green Arrow's NuLook isn't great but it's not the worst of the bunch...not by a long shot.

[BentonGrey]

Ehh, C, I disagree.  The Flash, for example, is overdesigned, but at least it isn't boring and plain.  I'll agree with you about pretty much all of the others, but I don't think it's an either/or proposition.  Hawkman is a great example of the ridiculous 90s aesthetic of overdesign, as are the Titans, while GA is an example of the minimalism/overdesign mash-up that is going on with a lot of characters.  There's plenty to dislike, but I'd include GA in that list, if only because his design is so freaking boring.

[bat1987]

Cyke: 2

meh all around, I know it was a product of its time but I don't like it at all. Cassaday Cyclops is by far my favourite look for him, followed by the NOW! costume.

Ollie: 3

I think its a nice modern update but he does look really weird without a goatee. It does look better with the way some artists depict it, like Sorentino.

[Cyber Burn]

Cyke: 2

meh all around, I know it was a product of its time but I don't like it at all. Cassaday Cyclops is by far my favourite look for him, followed by the NOW! costume.

Ollie: 3

I think its a nice modern update but he does look really weird without a goatee. It does look better with the way some artists depict it, like Sorentino.

I try and avoid public disagreements, and I don't know exactly which costumes those are, but there's no way they could be better than the classic Cyclops costume.

[Tomato]

The Cassiday costume is the redesign used in the Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-men (and it happens to be my favorite costume for Scott as well, just barely beating out the original outfit)

The Marvel NOW costume is the outfit Scott's wearing in the current run of Marvel comics. That costume being a "better" look for scott is highly debatable, because the scott wearing the NOW outfit is a very different character then the leader of the original X-men and the costume reflects that. TBH, I'm surprised Pod hasn't posted that one here, it'd make for an interesting discussion (HINT HINT)

[Podmark]

TBH, I'm surprised Pod hasn't posted that one here, it'd make for an interesting discussion (HINT HINT)

But I already picked out the costumes for round 4...aw fine we'll be getting a bonus.

[bat1987]

I try and avoid public disagreements, and I don't know exactly which costumes those are, but there's no way they could be better than the classic Cyclops costume.

Oh dont worry about it, when something is purely subjective like this people are def gonna disagree.

And you're right tomato, Now! cyclops is a very dif guy, and maybe its the fact that I really like the new direction for him that makes me appreciate the suit he has currently.

[Podmark]

Round 4 classic Aquaman and (one of) current Iron Man

Classic Aquaman:


Current Iron Man:



And by request BONUS round: current Cyclops!

[Podmark]

So here are my thoughts:

Classic Aquaman - 1 (Hate it)
A 1 might be a little harsh, the costume doesn't look bad just really blah, but this is really a costume that just doesn't do much for me. Part of it is that it looks too much like normal clothes, like a orange shirt and green pants. I have a tendency to dislike a costume that looks like clothes. Another issue is that it's very generic, the only Aquaman unique element is the the belt buckle (the newer versions of the buckle are much cooler). I think if Aquaman had had a more interesting costume his rep would have been better over the years.


Current Iron Man - 5 (Love it)
Basically this is the Extremis suit with the red swapped for black. The Extremis suit is my favorite Iron Man suit and this one is just continued awesome. It's sleek, modern, and the colour scheme looks great. Every time I see this suit I smile.
Bonus points it reminds me of Mainframe.


Current Cyclops - 5 (Love it)
I debated giving this a 4, and I have a feeling a decade from now I'm going to look back and say "it was alright", but today every time I see it I get excited. When I first saw this design as drawn by Joe Quesada I hated it. The colours clashed, it was over designed, and awkward looking. Once Chris Bachalo (probably my favorite artist) got his hands on it I loved it. Now I see it and think that looks sleek and unique, and it's also very relevant to the current version of Cyclops. The current Scott is a broken character, a fallen X-Men and hero with malfunctioning powers who is trying to redeem himself from his disastrous actions. A very changed Scott deserves a changed costume.




Interestingly these are the first extremes I've given in my ratings, but two were borderline (I really do love that Iron Man though). I'm generally a pretty neutral kind of person, it's rare that I really hate things, so I don't think you'll see too many 5/Love and especially not many 1/Hate from me.

