Costume Closet: Spotlight On Wonder Woman

With the ousting of the New 52 tag on their upcoming books, it would make sense that some costume designs also get shown the door, and none are bigger at DC Comics than the trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. You can see all of them here, but today we’re going to focus on Wonder Woman. Like Joey, I personally like Finch’s take on the outfit, though I could do without the bladed gauntlets. I’ve always preferred when Diana equips the sword and shield combo, a nod toward her classically trained Amazon Warrior roots.

Plus, you know, it just looks cool.

Regardless of weapon choice, I approve. Granted, that doesn't mean everyone does, but that’s perfectly fine - to each his/her own. Really quickly, however, let me address the J. Scott Campbell comments about the new duds. I encourage you to read his whole take on the subject, since context is always a powerful thing, but here is the part I wanted to highlight. (After this post was ready to go, the original comments on Facebook have become unavailible for some reason, so I've linked to the Bleeding Cool article which covers a lot of what he said). Here is a part of what he said.

shoulder pads, especially big bulky metal ones NEVER look good on women. Everything about them is unfeminine and lacks style. No grace to this approach at all.
And on a side note, I find the continued knee-jerk reaction to internet message board critics demands to keep female heroines covered from head to toe in fabric an overreaction. She’s an Amazon Warrior, she’s NOT in the *Taliban!

Okay, granted, he could have found a better example than the Taliban to use, so that’s on him. I did understand the point he was trying to make however, but I have to disagree. I’m all about having femininity still remain part of her costume and identity, and let us remember we are talking about superheroes here, so it doesn't have to remain staunchly in reality. That does not mean, however, that a female superhero can’t actually be covered with armor that maybe could withstand a punch or two, and doesn’t treat her solely as a superpowered Playboy bunny. Showing skin is fine, I have no problem with that, but this idea that having a hero’s legs and arms covered is tantamount to making them join a convent is kind of outlandish and more than a little silly. Contrary to what some people say, there is actually a middle ground, and its a bit easier to find than, say, Narnia.

Update: Since then, he has added some additional comments, as well as posted a quick sketch up. Here is the pic and his comments below.

 

I’ve been informed by many on Twitter this weekend that we can no longer handle THIS kind of Wonder Woman any more. Are they right..?
* Different, updated, but still recognizable as the multi-decades-long icon that she is ✓
* Authentic visual connection to her Grecian/Roman Amazonian culture and background ✓
* Americana infused such as the use of Red White And Blue, Eagle and Stars ✓
* Minimal arm protection thus making her abilities to deflect bullets with only the skillfull use of two small bracelets all the more impressive, as it should be! ✓
* Tasteful level of exposed skin to show off womanly athletic form without resorting to cleavage or thong etc... ✓
* Unencumbered shoulder area for easy twirling of lasso ✓
* Color-scheme bright, uplifting, and positive without excessive dark blackened in areas (well, imagine that it would be!) ✓
* Mild resemblance to Cobie Smulders (ok, I added that one in for me! wink emoticon ✓
Forgive the awkward pose. It's a bit tough putting her into action without covering her costume up. smile emoticon

He makes some good points, and there is nothing wrong with all of those things, but I guess the true point is its also okay to have her in something that doesn't more resemble an armored up bathing suit than an actual suit made for combat. Both are fine, and you don't have to have it exclusively one side or the other. I don't view it as a knee jerk reaction to feminists or to a PG audience or any other trite branding you would like to slap on it, I just see it as progress.

All right, so now that that whole thing is out of the way, here are a few new looks and designs from the artist community that are all over the map stylistically, but still rank among my favorites for various reasons.

Let's get started with one that suffers from those dreaded shoulder pads.

Artist: Rahzzah

Of course when I say "dreaded," I say so in jest, as I think they flow quite smoothly with the rest of this slickly produced redesign. The prevalence of the gold and silver in the armor is contrasted nicely with the various hues of red and just the right pop of blue. That skirt design is probably my favorite of the ones I’ve seen, and I love the patches of black used on the legs. The sword and short hair don’t hurt either, but even with long hair this would be a fantastic costume. Love this immensely, and while slightly impractical, the shoulder pads don’t take away from this one bit. In fact, they enhance it.

Artist: Meredith McClaren

Now to something a bit more out of the box. Meredith’s artwork is a sight to behold; it's just so fluid and full of personality, and her take on Wonder Woman is no different. Directly opposed to the previous medieval-esque armor, Meredith’s take is more of a jumpsuit, but it's so well done and way more practical than some of the outfits she’s been known to sport in the past. Not for everybody, rest assured, but I count myself as a fan.

