A look at the meaning behind superhero costumes and how they characterize the X-Men. Support this channel at / kaptainkristian Follow me at / kaptainkristian
there's a little character viewpoint thing in the comics with wolverine and cyclops. Wolverine calls his costume, and superhero getups in general, a uniform, and insists on not calling it a costume because he says costumes are for children, heroes wear a uniform, even if it's bright and colorful. while cyclops calls it a costume and insists on not calling it a uniform, because uniforms are worn by the people who have oppressed mutants, and a costume has a freer connotation to it.
Wolvie also calls his uniform "fighting togs". This was especially before Cassandra Nova outed Xavier, the X-Men and the true nature of the school to the public. He understood that to operate effectively as Wolverine he needed a uniform that concealed his public identity. The X-Men like many of the other Marvel Superheroes had costumes/uniforms that were either made of special substances specifically for battle (unstable molecules, Kevlar-like lining, insulation, etc.)
truth is costumes are hell expensive, and most actors cant maneuver through the tight costumes like the cosplay models do. thats why it takes Marvel and DC movies to come out at such late intervals as they make budget for the costumes which are authentic and easily maneuverable
When James Marsden said "You couldn't feel Less like a Superhero" when wearing those suits my heart kinda sank. Yeah these costumes are super important even if they're silly. At least within the decade were gonna see the MCU versions of the Characters, costumes and all
@@NiohArcadia I mean when he saying was saying that line about "You couldn't feel Less like a Superhero", He was talking about the Black suits they were wearing for the live action films, not the iconic costumes that you see in the comics and shows. He doesn't mean the iconic comic book costumes are "Silly" at all nor should you think that, he just thinks the movie costumes are restrictive. Your heart shouldn't feel "kinda sank" because he just meant the films ones.
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The scene in the first Avengers movie came to mind watching this vid, where Phil Coulson presents Cap with his new uniform. The line Coulson said was simple but powerful when addressing the cosutme's old fashioned flashiness: "Everything's that's happening. The things that are about to come to light. People just might need a little old fashioned." That scene is an example of the power of a superhero's costume and imagery. Superheroes are beacons of hope and justice, their look taps into the emotions of everyone who has read the comics, watched the cartoons, and hung up the posters of their favorite heroes.
That's exactly the same thought that I had at that moment in the film and when we see cap in that outfit for the first time I cheered and then thought to myself "God, if only Marvel had the rights to the X-men..."
Cap already had justification for wearing his costume because of the standalone movie he got in 2011 that set that up. X-Men movies didn't start with individual movies setting up them wearing their iconic costumes.
But it still somehow felt faithful to the comics, with the matching color palette(doc ock's green trench coat ), which shows a differing view on literally how the costume should aid the character, and less on whether or not it would work.
“That [X-men] costume that the student’s wear is sometimes the only thing that gives them any sense of belonging. It’s not just the uniform, it’s a symbol of the unification of the group, while also being a representation of individuality, because that’s what being an X-man is about: it’s a celebration of self-identity.” brilliant quote to summarize the entire video & series. keep up the great work!
I completely agree with this. In fact, the costumes are downright critical to the level of enjoyment I get from the X-Men. It was Jim Lee's masterful, unbeatable 90s designs that made me take notice of them. Once Marvel started changing their costumes in the books even, I lost so much interest. Thank God for the recent "X-Men '92" book they have started releasing. If only the films could figure it out.
+FlawedCoil82 I have that book, and it's rad! The cool thing about Jim Lee's designs is that you get a sense of epicness, and gravitas from them. Especially those huge splash pages he draws, with all of the characters together. You get a sense of scale, and might I add, individuality for each character. They look strong, and confident. Same thing can be said for Alex Ross's artwork. Especially Kingdom Come.
The Wheddon costumes were boring to me. I have always hated Cyclops' skullcap as it makes him look like a robot (Robocop) and Wolverine's tiny mask "ears" made him look fatter and much less threatening. I have found all the costumes(after the Jim Lee designs) to be boring and highly forgettable. It makes me so frustrated that the X-Men are still cursed to this very day with never-ending changing costumes that will never be remembered or regarded as "iconic" in 5 years.
I feel like the xmen films and superhero films in general have really outgrown Singer and what he did with the first xmen film. Apparently he told the original cast not to look at the comics or any source material at all wtf. He's so embarrassed by the xmen but he can't get any other work so he keeps going back to it. DC have never tried to take batman's lil ears off his costume even tho in theory they might look a bit goofy but they don't bc they just let them be what day are. Captain America runs around in a full red, white and blue costume in the films, mask and all, and no one has any problems with it.
While the portrayal of Cyclops and Iceman in particular are dreadful, my biggest problem with the X-Men movies is that they are all (outside of First Class) basically Wolverine movies. From the start it's been about Wolverine's journey and he is the only character with any semblance of development.
Christopher Thomas it's so weird to see wolverine be the main character all the time when it's scott who's actually the leader lol. if they had actually set scott up right (with his background etc) then people probably would have sympathised with him at the very least.
Indeed they have, yet it is arguably a matter that should be reviewed in context of the super hero-market in 2000; the latter Superman movies and other weak attempts, such as "Steel" in (1997), and in the same year certainly the renowned "Batman & Robin" had famously all but killed the idea of super hero movies in the public mind in the late 90ths. The sign there might still be a stage for it came in the form of "Blade" (1998), which did well but did not turn popular perspective. The lesson that reasonably could be drawn, for any producer and creator who found super heroes interesting to make a movie of still, was that 'stay the hell away' from anything that may be associated to the 'camp' elements of "Batman & Robin" and thier kin (Nuclear Man, Mr Freeze and Batman nipples, anyone?). Go for a darker and so called 'realistic' apperance and tone, and the public may be reintroduced. And it did draw the crowd, not only the fans, whether of that reason or not, the gamble did seem to pay off. That said, already with Spiderman (2002) it was made clear the general public was open to 'fantastic' source material, yet the success with the X-Men presumably cemented the misconception these films required it's new 'dark' style. Likely not helped by Singer not being a fan prior to making the films, hehe.
The comics don't seem to be respecting the material now either-Iceman just got the 'we made him gay cos we don't know what to do with him' similar to what happened with Lightning LAd-it was a lazy stunt, as Iceman has always been shown as a ladies man. Now it's like 'oh, he only did that to hide who he was'...like, whut? For 40 years? Really? Singer was the most frustrating-he went to do Superman Returns with absolutely no concept of who Superman is or was-and not knowing that Superman continuity had changed in the almost 30 years since the Reeve film had debuted. HE then brought the same 'X-men sensibilities' to that film-with a muddy brown look to the film, and a Superman costume he was almost embarassed to make, hence the smaller logo. His other projects have been--well, fail. Especially the Tom Cruise Nazi film, which garnered more attention for the Germans hating Scientology than it did for the film itsself. And then he goes and makes X-men Apocalypse, and messes that up too. Like, he just seems like he has no clue. Like he strikes it lucky or something.
+kaptainkristian fuck your a smart lad, you could of made this video weeks prior to the final trailer yet you waited until there was attention on the net regarding this subject. I'm learning!
+kaptainkristian Although I agree with you, you can't completely use Deadpool as a counter-example because that movie also changed character costumes as much as Singer did. Sure, they got Deadpool right, but Negasonic Teenage Warhead looks nothing like she does in the comics, neither does Ajax, Colossus and Bob's costumes colors are completely muted.
X-Men Apocalypse, First Class and to a lesser extent Days of Future Past, has a more faithful look in the movies. Deadpool Colossus seems to be a mix of the X-Men trilogy costume and the classic Colossus look
Exactly, it doesn't get more "campy" than Captain Americas costume and the MCU has done a great job keeping it faithful to the comics while making it look bad ass on screen (except for the first Avengers maybe).
