Comic book films- Costume research

Costumes are one of the most important things a superhero has. Costumes hides thier secret identities.

Superman

Captain America

Thier are many different examples. One of the most famous superhero's, Superman, has many costume conventions. Despite the fact that Superman is one of the few heros that has no mask with his costume (almost all others have masks). However, his costume contains many other stereotypical conventions of the superhero costume. His costume is very tight-fitting and colourful, with his symbol on his chest. His costume contains boots and a cape, something wich many other superheros have.


Main conventions of the superhero costume:

• Two extremes-either very brightly coloured or very dark.
• Usually have a mask and/or cape.
• Unless they have a cape, they do not often have loose-fitting costumes.
• MUST hide thier secret identity.
• Some come with weapons or gadgets (Batman, Iron Man)
•  Symbol/logo somewhere

Batman

Some comic writers/artists break the conventions of the traditional costume in order to make their characters stand out. A key example of this can be found in the work of Comic book writer Alan Moore. In two of Moore's most famous works, V For Vendetta & Watchmen, both feature normal people as the heros, creating delusions of thier own abilities and popularity. The most memorable character in Watchmen is Rorscarch (below), who's only traditional costume is the mask. Rorscarch is not a traditional hero, or even a hero at all, more of an outlaw vigilante who dosen't let little things like the law stop him from delivering his own brand of justice. A similer story appears in V For Vendetta, in which the lead character, V, a mysterious figue who dresses like Guy Fawlks, attempts to overthrow the dictatatorship of his future by blowing up the houses of parlement. Whilst neither of these are actually heros, Moore rights them as underdogs who believe that justice must be done no matter what the cost. To make them appear as normal people, Moore gives them only a mask to show them a "Superheros".

Rorscarch

Spiderman

V