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Spandex, Latex, or Leather: Difference between revisions
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The reason is mostly because of the era associated with the heyday of each. Spandex, the form-fitting, brightly colored "tights", is most associated with old school Superheroes thanks to the 1930's ''[[Superman]]'' serials. The later use of spandex in the old ''[[Batman]]'' TV show with [[Adam West]] would also give it a campy, childish association.<ref>The term "spandex" is an anachronism, as this synthetic fabric wasn't in wide use until well into the 1960s. Superman and Batman, like their TV counterparts, likely wore cotton.</ref> Latex, or hard rubber suits, is most remembered for [[Tim Burton]]'s relaunch of the ''[[Batman (Film)|Batman]]'' franchise as a grim, Gothic and serious setting. [[Joel Schumacher]] attempted to shift this toward camp, but then [[Christopher Nolan]] [[The Dark Knight Saga|shifted it even farther toward the "gritty" end than Burton did]]. Lastly, leather has been used in superhero movies since the beginning of the ''[[X Men (Film)|X Men]]'' film series, bringing with it a real world setting, implying these are "plausible" heroes who can and do exist in a world much like our own, behaving as real people do rather than people in tights. To each their tastes.
The choice can actually be quite complicated because -- of course -- the actors have to wear these things. In ''X-Men'', nobody could move in the leather. There was a scene as they are approaching the Statue of Liberty and they have to climb over a brick wall that's about two foot tall. It took them several takes because [[Hugh Jackman|Jackman]], [[Halle Berry|Berry]] and co could [[Insurmountable Waist
See also: [[Future Spandex]], [[Not Wearing Tights]]; [[Hell-Bent for Leather]]. Contrast the more civilian [[Coat, Hat, Mask]].
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* ''[[Superman Returns (Film)|Superman Returns]]'': They had to choose something that could fit into the same world as the spandex of the 1970s films, looked impressive now and that the actor could reasonably wear. Well, two out of three ain't bad.
** Noteworthy in that Toei appears to be using the same material recently in the designs of [[Super Sentai]] costumes.
* ''[[Watchmen (Film)|Watchmen]]'': All three, actually, and more. The 1940s-vintage heroes mostly wore Spandex or its period equivalent (rather amusing are the realistic ''canvas'', silk or cotton home-made costumes, considering that the heroes in question were ordinary people having either a bout of schizophrenia or a surfacing vigilante streak); some of those that didn't - like Silhouette - wore leather. The later Comedian preferred leather body armor, and Silk Spectre II was in latex. (Malin Akerman famously commented that her costume made her "smell like a giant condom". Please refrain from comment.) Beyond that we had [[Coat, Hat, Mask|ordinary street wear]] for Rorschach (with a [[Cool Mask|special mask]] that reacted to pressure and heat), assorted varieties of body armor for almost everyone else, and a bright blue [[Full
* ''[[Judge Dredd (Film)|Judge Dredd]]'': latex, gritty (even though he wore leather in the comic...)
* ''[[Batman Begins]]'' has a suit that is mostly made of some form of kevlar. ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' adds ceramic plating for even more protection, and a lampshade for movie Batmen being unable to turn their heads.
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[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
[[Category:Spandex Latex Or Leather]]
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