UncommonSituations Ye rite, horns do exist in comical features... To be honest, i nvr read any x-men comics... I just enjoyed 80s spiderman memes(the rude spiderman not the spoderman)
It has always baffled me how Brian Singer is so obsessed with staying away from the iconic costumes. I am 100% for redesigns and adaptation, but the problem is that you simply cannot separate a superhero from their costume. Imagine, for example, if they put Superman in a black leather suit. Everyone would lose their minds and the movie would bomb. Marvel Studios understands this, they make changes to their costumes but they keep the iconic aspects intact. Captain America's suit is designed like Kevlar and doesn't have the helmet wings, but he has the same color scheme and emblems, and the wings are now decals. He's still instantly recognizable as Cap. Besides, it's not like the X-Men never had uniforms. Over the years they have used several variations on a yellow and blue/black uniform. That design worked in First Class and it worked on Negasonic in the Deadpool movie. Especially the latter, since it makes sense that Colossus has a custom outfit but students use standard-issue uniforms.
AkuTenshiiZero Singer is pretentious and up his own ass, and because of that, he looks down on comics because he sees them as only for kids. It’s ironic that he told the cast to not read the comics in order to not have flat characters, but that’s exactly what the movies ended up with.
Roman Fox The new ones do look off. That's addressed in this video. So we are in fact in agreement. But if the costumes WERE done right (black doesn't automatically equal to realistic...wtf?!) it would work. Like that rogue cosplay you saw and don't tell me you didn't like that cuz that would be complete bs. We suspend our disbelief regardless, its superheroes ffs. Batman is a bad example because he's inherently a realistic hero. Not the same case with the Marvel heroes for example. And don't tell me that didn't work because the numbers alone would be against you.
+Roman Fox You get it, it's what I use to do when designing/redesigning superhero/villains, and what Young Justice went by "Tactical but Practical", they need not look like they're the character in colors and design, but also not look too ridiculous when in them, and look like you could actually fight crime in them, as in free movement/protection.
My problem with TDK Batman's costumes is that design wise, it's fine but a bit over designed, but the big problem was the logo, it gets lost in it, but the ideas behind it are great, able to move his neck, and better freedom movement. They employed some of it in BvS, but that has a few aesthetic problems, like the puffiness, but it's in the right direction
It made sense to me why they changed them in the original X-Men films. They wanted to make it seem "cool" to people, because they obviously didn't think wild yellow costumes would resonate with people. They were just trying to make people take comic books seriously at all. They must've doubted that something made for cartoons and comics could work in reality. But I think that now people are more ready for that, and comic book movies are such a thing now that people are totally okay with whatever you throw at them as long as it's smart. You'd have to adapt the costumes a bit, obviously, but you could still do it. Just look at Spider Man-- he looks pretty accurate and real despite his costume being pretty wild.
The answer is pretty simple: Batman and Robin Things were really negative about superheroes when Batman and Robin came out, and people forgot how saturated the genre had been back then to make it worse. The Phantom Steel Judge Dredd Power Rangers (ok power rangers was cool to children but not to adults back then) Spawn Then of course, Spider-Man comes out. And everything changed - except for X-Men.
Honestly, too many films have been doing this with just color in general. Man of Steel for example. Because of the color filter they added in, it just looks way too bland and has no emotion.
I feel like this is one of the things that makes people more inclines towards the MCU. The costumes, while not PERFECT, at least they try to be comic accurate and more colorful. And even when they change the costume, to try and upgrade it or modernize it, they still try to maintain certain elements of the original costume.
This is one of the main reasons i hated that first X-men movie. And i agree Deadpool, and the marvel films have shown that Bryan Singer was so wrong in his costume choices for the X-Men.
Good video! One thing I think the various Marvel/Disney movies do right vs the X-Men movies (or the current line of DC movies) is that they tend to embrace the fact that they ARE comic book movies rather than be embarrassed by it. That includes the colorful costumes and as you pointed out, it does make a difference that goes beyond just visual design.
+Jason Punda You are spot on, because MARVEL understands its characters and show that to the audience so that they know the character beyond the costumes. DC, thanks to "visionary" director/leader Zack Snyder, is stuck in the outdated mentality that "superhero costumes are too silly for a movie". Zack Synder literally said that he thinks costumes are too silly for characters to have long dramatic conversations in, even though *THE DARK KNIGHT*, Daredevil Season 2, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and plenty of other examples contradict and disprove this. Some directors and execs just need to get over themselves for once and try to see the source material beyond the surface (not that Zack Snyder has that ability if you know what I mean).
they are slowly getting there though i mean they got batman costume right all they really need is make the colors more bright instead of the boring grey so heroes like supes can pop out more.
It's easy for us fanboys to sit here and claim that it's okay to get silly and not tone down the source material. But that's because we live in this day and age where superhero movies are the dominant entertainment facet and had time to take steps to this level of acceptance. But back when the original X-Men movies were coming out, you couldn't take the general audience for granted. You had to sell them the idea in an acceptable way. Nowadays nobody bothers with it and superheroes get their costumes without a rhyme or reason.
This is one of my biggest problem with modern comic book movies. Like, just look at the DC movies. Superman and Wonder Woman were supposed to be bright beacons of hope. Their colour schemes were meant to represent the country they protect - red white and blue. But Wonder Woman was brown, Superman was grey - where's that spark? That life? It was like watching them under a dull sepia filter - it's one of the few things suicide squad got right. Colour is not inherently bad and not opposite to realism. What would the real world be without any colour? Dull. Xmen is the worst offender though. These characters just don't have enough, well...character in these dull monotones. You're totally right. Some of the darkest, grittiest stories out there don't shy away from colour - hell, sometimes it could even be an interesting contrast between the bleakness of the story and the vibrancy of the world...just sad that modern film makers seem to want to go back in time to grey scale and sepia. Seems like a downgrade to me.
Superman's outfit is actually pretty ok. The blue is dark but Superman has worn dark blue outfits before. The real problem with his outfit is the lack of the big red trunks. They were what livened the outfit up and made it... Perky. Wonder Woman's outfit is darker than usual but still not bad. The real issue is, as you pointed out, the filters that the film makers apply to the films. It turns a slightly muted color scheme into something very drab.
Even one of the darkest and grittiest film adaptations of a comic ever (Sin City) was primarily in black and white yet it knew when a splash of color is effective. I'm thinking of the Yellow Bastard specifically.
Bryan singer pay attention to this video. Xmen are not batman, they don't need to be in black leather costumes, atleast first class used classic xmen costume colors.
I understood why they did the leather and had no problems with it, but you made great points. I did think that the whole comic accurate thing has just recently been proven to work, as they were the first big movie adaptation back in 2000, so it makes sense that they would be nervous about it. Now that I've seen X-men Apocalypse, I'm excited to see what they did.
burntvirtue yes but then after Superman 3 and 4, and Super girl flopped, I think they wanted to go in a new direction, and only recently started going for those type of costumes again. I think people where afraid to be associated with more of those bad movies than anything else. I guess I should say "...have only recently proven to work again." That's just my theory though.
Batman and Superman both had comic-accurate costumes in the 80's and 90's and no one complained (ok, Bat Nipple was a step too far!). And it's not like we actually have comic accurate costumes, we just have realistic-ish outfits that more closely adhere to the comics.
3 for 3 on fantastic videos, homie. Please never stop, these type of nerdy, intelligent breakdowns of pop culture icons are interesting as hell and your slick editing and writing make them some of the most entertaining on TH-cam. Keep up the good work
I honestly will blame Batman & Robin (1997) for making the X-Men movies have the characters wear blade leather outfits. Or any superhero movie from the 90s and 2000s. Because the nightmare corny cringefest led to many movies to be embarrassed and didn't want something close to that and more grounded in reality.
Somehow I found this video a couple weeks before the release of the Deadpool&Wolverine film, and it made me understand why it feels so important that Logan will be finally wearing the classic color scheme of yellow, blue and black. I'm so excited to finally watch this movie at the theatre, but even most importantly to cosplay the Wolverine in all his glory, my favorite X-men since I was a kid.
Never figured there was a great purpose for giving characters such vibrant outfits. Now I feel lazy for never thinking about it....I just assumed it was the comic artist favorite color.
+MentalReach I always though that it was because of the tendency from the 90ths ...or older times that where all colourfull ..you noticed that now days everything looks dark and depressive ? since like the 2000 th ...everything is portraited as dark and misterious that fucking movement fucking sucks ..go shove the darkness in your ass .
