What is it with "NO COSTUME" hero shows?...

[DR.MID-NITE]

I can understand it's need in Smallville. But, why do they feel that "Birds of Prey" should also be costumeless. It is almost like they want to create a show that doesn't want to be about superheroes. I guess will the success of Smallville and Mutant X, costume-less shows will grow until they are oversaturated and we never see anymore.

[The Flash]

I think it's just a fad......at least I hope it is.

[MattL.]

Part of it is a fad from the Buffy shows, part of it is continuing obsession with so-called "realism" (you know you *can* ground a fantastic idea in so much reality that it basically suffocates thus defeating the entire point), and also there are just some people out there who have a real stick up their butt about superhero costumes and think that theres nothing of merit to them until they Supermans wearing Dockers and Spideys wearing Jncos or something. :rolleyes:

Costumes are one of the reasons I got into superheroes in the first place. Yes its a stylistic conceit of the genre but its also part of the artistry of it. I hope this trend doesnt start affecting everything in sight. :mad:

[Nightflower]

Well, unless they pull it off right, the costumes we all know and love on well-known superheroes sometimes look downright silly in live-action.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by DR.MID-NITE
I can understand it's need in Smallville. But, why do they feel that "Birds of Prey" should also be costumeless.

My question is, why the need for the costumes? Why can't you have a superhero without a costume? I don't see the big deal about having heros without them.

[The Flash]

Well, imagine Batman without one, that'd be kinda silly looking wouldn't it?

[Portax]

Originally posted by Clayface


My question is, why the need for the costumes? Why can't you have a superhero without a costume? I don't see the big deal about having heros without them.

There's that whole secret identity thing that can make shows a bit more interesting.

[Clayface]

Yes, there's the secret identity thing, but often writers rely on this too much as a gimmick in the shows. I'm all for more original writing that can portray heros interestingly, without the need to rely on flashy costumes to get across the point that they're heros. Look at UNBREAKABLE - they did a great job there - no costume, just a rainjacket.

[TheScarecrow]

I don't think it will get to a point where we will see heros like Batman, Superman, etc go costumeless unless it's a "when they were a teenager/pre superhero" type show like Smallville, if that is what you guys are worried about.

As for the Birds Of Pray, I don't know too much about them, so I can't comment on whether them without costumes is good or bad. But as Clayface pointed out, not every hero needs a costume.

Just my take.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

The other thing about Birds of Prey specifically is that it works pretty well as a costumeless superhero story anyway. Barbara Gordon as Oracle doesn't have a costume any more. Black Canary's current outfit is more like a combination of body armor and an "Emma Peel"-style catsuit (hubba hubba). The Huntress is probably closest to having a traditional superhero "costume," but it seems she could make the jump to more of an urban combat-style uniform pretty easily.

The comic series, at least initially, also felt closer to old spy thrillers than traditional superhero comics. I think you could pretty easily extract Birds of Prey from the DC Universe entirely and have it stand pretty well on its own.

I suspect Smallville is costumeless because they've already done Superman with costume in at least 3 versions (George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, and Dean Cain), and Superboy with costume as well. The costumeless approach works to set them apart from the other shows.

-- Ed/Ace

[Karkull]

If the costume looks silly in live action don't blame the costume, blame the costume department. There are ways to make traditional superhero costumes look cool (the new Spider-Man suit). If they can't do it they're bad costume designers. Period.

[kid_flash]

I think it greatly depends on what kinda show you're after.

With Smallville, I don't think I'd watch it if Clark ran around with the Superman costume, a la the Silver Age Superboy stuff.

With Birds of Prey, they could go with more practical costumes, like Dark Angel's all-black leather.

Somone else mentioned Batman. Well, part of Batman IS his costume. A lot of how he gets the job done is through the fear of his costume.

[The Guard]

I think a lot of the non costume thing has to do with growing fascination with real heroes. Firemen, cops, etc. Of course Batman and Superman have to have costumes, but does Black Canary, who's mother really just wore a black leather jacket and fishnets with boots...need one? She doesn't wear a mask. I don't see a need for a canary symbol somewhere. Huntress...she needs a costume, because she wanted one, to look like Batman originally...

On another note, why not just have Birds of Prey be Oracle and Black Canary?

[Heehaw]

Don't forget that Smallville was originally going to be a young Bruce Wayne series. I personally think that we will see that one happen someday. It will be interesting to see a younger Bruce traveling the world. The concept reminds me of the old Hulk series.