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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"I'm not wearing one of those damnfool spandex body-condom things. I haven't got the [[Most Common Superpower|bust]] for it."''
▲[[File:superboy001_8737.jpg|link=Superboy|right]]
|'''Jenny Sparks''', ''[[The Authority]]''}}
Superheroes who couple a typical [[The Cape (trope)|Cape's]] outfit with mundane clothes such as jeans and sneakers. This may also be an attempt to keep a classic design but update (or obscure) an otherwise flashy outfit.▼
▲{{quote|''"I'm not wearing one of those damnfool spandex body-condom things. I haven't got the [[Most Common Superpower|bust]] for it."''|'''Jenny Sparks''', ''[[The Authority]]''}}
The most prominent example is jackets, and most of the characters who wore them were originally the younger set created in the early 90s. [[Marvel Universe]] characters are especially notable for this, although the first popular character to do so may have been [[Animal Man]].{{verify}}▼
▲Superheroes who couple a typical [[The Cape|Cape's]] outfit with mundane clothes such as jeans and sneakers. This may also be an attempt to keep a classic design but update (or obscure) an otherwise flashy outfit.
This page may also contain examples of characters who identify as superheroes, but do not wear a typical costume of any kind, as [[Not Wearing Tights]] is a different trope entirely. (This type, such as the quoted Jenny Sparks, tend to have an set civilian outfit that does the same job.) See [[Coat, Hat, Mask]] for the minimum amount of spandex needed for this trope to apply. Also, [[Spandex, Latex, or Leather]] for other issues involving costuming.▼
▲The most prominent example is jackets, and most of the characters who wore them were originally the younger set created in the early 90s. [[Marvel Universe]] characters are especially notable for this, although the first popular character to do so may have been [[Animal Man]].
▲This page may also contain examples of characters who identify as superheroes, but do not wear a typical costume of any kind, as [[Not Wearing Tights]] is a different trope entirely. (This type, such as the quoted Jenny Sparks, tend to have an set civilian outfit that does the same job.) See [[Coat, Hat, Mask]] for the minimum amount of spandex needed for this trope to apply. Also, [[Spandex, Latex, or Leather]] for other issues involving costuming.
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Gantz]]'', 8th grader Joichiro Nishi wears pants and a hooded sweatshirt over his black combat jumpsuit.
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** Similar attire was adopted by Mr. A and [[The Question]] in the late 1960s (both characters were created by the legendary [[Steve Ditko]], and bear a few more similarities to each other besides their mode of dress), and later still by Rorschach of ''[[Watchmen]]'', a [[Captain Ersatz]] of The Question.
*** Well, according to [[Alan Moore]] he's equal parts The Question AND Mr. A. Basically he's Ditko incarnate.
** ''[[The Green Hornet]]'' and Kato, in the 1960s TV series, were also dressed in normal clothes and a mask; in Kato's case, it was a chauffeur's uniform.
*** The chauffeur's uniform for Kato goes back to the 1940s movie serials ... which makes one wonder why no one realized Britt Reid's manservant/chauffeur looked just like the Green Hornet's aide.
**** [[Fridge Brilliance|Or any one of the other hundred of butlers, doormen, or chauffeurs hanging around the city.]]
** The Green Hornet debuted on radio 17 days prior to the debut of the Phantom and long before Action Comics#1. The public thinks of him as a criminal for profit/racketeer, not a hero.
** In the '40s, the original Sandman's ([[The Sandman|no relation]]) original costume was a suit, [[Badass Longcoat|Long Coat]], fedora and
*** For a brief period towards the end of [[The Golden Age of Comic Books]], Sandman was [[Executive Meddling|executive meddled]] into garish yellow-and-purple tights. This was generally regarded as a [[Dork Age]], including by the character himself.
** The Crimson Avenger and Wing, who were [[Captain Ersatz|closely modelled on]] the Hornet and Kato, started out with the trenchcoat-and-fedora look, but quickly gained costumes to distinguish themselves, with a [[Chest Insignia]] resembling a sunburst. When the [[Legacy Character|modern Crimson Avenger]] was introduced, she claimed the insignia was a stylised bullethole, and wore
** Of course, the ur-instance of this trope would be ''[[The Shadow]]'', even older than ''The Spirit'', who dresses in a black and red suit, cape and fedora with the only unusual garment being a silk mask over his lower face.