Artist: The Mirrorball Man

This redesign really skews a bit younger and more fashionable than a straight up superhero costume typically does. I like how the gold is implemented into the costume, as well as how uncomplicated it is. Sometimes cleaner and simpler is better. I would love to see something like this used for Wonder Girl, but the current version of Cass doesn't exactly fit with a look like this.

Artist: Adrian Wilkins

Diana is a warrior, and I love costumes that highlight that. With Adrian Wilkins' design, there is no mistaking that this is someone you don’t want to mess with. I could completely see this being used at some point, perhaps with some polish on the arm and elbow armor. I greatly prefer the Assassin’s Creed-like gauntlet that holds her short sword, and wish that would be implemented into the current version instead of the current gold blades, and hip belts are seemingly everywhere, but the fact is they work really well, so I'm not complaining.

Artist: Alexiel April

Okay, so this one doesn’t really add any coverage so to speak, aside from the cape, but man, how cool is that cape!

Actually, there is more to like here. Alexiel’s style is wonderfully different, and I would love to see her take a full-on stab at pretty much any DC character. The muted stars here work much better for me than the standard bright white ones that seem to always be on Wonder Woman’s trunks, and the slick black gauntlets couldn’t look cooler. I don’t necessarily understand the purpose of the taped up arms and hands here, but can’t argue that they work with the rest of the look. Granted, that is how half of the bad costumes of the 90s got past an editor, but that is neither here nor there (“No Joe, they don’t serve a purpose, but look how cool that 8 bladed yellow helmet looks on the page!” “Okay Phil, let's do it!”).

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that is exactly how some of those meetings went.

Artist: Happy Mutt (David Paget)

Probably the best balance between the movie version of the costume and the current (pre new costume) New 52 suit is this redesign courtesy of David Paget. I always liked the current New 52 design from the waist up, but this costume addresses my few complaints with it. Surrounding the underwear trunks with a pteruges style skirt and actually blending it in with her torso armor makes this costume a top choice, and the black leggings help make the blue and red on the costume pop more.

Artist: Florian Pichon

Going away from the full armor is this lovely redesign by Florian Pichon, which goes for sleekness and agility over defense. Even though it covers a great deal of her upper body, there is still a flirtatiousness to it without it crossing into gratuitous territory. The detail work on the boots and the red gloves are nice additions, and again the blue shoulder pads don't take anything away from the suit's slick look.

Artist: Nebezial (Stjepan Sejic)

Fan favorite artist Nebezial always gives his superhero recreations some personality, and in this case, I think the best way to describe it and the outfit is pure badass. She could take on an army without breaking a sweat, and her armor looks completely capable of making sure she comes out unscathed. I absolutely love the leg armor he made, as well as how he implemented the eagle into her shoulder pads (again, not a detriment), and the long Roman style skirt completes the Amazon warrior's keen look.

Artist: Protokitty (Lynne Yoshii)

This one doesn’t redesign the wheel, but like another entry further down the list, it makes a few subtle changes that make quite a difference. The pants remind me of the David E. Kelly series costume, but not in a bad way. The costume was not the problem with that series after all. I like the idea of shin guards instead of prototypical boots, and the small star spangled cape actually adds a lot of motion to the suit, and would look great in fight scenes if it were used.

Also, can we make that axe a regular thing? It's pure awesome.

Artist: MysteryMing (Ming Doyle)

With a prominent Greek influence throughout, this costume is considerably unique. Ming’s use of the stars is by far my favorite part, and the outfit walks the line beautifully between elegance, royalty, and power. Diana would be right at home at a meeting at the U.N. or in the middle of New Jersey throwing down with Circe. Its just so different, and I love it.  

Artist: Pryce14 (Jamal Campbell)

Last but certainly not least is this take on WW by Jamal Campbell, which takes the current New 52 iteration of the costume and just so slightly tweaks a few things to make it a far better uniform. For starters I always prefer this version of the costume with pants (originally she was slated to have them, but then that plan was nixed, then brought back, then nixed again), so that’s a plus. He also kept the silver armor, but added a few accents of gold throughout, and it works really well here. The extension of the suit underneath the armor is far more practical than the strapless “how the heck does that stay up” breast armor she currently sports, and I like the implementation of the leather skirt around her waist. Not a huge overhaul, but proof that just a few changes can make a world of difference.

All right, well that is it for me. Of course these are just some of my favorites, so if you have any cool takes on the costume you've seen around the way, make sure to post them in the comments. If you're interested, you can find the Costume Closet on Nightwing here. 

GeekTyrant Homepage