Many comic book fans fear change. They like clinging on to the things they associate with their childhood, and if new adaptations threaten to undo the things they love, they can get defensive. Don’t think I’m deriding a group I’ve never belonged to. I was a big baby when it came to Batman’s suit in The Dark Knight (he still looks like a motorcyclist’s fetish made flesh), and now I recognize how it fits into the overall aesthetic that movie was going for.
People have been less than enthused about the costumes in Netflix’s Daredevil and Fox’s Fantastic Four. I can agree with the former, since it just looks incredibly cheap, but I dig the new duds that the Richards family has been sporting. They feel more science-y and have been described as “containment suits”, which gives you some insight into how they are approaching their abilities in this film.
But, the fanboys often get their way, for good or ill. Parties from both camps have gone on the record stating that the classic costumes will eventually make their way into the respective universes. I’m putting money on them both showing up at the end of their respective stories (the end of season 1 for Daredevil, and the end of the film for Fantastic Four).
On the one hand, I’m cool with this. It’s invigorating to see something from your days as a youngling brought to life on the big screen, and the costumes of superheroes have always been a huge element to their iconic status. However, it’s this kind of mentality that can also stop these stories and characters from growing and changing, and although we are rarely blessed with a character so wonderfully unwavering as Steve Rogers, most characters must change in order to stay relevant and compelling.
At the end of the day though, I don’t actually care about what these characters dress in. What should matter is if they are interesting characters inhabiting a fascinating world. What kind of pajamas they wear shouldn’t be what people get fussy about.
…Unless you make Batman look like skid mark.