Man of Steel pics appear online almost daily and rants about the "Super-panties" posted more often than that, I want to start off by stating the following:
This editorial is not another rant about why Superman's suit should be one way or the other.
I am a lifelong Superman fanatic and collector. I have always loved the classic, iconic look of our boy in blue but am EXTREMELY glad to see DC/WB welcome him into the 21st century with a fresh new look. I think rebooting and retelling the exact same story and design with better SFX lacks creativity, originality and loses touch with the times. But that is a completely different topic.
With the latest "new 52" and the Man of Steel reboot, we are witnessing a shift in Superman's origin in an attempt to bring him closer to reality. This is no easy task, but by removing the red briefs and yellow belt in MoS and adding different textures to Superman's suit, they have managed to make him look a lot more alien. I think this is fantastic, but how will they explain where he got it from? Did his mom really sew it for him? Did he draw it in a notebook a la Tobey Maguire?
In my opinion, the best origin would be a Kryptonian bio-suit made from some organic bio-technology, something that every Kryptonian receives on Krypton. His suit should be one of the things that Jor-El sends with Kal-El on his spacecraft. Not already tailored, but in the form of a crystal, capsule or whatever. A suit that creates itself on Kal-El by analyzing his Kryptonian DNA. It would meld itself kind of how the symbiote attaches to Spiderman, but once it is created it is done. No more melding or transformations like symbiote Spidey. He would have his suit, ready for battle. This would be a great way to explain a few things:
- The lineage within the family having their shield on his chest.
- The textures and imperfect lines running down his torso and legs.
- The reason why the suit does not tear in battle, in fires, or at high speeds. The suit would maintain invincibile under a yellow sun because it is derived from Superman's DNA.
- The style/design. Nobody would be held responsible for the design. Not Clark, Martha or anyone else. No more, "why would you make your costume this way?"
- The tailoring, fit to the body and exposing every freakin' muscle fiber.
- It could also lead to a different looking suit in the future. Should his suit somehow be destroyed in battle, he could create another one and the change in detail could relate to the changes in his life.
- Red and blue color. The suit would meld with the man, reading his DNA and personal attributes. A man raised in mid-America Kansas screams red, white and blue. He's already white. :)
However, there is one thing the suit should not create on it's own. Something that not all Kryptonians wear. The red cape. And THAT, my friends, should be the one thing his mother makes for him. Martha would make a cape for her son to show his grandeur and make him a greater symbol. And to make him look a bit more cool when he flies.
These are my thoughts on how his suit's origin should be retold. Critics and friends, do your thing in the comments section. All I ask is if you care to rip my thoughts, provide your own take for comparison.