WHARGARBL

I think I'll just make that the title for posts like this from now on. You see, it is a time of great nerd rage on the internet. Superman's costume has been changed.

Again.

 Nope, again.

 No, you're not-! I'll do it.

THERE.

Looks alright, doesn't it? Looks like his old one, doesn't it? Looks like he's WEARING UNDERWEAR, doesn't it? 

Ho. Ho, you'd be wrong, my friend.

Many Bothans died...to bring us this picture.

That right there is from the set of the Zack-Snyder-helmed Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as Superman. The picture's from the blog io9, where they report that perhaps the biggest deal in history is being made out of the fact that Supes' trademark underoos are missing.

Now...I'm a big ol' comics fan. And Superman, well, he's the duke. He's A-number one, the big boss, the head honcho. He and Batman are what basically every other superhero aspires to be (Deadpool aspires to be 4chan). So I can understand the cries of "SACRILEGE" when you fuck with his iconic costume.

 This is why we can't have nice things.

 
But this whole brouhaha is really just a symptom of a problem that's plagued Superman throughout the silver, bronze, and modern ages of comics. And you know just what it is. At some point in every comic fan's life, he or she probably gets into an argument about Superman. Someone will tell you they don't like Superman. And when you ask them why, they'll usually say one of two things: "He's too powerful" or "He's boring".

And these really go hand-in-hand. Because he's so powerful (pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, he was seen moving planets and shrugging off nuclear strikes) he can solve basically any problem in 10 seconds flat.

...usually with PUNCHING

This leads many writers and fans to lament that Superman is "hard to write for". 

Now, probably my favorite Superman story is All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison. And one of my favorite things about it is that Morrison takes traits that are usually played as tangential to Superman's character and makes them essential to understand who Superman is and why he does what he does. My favorite moment of this is in issue 9, when Superman finds that refugees from Krypton have begun remaking Earth in their own image and involving themselves directly in world affairs. And they call Superman out for not doing the same. Superman protests, saying that he has no right to interfere in another species' development.

Later in the story, Superman reflects at the criticism that he was too hands-off. He explains that he's the son of a scientist, and a scientist in his own right, and his way is to look, but not touch. And he wonders if he should be more involved with the affairs of humans. 

That to me is one of the most revealing glimpses into Superman's character. He's a hero, yes, but he's a scientist. He investigates. He's eager to learn about us. And when you think about it that way, it becomes clear that "Clark Kent" is what really what Superman would be like if he had no powers.

The fact is, people only THINK Superman is hard to write for because it's so easy to resort to defining his character solely by his powers. Rather than playing on his position as an outcast, as a scientist, as a nerd, or as a leader, they use his powers in place of a personality, or portray him as a hodgepodge of whatever is required dramatically.

And that leads me back to Superman's costume...the costume is defended rabidly when fans should be defending consistent characterization and good character development. But since the costume is almost shorthand for the character, they focus on it instead. You'll notice that Batman as a character has much less of a problem with this.

With...some exceptions.

So when I see this whargarbl reaction to the fact that Snyder's Superman had lost his little panties, I can't help but be exasperated. Sure...it looks a little weird now. But I actually really liked the first picture, especially the nice big 'S' on the chest. The only thing that bugs me about the lack of red pantaloons is that the red helped to break up the uniform visually, which prevented it from being just a big blue jumpsuit. 

 Really...it could be a lot worse, people.

But it looks like there's still a gold belt in the set pictures, and so that could do the trick...it's hard to get a sense of what the crotchal region will look like on film from the pics. And that's why I feel like this huge hullabaloo is rather premature, and stupid. Really, not since Batman and Robin have so many paid so much attention to a super-groin.