Favorite costumes

[Helix]

I don't know about you guys, but when I first discovered comic books as a kid, I was perpetually awed by every new title I picked up and every new hero I discovered. Naturally, I was drawn to certain characters based solely on the costume designs at first...since I had no prior knowledge of the character's history, personality traits, powers, abilities, etc. To this day, though, I find that there are costume designs were so great when I was a kid, that they are still among my favorites today (over 30 years later). So I am curious: what characters' costumes mystified you as a child? Feel free to list as many as you want and I encourage you post some pictures too...since many heroes have been through many different costumes.

[BentonGrey]

Neat idea, Helix.  Well, I've got tons that I really, really love.  In fact, I really just love the visual style of Silver and Bronze Age Marvel and DC.  There are some really amazing costumes that came out of those times (and some awful ones as well), but I am often struck by just how amazingly perfect so many of those early costumes were.  They really, truly captured lighting in a bottle.  It's telling that almost every attempt to 'improve' or 'update' the most iconic costumes of the most iconic characters are terrible failures OR very slight tweaks.  I think of electric Superman, blue camo Aquaman, and the new trunk-less versions of Superman and Batman (which I loathe, because they completely destroy the aesthetic balance and the utter perfection of their classic costumes).  Now, each of those costumes will have their defenders, but they're wrong.   Ha, seriously though, I really do think that the classic DC costumes, especially, are almost impossible to improve upon.  I discovered just how simple and yet perfect these designs were when attempting to create my own costumes in Champions Online.  Everything I created seemed overwrought and ugly, but the simplicity and elegance of Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, and the rest really struck me.  So, I've got lots and lots of favorites.  However, if I had to choose my top ten, they would have to be:

1) Aquaman: The orange and green is just so unique and interesting.  He stands out from the rest of the Justice League, and yet he fits with them so perfectly. 
2) Mr. Miracle: Another utterly unique costume.  Everything Jack Kirby touched was stirking, even if not every idea flew.  Mr. Miracle is one of those who, in my opinion, is near the pinnacle of his craft.  The costume is instantly recognizable and interesting.
3) Hawkman: Another really unique hero, who still manages to fit in with his compatriots.  It takes a special design to be successful when a vital part of it is a bare chest.  There are lots of failed attempts at something similar. *cough*BlackCondor*cough*
4) The Atom: It's hard to find a more perfectly balanced costume than Ray Palmer's original Atom suit.
5) Flash (Barry): Another really unique looking costume.  It isn't easy to pull off a costume that is almost all one color, but the Flash does it perfectly.
6) Batman: 'nuff said.
7) Superman: Even more 'nuff said.
8) Red Tornado: See Flash; he's got the same dominant color, but the awesome high collared cape and extensive symbols really make him look neat.
9) Robin: I'm going to cheat here a bit.  I love the Animated series costume, but I also love Red Robin.  Both are awesome, and the black/yellow cape always struck me as super cool.
10) Hourman: The hood and dual tones of both the classic and modern versions are just really unique and cool looking.

Well, that's my top ten.

[Tomato]

I'm gonna preempt Benton on this and say that one of my all time favorite superhero costumes is actually Aquaman. I've made no secret of the fact that I love his classic, orange, green, and gold costume... the colors work perfectly together, and it amazes me that I've never seen any other notable character using that palette.

Other than that... my ninties roots are probably showing, but the original Scarlet Spider is another bizarre costume I've always had an attachment to (ever since he showed up in the alternate universe episode of the tv show.)

And finally... Colossus. I don't know why, but I absolutely love his classic costume more than any other look he's ever had.

Edit: GDI Benton! You posted before I did!

[BentonGrey]

Haha!  I am the true Sea King!  Bow before me!

[Helix]

Benton - You're so right. Almost all of the classic JLA costumes have all stood the test of time.  I also like the Robin costume you were referring to better than the classic tunic and speedo look that Dick Grayson sported. So, I can't argue with your list at all. I must say, however, since you didn't mention Wonder Woman, that I DO like the new costume better than the classic. I'm glad that you brought up Mister Miracle, though. I look at his costume and feel like I should think it's tacky, but I don't. I've always love it.  (I also really liked the very first Orion costume. C6 made a beautiful skin out of that one!)

Tomato - I also liked the original Scarlet Spider. How can one not like the hoodie?? It's design genius! I really liked Colossus's classic costume as well. I just always wondered what happened to the blue pants that were there when he was in his normal flesh form, and disappeared to show his steel thighs when he wasn't. I still don't understand it.