[Tomato]

Classic Aquaman-5
Perfect design and Aquaman's classic outfit. I think the modern one tweaks it just a bit, but there was nothing wrong with it.

Ironman- 2
Yeah... no. Black and Gold? That's not Ironman. The design is OK, but it needs the red instead of the black. As Pod pointed out, the black makes him look like Mainframe.

NOW Cyclops- 4
I like it. As I've said, it's a huge departure from the classic costume, but it very much suits the character since AvsX.

[Courtnall6]

Classic Aquaman - 3

Never really had a big problem with it. Hated it when the gloves were yellow though. The modern takes on it are pretty good too.

Current Iron Man - 2

Black, gold, with red glowing dots. Ugly! Horrible colour combination. Disliked it the moment I saw it. So not Iron Man.

Bonus - 1

Racer X? X-Man? Crosseye? Who is this dude? Someone needs to tell him his costume sucks. Maybe he can pull a better design from one of his many pouches.

[Tomato]

C6, seriously, must we have the pouch debate AGAIN?

But no, in all seriousness, you have to read the stories leading up to this costume change to understand it. When Marvel first showed that costume, I was about ready to storm the company and kill all their families. However, after reading the comics themselves, I love it, because the Cyclops in that costume is, for all intents and purposes, a villain. He killed Professor X (he was basically dark phoenix at the time, but even so), and is currently going around calling for mutants to revolt against the human race. This is the Archangel version of Cyclops costumes, only a lot sleeker.

[bat1987]

Aquaman - 2

Very blah look to be honest, I'd rate more modern takes on it much higher.

Current Iron Man - 2

Not bad per say but the black is such a massive departure from his normal scheme.

Bonus - 4

One of those costumes that make more sense within a context. When you know what Cyclops place in the mutant world is u appreciate this much more.

[BentonGrey]

Okay, obviously a few of you are crazy.  Aquaman's classic costume is pure, distilled awesomeness.

Seriously, though, I am very surprised at some of the criticisms leveled against the classic orange and green, especially Pod's.  Haha, it strikes me as very odd that anyone would call Aquaman's costume BORING!  Most criticisms of his duds that I've heard usually fall on the other end of the spectrum.  I don't know too many folks who run around in orange chain/scalemail, nor green tights with fins.  It's pretty unique, in my opinion, which leads me to my rating.

Aquaman - 4.5:
This is one of the most iconic costumes in comics, along with most of the JLA.  These costumes are aesthetically perfect, and they are also just about utterly unique.  The only things that come close to most of them are those looks which were, in fact, copied FROM the League's own styles.  Aquaman's classic orange and green is bold, it's striking, and it is unique, even among the stand-outs of the League.  I don't think it's as perfect as Batman, Superman, and Flash, who have really flawless costumes, but it's not far off.  Aquaman doesn't have a cape, he's wearing chainmail, and he's got fins.  Also, he's got blonde hair, among a predominance of black or brown headed heroes, which helps add to the singular nature of his appearance.  I agree that the more modern versions of this costume manage to streamline it a bit, mostly just by eliminating the trunks, which aren't aesthetically necessary with Aquaman's green-on-green colorscheme, as opposed to Batman or Superman.  There are also some little flourishes that the modern costume has which are nice, but despite that, this classic costume is excellent and stands the test of time.  I do agree with C in one thing, though.  The yellow gloves always looked awful.

Iron Man - 3:
This is a fine specialized armor for Iron Man, a neat alternate look to be pulled out on special occasions, but it's really a bit too big of a departure from his classic color-scheme to be his default look.  I think it has good potential as something else, though.

Modern Cyclops - 1:
It's not very Cyclops-y, and the mask makes zero sense, really.  Is he a literal cyclops now, with one eye in the middle of his forehead?  If not...well, like I said, the mask makes no sense.  It looks like a moderately interesting design for a super-villain, which is, I guess, what Cyclops is these days?  I don't know what's going on in modern Marvel, nor do I much care to find out.  It's boring other than the mask, and the mask is stupid.

I understand context plays a big part in how we feel about these things, so there may be story elements that explain the departures in the latter two costumes, but for me, there is only the thing itself.