- Lots of early superheroes made it a tradition to wear
what appears to be underwear on the outside of their pants,
most notably, Superman, who has been made fun of
for the fashion choice seemingly forever.
How exactly did this catch on in the first place?
(heavy metal music)
Welcome to Comic Misconceptions.
I'm Scott, and this is part 2 in our 4-part series
exploring the history behind the design
of comic book superheroes.
If you want to check out the rest of the videos
in this series, I've got them all linked up right here
in the corner or in the description down below.
In this video, we'll be learning the answer
to the age-old question, "Why in the world do superheroes
"wear underwear on the outside of their pants?"
First of all, we should probably correct
the terminology issue.
The garments in question aren't called underwear.
I've never known underwear to have belt loops.
The proper term is trunks,
and they were specifically designed to be worn over tights
like superheroes wear.
They were inspired yet again by circus strong men.
And why did they wear trunks?
We've already talked about how they wore tights
that granted them a full range of motion
when performing, but those tights
weren't the most concealing things to wear.
To allow themselves just a little bit more modesty,
they covered up with an extra layer of trunks
over their tights.
This became a very iconic image.
These trunks were associated with strength and power,
so it's really not that surprising to think
that artists were trying to convey the might
of their comic book heroes were drawn to this look.
Get it?
'Cause they were artists, drawn to it, umm.
You can see this plainly in Batman's origin,
where he displays the exact visual iconography
of weightlifters and strongmen,
including those famous trunks.
For Superman specifically, some have speculated
that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators
of the Man of Steel, drew inspiration for their character
from a specific circus strongman
named Siegmund Zishe Breitbart.
And this is likely for a few reasons,
not the least of which is that his show was advertised
as "The Superman of the Ages" and passed
through the hometowns of Siegel and Shuster
when they were children.
There were also some really interesting practical reasons
for including the trunks on heroes.
Due to restrictions in the printing technology
of the time, artists had to come up with ways
to make their characters as clear as possible,
even in very tiny panels.
Having distinct lines that separated the pelvis
from the rest of the body helped the readers more easily
make out the details of the characters.
Changes in color around specific areas, like the hands,
the feet, the waist, the chest, all helped the characters
stand out on the page, which allowed for readers
to instantly single them out and follow them
from panel to panel with ease.
This is something that we don't even have
to worry about today thanks to much better print quality
and detailed art work in modern comics.
I want to be clear that Superman was absolutely
not the first comic book hero to be drawn with trunks,
but he absolutely is the most recognized for it.
While other heroes kept upgrading their costumes
over the years and slowly but surely got rid
of their trunks, Superman's remained a staple
of his costume design, that is until these last few years.
Both the new 52 and the latest live-action DC film
starring the Man of Steel have decidedly done away
with the red trunks.
And, to be fair, Zack Snyder said that he looked
at hundreds of designs that featured them,
but it just didn't fit with the world
they were trying to build.
And, as for the new 52 reboot of the DC Comics Universe,
Jim Lee redesigned Superman's costume,
and it also featured a big blue boyscout sans trunks.
He explained that he was simply trying to reduce the costume
down to its essential elements.
By taking away the trunks, you could still tell
that it was Superman, thanks to his cape and his S emblem
and the overall color scheme.
It has become harder and harder
to modernize superhero trunks as the iconography
of circus strongmen isn't something
we can all identify today as much
as Siegel and Shuster could, but there are still masses
of people who believe that comic book heroes,
especially Superman, should don the trunks once more
as the design has cemented itself in comic book culture.
I want to know what you guys think.
If you prefer Superman's classic look
with the famous red trunks, click right here.
If you like his updated looks in either the new 52
or the live-action movies that don't feature
the scarlet speedo, click right here.
When you vote, you'll be taken back to our channel page
where you can watch some more
of our entertaining comic book videos
that explore the history, science, and philosophy
behind your favorite superheroes.
And, if you like what you see, you can always subscribe
so you don't miss the other videos
in our superhero design series.
Vote now: underwear or no underwear.
I think I have a pretty good idea
which one you'll probably choose.