Now, at the risk of being shot at, or at least pelted with belly button lint, here's my list:
1) Classic Iron Fist: It's simple, but very martial-artsy. Nobody else had a hero running around in slippers, capri pants, and a big pointy collar that rivaled Dr. Strange's.
2) Dr. Strange: He might have the most unique costume ever. And like Mr. Miracle's costume, it inspires a sense that I should think it's tacky.
3) Jack of Hearts: I don't know if I have the words to describe how his costume made me feel when I first saw him. His name AND his costume are pure cheesiness...but I dig it!
4) Red and Blue Captain Mar-Vell: The Captain might have had my all time favorite costume. If I were a superhero - that's the costume I'd want.
5) Classic Nova: The costume was so cool that I was disappointed to find out all he could do was fly really fast.
6) Crimson Avenger v2: Oddly enough, I never owned a comic with him in it, but I managed to see him somewhere. Mostly, I remember discussing comics with my dad and CA had been a favorite of his as a child. I was so excited to see the character that my dad told me about from his youth and I instantly loved the costume.
7) Vindicator: What??? A guy wearing the Canadian flag??? Yeah, well...John Byrne and Terry Austin made it look cool!
8) Union Jack: What??? A guy wearing the British flag??? Um...yeah. And it's still one of the coolest costumes ever.
9) ROM: Spaceknight: Yeah, he looks like the lovechild of Iron Man and a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica, but I really liked his armor. I'd love to see that character revived and on a team in the Marvel Universe. HE SHOULD BE ON THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY! Oh, and SO SHOULD ADAM WARLOCK! Sorry for yelling. I was hoping that someone at Marvel would hear me.
10) Classic Havok: Clean. Simple. Cool and completely useless cranial adornments. What's not to love?
11) Dr. Mid-Nite: Only a blind man could put together a costume like that. Green, black, brown and red? Really? Haha! But, man, did I love that costume! And they've never been able to improve upon it.
12) Classic Ultra Boy: They've tried....and tried...and tried to "update" this poor guy's costume and it's gotten worse every time. The original is still the best.

I guess that's all for now.

[BentonGrey]

I definitely agree with both of y'all about Colossus.  In fact, I think that pretty much all of the New X-Men had really pitch-perfect costumes.  They are similar to the classic JLA costumes in that respect.  They were colorful, unique, and visually interesting, though I don't think they created as nice of a whole as the JLA did.

Helix, I think it's rather hilarious that two of your choices are on this list of terrible superhero costumes:
http://www.ugo.com/the-goods/25-horrible-superhero-costumes
Ha, that's not to say I really agree with them, but it still strikes me as funny.  I think their points about Havok are really stretching.  His classic costume is pretty excellent, though I agree with them that the headgear doesn't quite seem to fit.

I ABSOLUTELY agree about Dr. Mid-Nite.  I was actually a bit torn about whether to put him or Hourman on my list.  Plus, he has an owl, which is super awesome in-and-of-itself.

Nova did have a pretty cool costume.  It managed to be new, and yet familiar at the same time.

Union Jack...no, no, I COMPLETELY get you.  It's an amazing costume, minimalist, despite the gigantic flag, and perfect.  The problem with him is that his costume is generally way more awesome than that of anyone else around.

As for Wonder Woman, good catch, Helix.  I definitely don't hold her costume (or Martian Manhunter's, for that matter) in as high a regard as the rest of the classic League.  The truth is, it's a fairly stupid costume for a warrior princess to wear, and its stuck around for nostalgia and for less defensible reasons.  No, while the color scheme is very striking, and while she's certainly an important character, I've always hated that costume (although, Lynda Carter made it look good!).  I've always thought she would benefit greatly from a more common-sense and context sensitive costume change. 

The attempts to modernize her have, in my opinion, missed the mark by a mile.  How are leather pants Amazonian?  No, I really liked Dwayne Cook's simple little tweak to the costume.  It made it, in my opinion, pretty much perfect:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r215/proneedham/NewFrontierWonderWoman.jpg
Now she looks like an Amazonian warrior.  The armor she's wearing looks like ancient Greek armor with a superheroic twist, which is perfect for her.

[Helix]

Benton - Haha! Union Jack's other problem is that he has no powers and no super-cool weapons, just a standard issue officers sidearm and a tactical knife. I hope that cool outfit still looks cool with exit wounds in it.
As for Wonder Woman, you just have to pick a direction and commit to it. Either go Amazonian warrior all the way or go functional and stylish, but her problem has always been that she was at neither end of the spectrum. She was an Amazonian warrior dressed in an ultra-patriotic American flag-ish boustier and booty shorts....with a lasso. It's all horrible. Sorry to disagree, but the leather pants are an upgrade...and the swapping out of the big ridiculous golden eagle breast plate for a sleek silver "WW" is too.

