Despite superhero movies becoming mainstream, Hollywood still seems to avoid adapting these stories authentically, especially when it comes to comic-accurate costumes. In the last three decades, Hollywood has finally begun paying attention to comic book movies and putting them center stage, with the likes of the MCU and the DCU standing out as some of the biggest and most exciting franchises in cinematic history.
However, despite finally giving these stories a platform and creating a whole new generation of fans who love and adore the films and TV shows within the genre, there still seems to be some degree of hesitation to authentically adapt aspects of these stories. While every adaptation makes changes to suit the intended medium, these changes feel overly cautious, and it’s about time things changed.
Before X-Men, Superhero Movies Leaned Into The Comic Book Style
Both Marvel and DC Comics experienced their first big surges in popularity in the late 1930s and into the 1940s. So it’s no surprise that, before long, these stories were getting early adaptations into black and white serialized specials, which adapted the original comic book characters faithfully in order to engage the existing fanbase.
This continued with later adaptations such as the Adam West Batman TV show from the 1960s, the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, and Marvel’s TV films such as Thor, Spider-Man, and The Incredible Hulk. In the 1990s, things began to shift, with films like Tim Burton’s Batman movies making some stylistic changes, but the characters remained largely familiar.
X-Men Brought Comic Book Movies Into The Mainstream, But It Came At A Price
Then, in 2000, Bryan Singer’s X-Men threw out the playbook for how comic book adaptations should be made. Rather than trying to emulate the popular cartoons, which faithfully adapted comic-accurate outfits for the heroes and villains, X-Men transformed some of the most popular Marvel characters into something more grounded and gritty than their comic book counterparts.
Broadly speaking, this was a huge win for the superhero genre, and it set a precedent for being more experimental in later adaptations. Rather than trying to make a perfect recreation, the X-Men trilogy looked at the heart of the story and then adapted it to work on the big screen and not stand out too much from the contemporary popular action movies being released.
Adaptations Aren’t Supposed To Be A Perfect Copy From Page To Screen
Adaptations tend to work best in one of two ways. They can aim to be hyper-authentic, sticking close to the source material and creating something that feels like it’s been lifted from the page, but this is risky as it will be thoroughly critiqued by the fanbase, and may not resonate with new audiences.
On the other hand, an adaptation can make significant, deliberate alterations, helping to make it feel distinct and separate from what came before. Again, parts of the fanbase might be upset, but it’s clearer that this is a new interpretation than something that tried to be perfectly accurate. And the payoff can be better.
When X-Men broke tradition, it rapidly increased the popularity of the comic book stories, and since both the comics and movies have the same core messages and themes, people jumped on board. Ultimately, it comes down to balance, finding the elements that are most important in order to preserve them, and adjusting other parts to fit the new story.
The Lanterns Trailer Has Drained The Color From The Source Material
The upcoming Lanterns series is set to expand the world of James Gunn’s DCU in a significant way with the introduction of Hal Jordan and John Stewart, two of the most notable Green Lanterns to ever appear in DC Comics. However, it’s been clear for a while that this show is taking some big risks in how it is approaching the story.
And with the release of the first teaser trailer, a lot of aspects of how this story has been adapted are difficult to understand without the context of the full episodes. For instance, the trailer contains very little green whatsoever, including when they show off the Green Lantern suit for the first time, which honestly looks more yellowy-brown than green.
On top of that, Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan drops a line that suggests he hasn’t spent much time around the other Lanterns, which is a major alteration from this character’s history in the comics.
However, this is just a teaser trailer, and it seems as though the marketing is trying to keep some things a surprise, including how the powers are represented, which could massively change how the rest of the show is viewed. All of that being said, this teaser-trailer does highlight one aspect of superhero movies that is long overdue to change.
It’s Time For Hollywood To Embrace The Comic-Accurate Costumes
Superhero movies and comic book adaptations in general have been among the most popular and highest-earning projects to appear on the big and small screen over the last couple of decades. It’s clear that these are no longer niche projects, and the fanbase is very willing to jump on board with the wild and fantastical stories that are contained within them.
Despite this, costumes in these projects continue to try to distinguish and separate themselves from the comics that inspired them. This is particularly true of the MCU, where most characters don costumes that feel more uniquely styled for this sprawling franchise universe than actually modeling them after the comic books.
In fact, throughout the Multiverse Saga, some of the only examples of properly authentic costumes from the comics come in the form of brief Easter Eggs. Like Professor X in his iconic yellow chair in an alternate Earth in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Wanda Maximoff wearing the classic Scarlet Witch outfit for Halloween in WandaVision.
Thankfully, it seems as though the MCU is making a bigger effort to create comic-accurate costumes, as seen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and in the Avengers: Doomsday trailer that teased Cyclops in his comic-accurate yellow and blue uniform.
But the truth is that the live-action projects are still trailing far behind the authenticity and accuracy that have been seen in animated shows like Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Justice League Unlimited, and even the recent Marvel Studios release of X-Men ’97. Sure, adaptations need to make changes to fit what works in real life, but many of these costumes are iconic and deserve their time to shine on the big screen.