+Clips Jack Yep. It was response to how Batman & Robin pretty much ruined the Superhero movie genre for quite a few years. Alot of directors were afraid to go colorful because they thought it'd remind people of that movie in particular, or it'd come off as cheesy. 1999/2000 is where the boom started again. You had movies like Blade which was really successful, featured a dark and mysterious protagonist, wearing a Black Leather trench coat,and black para military gear. Then you had the Matrix which was pretty much ruling the world at the time, so alot of movies tried to emulate that. Hence the first Xmen movie with their outfits. You wanna know something really funny and ironic. You know the Fantastic Four movie that came out last year, that bombed really hard? Take a look at the cinematography, and the outfits. Look at the promo posters. It looks like it's trying to be year 2000 comic book movie, in 2015. Seriously, go take a look, it'll blow your mind!
***** Well, Midnight's Edge in their Fatn4stic review did call the movie as seeming as though it was serviceable in 2005 rather than 2015. Anyway, why would they try to make and market a movie that looked and felt so outdated? Did they just think that people would see it out of nostalgia or that it was "dark and gritty"?
I really want to state that James Wan directed Aquaman has,for me personally,made a next step in the costume Depictions on screen. For years,people have never seen Aquamans armor and powers as cool,and then I see the movie and all the iconic costumes for Aquamans characters were done so well that I legitimately want to see an comic book accurate depiction of the MCU XMEN
I'd argue that it shouldn't go unnoticed that Singer, while clearly shamed about their more colourful origins, has always appreciated the subtext of the X-MEN and ultimately has opted to bring what the material is ABOUT to the forefront over simply pandering to fans. That takes balls and I think there's a lot to admire in that, regardless of whether or not it necessarily works all of the time. Imagine if the X-MEN looked like their comic book counterparts but the movies weren't actually about anything, it can be argued that would be just as bad. But at the end of the day, I agree. Not embracing the optimistic, absurdest, colourful tone of the source material is holding the series back from truly progressing and it rids the films of a huge aspect of the X-MEN's identity as a unique franchise. I thought DOFP worked as a doorway into that brighter shameless universe with the spirit of the comics, but 'X-MEN Apocalypse' clearly decided against that. Shame.
A very valid point, and I would agree if it wasn't for the fact that a lot of the X-Men in the films don't act like their comic book counter parts. Each character lacks vital qualities that make their comic book versions so appealing. Take Storm for example, who is suppose to be the big sister, a matriarchal figure of the group who is proud of who she is with a very strong will that often surprises Cyclops and Professor X. However, in the film, she always seems to be on the verge of breaking, or ashamed of what she is.
+Minh P I think that is true to a degree. There are some characters that are in the spirit of the comics, such wolverine, professor X, magneto and deadpool (of course), but these are the most popular ones, while the others aren't given focus and different altogether. And I think that's the X-men movie franchise's biggest problem as a whole, it focuses far to much on the most popular characters which leaves some characters and plot underdeveloped in a good chunk of the film's minus a few exceptions.
If you aren't making an Xmen movie for the fans, or the love of the franchise, why else would you even take th..... Oh, yeah, a literal mountain of money.... I agree. Nvm
The first X-Men film came out three years after Batman & Robin, which had received some rather strong (and at times homophobic) backlash for its garish costumes, so Bryan Singer made a reasonable aesthetic choice at the time--one that the comic books quickly embraced, no less. However, by the time that X-Men: The Last Stand came out, Spider-Man had already seen two successful films, so it's no surprise that Brett Ratner felt comfortable dressing up Beast in a costume with a bit more color. (He really should've placed the whole team in those jackets, but whatever.) X-Men: First Class used its period setting to justify the bright yellow and blue costumes, and I'm a bit disappointed that X-Men: Apocalypse isn't following suit.
It’s ironic that cosplayers do a better job showcasing their love and respect for the X-Men and what they represent than the billion-something movie blockbuster studios that Fox and Marvel are
“If you think that blue and yellow spandex are too silly for your film, you don’t take the property seriously. A true fan take their interests seriously.”
Surprisingly informative. It also reminds me of something AndroidArts said regarding how iconic designs needs to have a certain inherant goofynees to it so that it can grow on you and be a defining style.
I've been saying this for YEARS. I don't think the actors should be wearing actual spandex but they could certainly wear costumes/uniforms that look tactical while giving each character a unique look and identity.
the costumes should have color. X-men first class and Negasonic Teenage Warhead are examples of how to wear the yellow and black/blue without it being spandex, and looking good while doing it. the material of the costume can change, but the color schemes are a part of the characters, not just the costumes.
+Mateo David Gutierrez Gonzalez And for those of us who are over the age of 12, what the hell is an "outro" and why is it "crispy af"? Curse you Internet slang! You will forever be my bane!
I love how superhero movies are slowly going back to their comic book costumes. I feel like by the time Justice League and Infinity War come out, superhero films will be as colourful as their comics once again.
So I'm like - yeah this is a pretty good video, I like the points this guy is making... and then the credits roll with that absolutely amazing Tyler the creator beat and I'm like YUP! IM SUBBED!
When Negasonic Teenage Warhead's black leather got blown off and she was wearing yellow and dark blue I literally yelled out in joy in the theater and non-literally came in my pants (okay maybe I came a little).
I wish more TH-cam content was like this, clean, well made, something original made from existing materials, with competent editing, production, and voice work. Great job. As for the content, the points made were excellent, and some of them even this longtime fan hadn't considered. Again, excellent analysis. Does anybody know where the mostly black Wolverine costume at around 4:27 is from anyway? That design would look amazing on film.
Light, composition and color are tools used to draw the eye to where a director intends it during a scene or frame or photograph. In a film, having a clusterfuck of color flying and bouncing around will be more visually distracting than you realize. And it only worked in Deadpool because the colors were muted and not very bright, and it had fewer characters than your typical X-Men movie.
BCz the truth, no matter how well edited this video is, is that if they had done spandex and color i would not have worked back then. It's only bcz of what ppl like Singer & Favreau and Snyder hv done to bring Superhero films to the fore front that we can now consider bright colors. They have made these films incredibly popular Let's not forget to give credit where credit is due
Right? And it's not like you need to make it look exactly like the comics. The Marvel Movies, were able to keep the look and color schemes of the original suits while still making them work in the real world by adding just a little bit of detail.
I hate all of these movies. I see them as fictional stories claiming to be based on real events, like many movies do. These FOX X-Men claim to be X-Men, but they're more like Matrix crew, Divergent, Maze Runner, Hunger games, or whatever is considered cool according to bryan singer at the time. These are no X-Men, this is an exercise of cynicism of a major studio that doesnt give 2 shits about who they are, and what they represent, they just know "X-Men" sounds edgy as hell and ppl will watch it. 8 X-Men movies, and Scott Summers is still completely unknown, that's the level of failure these movies have achieved. That we live in a world were we know more about Scott Lang, than we know about Scott Summer. Someone who might call Xavier "Professor", but he's noone's student, and everyone's teacher, he's the captain america of the X-Men, the field leader, the one that keeps all these misfits from killing each other at times. See, No Cyclops, NO X-MEN (even if not all comics feature him, HE IS THE X-MEN).
+Gábor Csernák Or...Nick Fury is the Prof X and Cap is the Cyclops of the Avengers??? They didn't start this recent trend with the Avengers until waaaaay after the X-Men did it. Almost seems like they copied their blueprint of success? Plus they added Wolverine to the Avengers... BOOM!!! LOL!
Glad to see you on another X-Men video, sir. Once again you echo my sentiments exactly. Cyclops has never been properly used in the movies. Neither has Storm for that matter.
trealsteve You know how i am for this, i get a lot of heat for it, but i just have to say something! And yes, so far Cyclops and Storm have been treated like "look what they can do! flashy powers!!! whooooh!" and completely dodge any form of character development for them. Like we'd care to see these 2 actors playing Scott and Ororo recreate the fight over the leadership of the X-Men like they did a few times back in the day, the first of those fights, Storm won. These kids, the director and the studio behind it, don't have it in them. But Jennifer Lawrence aint playing either of them, so Singer and FOX dont give a damn :P. I truly hope the last wolverine movie is a closing chapter to the entire franchise up to date. I´m even willing to give fox the benefit of the doubt, if they at least do that, a full reset without carrying anything from the previous movies (apocalypse included), only Deadpool.
