Doug: Whoo! After weeks of 16-match-up polls, we're down to just eight head-to-heads. I'm a little surprised/disappointed in some of the costumes that have gone by the wayside, and can't imagine what keeps the good Doctor Doom rolling along. I think I've voted against him all three times -- and that's not to say that he doesn't have a good look; he does! But there have also been some nifty costumes up against him.
Doug: Discussion point for today -- what's the best costume still on the brackets, and what's the best one to go out in the previous round?
15 comments:
Interesting that of the 16 costumes left, only four were actually created in the Bronze Age (Valkyrie, Iron Fist, Phoenix and Rocketeer). Valkyrie's one of my suggestions and a personal favorite, but now she's unfortunately pitted against one of the best designed super-hero outfits of all time, red & gold Iron Man.
Of the costumes that were knocked out of the brackets, I'm a bit saddened that Ms. Marvel didn't get to this point. While I agree that Dr. Doom has a cool, timeless look, that lightning bolt costume designed by Cockrum epitomizes all that is good about the Bronze Age. To some extent, this also applies to Warlock and Moon Knight, also knocked out in the preceding round...
My favorite that just went out in the last round is Shazam, probably my second favorite overall after Cockrum's Star Boy.
My favorite still left is might tougher to call. It comes down to Vision, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Batman. I guess I will go with Spider-Man, though.
I would have a very tough time choosing between DD, Havok, and Iron Man, and Yellowjacket -- those are all great-looking costumes.
The "one that got away" for me last round was Ms. Marvel's "Warbird" look, for all the reasons Edo stated.
Doug
For me Spider-Man has the best superhero costume of all-time. Hands down. Especially if you think of when it was designed… way back in 1962. At that time superhero costumes were all basically the same formula: Body suit, trunks, belt, boots, gloves, mask, chest emblem, some color and done.
Ditko came up with a completely unique look for Spider-Man. The way the gloves, arms, v-shape torso, belt and full face mask all interconnect into a seamless fluid shape is a brilliant design. Then when you add the spider-web pattern and the simple black spider emblem on the chest, you have one of the most iconic costumes ever created. But I'll bet the other artists hated Ditko for making them have to render all those web-lines whenever they had to draw Spider-Man.
I am sad to see that my second and third favorite costumes are going head-to-head. I'm talking about Daredevil and Batman respectively. Daredevil has one of the most elegantly minimalistic costume designs of any super hero, and Batman has one of the most classic and iconic. I hated to have to choose. I chose DD because he was trailing, but it looks like Bats is going to take it. That's O.K. because I love them both. They should have both been in the final round.
I'm still annoyed that the Golden Age Green Lantern was voted out in the last round. That remains one of the most amazing, outrageous costume designs ever. What is wrong with you people?
Some real duds have gotten into this round too. The Black Panther's costume is okay for the character, but is it really one of the best? It's just black tights with cat ears on the cowl. Daredevil's all-red costume never impressed me much either.
Of the ones that remain, I think it is between Captain America (the standard by which all patriotic-themed costumes are judged), Iron Man (Red and gold are a great combo) and the Vision.
So sad about Valkyrie, but up against classic Iron Man..?
As for the ones that didn't make it, I thought Antman was great, rendered even better drawn by Perez than the older artists like Kirby. Same for Yellowjacket, pretty cool outfit, but against Spidey..?
William's absolutely correct on the timeliness and innovative look Spidey brought to the comics world. A definitive style change, greatly enhanced by Ditko's unique and often-overlooked style, much like Doc Strange.
Doctor Strange will probably reach the last ranks, still an outstanding classic along with Cap and IM.
I'll even say this about the YJ costume -- it looked great giant-sized! Avengers #'s 139-140 are among my favorites (hmmm... future Doug's Favorites post?). And David_b, the gun era of the costumes was indeed the best.
Doug
PS: I'd disagree with Inkstained on the DD and Black Panther costumes, and others who've eschewed the monochromatic looks of the Black Widow, White Tiger, and Moon Knight. Through this exercise, I've really seen myself drawn to those (as William aptly states it) minimalist costumes.
Happy to see Rocketeer still in there! Yes I thought Mysterio and Ms Marvel were better than Doc Doom.
Shazam vs Iron Man was interesting--similar colors. I don't really like Havok--for me, it's different but not appealing.
