Suit-Up of Destiny

"Zed: Let's put it on.

J: Put what on?

Zed: The last suit you'll ever wear."

- Men in Black

You just accepted the Call to Adventure, and you have everything ready. You just finished your Training From Hell, you know Kung Fu, and you have your trusty katana. But something is missing... wait, are you going to fight in jeans and a T-shirt? Hell no! That's not in The Chosen One's Dress Code! It's time for the Suit Up of Destiny!

Many heroes are not seen in their street clothes, but you can't have an origin story without the character finding and putting on his trademark wardrobe for the first time. This moment is very important, because these very clothes will soon become a part of the hero's identity.

Common in super hero movies and video game series that involve trademark clothing. The hero putting on his trademark clothing is exciting and is actually looked forward to. Without them, the hero is not who he is suppose to be. Can lead to a What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome? moment. The best way to know this trope is in play is when you can say "These clothes are going to be very important in this character's life" without guessing. A Lock and Load Montage may be included if heavy weaponry is part of the uniform.

Compare and Contrast Unnecessary Makeover, where a girl may get an important makeover around the end of the movie, but no one really thought it was... necessary.

Compare and Contrast Transformation Sequence, in that there may actually be a sequence, however, it only appears once and the sequence may never happen again until a new costume is revealed.

Anime and Manga

 * This occurs in Bleach a few times;
 * Ichigo in the first episode after gaining Soul Reaper powers for the first time..
 * Ishida when he reveals he's going to go to Soul Society with Ichigo to rescue Rukia (lampshaded by having Ichigo question his fashion sense)..
 * And finally, as part of a reveal, this is used to show that was a Soul Reaper all along.
 * Code Geass episode 4, where Lelouch first dons the iconic Zero costume.

Film -- Live Action
And it's even given an ironic echo in the sequel when J has to track down K and bring him out of retirement; "J: It's time to put it on.
 * Iron Man got to pull this off three times. Once with the armor cobbled together in a cave, once with the prototype suit that Tony first went flying in, and finally with the first red and gold model.
 * Men in Black. The scene where J puts on his Men in Black uniform for the first time, provides the page quote.

K: Put what on?

J: The last suit you'll ever wear...um...again."


 * Dragon Ball Evolution when Goku finally puts on his iconic orange gi.
 * Name a superhero movie where this doesn't happens.
 * Spider-Man

Literature

 * In Children of the Lens, when Clarrissa Kinnison finally brings herself to wear the Gray Lensman uniform she's entitled to.

Live Action Television

 * Clark Kent tried to have such a moment in the Smallville Season 10 opener "Lazarus" but it was aborted by.
 * Happens for real in "Finale", only we never actually see Clark Kent in the Superman suit.
 * In Doctor Who, we have the end of "The Eleventh Hour," wherein the freshly-regenerated Doctor gives an awesome Badass Boast while choosing a new tie.
 * The final flashback of the How I Met Your Mother episode "Game Night", aka "Barney Begins". Bonus points in that it's not only the first time Barney suits up, but also the origin of his Catch Phrase "Suit up!"

Real Life

 * This happens in Real Life military personnel put on there uniforms for the first time.
 * Graduation and Wedding gowns also count, even though they are (usually) only worn one time.

Video Games

 * Ezio is a perfect example in Assassin's Creed II when he puts on his father's robes and weapons for the first time. He never changes clothes for the next twenty years.
 * Link is doing this increasingly often in the Zelda games.
 * First started in The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker when Link is given the Hero's Clothes for his birthday. It's not very exciting.
 * Corrected in The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess when Link first returns to his human form and is revealed to be The Chosen One. Link simply stands there, but the camera action and the music made standing there awesome.
 * Also of note is that he suited up by transforming into a wolf in one outfit, and de-transforming into the destined one. Talk about You Can't Fight Fate; he didn't put on the outfit, the outfit put on him.
 * Played with in The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks. Link starts out in an engineer's uniform and only changes his clothes to blend in with the guards prowling around the castle. Unlike Wind Waker Link, he doesn't seem to have much of an opinion about his new look. Zelda, on the other hand, isn't so crazy about it.
 * Performed in a minor Moment of Awesome by Jango Fett in Star Wars Bounty Hunter. After being captured and tortured by a Dark Jedi, he's rescued by Zam Wessel and, once he drives off the Jedi and checks on the injured Zam, Fett has a badass Suit Up scene before he finishes the hunt.
 * Issac has a pretty cool one in Dead Space 2 when he buys his first engineering suit, changing out of the straightjacket that he woke up in. After the suit up, he smiles slightly and the player knows that it's finally time to get down to business.
 * The Medic from Team Fortress 2 does this in the Meet the Medic video. He pulls a Hero Shot right afterwards, as if he wasn't already awesome enough.

Web Comic

 * In The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, Dr. McNinja does this after.

Web Original

 * While Dr. Horrible technically already has a costume, the sequence of him dramatically donning still has this vibe to it.
 * In Maximilian's series on Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Assist Me, Wesker does a very Badass one here.

Western Animation

 * In Batman Mask of the Phantasm, we see flashbacks where Bruce tried a normal outfit and a ski mask. The thugs weren't impressed. Later, only after the love of his life disappears, do we see him constructing and putting on the Bat-outfit. It is a moment so Epic that even Alfred is taken aback and slightly frightened! Here, just watch it!