I enjoyed this video, and I agree to a point. To specifically call out two heroes however, Wolverine and Storm, these were two characters who explored their costume identities. Storm cut her hair into a mohawk and donned black leather (from vest to choker to crossed belts) in the early 80s-an iconic look that I personally think was her best. Around that same time Wolverine was "Patch" on his days off from his brown/gold costume, wearing white and gray suit jackets, bow-ties, and when on the job, sleeveless black spandex. And a black eyepatch. But, true to your point, these were looks that, at that time, made them stand out as individuals-ninjas and punks in a world of bright yellows and blues.
Deadpool is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously. It could be considered a satire of comic book films in a way. So of course his costume would work, but when you have a serious tone to your film, it is hard to incorporate shiny, bright yellow costumes. But I am not defending all black and desaturated costumes either
+Aram Sarkisian Deadpool showed that the yellow/blue suit works on film... It's the one Negasonic Teenage Warhead wears and it's great, and it's even a bit plain compared to some of the awesome suits the other X-Men wear...
on the critique of Wolverine not wearing his gear, it stays true to the "lone wolf" character that he is. yes, he's a soldier and knows uniformity is important, but Logan has been written as having a ton of issues and enemies that have absolutely no stake in the X-Men, just him. he doesn't have to be in uniform to stay in his iconic image. the fur lined bomber, jeans, lumberjack shirt, stogie: iconic...brown uniform: iconic...running around shirtless and bloody in the snow: iconic. the black leather in the movies was awesome to me because it was more tactical and war like, which is the angle for every movie.
bfan82 Except that goes against what the X-men stand for, doesn't it? The X-men wish to coexist peacefully with humans. Try just want to live their lives. Black leather military uniforms scream "run, pitiful humans, you're time has come." Which is the exact opposite of what Xavier is trying to accomplish.
Man I'm really hoping this new Marvel Studios interpretation of the X-Men reverts them back to something along the lines of the original costume designs, because as much as I liked at least half of these old X-Men films, the costumes definitely disappointed me.
Some of the costumes are hard to translate to film. Bright Yellow spandex would look goofy and you would have the audience finding it very difficult to take the movie seriously. Now I'm not saying that its impossible to have the comic accurate versions of the costumes on screen. Its just that you have to take certain liberties when translating them to live action like toning down the bright colors and tight ass spandex. Look at Captain America's costume in the MCU. Its done right. It stays true to the source material of the comics while retaining some sense of grounded reality for the tone of the movie. Same for Deadpool and Spider-Man. That's the way you do comic book movie costumes. It has to take into account that not everything can translate to live action well, and make it fit in with the tone of the universe.
It's all about creativity. Color is just as vital of to the design as the costume itself. This is off topic, but when NEON GENESIS EVANGELION gets adapted, I want those plug suits and giant robots/cyborgs (EVAs) to be in their colors, not just plastered in black like what FOX has been forcing upon X-Men for years (I get that they had to in the early 2000s, but come on, we can be much more creative than that now). The colors help characterize them: the redhead's red one shows off her temper and passion, while the blue-haired one's white suit emphasizes how empty she is in terms of being human. And also, the pilots need to be 14 years old as characters, not changed into high school students to pander to audiences' comfort zone because making them older, especially Shinji Ikari, would be missing the point of what Hideaki Anno was trying to accomplish with NGE; NGE is dark and involves child pilots with emotional issues, and 14 year-olds are much more vulnerable than high school students (especially if forced to pilot a giant robot).
I think what Deadpool (specifically negasonic teenage warhead) did right is that they experimented with hues and saturation. You see wolverine in the comics and the yellow in his suit is basically the same yellow that would be in a crayola box with no variation, same with the blue and the occasional red belt. But Warhead's costume used a yellow that was still light in tint, but very desaturated. It looked appropriate for both film and comics. Like Rogue; if they gave her a suit that had a yellow that was almost white, a dull, kinda olive green, both of those would mesh well with a brown over coat and the whole design would look good. I think the main problem is that the designers don't experiment much. When singer says "and we did try" all I hear is "we tried to apply the EXACT colors onto the designs we made".
I think there's wiggle room. First Class had yellow and blue suits, they weren't spandex, but the colors were there. there's a difference between comic accurate and comic faithful costume representation. comic accurate is page to screen identical costumes, which don't always work. comic faithful costumes, take the spirit of the original design, take what works and what is crucial for the characters, and bring it over, ditching what may not work in live action. Cap and Iron man are in their original color schemes, but they are wearing costumes with designs that differ from their comic counterparts. the material or the physical design are different. hell, Spiderman has almost always been in actual spandex in his films, brightly colored spandex, and it's worked. saying it won't work and just leaving it at that is a lame excuse to be lazy. especially with the X-men. they have some of the most unique costumes in all comics, and the movies should embrace them, and adapt faithful versions of the suits to the films. they don't need to be identical to the costumes on the page, but they have to capture the spirit of the characters actually.
Dude, I don’t know who you are but this is perhaps the most intelligent and well-thoughout video I’ve ever seen on TH-cam in the subject of fantasy/sci-fic cinema realism, and especially super-hero cinema realism. This was like an university-level visual essay. Kudos.
Just remember - Marvel still has no control over the cinematic X-Men. That's why you have directors with no faith in the source. If (when? please?) Marvel get them back, you can trust Feige and co to bring the colours back
I just want to thank you for the additional point paying respect to Cyclops as a leader! He is a heinously misunderstood character. When people dismiss him as a boy scout or a jock it's frustrating.
I'm coming back to this video after seeing that Deadpool 3 has Hugh Jackman in the proper Wolverine attire, including the mask. The Deadpool writers trust the media and it's style.
You missed the point. Fox is where imagination goes to get tortured to death. As long as they own X-Men X-Men will suck. So will the fantastic fuckups errrmmm four.
+Rakanishu2 I'm so tired of ppl saying First Trash errrmmm Class is good. It. Is. Not. Even with my second favorite comic character, Magneto, they still get it wrong. Why is Sebastian Shaw head of a Nazi death camp...where Magneto just happens to be a prisoner of? Why is Shaw German and alive during WW2?? Why does Magneto still not have his trademark silver hair??? Because FOX sucks and they don't care about the characters or their stories. Days of Future Bleh...Past got a passing grade of C from me. The best part of the movie was Chris Claremont's cameo...and his acting wasn't that great! (No disrespect intended to the legendary X-Men scribe of 16 straight years, Chris Claremont) The ending was basically an apology for the movies after X-2... Then Singer goes and makes this new crap... I'm done with FOX-Men movies.
Such hard work and research went into this, unlike the majority of youtube. Thank you so much. You are the rare gem that makes this site worth visiting.
I see a lot of people asking how if Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films got the suits right then how did the X-Men films fail and I have a simple response:Bryan Singer, Singer openly admits to disliking the source material and banned X-Men comics on set!
Another reason is because this movie came out right after "The Matrix" did. There was an occult revulsion for the appearance of the comic characters, surely. They disliked actual flowing variegation humans might wear but also opposed the notion that they could ever work. So the plain hyper darks are what they went with. Partly due to Neo and family who brought to the screen a magnificent story & aesthetic element or style that needed to be emulated.
My favorite x-men sound bite is from marvel vs street fighter! The voice that yells "X" really loud and strong when an x-men performs their special attack.
there's a little character viewpoint thing in the comics with wolverine and cyclops. Wolverine calls his costume, and superhero getups in general, a uniform, and insists on not calling it a costume because he says costumes are for children, heroes wear a uniform, even if it's bright and colorful. while cyclops calls it a costume and insists on not calling it a uniform, because uniforms are worn by the people who have oppressed mutants, and a costume has a freer connotation to it.
Wolvie also calls his uniform "fighting togs". This was especially before Cassandra Nova outed Xavier, the X-Men and the true nature of the school to the public. He understood that to operate effectively as Wolverine he needed a uniform that concealed his public identity. The X-Men like many of the other Marvel Superheroes had costumes/uniforms that were either made of special substances specifically for battle (unstable molecules, Kevlar-like lining, insulation, etc.)