Superman has grown on me throughout this competition. It's the simplicity that Doug talked about in reference to Black Panther--red, blue, touch of yellow, big S logo. It's solid like Superman. I still like Joe Shuster's version the best, the guy who jumped around and had a spunky attitude. Found my oversized Superman #1 reprint from the '70s last week while cleaning out the garage. Hadn't seen it in years! I forgot about the Garcia Lopez posters of Superman of today and the future. Great comic that was so cool as a kid.
Dr Fate gave Dr Strange his first challenge last round--good to see!
While I loved the Moon Knight comic, the costume's appeal was mainly when Sienkiewicz drew him. With others drawing it doesn't do it for me. Finch drew some good images, but didn't get the other characters right. With DD, love the character, but like Black Panther, for me the costume's too simple to win.
I'll put this up once more as it may affect the perception of Cap's costume's originality:
http://www.cracked.com/article_20026_5-iconic-characters-you-didnt-know-were-ripoffs.html
The Shield's outfit is similar with the stars above and stripes below, and Cap taking up...a shield! Not trying to down the costume, as I voted for him this round. But another aspect to consider.
Boy, tough call on the "Lost Best" and "Current Best". Probably Dr. Strange has the most impressive look at this point (to me)-- but Havok is a close second, and I'm still in the tank for Vision, as well (although he looks like he may be fading, sadly).
There were several in the previous round that I was very sorry to see go: Cyclops, Jay Garrick Flash, Alan Scott GL, Nighthawk, and Moon Knight, specifically. Of them, ol' Jay's unwavering loyalty to his Golden Age togs is by far my favorite. Cyclops' GS X-Men#1 look is a close second. That big, beefed-up visor and the minimalist old-style uniform have always projected "cool and powerful" to me with profound effect.
HB
To add to the defense of Daredevil's classic all red costume: You have to admit it was a "daring" choice to go all one color with only simple black ink lines separating the details, such as boots, gloves, belt, etc. Even his chest emblem wasn't rendered with any other color (just all red with black outlines). Speaking of which, that cool double "D" logo alone is worth that costume being high on this list.
I love DD's costume. (Especially when drawn by Wally Wood). When I was a kid, one of the first custom action figures I ever made was Daredevil. I made him from a Mego Spider-Man body with a Mego Tarzan unitard dyed red, and a Mego Batman head painted red. Then I drew on the boots, belt, gloves and DD emblem with a permanent black Sharpie marker. I made his billy clubs from some plastic tubing. I loved that thing at the time, and thought it looked absolutely awesome. I don't know whatever happened to it. But if I saw it today, I'd probably be appalled at how bad it actually was. :)
I tend to stay out of these popularity contests. Everyone uses different criteria for their choices. A basic superhero suit (to me) is "long johns", gloves, boots, and perhaps a mask. Utilitarian, but still having plenty of room for color variation. The thing that makes a costume for me is pizazz. like someone was saying about Spidey, it was/is one of the most elegant, unusual designs, yet still practical and plausible. To me, Superman and Batman do not have really cool costumes. Superman's symbol and his old boots (not the new ones) were cool, but otherwise, it was pretty plain. Batman's costume conveys Batness pretty well, but isn't really all that jazzy or even practical. So voting on what costume people like is often colored by them liking the hero. Bats and Supes both have long and interesting backgrounds that make them interesting. The costumes are just how we identify them. Many really cool costumes have already been eliminated, and also, shouldn't there be a men's and women's category at least? Just a few thoughts on this post.
Well, I agree with what sounds like some similar sympathies; it looks like people have really dropped the ball on this costume thing!
I personally tried to step outside the character box, and examine the costumes; it was hard at times, but I REALLY tried.
Yes, I think people voting for heroes such as Batman, and Superman has a LOT to do with the character. A lot better costumes than theirs were voted away long ago. Really- too bad-- but what does one expect???
ADAM
I think Batman's costume is quite good, with the batwing shapes on his cape and arms, and the long ears. Also grey and blue is an unusual color combo.
He's only had to beat 2 outfits to get to this stage. He has a costume that seems to bring out the best in artists, so that may have helped him along.
While I do like colorful costumes, and particular have a weakness for combinations of red, yellow, and green, I also love the Black Panther's look, and also found myself voting for Havok.
2 cents - I'm a little surprised at how much people seem to love Valkyrie's look. The steel cones are too bizarre to be sexy or cool, imo.
Ms Marvel's 70's redesign on the other hand... That's a winner.
Also, you realize that YellowJacket can't see all those attacking bad guys on his immediate right or left? Right?
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