Hey guys , I’m Kya and I respect the classics.
I mean I’m always going to be team Batman but I gotta give it up to Superman.
The Bat is dead. Bury it.
Without the Big Blue Boyscout, the industry wouldn’t even exist today.
The Last Son of Krypton basically gave birth to the entire superhero genre,
And his impact has been felt across every medium.
So today on ‘Yellow Spandex,’ I want to take a look at
Superman’s Live Action Evolution
starting with
The 1940s.
Two years after Superman debuted in ‘Action Comics’ #1,
an obscure actor named Ray Middleton had the honor of being the first to bring a superhero to life.
On July 3rd, 1940, DC Comics held an exhibition at the New York World’s Fair,
where they showed off the “Man of Tomorrow” in the flesh.
For the first ever live action superhero costume, they didn’t do a bad job.
It’s knitted together out of wool and it’s a little baggy since, y’know, spandex wouldn’t be invented until 1958.
And even though Supes was a big hit from the get go, apparently DC was worried no one would recognize him.
So they added his name above the plain-looking “S” on his chest.
Kinda redundant, but I mean, today Jared Leto’s got “JOKER” literally tattooed across his stomach,
So I guess branding has always been kind of important.
The World’s Fair appearance was a one-shot deal,
And it would take eight more years for the Last Son of Krypton to show up in film,
in a 1948 ‘Superman’ serial starring Kirk Alyn.
That's about 2,000 miles away. I can be there in 30 seconds!
It’s a big step up from the last costume,
with a better fitting material and nice ribbed cuffs like a comfy sweater.
It’s got a pretty short felt cape and cool leather boots that lace up the sides.
We also get a nice little origin for the suit,
Here's a uniform I made for you out of the blankets you were wrapped in when we found you.
It's a strange kind of cloth that resists both fire and acid. I hope it will protect you always.
Well, thank you, Mother.
Also, since the serials were shot in black and white,
The suit was designed in monotone grey and brown for better contrast.
It’s the same trick used in the much more iconic ‘50s TV series
'The Adventures of Superman.'
After the first two seasons, the show switched to color film,
Which means this is the first time audiences got to see Kal El in living color.
The Adventures of Superman! Fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!
Unfortunately, star George Reeves wasn’t quite as buff as Kirk Alyn,
But a t-shirt with rubber muscles worn underneath the suit turned him into a convincing Man of Steel.
Beyond that, not much has changed since 1948.
The new laceless boots zipped up from behind,
and the longer cape was placed further back on Reeves’ shoulders.
All in all, it’s just an accurate and much beloved interpretation of the classic costume.
Just like the suit worn by
Christopher Reeves
In 1978.
For Richard Donner’s blockbuster ‘Superman’ movie,
Oscar-winning costume designer Yvonne Blake wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel.
In terms of faithfulness, you’re not gonna get much closer than the Reeves suit.
It was made out of synthetic polyester instead of wool or cotton,
giving it a sleeker look that clung tight to the actor’s build.
Even though Blake created the costume with a muscle suit in mind, Reeves refused to wear it.
Instead, he embarked on a grueling bodybuilding program under the tutelage of David Prowse,
A.K.A., the big burly Brit in the Darth Vader suit.
During the period I had him, I took him for 170 pounds when he started, to 212 when he was in his suit.
With his new Superbod, Reeve completely vanished into the role.
Yes, I'm here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.
The big chest logo, taller boots and high-cut trunks created a look that was larger than life.
When you look at him, you don’t see a guy in a costume.
He’s just… Superman.
It’s not 100% perfect though.
The original color interfered with the blue screen effects needed to make a man fly,
So they used an extremely light blue color that almost looks green in certain shots.
And the artificial fabric tore easily and drank up sweat,
which means there aren’t too many screen-worn suits left today.
A while back, one costume was appraised for $250,000.
Granted, it was on ‘Pawn Stars,’ but hey, best we can do.
After the Reeve series, Superman went through a turbulent phase in the
90s.
While he was busy dying and growing a sweet mullet in the comics,
The biggest thing going outside of the books was the TV series ‘Lois and Clark.’