Tom Hardy would be great as Wolverine.
truth is costumes are hell expensive, and most actors cant maneuver through the tight costumes like the cosplay models do. thats why it takes Marvel and DC movies to come out at such late intervals as they make budget for the costumes which are authentic and easily maneuverable
Akhdar Fauad Khan Poor excuse for FOX.
Wow. Really cool.
Man hearing how restricted the X-MEN cast felt in there suits explains why their body movement was off during some of the wired stunts.
When James Marsden said "You couldn't feel Less like a Superhero" when wearing those suits my heart kinda sank. Yeah these costumes are super important even if they're silly. At least within the decade were gonna see the MCU versions of the Characters, costumes and all
@@NiohArcadia I mean when he saying was saying that line about "You couldn't feel Less like a Superhero", He was talking about the Black suits they were wearing for the live action films, not the iconic costumes that you see in the comics and shows. He doesn't mean the iconic comic book costumes are "Silly" at all nor should you think that, he just thinks the movie costumes are restrictive. Your heart shouldn't feel "kinda sank" because he just meant the films ones.
i guess im asking the wrong place but does anybody know a way to log back into an instagram account..?
I was dumb forgot my account password. I love any tricks you can offer me
@Kristopher Lennon instablaster ;)
Also explains why they modified them for sequels to allow for more flexibility
The scene in the first Avengers movie came to mind watching this vid, where Phil Coulson presents Cap with his new uniform. The line Coulson said was simple but powerful when addressing the cosutme's old fashioned flashiness:
"Everything's that's happening. The things that are about to come to light. People just might need a little old fashioned."
That scene is an example of the power of a superhero's costume and imagery. Superheroes are beacons of hope and justice, their look taps into the emotions of everyone who has read the comics, watched the cartoons, and hung up the posters of their favorite heroes.
That's exactly the same thought that I had at that moment in the film and when we see cap in that outfit for the first time I cheered and then thought to myself "God, if only Marvel had the rights to the X-men..."
Cap already had justification for wearing his costume because of the standalone movie he got in 2011 that set that up. X-Men movies didn't start with individual movies setting up them wearing their iconic costumes.
If Sam Raimi could make Spider-Man look good and colorful on the big screen, I don't understand why Singer couldn't make the X-Men look great as well.
substandardlysubpar honestly I believe hes not creative enough
Because Singer doesn't respect the lore of X-Men or comics in general. Raimi on the other hand respects comics and loves Spider-Man.
Because Singer Is a Narcissist Who Should have NEVER Touched a Marvel Property!!! #UGH
Doc Ock didn't wear spandex and Norman Osborn didn't have a mask that moved with his face and elf clothing
But it still somehow felt faithful to the comics, with the matching color palette(doc ock's green trench coat ), which shows a differing view on literally how the costume should aid the character, and less on whether or not it would work.
“That [X-men] costume that the student’s wear is sometimes the only thing that gives them any sense of belonging. It’s not just the uniform, it’s a symbol of the unification of the group, while also being a representation of individuality, because that’s what being an X-man is about: it’s a celebration of self-identity.”
brilliant quote to summarize the entire video & series. keep up the great work!
I completely agree with this. In fact, the costumes are downright critical to the level of enjoyment I get from the X-Men. It was Jim Lee's masterful, unbeatable 90s designs that made me take notice of them. Once Marvel started changing their costumes in the books even, I lost so much interest. Thank God for the recent "X-Men '92" book they have started releasing. If only the films could figure it out.
+FlawedCoil82 QFT
+FlawedCoil82 I have that book, and it's rad! The cool thing about Jim Lee's designs is that you get a sense of epicness, and gravitas from them. Especially those huge splash pages he draws, with all of the characters together. You get a sense of scale, and might I add, individuality for each character. They look strong, and confident.
Same thing can be said for Alex Ross's artwork. Especially Kingdom Come.
That just made me think of the Fleer trading card Jim Lee poster designs. I really wish I had saved some of those, god knows where they are now.
FlawedCoil82 My God, the Jim Lee desings are a mess, I prefer the Whedon era uniforms; more suttle.
The Wheddon costumes were boring to me. I have always hated Cyclops' skullcap as it makes him look like a robot (Robocop) and Wolverine's tiny mask "ears" made him look fatter and much less threatening. I have found all the costumes(after the Jim Lee designs) to be boring and highly forgettable. It makes me so frustrated that the X-Men are still cursed to this very day with never-ending changing costumes that will never be remembered or regarded as "iconic" in 5 years.
I feel like the xmen films and superhero films in general have really outgrown Singer and what he did with the first xmen film. Apparently he told the original cast not to look at the comics or any source material at all wtf. He's so embarrassed by the xmen but he can't get any other work so he keeps going back to it. DC have never tried to take batman's lil ears off his costume even tho in theory they might look a bit goofy but they don't bc they just let them be what day are. Captain America runs around in a full red, white and blue costume in the films, mask and all, and no one has any problems with it.
While the portrayal of Cyclops and Iceman in particular are dreadful, my biggest problem with the X-Men movies is that they are all (outside of First Class) basically Wolverine movies. From the start it's been about Wolverine's journey and he is the only character with any semblance of development.
Christopher Thomas it's so weird to see wolverine be the main character all the time when it's scott who's actually the leader lol. if they had actually set scott up right (with his background etc) then people probably would have sympathised with him at the very least.
Indeed they have, yet it is arguably a matter that should be reviewed in context of the super hero-market in 2000; the latter Superman movies and other weak attempts, such as "Steel" in (1997), and in the same year certainly the renowned "Batman & Robin" had famously all but killed the idea of super hero movies in the public mind in the late 90ths. The sign there might still be a stage for it came in the form of "Blade" (1998), which did well but did not turn popular perspective. The lesson that reasonably could be drawn, for any producer and creator who found super heroes interesting to make a movie of still, was that 'stay the hell away' from anything that may be associated to the 'camp' elements of "Batman & Robin" and thier kin (Nuclear Man, Mr Freeze and Batman nipples, anyone?). Go for a darker and so called 'realistic' apperance and tone, and the public may be reintroduced. And it did draw the crowd, not only the fans, whether of that reason or not, the gamble did seem to pay off. That said, already with Spiderman (2002) it was made clear the general public was open to 'fantastic' source material, yet the success with the X-Men presumably cemented the misconception these films required it's new 'dark' style. Likely not helped by Singer not being a fan prior to making the films, hehe.
Suicide Squad is another more recent example of how not to do it. Most characters are as brown as the rest of the movie.
The comics don't seem to be respecting the material now either-Iceman just got the 'we made him gay cos we don't know what to do with him' similar to what happened with Lightning LAd-it was a lazy stunt, as Iceman has always been shown as a ladies man. Now it's like 'oh, he only did that to hide who he was'...like, whut? For 40 years? Really?
Singer was the most frustrating-he went to do Superman Returns with absolutely no concept of who Superman is or was-and not knowing that Superman continuity had changed in the almost 30 years since the Reeve film had debuted. HE then brought the same 'X-men sensibilities' to that film-with a muddy brown look to the film, and a Superman costume he was almost embarassed to make, hence the smaller logo.
His other projects have been--well, fail. Especially the Tom Cruise Nazi film, which garnered more attention for the Germans hating Scientology than it did for the film itsself.
And then he goes and makes X-men Apocalypse, and messes that up too. Like, he just seems like he has no clue. Like he strikes it lucky or something.
Wolverine in his classic yellow costume: You actually go out in these things?
Cyclops: What would you prefer? Black leather spandex?
Wow this is crazy, 5 years later in x men 97' cyclops says 'what would you prefer black leather'
time traveler
You out here doin it right fam keep rockin
+Charles Baker Much love
+kaptainkristian fuck your a smart lad, you could of made this video weeks prior to the final trailer yet you waited until there was attention on the net regarding this subject. I'm learning!
