Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion costumes - rants!

It's weird, 'cause the Legion universe has already established the existence of molecule-thin transsuits that are transparent and freaking tough. If Shady or Nura (or Rokk) felt the need to let it all hang out, they could easily wear a costume with some transparent panels in places, and still be fully covered, and protected, despite the appearance of exposed skin.

Like so many quirky bits, the solution is already established and present in Legion history, just having been pretty much overlooked.

I know I've said this before, but I actually like the look Frank designed for Garth.

The others... I could go either way.

I seriously dislike Frank's redesign of WILDFIRE! I'm no purist - I was a big fan of twoboot Drake (Coipel design?) which was very different from Cockrum's, but this new thing is terrible. The worst is that it's not a design that can translate well from artist to artist. And is it me, or does he look too skinny? (I know that doesn't make sense, but he looks too skinny to me)

I totally agree with you, Drake. The original Wildfire design was nice. Coipel's reboot version introduced during Legion Lost was my favorite look. The Frank redesign is hardly recognizable and is too skinny.

Wildfire's look reboot Lost was pretty wonderful.
It had a slight midevil feel to it, which I liked, as did Umbra's hair.

I would certainly like a complete era change for the retroboot.
Having costumes from all sorts of Legion era's is confusing and wierd.

And the ones that aren't weird or dated are just ugly.

I want individuality but within a central design plan.
Like if the idea is for sleeveless, EVERYONE uses that concept while on team missions.

Especially now, when they're trying to rebuild the Legion's reputation and shore-up the UP.

And I think that using transuit tech is a bit of a cop out for designs that are poorly thought out and executed UNLESS everyone just throws on anything with the suit over it, in a grunge sort of look.
But that really doesn't work for an official type of representative group like the Legion.
I think.

I *loved* Coipel's Wildfire design. That costume is what made me like Wildfire for the first time, formerly one of my bottom 3 Legionnaires.

When I first saw Frank's redesign of him it was definitely one of the few I didn't like. But I have to say that the more I've seen of it, the more I've grown to like it. And now it's one of my faves. I do agree that he looks a bit skinny though. But I can live with that.

Dream Girl's current/classic costume is a welcome sight too IMO. I like that a few Legionnaires (like her and Bouncing Boy) have kept their original outfits all these years. Please let me never see that Threeboot outfit she wore again though. Possibly my least favourite Legion costume of all time.

Reading this thread, I'm amazed at how little consensus there is among Legion fans when it comes to the costumes. Even when you agree with another poster on some outfits you find you have totally opposite views on others.

It's proof that none of us are ever going to be 100% satisfied with how this team looks (in fact we'd be lucky to be 60% satisfied).

So our complaints are a bit like Sisyphus rolling his stone up the hill. Every change that is finally made to our favour will just raise another fan's ire and get that ball rolling again.

...

Now back to getting Tyroc some hair and out of that boredomville outfit...

I really disliked all the costumes for the reboot Wildfire,except for the Lightle redesign which was simular to Cockrum's design only it was black and red.

Wildfire was/is one of my favorite characters,but I could never get over the origin they gave him in the reboot to embrace that version of the character.

Not crazy about the Frank costume either, but at least Blastoff and Radion are not in it.

[snip]

I'm not surprised. A fandom without tons of contention is... a fandom I've never known to exist.

To be honest, I like the impact that Frank has left, at least the idea that clothing has folds, creases, and more than one layer. It can look like more than just a buffed naked man or woman who's been sprayed a different color.

No, this time it's Red Tornado....

Hopefully Levitz will forget about that error, and go back to the classic origin Cockrum and Bates gave the character, at least thats what I've done.

Wow Wolf ... that is an awesome character design page you dug up! Wherever did you find it? I have to say that is/was my favourite look for Wildfire ever. Something else else about it looks vaguely familiar, but was it actually printed in any Cockrum Legion books back in the early 70's?
I have to go back and check my collection now.

I can't remember exactly where I got these 3 pics, I have spent quite a few computer hours over the years saving Legion pictures, but if I had to guess it was from Dave's personal collection,and was never printed in any Legion comic that I know of.

Hmm... I thought this was posted somewhere in the "Visionaries" section here, but I can't find it.

Here's Quetzal.

And Nightcrawler.

Typhoon.

Trio.

The Strangers.

Looking forward to the elaborate explanations from TPTB about why this would only work for female characters, not male characters.

Maybe John Gray IV could show up in a special scientific back-up Legion feature to explain that those goofy female pores just plain need to be more close-up and personal with their transsuits and stuff.

Do we have a bangs-own-head-against-the-wall-for-an-hour smilie? Because I really want one in the worst way...

Hey Blacula, here's another opinion...

Dream Girl's threeboot costume was one of the best design concept ever made for a young heroine and suited her to a tee.
Not to mention it was a pleasure to look at.

Yes it's true Kitson's design showed Nura's midrift (big deal) which was a bit Brittany Spears-ish, BUTT the plus side is we lost that half-a-cheek-showing-on-either-side, almost-a-thong silver mess her classic costume had become.

The current/classic costume, while also a favourite of mine too believe it or not, has had its day in the sun.
It's time to move on though. She looks silly now next to her teammates with their new threads.

As I'm sure I've already said, I think all the new uniforms are too busy with too much extraneous detail and I'd think they'd be a royal pain to draw, panel after panel.

They've even busied up Brainy's plain old jumpsuit with quilting and stitching and a jacket with lots of details in it too.

Thank God Mon-El is back in his original suit. I'd hate to see him or Dreamy busied up like the others.

I do prefer the sleeker looks of some of their older costumes. Shady was awesome in her full body-stocking and cloak look, Lu looks great in her Threeboot outfit (as opposed to the miniskirts of yore) and Garth and Jan always looked best, IMO, in their 'classic' one-piece outfits (Garth's dark blue and white with lightning and Jan's dark blue and green).

Threeboot Dream Girl's look was, IMO, one of Barry's best designs.

Some characters look great in baggier, less form-fitting clothes, and I wouldn't mind there being a mix of that (Mon-El, uniform-era Imra) and the sleeker stuff.

The busy stuff looks too much like Franks was trying to channel Kirby, and somehow failed to 'do Kirby' and also failed to create attractive designs, making it a doubleplusfail.

I really liked Manapul's re-interpretation of Sun Boy's look at the end of the Shooter run on the threeboot and wish that could somehow bleed over into this continuity's Dirk...

I guess I am somewhere in the middle because I don't like the Threeboot design but I do feel Nura needs an update.

Hey future king - glad you liked the costume.

That's a pretty bold statement though. I don't see how some weird blue pants with what may or may not have been clouds on them plus a boring, midriff exposing top constitutes one of the "best design concepts ever made for a young heroine" but maybe that's just me.

You mean Blastoff and Atom'X, Radion was Radiation Boy reboot.

Hmm...since Dave Cockrum passed away, why don't we ask Paul Levitz to bring those characters into the Legion books? It would be a nice honor. We can chase Paul at the comics convention, heh. Possible?

My guess is that it would be a legal hassle to bring those characters in exactly as Dave envisioned them, but characters created as homages to them might work.

I collected a lot of Dave's work such as the Wildfire/Starfire stuff above and posted it to a free website I had. The remains of it are here as a sub domain to Legion World.

Ah, yes! I knew Nighty had posted them somewhere!