(techno music)
- It's pretty normal for us to instinctively think
that superheroes should wear tights.
But, why?
Doesn't that strike you as a bit odd that we're
totally ok with grown adults zipping about dressed
in bright outfits that hug every part of their body?
Every part?
(rock music)
Welcome to "Comic Misconceptions."
I'm Scott, and this is part one in our four-part series
that explores the history of why comic book
superheroes are designed the way they are.
If you wanna watch the rest of the videos in this series,
I'll put links to them in the corner (dings)
and in the description below.
Today we're taking a look at those classic
Spandex tights, but we won't be looking too carefully
because of, reasons.
Most comic superheroes have, at some point,
worn some kind of skin-tight outfit:
Spider-Man, Superman, the X-Men, the Flash,
other examples, and regardless of whether they
have been explicitly stated to be Spandex tights,
they generally follow the guidelines of being
a very close fitting, typically one-piece suit.
But why do we accept this as the norm?
Well, for some characters it makes sense.
Speedsters like the Flash and Quicksilver need
to have costumes that create as little drag as possible,
same with flying characters and swimming characters
and Spider-Man swinging around New York.
He has to pull himself around up there.
Having an outfit that's tighter fitting can create
less drag than if he wore a loose jacket or something, Ben!
Even "The Amazing Spider-Man" movie showed
a costume with small dimples, which can create
pockets of low-level turbulence that can help
the air wrap around him as he swings,
creating a smaller wake and less drag.
We see this effect with golf balls, that's why
they have dimples.
I made a sports reference!
Proud of me, Dad?
My dad was a nerd, he doesn't care.
This could allow Spider-Man to swing
through the city faster and further while using
less of his own energy to do so.
You might think that a benefit of having
a close-fitting costume would be that it
shows off a hero's incredible physique.
However, Michael Wilkinson, a costume designer
who worked on films like "Man of Steel" and
"Batman very Superman" pointed out that tights are actually
counter-productive to that idea.
Quote, "No matter what incredible shape an actor
"is in, once you put a leotard on them then
"everything is kind of smoothed out, and
"all that fantastic definition they've been working
"so hard at is kind of negated."
Superman's suit in "Man of Steel" had to have
built-in muscle definition so Henry Cavill could
look as ripped as he does normally.
Speaking of Superman, we could always justify
that he and similar characters wear tights because
his costume is inspired by his culture, and who are we
to question the culture of a fictional dead planet?
What about the real world?
What inspired comic book artists to start
drawing super heroes in tights?
Superman and a lot of early super heroes like him
were heavily inspired to wear tights thanks to
circus acrobats and strongmen, who wore tights
so that they could have greater mobility when
performing their stunts and feats while still
covering up and remaining at least a little bit modest.
This makes total sense with comic book superheroes.
They perform incredible feats that necessitate
a wide range of motion.
A hero like Spider-Man is an agile character
who needs his costume to keep up with him.
It wouldn't make much sense to be super-humanly
nimble and then weigh yourself down with
heavy armor that restricts your movements.
However, the very first comic hero to wear a
skin-tight costume was Lee Falk's The Phantom.
Falk himself said he was inspired by the
tight-fitting costume worn by Robin Hood
in movies and plays depicting the character,
and it's absolutely possible that this pioneering
character inspired others to follow suit.
Get it?
It's not the worst pun you're gonna hear in this series.
In recent years, superheroes have been moving
away from tights and towards materials like leather
and body armor or even just a casual outfit,
but there are still heroes like Spider-Man
who I'm sure will always fight crime in some
kind of Spandex leotard and look great doing it.
I'm curious what you guys think.
Do you like that superheroes wear skin-tight
costumes or do you prefer a more realistic,
modern approach to the costume design?
Click here for tights.
Click here for no tights.
When you vote, you'll be taken back to our
channel page, where you can watch some more
of our edutaining comic videos that explore
the history, science and philosophy behind
your favorite superheroes.
If you like what you see, you can always subscribe
so you don't miss the next videos
in our superhero design series.
Go ahead and vote already.
I wanna hear what you guys think, Spandex
or no Spandex?
Choose now.