+kaptainkristian feels so clean and crisp, please dont stop making videos
+kaptainkristian Keep it loopy, man
+kaptainkristian Although I agree with you, you can't completely use Deadpool as a counter-example because that movie also changed character costumes as much as Singer did. Sure, they got Deadpool right, but Negasonic Teenage Warhead looks nothing like she does in the comics, neither does Ajax, Colossus and Bob's costumes colors are completely muted.
I love how Deadpool got the x-men outfit right when the actual x-men films didn't
X-Men Apocalypse, First Class and to a lesser extent Days of Future Past, has a more faithful look in the movies. Deadpool Colossus seems to be a mix of the X-Men trilogy costume and the classic Colossus look
Micheal Mah'moud I liked the first class outfits
you mean black rubber ?
Regardless of how you might feel about the films themselves, I think we can all agree the MCU knows costume design.
Exactly, it doesn't get more "campy" than Captain Americas costume and the MCU has done a great job keeping it faithful to the comics while making it look bad ass on screen (except for the first Avengers maybe).
***** Yeah that was a bit weird. Thor's looked odd in that one too.
So where's Hawkeye's classic costume from the comics in the MCU?
In the trash, where it belongs lol.
Okay, there are some exceptions. I don't know why they haven't adapted his costume from Fraction and Aja's series at least.
Good stuff, man! Keep it up!
OMG NERDSYNC
Oh dang, hey nerdsync!
my mannnnnnnn! scotty boy!
aaaay whatsup scot
NerdSync you too. I was subscribed to nerdsync first
Your editing is so goddamn smooth, crisp and seamless. TH-cam needs more people like you.
i laughed so hard at that mangeto bit from first class
is dat design came from the comic... the colour scheme is magneto-ish but wth with dat horn attached at the front his helm
+Uno Roeslan the helmet it accurate and the colors but the suit looks rediculous
UncommonSituations Ye rite, horns do exist in comical features... To be honest, i nvr read any x-men comics... I just enjoyed 80s spiderman memes(the rude spiderman not the spoderman)
the gloss on the helmet was weird, the colors too saturated imo. it just reminded me of hard candy instead of a cool helmet
Yeah. Great.
Dude, this video is so refreshing.
It has always baffled me how Brian Singer is so obsessed with staying away from the iconic costumes. I am 100% for redesigns and adaptation, but the problem is that you simply cannot separate a superhero from their costume. Imagine, for example, if they put Superman in a black leather suit. Everyone would lose their minds and the movie would bomb. Marvel Studios understands this, they make changes to their costumes but they keep the iconic aspects intact. Captain America's suit is designed like Kevlar and doesn't have the helmet wings, but he has the same color scheme and emblems, and the wings are now decals. He's still instantly recognizable as Cap.
Besides, it's not like the X-Men never had uniforms. Over the years they have used several variations on a yellow and blue/black uniform. That design worked in First Class and it worked on Negasonic in the Deadpool movie. Especially the latter, since it makes sense that Colossus has a custom outfit but students use standard-issue uniforms.
Because it tells us all we need to know about Singer.
AkuTenshiiZero ps adobe
AkuTenshiiZero Singer is pretentious and up his own ass, and because of that, he looks down on comics because he sees them as only for kids. It’s ironic that he told the cast to not read the comics in order to not have flat characters, but that’s exactly what the movies ended up with.
I was about to say, they decided to get "colorful costumes" in Apocalypse, except they look like ACTUAL Halloween costumes... ffs
+Roman Fox Except they do. And the fact that Deadpool had a lot of one liners in it wasn't the sole reason why it worked.
Roman Fox The new ones do look off. That's addressed in this video. So we are in fact in agreement. But if the costumes WERE done right (black doesn't automatically equal to realistic...wtf?!) it would work. Like that rogue cosplay you saw and don't tell me you didn't like that cuz that would be complete bs. We suspend our disbelief regardless, its superheroes ffs. Batman is a bad example because he's inherently a realistic hero. Not the same case with the Marvel heroes for example. And don't tell me that didn't work because the numbers alone would be against you.
+Roman Fox You get it, it's what I use to do when designing/redesigning superhero/villains, and what Young Justice went by "Tactical but Practical", they need not look like they're the character in colors and design, but also not look too ridiculous when in them, and look like you could actually fight crime in them, as in free movement/protection.
My problem with TDK Batman's costumes is that design wise, it's fine but a bit over designed, but the big problem was the logo, it gets lost in it, but the ideas behind it are great, able to move his neck, and better freedom movement.
They employed some of it in BvS, but that has a few aesthetic problems, like the puffiness, but it's in the right direction
Oh...oh... I've never liked those, It worked for the early days, but after 80s, it looks sooooo dumb
It made sense to me why they changed them in the original X-Men films. They wanted to make it seem "cool" to people, because they obviously didn't think wild yellow costumes would resonate with people. They were just trying to make people take comic books seriously at all.
They must've doubted that something made for cartoons and comics could work in reality. But I think that now people are more ready for that, and comic book movies are such a thing now that people are totally okay with whatever you throw at them as long as it's smart.
You'd have to adapt the costumes a bit, obviously, but you could still do it. Just look at Spider Man-- he looks pretty accurate and real despite his costume being pretty wild.
The answer is pretty simple: Batman and Robin
Things were really negative about superheroes when Batman and Robin came out, and people forgot how saturated the genre had been back then to make it worse.
The Phantom
Steel
Judge Dredd
Power Rangers (ok power rangers was cool to children but not to adults back then)
Spawn
Then of course, Spider-Man comes out. And everything changed - except for X-Men.
I do wanna see spideys chunky back spider more often tho!
That spider is cute!
When I saw the these X-Men movie adaptations I didn't like 'em, but I didn't exactly know why.
Now finally this explains it a lot.
Honestly, too many films have been doing this with just color in general. Man of Steel for example. Because of the color filter they added in, it just looks way too bland and has no emotion.
"BUT ZACK SNYDER IS A VISIONARY."
"I did this for this particular scene in WATCHMEN because it was cool" - *Zack Snyder*
+Brandon Dozier eat shit
keep your temper tantrums offline, you freak
Its not often that I see random mental breakdowns online.
Leduong81818@gmail.com Le hey what the fuck hahahaha chill
I feel like this is one of the things that makes people more inclines towards the MCU. The costumes, while not PERFECT, at least they try to be comic accurate and more colorful. And even when they change the costume, to try and upgrade it or modernize it, they still try to maintain certain elements of the original costume.
This is one of the main reasons i hated that first X-men movie.
And i agree Deadpool, and the marvel films have shown that Bryan Singer was so wrong in his costume choices for the X-Men.
god damn the editing of these videos are amazing.😮
Good video!
One thing I think the various Marvel/Disney movies do right vs the X-Men movies (or the current line of DC movies) is that they tend to embrace the fact that they ARE comic book movies rather than be embarrassed by it. That includes the colorful costumes and as you pointed out, it does make a difference that goes beyond just visual design.
+Jason Punda You are spot on, because MARVEL understands its characters and show that to the audience so that they know the character beyond the costumes. DC, thanks to "visionary" director/leader Zack Snyder, is stuck in the outdated mentality that "superhero costumes are too silly for a movie". Zack Synder literally said that he thinks costumes are too silly for characters to have long dramatic conversations in, even though *THE DARK KNIGHT*, Daredevil Season 2, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and plenty of other examples contradict and disprove this. Some directors and execs just need to get over themselves for once and try to see the source material beyond the surface (not that Zack Snyder has that ability if you know what I mean).
they are slowly getting there though i mean they got batman costume right all they really need is make the colors more bright instead of the boring grey so heroes like supes can pop out more.
It's easy for us fanboys to sit here and claim that it's okay to get silly and not tone down the source material. But that's because we live in this day and age where superhero movies are the dominant entertainment facet and had time to take steps to this level of acceptance. But back when the original X-Men movies were coming out, you couldn't take the general audience for granted. You had to sell them the idea in an acceptable way. Nowadays nobody bothers with it and superheroes get their costumes without a rhyme or reason.