How do I find you?
I'll be around.
Its costume didn’t stray far from the O.G. design,
although the colors are much darker and shinier,
That’s because, in a surprisingly rare occurrence on ‘Yellow Spandex,’ this suit is actually made of spandex!
My mother made it for me.
Thankfully, Dean Cain was one of the beefier on-screen Supermen so he filled it out just fine.
I just can’t with that hair, though,
And those latex cowboy boots ain’t doing it for me boo.
Meanwhile, on the big screen, Supes was having a hard time getting a reboot off the ground.
Tim Burton’s edgy take on Superman died in development hell,
So we never get to see Clark battle a giant spider in the third act.
But there’s plenty of concept art depicting a twisted, spiky black suit.
This thing would be too gloomy for Edward Scissorhands, let alone a Kansas farmboy like Clark.
There was also going to be a glowy power suit used when Supes was recuperating from a bad case of death.
But as for the classic red-and-blue, it could have been a lot worse.
It's like a child's blanket...
A recent documentary unearthed a ton of costume tests with star Nicholas Cage,
and minus the terrible Tommy Wiseau hair, the suit itself isn’t that bad.
I love the sparkle. It has the imagination of the child in the sparkle, guys.
It’s sculpted out of latex rubber like Burton’s Batsuits,
But aside from the red banana hammock, I think it… kinda works?
It wouldn’t have looked out of place in the darker superhero landscape of the ‘90s.
As we entered the
2000s,
We got a new live-action TV series called ‘Smallville’
Literally the whole point of this show was that Clark would never wear a costume.
“No flights, no tights.”
But that didn’t stop them from hinting at it throughout.
In one episode, he dons a sick Matrix trench coat over a black Superman t-shirt,
And in the last season, “The Blur” wore an ugly leather jacket that looks like a leftover from Ben Affleck’s Daredevil.
In the last episode, we finally get a glimpse of the classic costume, but too little, too late.
In 2006, Bryan Singer attempted to continue Christopher Reeves’ legacy with the followup ‘Superman Returns.’
And while the movie is boring as shit, they actually tried a lot of different things with the suit.
The smaller chest symbol was made of molded rubber instead of being sewn into the fabric,
And the shield was incorporated more throughout the costume.
It’s on his belt and the soles of his boots,
And the special blue fabric uses it as a pattern for more texture.
I know that Mrs. Kent made the suit in the mythology. Obviously, that's suspended here.
About the only place it’s not is the back of his cape, which is lame.
Overall, it’s still pretty close to the classic look.
I can’t say the same about the
Modern Era.
Let’s talk ‘Man of Steel.’
You think you can threaten my mother?!
Designer Michael Wilkinson created the most alien Superman costume ever.
From the armored chain mail texture to the metal cuffs and silver piping,
There’s no way Martha put this thing together.
Thank you, Mother.
The muted colors worked with Zack Snyder’s dark, desaturated style.
I’m not the biggest fan, but I can deal.
I have a harder time accepting the lack of red trunks.
I get it, they’re dated.
There aren’t many Victorian strongmen running around anymore.
But there are better ways to go about it.
Like, Superman still has a belt buckle despite… not having any pants to hold up.
He doesn’t even have a belt, it’s just a little metal circle floating above his Superjunk.
It looks like they took a lot of cues from Jim Lee’s New 52 redesign,
Which dumped the trunks for angled lines throughout the suit.
That also seemed to be the inspiration for Kal’s costume in ‘Supergirl.’
I love how the cape is connected by two gold clasps on his shoulders,
Though I’m not the biggest fan of the clunky red belt.
But it’s better than the metal tribal tats built into the DCEU costume.
Hopefully Supes gets a makeover in ‘Justice League.’
Wait, what am I talking about?
Everyone knows Superman is totally, definitely, for real dead and is absolutely not gonna show up at any point.
But I’m sure he’ll return someday,
and when he does he’s gonna have another new costume with plenty of iffy changes.
But if you want my advice?
Stick with the classics.
When it comes to Superman, they got it right the first time.