The new Superman costume which debuted with DC's New 52 has some changes that I do not care for. I can understand the lack of red trunks, as that look is a bit outdated, but the rest of the alterations strike me as rather arbitrary. The high collar does not work for me at all, and I am glad the movies didn't follow suit there. The odd lines and "S" shield shapes on his arms and legs are unnecessary and a little busy for my tastes. I am glad that he still has the "S" shield on his cape, but wish they had gone with the traditional yellow/gold instead of black. The new look has stuck for the time being, but I hope to see a return to a more traditional costume down the road.
Superman and Namor have crossed paths once before on the blog...
Nice to see that old costume of Namor's again, too.
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I think the new look Superman will be a temporary thing in the long run. Like Thor with his beard and battle armor during the Simonson run. Or Iron Man with a nose. Or AzBats. Or barbarian Atom. Or white jumpsuit Wonder Woman. Or hook-handed Aquaman. Or any recent version of Hawkman. The bungee cord of comics will snap back into place eventually.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the pendulum to swing back. The New 52 costume designs are terrible.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, this is a great cover. Namor, that infamous Lothario...
I agree with Sphinx -- on Supes, the black will soon be gone, and we may not have seen the last of the trunks. (I kind of like the collar myself, if this is the costume here, except for the military connotations.)
ReplyDeleteAs for Namor, I don't remember this costume here, but I do rather like it better than anything else I've seen on him. And as to Dave's remark... I just thought of something scary. What if he were to turn his attention to some of DC's royalty -- say, a certain Princess who has spent some time with the Titans?
Great cover, as always.
ReplyDeleteHow about an meeting between Captain America (John Walker) and Wonder Woman (Artemis)? That would be a hot couple!
I haven't bought comics (except for a few collected editions) since 2007.
ReplyDeleteThat's what Supes looks like now? Yuck.
I hope Sphinx Magoo is correct.
Afterthought: It's not the silliest look for Supes ever, though. I can remember Electro-Supes. BWAH-HA-HA!
ReplyDelete"Superman 2: Electric Boogaloo!" xD
I liked Electric Blue better than this one, and I thought it was awful.
ReplyDeleteThe only hero who IMHO benefited from the New 52 costume redesigns is Aquaman. Green Lantern's is tolerable, but since he always had a high collar, the only major difference is that the green now ends at the waist. Every other hero's new costume just looks ugly to me.
Personally, I regard the outer trunks as being just as traditional as the rest of the blue-red-and-gold costume. After all, he's Superman. Not Magic Mike!
ReplyDeleteCome on, Supes! Don't let him get away with that.
ReplyDeleteFish-fry him with your heat vision!
@ Bob Greenwade: the black body-stocking with the gold glider-membranes was designed by Reed Richards as the result of a late Seventies story-line in Subby's own magazine. During one of his perennial fights with Attuma, Namor collided with some illegally dumped barrels of surface-dweller nerve gas. Causing one of them to explode!
ReplyDeleteThe resulting mutagenic effect deprived Namor of the ability to absorb/retain atmomspheric moisture through his pores when out of the water. Hence, the compensatory body suit.
And what is with that high collar with the V-notch? Superman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman all had it added to their costumes. I've never seen it in real life, though it almost looks like a Nehru jacket. Even Wonder Woman got a choker with a W. Is this a clue to a common link between Atlantis, Krypton, Themyscira, and Oa? Or does Jim Lee just have a thing for uncomfortable neckwear?
ReplyDeleteThe recent "high collar" looks reminds me of when suddenly a bunch of superheroes were wearing leather jackets over their costumes. I remember thinking, "When did all the superheroes start getting chilly?" Personally, one of the things I always liked about the classic (satellite era) Justice League was the mixture of costumes from the forties (Superman, Batman, Black Canary) fifties (Martian Manhunter), the more streamlined look of the late fifties/early sixties (Flash, Green Lantern, Atom) the "new" Green Arrow of the mid-seventies and Firestorm's awful late seventies costume. Throw that in with guest stars such as Adam Strange with his classic spaceman look or reservist member the Phantom Stranger with his classic blue/black suit and fedora look.... Now THOSE were costumes!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Sonofjack. Amen! :-)
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