** The Shadow debuted in the pulps and on radio, not comic books or comic strips.
* ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]'' had Wonder Man, who wore a red safari jacket over a black tee shirt and jeans through the late 1970s and early 1980s. Today, when he's a member of the Mighty Avengers he wears the red safari jacket, but in his own mini series that largely takes place ''in his own house'' he walks around in his spandex uniform.
** Remember that Wonder Man is/was a being of almost pure ionic energy, so the fact that he has a body to wear spandex on is quite remarkable.
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** Gambit from ''X-Men'' wears a [[Badass Longcoat|long coat]] over muscle-molded body armor.
** Again from ''X-Men'', Rogue wore a leather bomber jacket over her tights for a good portion of the 90s.
*** She also wore a trench coat similar to Gambit's over her uniform for a short period of time.
** When [[Grant Morrison]], who as mentioned below did a lot to popularize this trope, took over writing 'New X-Men', most of the team switched from skin-tight 'body armour' to leather jackets and trousers. Except Emma Frost, who after years actually wearing clothes in ''Generation X'', switched to [[Stripperific|her most minimalist outfit yet]].
** Happened for a while in most ''X-Men'' comics after the first movie, which had them in leather, as an intentional movie tie-in. Marvel later [[Executive Meddling|made an edict]] changing them back to costumes, [[Merchandise-Driven|because costumes are much better for merchandising]].
** Storm's initial definitive shift from her gentle [[Team Mom]]/Nature Goddess persona during the '80s was punctuated with both an [[Important Haircut]] and abandonment of her outfit for a black leather tube-top/vest/tight pants/boots ensemble. Some readers took it as her [[Les Yay|coming out]] as well, especially after her "night out" with Yukio.
** Jubilee's signature look is a bright yellow coat worn over her uniform.
* ''[[Animal Man]]:'' When the obscure character was revived in 1988 in his own series, writer [[Grant Morrison]] changed his image by having him wear a denim jacket over his spandex costume. This not only
** The pockets being for mainly carrying around his keys and
** It's generally accepted that Animal Man popularized the leather jacket motif for superheroes throughout the nineties (which is ironic because he'd never ''touch'' leather). It seemed like every superhero suddenly got the urge for a biker jacket after A-Man. If there is another reason for ''Black Knight'' sporting a jacket over his ''medieval armor'', it is surely not a very good one.
*** Buddy Baker did temporarily switch to leather while [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|hunting and culling]] those responsible for killing his wife and kids. Said wife and kids [[Unexplained Recovery|got better.]]
* Jack Knight of ''[[Starman (comics)|Starman]]'' sported a bomber jacket ("it gets mighty cold up there") and a pair of goggles ("that staff gets really bright") over civilian clothes - this was in contrast with his father and brother, who as Starman wore the typical [[The Cape (trope)|cape]] getup - complete with a green fin on the headpiece. This author [[Space Is an Ocean|wonders what fins have to do with stars]]...
** Would [[Rule of Cool]] cover it?
*** As ''[[The Rocketeer (film)|The Rocketeer]]'' explained, the fin on the helmet helps you steer.
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** And in the "relevant" '70s she [[Dork Age|lost her superpowers and became a Kung Fu fighter for Women's Lib in a white pantsuit]].
* The Post-Crisis Superboy in [[The DCU]] (Kon-El/Conner Kent) went through a number of uniform variants (mostly including leather jackets, like his original one, pictured above) before settling on a uniform ([[Not Wearing Tights|or lack thereof]]) that appeared to be a black t-shirt with a red Superman-style "S" [[Chest Insignia]], blue jeans and work boots, which became his trademark since he first joined the [[Teen Titans]].
** In a deliberate homage to her fallen boyfriend, Wonder Girl's current costume is jeans and a red tank top with her logo on it.
*** Of course, most of her earlier outfits during the ''[[Young Justice (comics)|Young Justice]]'' era were not much different.
** In the [[New 52]] continuity, [[Superman]] himself started his superhero career in an outfit that's similar to Superboy's pre-reboot costume - jeans and a t-shirt with the typical [[Chest Insignia]]. Jarringly though, he still wears the cape with this outfit.