This is one of my biggest problem with modern comic book movies. Like, just look at the DC movies. Superman and Wonder Woman were supposed to be bright beacons of hope. Their colour schemes were meant to represent the country they protect - red white and blue. But Wonder Woman was brown, Superman was grey - where's that spark? That life? It was like watching them under a dull sepia filter - it's one of the few things suicide squad got right. Colour is not inherently bad and not opposite to realism. What would the real world be without any colour? Dull. Xmen is the worst offender though. These characters just don't have enough, well...character in these dull monotones. You're totally right. Some of the darkest, grittiest stories out there don't shy away from colour - hell, sometimes it could even be an interesting contrast between the bleakness of the story and the vibrancy of the world...just sad that modern film makers seem to want to go back in time to grey scale and sepia. Seems like a downgrade to me.
Because for some reason people think color is a bad thing and should be avoided. I wonder what they would say if all movies were in black and white.
even if they did look goofy, couldnt the movie universe be a setting that it made sense in.
Superman's outfit is actually pretty ok. The blue is dark but Superman has worn dark blue outfits before. The real problem with his outfit is the lack of the big red trunks. They were what livened the outfit up and made it... Perky.
Wonder Woman's outfit is darker than usual but still not bad.
The real issue is, as you pointed out, the filters that the film makers apply to the films. It turns a slightly muted color scheme into something very drab.
Even one of the darkest and grittiest film adaptations of a comic ever (Sin City) was primarily in black and white yet it knew when a splash of color is effective. I'm thinking of the Yellow Bastard specifically.
Danny Malzahn "bland colors"
Do you even know what that word means?
Bryan singer pay attention to this video. Xmen are not batman, they don't need to be in black leather costumes, atleast first class used classic xmen costume colors.
I understood why they did the leather and had no problems with it, but you made great points. I did think that the whole comic accurate thing has just recently been proven to work, as they were the first big movie adaptation back in 2000, so it makes sense that they would be nervous about it. Now that I've seen X-men Apocalypse, I'm excited to see what they did.
except for jennifer lawrence
The first? Uh, remember Batman back in 1989? Definitely worked.
+todesziege Batman and Robin killed the genre after that though, so I think they were going for something new?
burntvirtue yes but then after Superman 3 and 4, and Super girl flopped, I think they wanted to go in a new direction, and only recently started going for those type of costumes again. I think people where afraid to be associated with more of those bad movies than anything else. I guess I should say "...have only recently proven to work again." That's just my theory though.
Batman and Superman both had comic-accurate costumes in the 80's and 90's and no one complained (ok, Bat Nipple was a step too far!).
And it's not like we actually have comic accurate costumes, we just have realistic-ish outfits that more closely adhere to the comics.
Revisiting this video after Hugh Jackman's wolverine suit reveal for Deadpool3
You and your channel are going places. Don't stop.
So good
Even in the three videos you have made so far, it's easy to see a new and upcoming TH-cam creator! Keep up the incredible work!
3 for 3 on fantastic videos, homie. Please never stop, these type of nerdy, intelligent breakdowns of pop culture icons are interesting as hell and your slick editing and writing make them some of the most entertaining on TH-cam. Keep up the good work
I honestly will blame Batman & Robin (1997) for making the X-Men movies have the characters wear blade leather outfits. Or any superhero movie from the 90s and 2000s. Because the nightmare corny cringefest led to many movies to be embarrassed and didn't want something close to that and more grounded in reality.
Somehow I found this video a couple weeks before the release of the Deadpool&Wolverine film, and it made me understand why it feels so important that Logan will be finally wearing the classic color scheme of yellow, blue and black.
I'm so excited to finally watch this movie at the theatre, but even most importantly to cosplay the Wolverine in all his glory, my favorite X-men since I was a kid.
I seriously can't get over how recently you started uploading videos, and how great they've been. Keep it up, man.
Never figured there was a great purpose for giving characters such vibrant outfits. Now I feel lazy for never thinking about it....I just assumed it was the comic artist favorite color.
+MentalReach Don't worry; a lot of us tend to take certain elements of a particular medium for granted.
+MentalReach I always though that it was because of the tendency from the 90ths ...or older times that where all colourfull ..you noticed that now days everything looks dark and depressive ? since like the 2000 th ...everything is portraited as dark and misterious that fucking movement fucking sucks ..go shove the darkness in your ass .
+Clips Jack Yep. It was response to how Batman & Robin pretty much ruined the Superhero movie genre for quite a few years. Alot of directors were afraid to go colorful because they thought it'd remind people of that movie in particular, or it'd come off as cheesy.
1999/2000 is where the boom started again. You had movies like Blade which was really successful, featured a dark and mysterious protagonist, wearing a Black Leather trench coat,and black para military gear. Then you had the Matrix which was pretty much ruling the world at the time, so alot of movies tried to emulate that. Hence the first Xmen movie with their outfits.
You wanna know something really funny and ironic. You know the Fantastic Four movie that came out last year, that bombed really hard? Take a look at the cinematography, and the outfits. Look at the promo posters. It looks like it's trying to be year 2000 comic book movie, in 2015. Seriously, go take a look, it'll blow your mind!
***** Well, Midnight's Edge in their Fatn4stic review did call the movie as seeming as though it was serviceable in 2005 rather than 2015. Anyway, why would they try to make and market a movie that looked and felt so outdated? Did they just think that people would see it out of nostalgia or that it was "dark and gritty"?
I seriously teared up watching this
I really want to state that James Wan directed Aquaman has,for me personally,made a next step in the costume Depictions on screen.
For years,people have never seen Aquamans armor and powers as cool,and then I see the movie and all the iconic costumes for Aquamans characters were done so well that I legitimately want to see an comic book accurate depiction of the MCU XMEN
These videos are just wonderful.
+Νικόλας Λαζάρου Check out his Patreon if you wanna help him out.
Agreed
I'd argue that it shouldn't go unnoticed that Singer, while clearly shamed about their more colourful origins, has always appreciated the subtext of the X-MEN and ultimately has opted to bring what the material is ABOUT to the forefront over simply pandering to fans. That takes balls and I think there's a lot to admire in that, regardless of whether or not it necessarily works all of the time. Imagine if the X-MEN looked like their comic book counterparts but the movies weren't actually about anything, it can be argued that would be just as bad. But at the end of the day, I agree. Not embracing the optimistic, absurdest, colourful tone of the source material is holding the series back from truly progressing and it rids the films of a huge aspect of the X-MEN's identity as a unique franchise. I thought DOFP worked as a doorway into that brighter shameless universe with the spirit of the comics, but 'X-MEN Apocalypse' clearly decided against that. Shame.
A very valid point, and I would agree if it wasn't for the fact that a lot of the X-Men in the films don't act like their comic book counter parts. Each character lacks vital qualities that make their comic book versions so appealing. Take Storm for example, who is suppose to be the big sister, a matriarchal figure of the group who is proud of who she is with a very strong will that often surprises Cyclops and Professor X. However, in the film, she always seems to be on the verge of breaking, or ashamed of what she is.
+Minh P I think that is true to a degree. There are some characters that are in the spirit of the comics, such wolverine, professor X, magneto and deadpool (of course), but these are the most popular ones, while the others aren't given focus and different altogether. And I think that's the X-men movie franchise's biggest problem as a whole, it focuses far to much on the most popular characters which leaves some characters and plot underdeveloped in a good chunk of the film's minus a few exceptions.
Worrrrd. They come up as unimaginative film makers, hopefully they can pass the baton to a Director who can really hold up to these great series.
Singer sucks as a superhero type director. let's move on from him
I disagree, he does nothing spectacular for the series except for not messing it up TOO bad
I loved that ending
New favorite channel. Right up there with Every Frame a Painting in being engaging
+TheStanishStudios bruh, it's like we think alike! Def. 2 of the better channels on TH-cam.
Another one knocked out of the park. Seriously, keep it up, these videos are great.
FINALLY I've been waiting for someone to discuss in detail about this particular problem.
If you aren't making an Xmen movie for the fans, or the love of the franchise, why else would you even take th..... Oh, yeah, a literal mountain of money.... I agree. Nvm
Dude you're videos are literally the best things I have seen on youtube in a while
The first X-Men film came out three years after Batman & Robin, which had received some rather strong (and at times homophobic) backlash for its garish costumes, so Bryan Singer made a reasonable aesthetic choice at the time--one that the comic books quickly embraced, no less. However, by the time that X-Men: The Last Stand came out, Spider-Man had already seen two successful films, so it's no surprise that Brett Ratner felt comfortable dressing up Beast in a costume with a bit more color. (He really should've placed the whole team in those jackets, but whatever.) X-Men: First Class used its period setting to justify the bright yellow and blue costumes, and I'm a bit disappointed that X-Men: Apocalypse isn't following suit.