Oh, and thanks for showing me the "25 Worst Superhero Costumes" list. I liked about 1/4 of the ones on that list. That makes me think I should probably stop dressing myself. But really, Power Man, Invisible Woman, Havok, Dazzler, Jack of Hearts...those are classics.

Oh, and lucky number (13) on my list has to be Dr. Fate. I bought my first issue of Brave & the Bold simply because I saw that guy on the cover.

[BentonGrey]

Haha, no-one said superheroes were realistic!  If Cap can fight gun-toting super-soldiers with a shield, I think Union Jack can manage with a pistol.

Ohh man, Helix, come on!  The modern WW costume in Justice League is simplified and sleek, I'll grant you that, but it just doesn't do anything particularly well.  It's nicer than her old one in some ways, but it still has most of the same problems. 
http://geek-news.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/wonder-woman.jpg
It's all the more jarring when she's running around in mythic settings looking like a super-stripper.

The pants version unbalance the costume, and the jacket just screams 90's.  Ehh, either way it's pretty weak, if you ask me. 
http://img9.joyreactor.com/pics/post/full/art-wonder-woman-superheroes-638669.jpeg

I completely agree with you about the fact that WW has never been properly grounded at either end of the spectrum, but taking her in the direction redesigns have habitually pushed her towards just loses what makes the character work.  The Cooke design jives exactly with her origins, and the various elements that are so jarring in any other incarnation actually make sense.  Why does she have no pants?  Because she's dressed like an ancient warrior.  Why does she wear a bustier?  It isn't one, it's armor, and that 'ridiculous golden eagle breastplate' looks properly like the type of adornment that makes sense.  It's more modest, while still maintaining the combination of femininity and power that's always been part of the best versions of Wonder Woman.

Haha, like I said, I didn't agree with everything that list said.  I have a soft spot for the original Power Man costume, Havok's as well.  However, intellectually, I recognize that they've got some problems.  Also, keep in mind, they were specifically talking about this terrible Invisible Woman costume:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fMkFbUyahgY/TFCRPTGy1lI/AAAAAAAAAQk/Bbvr2VdRwwQ/s1600/501318-invisible_woman_drew_johnson01_super.jpg
Which is pretty inappropriate for the mother figure of the Marvel U, if you ask me.

I love Dr. Fate's costume too.

[Cyber Burn]

Ohh man, Helix, come on!  The modern WW costume in Justice League is simplified and sleek, I'll grant you that, but it just doesn't do anything particularly well.  It's nicer than her old one in some ways, but it still has most of the same problems. 
http://geek-news.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/wonder-woman.jpg
It's all the more jarring when she's running around in mythic settings looking like a super-stripper.

The pants version unbalance the costume, and the jacket just screams 90's.  Ehh, either way it's pretty weak, if you ask me. 
http://img9.joyreactor.com/pics/post/full/art-wonder-woman-superheroes-638669.jpeg

I completely agree with you about the fact that WW has never been properly grounded at either end of the spectrum, but taking her in the direction redesigns have habitually pushed her towards just loses what makes the character work.  The Cooke design jives exactly with her origins, and the various elements that are so jarring in any other incarnation actually make sense.  Why does she have no pants?  Because she's dressed like an ancient warrior.  Why does she wear a bustier?  It isn't one, it's armor, and that 'ridiculous golden eagle breastplate' looks properly like the type of adornment that makes sense.  It's more modest, while still maintaining the combination of femininity and power that's always been part of the best versions of Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman should not, at any time, be compared to a stripper. Her costume may traditionally show a lot of skin, but she has always been an iconic role model who has demonstrated strength and dignity. 

As for the Pants/Jacket look for WW, it's actually not that bad. I mean, if Black Canary can pull off the Jacket look and make it work, why shouldn't Wonder Woman be able to do the same?

Also, I really debated on posting this.

Spoiler

I'm in agreement, in that the Invisible Woman is the "Mother-Figure" of the Marvel U, and should dress the part. I'm sure I'll take heat for this, but I work with a lot of females who are mothers, and have been told by quite a few that they dress a certain way to "Feel good about" themselves, but I am of the mindset that integrity is an important aspect of parenthood. Keep yourself covered, maintain your integrity, you don't need to objectify yourself to feel good about yourself.

[BentonGrey]

That's EXACTLY my point, CB.  My wife HATES Wonder Woman, and do you know why?  Lady Grey feels that WW's costume looks trashy.  It isn't her portrayal, it isn't her actions, and it isn't anything intrinsic to the character herself.  The actual character is a great role model, but the costume doesn't really capture that.  By the way, I've been trying to curb Lady Grey's hatred for years with no luck.  It's the nascent super-villainy, most likely.

