I Hate Black Costumes!!!

[Great Sage]

This needs to be made clear to the movie industry: STOP MAKING BLACK COSTUMES FOR SUPER HEROES BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO AFRAID TO OFFEND THE ACTORS!

The recent wave of super hero flicks have proved only one thing â€" directors are still too afraid of accurate representations of characters, especially their costumes.

Batman came out sporting a black costume because they were afraid blue and grey wouldn't be taken seriously...

The X-men are all in black...

Spiderman almost came out in a black costume... reportedly.

Daredevil almost wore black...  His current costume is nearly black.  If it's not black, it's usually leather or rubber.

Reports are that Superman's costume may be black...

Get off the black costume band wagon already...

[Fearless Freep]

I colorful costume like Wolverine's looks pretty cool in a comic book with the bright primary colors and all.  Put that costume on the big screen and it would look silly. Movies are a different media than comic books and I'd rather have a character look good for the media than look silly but accurate.

The exchange between Cyclops and Wolverine in "X-Men" was pretty funny. When Cyclops said "Would you prefer yellow spandex?" I realized just how silly he would look if they kept his traditional uniform from the comics

[Grumpy Guy]

IMHO, the X-Men bit was a good thing.  Bright yellow spandex isn't all that attractive in real life, but black leather is.  It's not really about offending the actors, it's about putting something in front of the audience that they won't laugh at.

Daredevil's costume IS almost black - it's dark red, and has been for some years now.  Electra, on the other hand, wears BRIGHT RED, and, in this case, I think it would have worked.

As for Spidey, they made the right decision in the end, so we can all breathe a big sigh of relief...

And as for Superman, well, if they make HIS costume black, then I just won't go.  That simple.

[SkullNinja]

Batman's costume in the comic books was black for a while and under John Byrne the Dark Blue was rendered black. I always assumed that it was supposed to be and only rendered blue so it would have some depth on the page.

Daredevil sported a charcoal gray uniform for a while (with some nifty padding). Of course, he also had a lot of yellow in his original costume which look horrid and made sense considering it was created by a blind guy.

Spidey sported some nifty black duds he got on a alien world during the "Secret Wars" (don't ask). Turned out they were a symbiote and he had to fight them and they eventually became Venom (which spawned Carnage and that Maximun Carnage crap. Hey, at least it wasn't as bad as the clone saga.)

Since the X-men universe in the movies isn't the Marvel universe (Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk and the X's don't share a cinematic universe), Professor Chuck wouldn't have had reason to cloak his mutant strike team in superhero garb to try and blend them in.

Supes even has a bit of history flirting with the black. His future self from the Elseworld story Kingdom Come replaced the yellow part of his emblem with black and he also did it for about a year in current continuity.

[Great Sage]

Comics and movies are two different medias, but they have the same purpose â€" to sell...  A cool character in comics can just as easily be sold on the screen, e.g. Spiderman and Superman.  The directors of these movies stayed true to the character's trademarks and made lots of money.

In contrast, X-men are basically making a living off of their established characters...  Few people actually like the character costumes, but they put up with it because it is the X-men.  Ufortunately, the movies haven't gotten mediocre reviews at best.

I still say a Yellow-Blue Wolverine costume could be easily enhanced to look cool on the screen...  Likewise, Cyclops and the rest of the gang.  Hugh Jackman reported said he would drop his role if they put him in a yellow outfit...  Hence, he was given his line about the yellow spandex...  IMO, actors like that should not be involved in super hero movies.

[Fearless Freep]

Sorry, but the yellow and blue uniform on Wolverine looks pretty silly even in the comics.  It makes a lot more sense for his character's personality to have something more much subdued.  In keeping with the rest of the cinematography of the movie, I don't think you could put him in anything colored like that without him looking rediculous.  I thought the costumes looked pretty sharp and more importantly, they fit the total look of the movie very well.

Superman also actually looked pretty strange, but at the time it was filmed, most clothes were more colorful than today so it wasn't quite as jarring.  But then, Superman was successful because it had a good story and good actors and good special effects, not because Superman wore red underwear outside his blue tights.  Far as I know, he was still wearing the same costume in Superman III and IV and they were very bad.    "Batman" in black also made a lot of money, but the later movies with the same costume didn't do nearly so well.

The color of a super hero's custum is not going to make or break a movie.  I'd rather have something that looks good then something that slavishly follows a tradition

[Grumpy Guy]

Good for Hugh.

I've seen the concept art for the costumes, most of which was drawn up before Jackman was cast.  Yellow spandex was never in the picture, and I'm glad.  Perhaps black leather wasn't the best choice, but still.

BTW, it isn't staying true to the character's outfits that sells the movie.  It's making the characters accessable to non-comic fans.  The movies might not get good reviews, but they sell a lot of tickets, and that's what's important.  In order to sell that many tickest, you have to appeal to the non-comic fan audience.  A lot of that audience just won't accept a grown man on the big screen in bright yellow spandex.

