Superhero Costumes: Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon

What's in a superhero costume? Well, beyond muscle and 100% justice, of course (50% justice, 50% alcohol in Iron Man's case). If you're novelist and occasional fanboy Michael Chabon, the answer apparently has a lot more to do with semiotics and cultural identity than even Peter Parker was aware of, according to his article in this week's New Yorker.

Taking his role of "Official Intellectual Who Makes It Okay to Think About Comics" very seriously, Chabon's essay "Secret Skin" strips Superman and friends of their clothes piece by piece to consider just what's so powerful about the image of people in tights fighting crime:

So let's lose the cape. As for the boots—we are not married to the boots. After all, Iron Fist sports a pair of kung-fu slippers, the Spirit wears brown brogues, Zatanna works her magic in stiletto heels, and Beast, Ka-Zar, and Mantis wear no shoes at all. Perhaps, though, we had better hold on to our unitards, crafted of some nameless but readily available fabric that, like a thin matte layer, at once coats and divulges the splendor of our musculature. Assemble the collective, all-time memberships of the Justice League of America, the Justice Society of America, the Avengers, the Defenders, the Invaders, the X-Men, and the Legion of Super-Heroes (and let us not forget the Legion of Substitute Heroes), and you will probably find that almost all of them, from Nighthawk to the Chlorophyll Kid, arrive wearing some version of the classic leotard-tights ensemble. And yet—not everyone. Not Wonder Woman, in her star-spangled hot pants and eagle bustier; not the Incredible Hulk or Martian Manhunter or the Sub-Mariner.

Consideration of the last named leads us to cast a critical eye, finally, on our little swim trunks, typically worn with a belt, pioneered by Kit Walker (for the Ghost Who Walks), the Phantom of the old newspaper strip, and popularized by the super-trendsetter of Metropolis. The Sub-Mariner wears nothing but a Eurotrashy green Speedo, suggesting that, at least by the decency standards of the old Comics Code, this minimal garment marks the zero degree of superheroic attire. And yet, of course, the Flash, Green Lantern, and many others make do without trunks over their tights; the forgoing of trunks in favor of a continuous flow of fabric from legs to torso is frequently employed to lend a suggestion of speed, sleekness, a kind of uncluttered modernism. And the Hulk never goes around in anything but those tattered purple trousers.

Oy vey - Such overthinking when it's obvious that, sometimes, tights without trunks just feels so freeing. Where's Paul Gambi when you need him?

Second Skin [New Yorker]

1:00 PM on Fri Mar 7 2008
By Graeme McMillan
2,965 views
11 comments

Comments

Gyrus at 01:16 PM on 03/07/08
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It was easier and faster, in the old days of cranking out pages by the hour, to just draw the figure and slap on a simple design. Boom. Done. On to the next issue.

The super secret magic tights that the FF wore were a no-prize created on the fly by Stan Lee for over literal fans who wanted to know why Johnny didn't burn up his underpants and Sue's clothes could turn invisible, too.

it's simply become tradition. That's why in the 90's you had that weird mixture of peole in tights that showed every muscle but also wore belts and shoulder pads out the wazoo. It wasn't until recently that artists, given the leeway and time to design more plausible outfits and having the talent to actually draw draped fabric, came up with more plausible costumes.

Plus the movies helped, too. Tights look silly in real life so you fudge it a little, and make Magneto wear a stylish Magenta suit and cape, because who wants to see Ian McKellan's skinny butt in purple under roos?
Jeff-Minor at 01:28 PM on 03/07/08
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The tights, or body suit, shows us the great bod. And as with Batman, the suit is the bod. The cape often serves as a shield, a flying device, but I think it's usually a burden. Superman just in boxer shorts would be fine too, and on his crotch he can have his big ol'S. Because it's super...I guess.
Ronestar at 01:58 PM on 03/07/08
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I think tights are used to further the escapism of comic books. These heroes/villains are so removed from the human condition that they even forgo the normal clothing entrapments of society (and thus endearing themselves further to the lower income kids out there that can't afford the latest fashions). Heroes just wouldn't be heroes if they were throwing down while wearing a pair of Nike Airs, some Levi's 501 jeans, and a Polo sweater!
Rasselas at 02:08 PM on 03/07/08
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I always feel that I should like Chabon's work, and find it more sympathetic, than I do, and this piece was no exception. It was a little disappointing that Chabon took the superhero costume question and ran with it all the way to ... the superhero costume question. The kind of genius who gets the kind of praise that Chabon gets ought to be able to find a new path now and then.
Dereks at 04:46 PM on 03/07/08
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Oh, I hate that kind of articles. All that means here are facts, I'm not interested in anything else. And authors use to create some cheesy humanitarian theories where "this represents that, bla bla bla". What would be really interesting to know who was the first one to dress superheroes like that.
lightninglouie at 05:47 PM on 03/07/08
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@Dereks: Um, yeah. Chabon does mention Zorro and Lee Falk's Phantom, who qualify as pre-superhero costumed characters. Maybe if you'd actually read the article you would've noticed those facts.
Counterglow at 06:54 PM on 03/07/08
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I might not look as good as those superheroes in most respects, if you stuck me into the old tights/unitard combo. But I bet Wonder Woman would notice pretty quickly that I didn't look nearly so, um, "symmetrical".
codydog at 07:33 PM on 03/07/08
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Tights were the uniform of athletes and circus perfomers,and in the old days, actors faked nudity with flesh colored tights.. Not to mention the ballet and similar pseudo Shakesperian outfits..

The real reason? Theaters and circus tents were drafty and unheated.
corpore-metal at 12:21 AM on 03/08/08
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Well, let's look at this from a pragmatic standpoint. If I'm an invulnerable superhero, my uniform ought to be very durable too. Tights and spandex just don't cut it realistically speaking.

Seems to me that what a superhero needs is something with lots of pockets and tool loops, yet is not overly encumbering and can take lots of wear and tear--getting wet, being dragged across asphalt, smashing through plate glass windows, that kind of thing. Sturdy well supported hiking boots, motorcycle gloves, stuff like that.

The nearest thing I can think of that makes any kind of sense is the combat uniforms of the military. Not very sexy but believable.

In hot environments, you dress like futuristic Bedouins or Zulu soldiers. Again, not very sexy but believable.
Emilia at 07:43 AM on 03/08/08
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There's always the strategy Dr. Manhattan took. "I'm an omnipotent being, why would I need to wear clothes at all."
tetragami at 02:05 PM on 03/08/08
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@Ronestar: Except for Buffy, she kicks all kinds of butt whether in jeans or a prom dress.