# X-Men: Why so many costume changes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337 "2005-02-22T14:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/41 "2005-02-25T01:44:50Z")
> [@shy guy](#): > > Did they ever explain how that wasn’t… stupid? Wolverine’s bone claws broke all the time - why on earth would she use those instead of metal claws if she really wanted to cut stuff? Two reasons 1. While the claws did break quite frequently and very dramatically, they are still very sharp and fairly dense. It’s not exactly like she stuck a couple of toothpicks in her mittens. 2)She wore them as a tribute to Wolverine, who trained her and has been a mentor to her since she was a wee lil Spryte. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/42 "2005-02-26T00:28:37Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > > [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > > > I remember that line, and I never understood, besides the possibility of looking rediculous, why the put-down of spandex? > > First of all, I’d like to note that I’m going to use my 4,000th post to discuss superhero costumes. Somehow, that seems just about right. Hi, I’m Kyla, I’m a geek. All: “Hi, Kyla” > [@](#): > > Anyway, you’ve got it pegged - while the colorful costumes look fine on the printer page (and really, are better than monochrome because colorful things are pretty and attract the eye), they do indeed look ridiculous on actual people. The all-black costumes showed up in the comics after the movies came out, but now we’re phasing back to the old school blue and gold, because, as Cyclops says in, Astonishing X-Men #1: “…quite frankly, all the black leather is making people nervous.” Also the Lycra-look, a.k.a. “unstable molecule fibers” or whatever, allow you, on the printed page, to create outfits that are esentially bodypaint on anatomically gifted figures, which to fanboys and fangirls is a Very Good Thing. But with live actors not even Halle Berry or Rebecca Romijin (whose outfit WAS bodypaint) have bodies really like what the comic artists draw. Like **Kyla** said, on live people it just looks stupid to have everyone running around doing battle in tights. It would look like Spinal Tap fighting supervillains. (Notable exception being depictions of Superman, and the recent Spiderman, who are able to pull it off with fabric costumes) In the Scott/Logan repartee it’s also a nod to Wolverine’s traditional yellow-dominated outfit. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/43 "2005-02-26T01:13:49Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Argh, no! The costumes are horrible, no doubt, and the group picture may be overly busy, but that is Arthur Adams, perhaps the most influential comic artist of the last 20 years! I say this because he inspired the styles of a lot of more-popular “superstar” artists like Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld… And that’s a _good_ thing? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/44 "2005-02-26T07:20:59Z")
I’m just saying that like Kirby before him, Adams had a real impact on the guys who came later, and that makes him an important artist (whether you like those who drew inspiration from him or not). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337.md?page=2)