<![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> @Ronestar: Except for Buffy, she kicks all kinds of butt whether in jeans or a prom dress.

tetragami

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> There's always the strategy Dr. Manhattan took. "I'm an omnipotent being, why would I need to wear clothes at all."

Emilia

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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.

corpore-metal

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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.

codydog

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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".

Counterglow

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> @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.

lightninglouie

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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.

Dereks

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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.

Rasselas

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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!

Ronestar

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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.

Jeff-Minor

]]> <![CDATA[Superheroes Don't Have To Do It In Tights, Says Chabon]]> 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?

Gyrus

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