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* In the short-lived ''Young All-Stars'', team strongman Arn Munro wore white jeans and a tight black t-shirt. He did try out a costume in one storyline, but it was [[Clothing Damage|promptly destroyed]] and he decided to go back to civvies.
* The second Mister Terrific started out wearing ordinary clothes, including a leather jacket with his predecessor's "Fair Play" logo on the back. He now sports a full costume, including a stylised jacket with "Fair Play" on the sleeves and "Terrific" on the back.
* The ''[[Sleepwalker]]'' villains Lullaby and Bookworm were examples of villains who didn't wear costumes, doing their nefarious deeds in their regular street clothes.
* When the Wonder Twins became [[Canon Immigrant
* Shadowman from [[Valiant Comics]] started out wearing a spandex costume. About a year and a half after his debut, he switched to wearing leather pants, boots, leather jacket and a shirt with the logo he used for the spandex costume.
* In the 90's a number of characters adopted the Leather Trenchcoat or Duster look. It was essentially the modern replacement for the cape.
* Crimebuster, a [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] teen superhero, started out with wearing his school hockey uniform and a cape for a costume. Several years later, he traded it for a more mundane outfit, wearing jeans and practical shoes with his hockey jersey. At the very end of the feature's run, he switched to wearing various civilian outfits, but by that point (thanks to the [[Genre Shift]]), he was barely acting as a superhero anyway.
* Spiderman related characters:
** Subverted in [[Spider-Girl]]'s Spider-Shoppe, where civilians can buy Spider-Girl costumes and clothes. Turns out it was founded by the heroine's mom to pay for her college education. May's seen sporting Avengers and Fantastic Five gear sometimes, as well.
** Until he took over the [[Spider-Man]] title, Ben Reilly's costume was the standard spandex affair, all red, with a blue sleeveless hoodie with a spider on it. Though a lot of fans didn't realize it, the costume was actually [[Stylistic Suck|''supposed'' to look cheesy]] - the idea being that Ben didn't have time to make a real costume, but he ended up wearing it for so long that the justification stopped making sense.
** Dr. Octopus' costume has traditionally consisted of a lab coat or sometimes just a plain suit. During the 70's and 80's, he wore green spandex, but otherwise, he stuck to civvies.
* As quoted, Jenny Sparks (with one or two exceptions in her hundred years) has never worn a costume, favouring a completely white trousersuit and vest. (Jack Hawksmoor, her second-in-command, does the same with a black suit and white buttoned shirt.)
** [[The Authority|Jenny Quantum]], successor to the above, also eschews spandex in favour of civilian clothing; however, her trademark combination of a yellow t-shirt and black leather jacket is a [[Daddy's Girl|rather sweet]] callback to her parents' costumes.
* The [[Flaming Carrot]] wears just a white button-up shirt and purple pants. Oh, and a 4-foot tall carrot mask (with a torch on the top). Also, a pair of flippers. The only function they serve is to keep things from being too easy for him.
* In ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131029130101/http://www.johnnysaturn.com/2006/01/18/book-one-page-01/ Johnny Saturn]''Triops, tired of being tressed as a foppy stage magician, turns to wearing average clothing and a trenchcoat.
* None of the [[Runaways]] wear any particular costume. They ''attempt'' to use code-names in their first major story arc, but quickly abandon them (except for the [[Cute Bruiser]] who likes calling herself "Princess Powerful."
* The Vigilante, Greg Saunders, wore a pair of jeans and normal clothes.
* While he's usually portrayed with a full body suit, [[The Punisher]] is shown as just wearing a T-shirt with a skull on it in his more "serious" outings including most appearances in Punisher MAX.
* [[The Savage Dragon]] wears normal clothes unless he's in his police uniform. He went through one arc wearing a patriotic spandex costume after joining the superhero team SOS. It was [[Clothing Damage|torn apart]] in that story, which was okay with the Dragon since he hated wearing spandex anyway.
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* [[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]] usually [[Monster Modesty|doesn't wear much]] and has a [[Utility Belt]] but his main feature is [[Badass Longcoat|a big, brown coat.]]
