Fff Results Post #101—Super-Laundry

Five For Friday #101 Results

On Friday afternoon, participating CR readers were asked to "Name Two Costumes You Like, Two You Hate, and One You'd Wear Yourself." This was a topic suggested by Eric Reynolds. Here are the results.

*****



Tom Spurgeon

1. Sub-Mariner's swim trunks -- nothing speaks to any character's personality more than the fact Namor keeps showing up for fistfights wearing only a Speedo
2. Howard the Duck's suit -- he looks 90 percent not like the character when they lose the tie; plus: pantsless
3. Captain Ultra -- Makes me want to become a super-villain... dedicated to kicking ass of this guy's designer
4. The Phantom -- Ghost Who Sweats
5. Mr. O'Malley -- Mittens!

*****



James Langdell

1. Dr. Strange -- Whatever he wears, on or off the astral plane, looks great.
2. Gentleman Ghost -- The costume wears itself.
3. Venom -- The costume wears itself, but not in a good way.
4. Aquaman -- Whatever outfit (even if it happened to be the fine classic Aquaman look) that replaced the amazing Craig Hamilton's mini-series costume.
5. Talky Tawny -- Great suits! I want one!

*****



Sean T. Collins

Like:
1. Spider-Man's black costume. Not only is it cool-looking, it makes a lot more sense than his normal costume, because spiders are black, not red and blue.
2. Batman's black and gray costume (esp. from The Dark Knight Returns). Not only is it cool-looking, it makes a lot more sense than his normal costume, because bats are black and gray, not blue and gray.
Hate:
3. Blue Wolverine-hair underwear-monkey Beast. This is kind of more of a look than a costume, but it's really the underwear that makes this the crappiest costume ever. Cat/Cocteau Beast is vastly superior even in his John Cassaday wrestling trunks, let alone his Frank Quitely leather gear.
4. Penance, aka "Speedball the Cenobite." Besides taking a great, crazy, chipper Steve Ditko design and ruining it for the sake of grim'n'gritty emo nonsense, it doesn't even work as a costume. How the fuck does he see out of his mask? It has no eye holes! Did no one bother to point that out?
Would wear myself:
5. The Punisher's T-shirt, black jeans, and trenchcoat look. Hell, from about 11th grade onward, I wore it about every third day!

*****




Tom Bondurant

Like:
1. Silver Age Green Lantern -- simple and flexible. Good for all shapes and sizes.
2. Original-version Robin, short pants, pixie boots, and all. Hey, it lasted 50 years (including 3 TV seasons) without a radical redesign.
Hate:
3. Jericho (original version, in case it's been redesigned lately). Muttonchop sideburns or not, that's a hideous outfit. It belongs in a Mardi Gras parade.
4. The early-'90s Sue Richards MILF Special with the thigh-high boots and boob-window "4" symbol (see, e.g., the cover of FF #375).
Would wear:
5. The Shadow's hat/cape/suit/scarf combo. Couldn't pull off the laugh, though.

*****



David Gallaher

1. Batman -- He looks scary, gothic, and you know ... like a bat.
2. Nova -- The bucket helmet is so iconic. And you can't go wrong with that old school costume.
3. Wolverine -- Real wolverines aren't yellow and blue - and they don't have stripes.
4. Spider-Man -- The red and blue duds are terrible. When was the last time you saw a bright red and blue spider?
5. Jack Knight -- Practical and stylish. One of the best costumes in recent history.

*****



Valerie D'Orazio

Blue & Yellow Wolverine : Only Logan can work a color combination like that.
Destiny From The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Elegant mask looks like something out of Modigliani.
Rage: The mask was uncool before Luchadores were cool.
Moondragon: Just...no.
Squirrel Girl: That might be my San Diego costume next year.

*****



Gil Roth

Costumes I like
* Black Lightning (original) -- Puffy sleeves, collar open to the waist, and a mask that had an afro-wig attached to it. If only he had the Luke Cage chain-belt.
* Doctor Doom -- All biznass. Plus, he always carried a sidearm, even when he was rocking the Power Cosmic.
Costumes I hate
* White Tiger - I would never be able to keep that clean. I mean, I'd probably have it on when I'd go out for wings, and accidentally wipe my hand on my leg or something. Don't get me started. (I don't know how Black Panther kept ash off of his costume, either.)
* Hate Monger -- I mean, that was kinda the point, but still, I think the "H" was over the top.
Costume I'd wear
* Dazzler -- But only if I was going to a Scissor Sisters show. Since I'm not gay, I'll have to go with the original Mister Terrific, because his tunic had a curtain drawing back on the words "FAIR PLAY."

