Spandex vs Regular wear

"Spandex" (the catch-all term for form-fitting attire) has been pretty much the traditional garb of superheroes (especially Western-style) since the beginning of the superhero genre (unfortunately, while it looks great in comics, men in spandex do not seem to translate well to live-action).

Two alternatives to spandex have been...

1. The "natural" look, ie, no formal, fancy costume. What you see is what you get. Examples: Surfer, Hulk.

2. Regular clothing, from traditional garb (eg, DBZ), to street clothes (Superboy, with his tee and jeans), to leather or even paramilitary (movie X-men).

What are your preferences and why? Should superheroes stay with muscle-/curve-showcasing spandex? Is regular clothing better because it's more realistic? But if a character dons regular clothes, does that somehow detract from his/her superheroness (after all, shouldn't a superhero look like a superhero)?

depends, some spandex looks badass and some just looks cheap and nasty,

I dunno if you could call Deadpools costume spandex but it certainly is tight, I think that looks pretty cool,

But I do think the Punisher looks Badass with his "regular" wear.

...Depends on the character.

Spandex seems to work better with a mask than without.

It is all a bit gay though.

Imo Deadpool's suit is like what the Navy Seals wear than Spandex.

Originally posted by Endrict Nuul
Imo Deadpool's suit is like what the Navy Seals wear than Spandex.

yeah it doesn't look like spandex,

more like a tough Kevlar suit of some sort.

Originally posted by ScarletSpeed
depends, some spandex looks badass and some just looks cheap and nasty...

Originally posted by Martian_mind
...Depends on the character.

What characters go better with regular clothing? What characters are better with the natural/non-costume look? (I'm not asking for specific characters per se, eg, Batman, but rather what type of characters, eg, street-levelers).

I'm asking because, in some ways, spandex appears timeless: no matter what real-world fashion may be, the superhero will always be identified by the spandex look. On the other hand, is the spandex look itself dated?

Meh, I say the brighter the spandex the cheaper it looks,

don't get me wrong Superman, Spidey, Batman, The Flash etc all suit it,

I wouldn't say the spandex look is dated, if anything I would say it is pretty modern/futuristic,

I just think certain characters suit a certain type of look,

Blade, Punisher etc all suit the more baggy wear.

For the movies....i say Xmen was bad

Fantastic Four did it right....i think it can be done

Originally posted by Martian_mind
...Depends on the character.

I have to agree. For a multitude of characters it just depends on who is wearing what.

Movie Spider-man and Superman (Roth) looked great in spandex costumes, while the X-Men - who opted for a less "comic booky" appearance - looked all sorts of lame.

Best supersuit translation to live-action: Iron Man.

Originally posted by Mindship
Best supersuit translation to live-action: Iron Man.

I'd say Batman Begins.

Originally posted by ScarletSpeed
I'd say Batman Begins.

I hated - like really, really, hated - Batman's cowl/mask in Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. I think it looks horrendous. I really don't like how the points/ears are on the top of the head and curve inwards instead of going straight up the side. Can't stand it. And the bottom sides of the mask is padded to make it look like Bale as a strong jawline. None if it works for me.

... but the rest of the suit looks great.

Originally posted by srankmissingnin
I hated - like really, really, hated - Batman's cowl/mask in Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. I think it looks horrendous. I really don't like how the points/ears are on the top of the head and curve inwards instead of going straight up the side. Can't stand it. And the bottom sides of the mask is padded to make it look like Bale as a strong jawline. None if it works for me.

... but the rest of the suit looks great.

Yeah to be honest I'm not much of a fan of the mask either.

Originally posted by srankmissingnin
Movie Spider-man and Superman (Roth) looked great in spandex costumes, while the X-Men - who opted for a less "comic booky" appearance - looked all sorts of lame.

But thats why Bryan Singer opted for that look. The actors/actresses looked good I thought when they donned their X-Men costumes..

Originally posted by Mindship
Best supersuit translation to live-action: Iron Man.

Definitely But also I love the brand new Batsuit in The Dark Knight. I'm kind of hoping the comic book Batman will wear something similar

True

Originally posted by ScarletSpeed
I'd say Batman Begins.

I think "spandex" usually works. It's when you start adding things to it that things go awry. Funky helmets, giant boots, goggles, etc.

Costume depends entirely on the character.

Spandex is good for characters that are in the traditional portrayal.
Ostentatious robes work well for mages.
Street clothes works best for "realistic" or "gritty" characters. For supers normal clothing is essentially counter-cultural.

Sometimes you have to accept what the original artist wanted. Who's going to complain about Engineer or Zatanna or Craven?

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Costume depends entirely on the character.

Spandex is good for characters that are in the traditional portrayal.
Ostentatious robes work well for mages.
Street clothes works best for "realistic" or "gritty" characters. For supers normal clothing is essentially counter-cultural.

Sometimes you have to accept what the original artist wanted. Who's going to complain about Engineer or Zatanna or Craven?

I was always fond of FireStorms baggy costume.