Superheroic Style Spotlight: Wonder Woman & Superman’s New Costumes

DC Comics' solicitations for June reveal that various members of the Justice League will be getting makeovers, and the new looks include a fully-covered Wonder Woman and a casual Superman.

In an effort to phase out the New 52 branding, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern will get new costumes to replace the New 52 threads that they've worn since August 2011. Aside from a mysterious Bat-robot, the redesigns for Wonder Woman and Superman feature the most notable stylistic changes, which I will break down in terms of design and superhero costumes after the cut.

Perhaps the most notable feature of David Finch's new look for Wonder Woman (via Hitfix) is the fact that not only is she wearing pants, but she's also fully covered from the neck down. Diana's ensemble is comprised of a black bodysuit, a skirted tunic, thigh-high versions of her classic boots, and her golden lasso. Unlike Jim Lee's 2010 Wonder Woman redesign, this costume looks more utilitarian and less street fashion; in place of the star-studded jacket and fingerless bracers, Wonder Woman now has star-blazened pauldrons and presumably retractable bladed gauntlets.

Although I enjoy my fair share of practical redesigns and armor, I'm not crazy about Wonder Woman's new costume. Conceptually, there are a lot of stylistic elements that I really love, specifically the boots and the pauldrons, but the execution of this design kind of feels a little off. Maybe it's the skirt and the bladed gauntlets and the bodysuit, but Wonder Woman looks overdesigned, borderline LARP-y, and cosplay intensive.

Unlike David Finch's Wonder Woman redesign, Aaron Kuder opted for a minimal cape-less Casual Friday look for Superman, similar to Grant Morrison and Rags Morales' Superman design for Action Comics. Although I've never been a fan of Superman dressing like 2000's-era normcore Superboy, I think the blue collar look kind of works on Clark, and I dig the Max Fleischer-esque symbol on his shirt.

Bonus: Superman is now the easiest character to cosplay.