*****



Nat Gertler

Costumes I love:
1. Silver Surfer. Really, just underwear and polish
2. Phantom Stranger, ever ready for a love-in
Costumes I hate
3. Clark Kent. If the goal is to fit in and pass as normal, your suit shouldn't be bright blue.
4. Elektra. If your costume is designed to make you stand out among the ninja, you ain't thinking like a ninja.
One I'd wear:
5. Wonder Man's safari jacket

*****



Sean Kleefeld

1. Silver Age Aquaman. Orange scales and green leotards. With fins. Love it!
2. The Invincible Man. I don't know what it is about this outfit, but I've always thought it was really cool and sorely under-utilized. This is why Kirby was King.
3. Plastic Man. Long sleeves, but no pants? An open chest and back? And what the heck is the deal with those bee stripes? That's just wrong all over.
4. Any superhero costume which consisted of wearing a leather jacket over their old uniform in the 1990s. Not because the visual effect was always horrendous, but its intent almost certainly was.
5. Neal Adams' Green Arrow. 'Cuz I think I could actually pull it off.

*****



Ben Schwartz

Two I like:
* Junior Tracy: spiked-haircut, proto-Doc Martens, Goodwill jackets, bright check knickers, and the black socks make JT the first ska-punk in Chicago by decades.
* Brainiac 5: (as drawn by Curt Swan or John Forte) wears a simple purple jumpsuit, matching yellow boots and force-shield belt, and NO annoying, merch-bait logo on his chest. It's both a leisure and an action-wear outfit that shows the one thing DC Comics got right about the future is that one day everyone will wear running suits in public.
Two I hate:
* Ditko's The Creeper: red-boa, fur-cuffed gloves and boots, green trunks (striped no less) -- if Ditko's rule about costumes was that you should be able to recognize the character from any part of it shown, then Mission Accomplished: this cross-dressing circus geek is spottable getting out of the clown car from miles away.
* Zatanna: Top hat, fish nets, and white pumps on a superhero? Whether she has the day-time bikini top or the Alex Ross formal evening wear cummerbund, she should be tap dancing singing telegrams, not fighting evil. Criminals, if I understand my DC Universe, are a cowardly, superstitious lot -- not a Disney Channel-approved variety show audience. She should be fighting crime with a ventriloquist's dummy.
One I'd wear:
* Mr. Tawny: a suit comfortable enough for a tiger, that's for me!

*****



J. Caleb Mozzocco

Two I like:
1. Ragman's
2. The Red Bee's (Laugh at his trained bees if you want, but anyone willing to fight crime while dressed like that is obviously one tough customer)
Two I hate:
3. Penance's (i.e. "Dark Speedball")
4. Gambit's
One I'd wear myself:
5. Spider-Man villain The Grizzly's (but probably just around the house)

*****



Eric Reynolds

1. Silver Surfer -- like Namor, almost all-nude, but unlike Namor, also covered in silver body paint (and carrying a surfboard). Point, Surfer.
2. Mr. Miracle -- More Kirby, I just always loved those colors as a kid.
3. Tie: Captain America's motorcycle helmet as worn by Reb Brown/Matt Salinger's plastic ears as Cap.
4. Iron Man during his short-lived 70s nose phase.
5. Brother Power, the Geek.

*****



Chris Randle

1. The Question -- The most autobiographical superhero costume ever, Grant Morrison's included
2. Hawkman -- Kubert rendition only
3. Rainbow Raider -- Failed artist; so was his designer, because this guy managed to look stupid even by Flash villain standards
4. The Spectre -- I love the character, but not those little green booties
5. Black Jack -- It's the "huge quasi-mohawk + Victorian detective" combo

*****



Chris Duffy, age 40

1. Doctor Strange -- Ditko version with cloak of levitation. Perfect fit of character to costume.
2. Captain Triumph -- less is more.
3. Baron Zemo. I don't feel afraid of him. Do you?
4. Giant Man. Any of them. Sorry, guys!
5. Hutch Owen. I've got the hat already.

*****



Pete Duffy, age 9

1. Spider-Man. Because they can't see your eyes and you can see theirs.
2. Captain Underpants -- "Hey, I like to run around in underwear, once in a while."
3. Batman. If you're trying to be sneaky, don't put a big yellow sign of a bat on your shirt.
4. Wonder Woman. If she was from a different country, don't you think she would not be wearing red, white, and blue?
5. The Chameleon. It's one of the only suits that actually HAS a power.

*****
 
posted 8:20 pm PST | Permalink
 

---

 
Daily Blog Archives
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
 
Full Archives