In the past, I have empowered Batman and Superman for @bikiniarmorbattledamage, but a recent post abut Green Lantern inspired a complete Justice League shot. (Note that I didn’t actually do much to Martian Manhunter – his original designer seemed to empower him just fine.)
@kavkakat, you never disapoint! 🙂
Though I’d say Martian Manhunter could wear a thong instead of his usual briefs. Also, his cape should have a butt window, so we can bask in the glory of his empowered green cheeks.
~Ozzie
bikini armor….in my golden age comics..
almost got a bingo but not quite rip
Yet another proof that ridiculous bikini armors were present in the popculture for way too long to be considered creative.
…how did the artist imagine this thing is held up on her chest?
~Ozzie
So… initially I thought that Lady Hellbender was the Totally Awesome Hulk… but then I noticed the green guy and the alternative cover. So despite the obvious issues of her costume, I figured I’d look into who she was and wy she was on the cover. And why was she wearing lingerie instead of armor?
Yes, she’s been around for literally two issues and we’re already being sold on the idea she’ll want to bang the Hulk. Now her costume makes sense… good job on being refreshingly honest Marvel.
– wincenworks
A friend at @hellyeahteensuperheroes informed me that so far in the story it’s only the (new) Hulk who shows attraction towards Hellbender, not the other way round. The last image is a cover for the yet unpublished issue #4, so this will probably change… or maybe Frank Cho, the artist known for his hilarious jokes about women in comics, is just teasing.
Also, Hellbender’s design is so uninspired that apparently readers tend to confuse her with Harley Queen.
Um, Marvel… if your new character looks so generic that people think she’s a popular DC villain, you’re prooobably doing something wrong.
The only (for the lack of a better word) original thing I see in her costume are those bars on her pelvis that seem to emulate how a thong looks. Which really doesn’t speak well of what the designer’s priorities are.
~Ozzie
While this video by Movie Bob came out relatively long ago, in anticipation for the first pics of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, it still tackles some meaningful issues for our blog: how adding pants and/or covering skin on a female character redesign doesn’t yet fix the problems inherent with her old, more revealing costume and in-story presentation.
That’s why we ridiculed J. Scott Campbell’s outrage over Wonder Woman’s new shoulderpads
pauldrons, but didn’t go so far to praise the covering new costume he hated so much.
It’s an adequate superheroine outfit and has Diana’s iconic elements intact, but its supposedly biggest change, the skin-covering catsuit, seems indeed like an uninspired, colored-in afterthought.
While, as Bob points out in the video, there will always be a crowd unsatisfied with the changes (especially for such a popular character), I say it’s crucial to just PUT AN EFFORT into a redesign. Only then things can begin to work out.
See, for the record, BABD’s favorite re-imaginings of Wonder Woman:
~Ozzie
As Bob said, there’s a lot to unpack and while we’ve seen that it’s certainly possible to cover female character head-to-toe and still have her be ridiculously sexualized. I also feel that arbitrary statements like “makes her less like the other two” are at least as responsible for bad re-designs.
Ironically when it comes to characters like Diana, a large part of this is that the comics industry is influenced by unhealthy amounts of nostalgia so instead of doing completely fresh re-designs they tend to insist on homaging the original.
And when the outfit was as ridiculous as Wonder Woman’s original outfit it’s kind of hard to make something that looks credible. Particularly since people aware of her origins tend to go with “sexy pinup dominatrix” rather than “genuinely intimidating and dominant woman”.
I will say this though, if you really want to take the stance against “modesty” approach and tell people that it should all just be allowed to hang out – there’s someone who should be wearing a lot less than Wonder Woman. No. Really.
– wincenworks
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)