* In ''[[The Crow]]'', Eric wears normal clothes with facepaint. This tradition has been carried on to the comic sequels.
* In the current run of ''[[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]]'', Jamie Madrox wears a T-shirt with the circles-joined-by-lines logo of his old Multiple Man costume.
* ''Doctor Mirage''. The titular hero was zapped with magical energy while wearing his ski outfit. He had no choice but to 'wear' that for some time.
* ''[[Madman (Comic Book)|Madman]]'' sometimes wears a leather jacket over his costume. Additionally, his costume really is his civilian attire so in a way, he's always wearing civvie spandex.
* Grifter from ''[[Wild CATS]]'' has the longcoat, cargo pants, combat boots version, combined with a [[Cool Mask]].
== [[Film]] ==
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** Pretty much all of the kids in Sky High wear ordinary clothes, but have some sort of recurring color motif that suggests uniforms.
* ''[[Ghost Rider (film)|Ghost Rider]]'''s biker gear, although of course that's how the comic character dresses as well.
* The titular character of ''[[Hancock]]'' wears in the second half of the movie a leather suit similar to the ones the film versions of the X-Men wore, though it had small yellow stripes and an eagle emblem on the back. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the post credit scene.
* In ''[[Unbreakable]]'', the main character's green rain poncho becomes his de facto superhero costume, as {{spoiler|Mr. Glass's purple outfits become his villain's costume.}}
* The first and second film version of [[The Punisher]] had Frank Castle wearing civvies the entire time (Dolph Lundgren version) or threw on a black skull t-shirt over standard police kevlar (Thomas Jane version). The third one gave him a more "superheroy" costume.
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* Also mentioned above, [[The Crow]] films always have the protagonists essentially wear normal clothes with face paint.
* ''[[The Mask (film)|The Mask]]'' is a slight variation. The film version creates normal clothes to wear, but they're usually clothes from The Forties or therebouts.
== [[Literature]] ==
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** One should note that Zorro, of course, predates the Phantom and Superman.
== [[Live
* ''[[Smallville]]'' has its nascent [[Justice League]] members dress in either casual clothes with [[Cool Shades]] and hoodies that make them look like the League of Unabombers, or color-coded sports gear, [http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Justice_League viz]. Clark always did his thing in red-and-blue [[Not Wearing Tights|civvies]], [http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/The_Blur#The_Red-Blue_Blur.2FThe_Blur until season 9].
** Although Black Canary look is pretty close to the comic version save shorter hair and facepaint shaped like a domino mask, although the fact that her costume consists of a rather stripperific outfit with fishnets is most likely the cause.
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* Huntress on ''[[Birds of Prey (TV series)|Birds of Prey]]'' wore black leather and, oddly, no mask. Somehow she still had a secret identity.
* As originally conceived, ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' was going to use spandex costumes, but was shot down by [[Executive Meddling]]. So instead we got Claire's cheerleader outfit in season 1... [[All Guys Want Cheerleaders|to very few complaints]].
* For almost two decades, The Riddler wore green spandex covered with question marks, a purple belt, and a purple "burglar" mask. When Frank Gorshin portrayed him on the '60s ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' TV series, he switched between the traditional outfit and a classy
** The ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'' version of The Riddler wears this outfit exclusively. Unfortunately, ''The New Batman Adventures'' changed his costume back to spandex.
*** in ''[[The Batman]]'', it goes even farther. He's still in spandex with the question-mark cane... But between his complexion and the fact that the long-and-lanky aspect of his hair is only beaten by the long-and-lanky aspect of his BODY, this troper was waiting for the credits to say "Special guest star, [[Marilyn Manson]]."
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* The animated version of Morph from ''[[X-Men (animation)|X-Men]]'' sometimes wore a jacket over his spandex.
** [[Fridge Logic|Technically, he was naked the whole time]]
* ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'s'' Doctor Octopus tops his [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous|four-armed]] [[Artificial Limbs|robotic harness]] and jumpsuit with an ordinary [[Badass Longcoat|trenchcoat]].
** That coat probably came from [[The Movie]] version of Doc Ock.
* On ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'', Hawkgirl ditched the helmet and traded her earlier outfit for something you might go jogging in.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Standard Superhero Suits]]▼
[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
[[Category:
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