Superman Returns - Costume

[shazamtd]

That's the first live interview I've seen with Routh.  I'm anxious to see him playing the part.

[King Krypton]

I like the SR suit for the most part, although I wish the emblem was a little bigger. As for the belt buckle, I read that it's supposed to replace the missing \S/ from the cape (which was left off because it was too hard to CG).

Another reason it was scrapped was because of the way the cape was designed: it's got pleats and folds all over it, and a cape shield would be distorted to the point where it wouldn't even look like an S-shield. (The choice of fabric may also have played a part--it's high-grade French wool with a latex overgloss to give it weight.)

And while we're on the subject of all the costume elements preexisting, the textured fabric and tricked-out boots are something the comics have dabbled with in recent years, the embossed logo and visible seams were first done by Lee Bermejo for the Azarrello Lex Luthor series, and the darker colors have been a recurring motif for years (Flesicher, "Exile," Kingdom Come, and the post-OWAW comics). The only thing Singer's done that's new is fusing all these elements into one costume. However, try to explain this to the naysayers, and they retaliate by sneering that every incarnation of Superman pre-1986 is garbage and has no right to ever be referenced again. Believe me, I've seen this too many times to count.

[chris6909]

The only thing Singer's done that's new is fusing all these elements into one costume. However, try to explain this to the naysayers, and they retaliate by sneering that every incarnation of Superman pre-1986 is garbage and has no right to ever be referenced again. Believe me, I've seen this too many times to count.

I hear you. I,ve considered the possibility that this costume might look diffirent to me if it was filled with someone more adult-looking. I,ve said before that this (Routh) is a case where the clothes makes the man. A modern version of the costume would have made him look like more of a Superman. However, the man can also make the clothes. Put the right person in that suit and it would propably look right. Wouln't a modern version of the costume AND the right person be preferable?

If I look for clothes, or any one for that matter, what is the preferance? Old outdated clothes? Or modern and up to date?

[Kuuga]

I guess at the end of the day it's a valid take on the suit, I just still don't think it is a very good one. It really feels like a step down from what they were able to do with the costumeing on Chris Reeve.

I realy hate the designer saying things like "we didin;t want the cape to look like a peice of cloth on his back". Dude, what the hell do you think a cape IS?Oh so it's better that he looks like he has a brownish tarp on his back instead?

I really think what they should have done was take the basic design of the Reeve suit and simply advanced the science of it with some modern materials and techniques.

[chris6909]

Exactly, why tamper with the basic, "modern" design of the last 20 years??

I'm guessing that if Singer read similar forums prior to the costume design phase, it wouln't have made a diffirence anaway, cause he already had HIS look in mind. I doubt whether the opnions of the general fan-base were ever brought into consideration or even thought of.

In my opinion, if the above statement is accurate, the director, producers and designers of this new version of Superman are gargantuan, foolish nincompoops.

[Great Rao]

From Dreamwatch #138:

We've been very respectful toward the old design, but at the same time updating it. The raised crest is a product of Kryptonian technology representing Krypton's crystalline structures and represents Superman's heritage; he discovers it's importance to him in this movie.

So all those little micro-S's make sense.  In the movies, the costume is from Krypton, so like Superman's fortress, it's really a big crystalline growth.  

[King Krypton]

Exactly, why tamper with the basic, "modern" design of the last 20 years??

I'm guessing that if Singer read similar forums prior to the costume design phase, it wouln't have made a diffirence anaway, cause he already had HIS look in mind. I doubt whether the opnions of the general fan-base were ever brought into consideration or even thought of.

In my opinion, if the above statement is accurate, the director, producers and designers of this new version of Superman are gargantuan, foolish nincompoops.

Singer and his team would have been "gargantuan, foolish nincompoops" if they'd listened to so much as a peep out of the idiots who form the bulk of the fanbase these days. They never would have been able to make ANY kind of Superman costume if they relied on fan feedback. Some wanted Dean Cain's suit resued. Others wanted Reeve's reused. Others wqanted the costume to be an exact copy of their pet artist's rendition. Others wanted the suit radically altered and offered their own redesigns. Singer was smart to ignore them. Otherwise he'd never have gotten any work done, because he NEVER would have been able to please anybody.

And since when did the John Byrne-onward suit visualization become the end-all be-all standard? Superman's been around longer than that, and Singer's costume is based on those earlier versions (Fleischer, Alyn, Reeves, and the HJ Ward paintings). I fail to see how Singer's a "gargantuan, foolish nincompoop" for taking his design inspiration from Superman's golden years. I actually think he's showing Superman a huge amount of respect by acknowledging and being inspired by the older stuff. You might as well castigate those older versions for the smaller emblem and collar, the Fleischers for the darker colors, and Ward for the belt buckle. And you might as well crucify Spider-Man and Fantastic Four for introducing the upgraded costuming techniques Singer used.

Give it a break, please. Superman doesn't look radically different from any other live-action version. If anything, it's a huge upgrade from the Halloween suit Dean Cain had.

[shazamtd]

Singer was smart to ignore them. Otherwise he'd never have gotten any work done, because he NEVER would have been able to please anybody.

And no matter what he did he wasn't going to please EVERYBODY.  From what I've heard there were people who didn't even like Chris Reeve's costume.  It's a no win situation.  Most fans these days if it isn't done exactly their way it's no good.