Black Canary pulls it off because she's a city girl turned crime fighter, not an Amazonian princess.

I agree for the most part.  After all, that's what 90% of What Not to Wear is about.

[Podmark]

Oddly I'm having trouble coming up with a list just yet. Too many options, hard to narrow down. I will eventually and I imagine it'll be fairly different than most of yours. I've never been overly enamored with many classic designs.

I've actually been wanting to put up a costume thread for a while now. I was thinking of posting a few random costumes for people to give their opinions on them. Make it a weekly thing maybe. Any interest in that?

[BentonGrey]

Sure, I'd be interested.

[Helix]

Podmark - I'd be interested.

Benton - If Wonder Woman was ever going to stick so closely to her mythological roots then:
(A) She would have had the breast on her favored hand side amputated to make shooting a bow easier.
(B) She would have a bow in her aresenal.
© She wouldn't be wearing a bustier and granny-panties.
(D) Her costume would not have been designed with an American/patriotic theme.
(E) She never would have had an airplane.
(F) She never would have used a lasso as a weapon, but more likely a short sword.
(G) She would have been adorned in some combination of leather, chain mail, and plate mail.
(H) Etc...etc...you get my point. She has never been just an Amazon warrior, but more to the point, an Amazon warrior in the modern/secular world. That's her role. Therefore, dressing in a modern/secular, not to mention more practical costume makes sense.

So, while you might want to see her as the Amazon of authentic Greek mythology, the fact is that she wasn't really supposed to reveal that Paradise Island/Themyscira/whatever even existed. So dressing like an ancient Greek mythological figure would never have made sense.

With that said, her new costume, while still featuring a bustier, is more practical, still recognizable, and cooler looking than her old one...except for the biker jacket which is stupid.

[detourne_me]

I tend to regard the All-new, All-different Giant-size X-men (especially Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler) as my favorite classic costumes. I also have a weird affinity for the Blue and White X-Factor Cyclops
Also, Daredevil.  Definitely Daredevil. Mike Allred's Daredevil, even better.
Mike Allred's Hourman, Wonder Girl (Silver Age), Batman B&W, and Darwyn Cooke's Superman and Wonder Woman are up there too.

The best modern costumes I like are the White Future Foundation costumes and John Cassaday's Cyclops and Wolverine

I guess you can tell I like simple designs with clean lines.
As a kid I loved the Kenner Super Powers toys, especially Mr. Miracle, Hal Jordan, Barry Allen and Dr. Fate.

[Tomato]

Love the astonishing X-men costumes by Cassaday. Changed the looks just enough to be modern, but they still feel like the classic costumes worn by the second genesis X-men (my definitive version of that team).

A few other odd ones from me-

Iceman in his X-factor uniform with the crazy belt. I dunno why, but I've always loved that specific look for the character. Probably because the belt breaks up the whole "completely made of ice" and the x factor details help give some interesting visuals.

Iron Spider- People hate this look, but it's always appealed to me for some reason. I think it might have to do with the appeal of armored spiderman in the animated series, the idea that spiderman was every bit as smart as tony when it came to making super tech.

[Helix]

Tomato - We all make allowances for what we accept as realistic within the comic book universes, but the Iceman/belt issue bothers me. First of all, neither Iceman nor his costume convert to ice. Rather, they are encased in ice. If you are going to encase yourself in an armor of ice, then why would you leave the belt exposed? It would make sense if he had a utility belt like Batman, but that is not the case. With that said, ironically, I fully accept that Iron Man can propel himself with boot jets and manage to attain lift AND steer without wings or a vertical stabilizer. Haha! As I said, realism is completely subjective.

Detourneme - I completely agree - Daredevil should be on my list too. His costume is a monument to simplicity, but it's perfect and should NEVER be altered.

[Tomato]

Er... first of all, iceman does turn completely to ice, entire stories have centered around that. Second, the purpose of the belt was that it was an electronic device that helped control his powers... try encasing your computer in ice, see how well it works.

[Helix]

Um...okay, I stand corrected. I could swear that I'd already learned that lesson about knowing what I'm talking about BEFORE I open my mouth, but apparently I'm wrong about that too. 

And now that I've put my foot in my mouth and discovered that it tastes, disturbingly, like at least 50% of the items on the Taco Bell menu (which is NOT a compliment to my foot).....I shall attempt to regain my composure by addressing the electronic device encased in ice issue. I have one word for you: styrofoam!

I shall now commence shutting up.