Civvie Spandex: Difference between revisions

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 (Comic Book)|Animal Man]].

 

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

** 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.

*** 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]].

** 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.

** 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 [[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 ''[http://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.

* [[The Savage Dragon (Comic Book)|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.

* [[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|The Hulk]], in most incarnations, just wears a pair of [[Magic Pants|pants.]] Some versions added a tank top or short sleeved shirt. As Joe Fixit, he wore suits. It was only during his time on the planet Skkar (and maybe during Pantheon era) that he wore any sort of costume: gladiator armor.

** You seem to refer to Wild Dog, who wore army pants, a football shirt, and a hockey mask. In Amazing Hereos#119, the writer crafted Wild Dog as a modern version of the Shadow, the Green Hornet, Zorro and the Lone Ranger. Max Allan Collins, creator of Wild Dog, lampshaded that Wild Dog did not wear spandex by having a young boy talking with some other youths and wondering why they thought that spandex and a cape made a sensible costume. Collins notes that "I don’t see how any intelligent writer can approach a story about people in long underwear and capes without either removing their brain or putting their tongue in their cheek to a degree……. [On [presumably] the Christopher Reeve Superman films] The Superman movies have all, as far as I’m concerned fallen to a degree into the Batman TV show approach-maybe not quite as broad…..And I think they did that because because there’s no other way you can play it. It just doesn’t work. I mean, look at that costume".

* Most versions of [[Ghost Rider]] wore standard biker clothes. They gave him a costume back in the late 90's but... [[Dork Age|it didn't work out.]]

* As originally conceived, ''[[Heroes (TV)|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)|Batman]]'' TV series, he switched between the traditional outfit and a classy [[Civvie Spandex]] ensemble: green suit, purple shirt, bowler hat, and a tie with a prominent question mark on it. Rumor has it that Gorshin disliked the spandex so much that he designed the new outfit himself. The Gorshin ensemble eventually became a [[Canon Immigrant]], and these days, you rarely see Edward wearing spandex in the comics.

*** in ''[[The Batman (Animation)|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]]."

* ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'' has an example brought about by [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]. During production of [[The Movie]], the makers decided that they wanted to update the [[Kamen Rider V 3|Riderman]] costume, especially since [[Gackt]] was signed on to play the character. However, the plans fell through, so during his cameo, Yuki simply appears in a leather jacket, T-shirt, and leather pants, before swapping back to the 35-year-old spandex suit (worn by a stuntman) for the final battle.

== [[Web Original]] ==

* ''[[Red Panda Adventures]]'' has the title character wearing this outfit.

** Although the gloves are rather superhero-like in design.

* Cracklin' Rose in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' wears a costume made up of a black leotard, a red cowl, and a red leather motorcycle jacket (the kind Italian cycle racers wear, not the kind American street gang biker's wear).

* 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]]

** 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.

[[Category:Costume Tropes]]

[[Category:Civvie Spandex]]