And neither will I, and I'm a fan of the genera.

[Evan3]

In some cases Sage, I dont think it matters too much. In fact, if you pick up an issue of X Men these days, three out of the four versions have the characters wearing black. While i must say I like the Wolverine "costume," movies are constrained by something that comics are not, laws of physics, decency, practicality, etc.

In the comics, Electra wears a red wrap around thing, impossible to create in the real world. Jennifer Garner also said she wouldnt wear the costume because "there is no way Electra is wearing underwear"

Anyways, I think certain characters you can tamper with while others dont matter much. Batman has always been darker, alternating between dark blue, grey, or black, while the X Men have changed costumes a number of times.

While I am glad they didnt change Daredevil's costume (originally, he was going to wear a mask like Robin does,  because they didnt want to lose the "marketability" of Affleck's face, Affleck is a comics fan and said he wouldnt do that", his costume could have easily been changed.

The essentials are obviously Superman, Spider Man and the Hulk, who have always been favored wearing what they wear. All three have kept the costumes, and if they are wise will continue to do so.

However, I do think the Hulk looks rather corny, and I would not want to see so many actors running around in CGI costumes.

[Great Sage]

Superman looked strange?  Where have you been?...  That film is a classic now and defines a genre of films.  Supes never looked better.  He was believable in those films and they did it without hiding behind the black mask.  The same is true with spiderman.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Superman is an icon and the fact that they stayed with his patented costume drew a lot of attention and fan-fare.  Likewise, Spiderman fans rebuked any revisions to the Spiderman costume.  I'll bet you that even the best story in the world will not sell if Superman or Spiderman is wearing a different outfit.

[Fearless Freep]

Superman is an icon

Yes, Superman is an American  icon, Wolverine is not.  Superman is identified with the big S and the cape.  Mess with that and you're messing with the definition of who Superman really is.  I don't think any other superhero, with the possible exception of Batman's pointy ears, is so identified with his costume.  Wolverine has no such icon status in the American psyche, for one, and for the other, Wolverine is much better known for his claws and his attitude than his costume.

Yes, Superman, when done as a film, does look kinda goofy in that outfit, but that can be overcome easier than re-shaping the costume and dislodging the image of the icon.  Spiderman is, too some extent, the same way.  Cyclops, Wolverine, Daredevil, Storm, whomever, have now such history with the American people so the movie makers are more free to make something that looks better than something that will satisfy purists

[Ash]

What I think WOULD be cool is to have Superman change his costume midway through the film.

Why not the standard blue & red and then a black one later?

Or vice versa.

I think a black & white costume on him would look cool as hell!

All black with a white S on the chest.

[Great Sage]

I'm not alone, when I say that the costumes for X-men sucked...

[Fearless Freep]

I'm not alone, when I say that the costumes for X-men sucked..

*shrug* neither are you unanimous.

Look if you don't like the uniforms from X-Men, that's your opinion.  That's fine.  I have no problem with that.  All I'm saying is that there can be valid reasons to not use the traditional comic uniforms that have nothing to do with actor ego or director fear

[SkullNinja]

:::The essentials are obviously Superman, Spider Man and the Hulk, who have always been favored wearing what they wear. All three have kept the costumes, and if they are wise will continue to do so.:::

Well, not quite, but they always come back to the basics. Supes costume was really different as Superman Blue (Electrical Superman), Spidey, as I noted above, went all back and even the Hulk has not only changed costumes at times, but skin pigment (grey to green to grey and so forth).

::Look if you don't like the uniforms from X-Men, that's your opinion. That's fine. I have no problem with that. All I'm saying is that there can be valid reasons to not use the traditional comic uniforms that have nothing to do with actor ego or director fear::

Wouldn't make sense in the X-Men movies for them to dress like in the comics. There are no superheroes in that universe. Nobody to set the long underware trend.

::I think a black & white costume on him would look cool as hell!

All black with a white S on the chest.::

It does. We've actually seen it in the comics.

[Grumpy Guy]

C'mon, man.  I loved Superman 1 and 2, but the outfit didn't really do him justice.  It looked cheap.  Not enough budget went into it, point blank and period.

But there's a distinct difference between changing his costume and changing, say, Wolverine's costume.  In fact, in the comics, Wolverine spends as much time out of his costume as in it.  I actually have trouble buying the outfit selection in the COMICS.  Why the hell would a rough brawler type with a bad attitude and a penchant for cigars be willing to be seen in public wearing dainty bright yellow tights?

Storm actually DID pretty much dress like that...

Cyclops needed a costume change from day one.  How is he supposed to maintain an air of leadership and authority in a cerulian - and - lemon yellow outfit?

The movie costumes were BETTER and more in character.  The comic costumes came about because of the current comic trends.  Look at new comics - not so many bright costumes any more..