It’s ironic that cosplayers do a better job showcasing their love and respect for the X-Men and what they represent than the billion-something movie blockbuster studios that Fox and Marvel are
you are dishing out some great content man, please continue making these videos cause they're great!
Mr. Sunday Movies gave u a shoutout. You should guest on the weekly planet!
Awesome!
100% agree. Instead we get some sort of Katniss hunter games armor.
Katniss' hunger games armor actually looks amazing on her and her movies!
I love how you are such a true fan to superheroes and understands what it means to be one
“If you think that blue and yellow spandex are too silly for your film, you don’t take the property seriously. A true fan take their interests seriously.”
Seriously, Deadpool really does make the X-Men's costume design look incredibly weak.
I see u used a bit of the Japanese opening from the 90's fox show. Good choice.
Surprisingly informative. It also reminds me of something AndroidArts said regarding how iconic designs needs to have a certain inherant goofynees to it so that it can grow on you and be a defining style.
can you leave me a link to this AndroidArts video?
I've been saying this for YEARS. I don't think the actors should be wearing actual spandex but they could certainly wear costumes/uniforms that look tactical while giving each character a unique look and identity.
the costumes should have color. X-men first class and Negasonic Teenage Warhead are examples of how to wear the yellow and black/blue without it being spandex, and looking good while doing it. the material of the costume can change, but the color schemes are a part of the characters, not just the costumes.
outro is crispy af
+Mateo David Gutierrez Gonzalez And for those of us who are over the age of 12, what the hell is an "outro" and why is it "crispy af"? Curse you Internet slang! You will forever be my bane!
You have become my favorite content producer.
me too
Hopefully this channel explodes, because these are awesome!
Justice has finally been served in X-men '97, 2024 Episode 9
I love how superhero movies are slowly going back to their comic book costumes. I feel like by the time Justice League and Infinity War come out, superhero films will be as colourful as their comics once again.
You put my thoughts into words. Thanks.
+DarthChrisDK Exactly what I was thinking.
So I'm like - yeah this is a pretty good video, I like the points this guy is making... and then the credits roll with that absolutely amazing Tyler the creator beat and I'm like YUP! IM SUBBED!
Whats the song at the end?
Tyler The creator ft. Toro y Moi - hey you
Came right here after watching X-MEN '97. Man, what a show.
WELL.FUCKING.SAID.
When Negasonic Teenage Warhead's black leather got blown off and she was wearing yellow and dark blue I literally yelled out in joy in the theater and non-literally came in my pants (okay maybe I came a little).
THIS VIDEO IS SO RIGHT! thank you.
DUDE! Your channel is fantastic! Your my voice! Thank you.
Every video you make is overwhelmingly great and so fascinating, keep it up man, keep it up
Yes. Yes to all of this and everything you said. It's crazy to see how many X Men comic fans don't support the movies.
This is why X-Men is my favorite comic series. So much depth. Excellent video man. Subscribed!
I wish more TH-cam content was like this, clean, well made, something original made from existing materials, with competent editing, production, and voice work. Great job. As for the content, the points made were excellent, and some of them even this longtime fan hadn't considered. Again, excellent analysis. Does anybody know where the mostly black Wolverine costume at around 4:27 is from anyway? That design would look amazing on film.
Light, composition and color are tools used to draw the eye to where a director intends it during a scene or frame or photograph. In a film, having a clusterfuck of color flying and bouncing around will be more visually distracting than you realize. And it only worked in Deadpool because the colors were muted and not very bright, and it had fewer characters than your typical X-Men movie.
Avengers and the rest of the MCu say otherwise.
***** Because they're stupid.
diesel828 I prefer stupid over bland and uninteresting ones.
why do the movies not get this? maybe u make it seem it's that simple or they don't want to see it's that simple
BCz the truth, no matter how well edited this video is, is that if they had done spandex and color i would not have worked back then.
It's only bcz of what ppl like Singer & Favreau and Snyder hv done to bring Superhero films to the fore front that we can now consider bright colors. They have made these films incredibly popular
Let's not forget to give credit where credit is due
Superman in the 1978 made the equivalent of a billion dollars in today's money and that outfit is pitch perfect for the comics.
***** *In 1978*
Right? And it's not like you need to make it look exactly like the comics. The Marvel Movies, were able to keep the look and color schemes of the original suits while still making them work in the real world by adding just a little bit of detail.
@@lupewalkerx So? That proves it works.
I hate all of these movies. I see them as fictional stories claiming to be based on real events, like many movies do. These FOX X-Men claim to be X-Men, but they're more like Matrix crew, Divergent, Maze Runner, Hunger games, or whatever is considered cool according to bryan singer at the time.
These are no X-Men, this is an exercise of cynicism of a major studio that doesnt give 2 shits about who they are, and what they represent, they just know "X-Men" sounds edgy as hell and ppl will watch it.
8 X-Men movies, and Scott Summers is still completely unknown, that's the level of failure these movies have achieved. That we live in a world were we know more about Scott Lang, than we know about Scott Summer. Someone who might call Xavier "Professor", but he's noone's student, and everyone's teacher, he's the captain america of the X-Men, the field leader, the one that keeps all these misfits from killing each other at times.
See, No Cyclops, NO X-MEN (even if not all comics feature him, HE IS THE X-MEN).
+Mailus
I think Prof X is the Nick Fury of X-men and Cyclops is the Captain 'murica of it!
Gábor Csernák interesting way to look at it.
+Gábor Csernák Or...Nick Fury is the Prof X and Cap is the Cyclops of the Avengers???
They didn't start this recent trend with the Avengers until waaaaay after the X-Men did it. Almost seems like they copied their blueprint of success?
Plus they added Wolverine to the Avengers...
BOOM!!!
LOL!
Glad to see you on another X-Men video, sir. Once again you echo my sentiments exactly. Cyclops has never been properly used in the movies. Neither has Storm for that matter.
trealsteve You know how i am for this, i get a lot of heat for it, but i just have to say something!
And yes, so far Cyclops and Storm have been treated like "look what they can do! flashy powers!!! whooooh!" and completely dodge any form of character development for them.
Like we'd care to see these 2 actors playing Scott and Ororo recreate the fight over the leadership of the X-Men like they did a few times back in the day, the first of those fights, Storm won. These kids, the director and the studio behind it, don't have it in them.
But Jennifer Lawrence aint playing either of them, so Singer and FOX dont give a damn :P.
I truly hope the last wolverine movie is a closing chapter to the entire franchise up to date. I´m even willing to give fox the benefit of the doubt, if they at least do that, a full reset without carrying anything from the previous movies (apocalypse included), only Deadpool.
I enjoyed this video, and I agree to a point. To specifically call out two heroes however, Wolverine and Storm, these were two characters who explored their costume identities. Storm cut her hair into a mohawk and donned black leather (from vest to choker to crossed belts) in the early 80s-an iconic look that I personally think was her best. Around that same time Wolverine was "Patch" on his days off from his brown/gold costume, wearing white and gray suit jackets, bow-ties, and when on the job, sleeveless black spandex. And a black eyepatch. But, true to your point, these were looks that, at that time, made them stand out as individuals-ninjas and punks in a world of bright yellows and blues.
I miss wolvie's Brown suite. This is a much better video than most youtube stuff. Congrats.
Deadpool is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously. It could be considered a satire of comic book films in a way. So of course his costume would work, but when you have a serious tone to your film, it is hard to incorporate shiny, bright yellow costumes. But I am not defending all black and desaturated costumes either
+Aram Sarkisian Deadpool showed that the yellow/blue suit works on film... It's the one Negasonic Teenage Warhead wears and it's great, and it's even a bit plain compared to some of the awesome suits the other X-Men wear...
on the critique of Wolverine not wearing his gear, it stays true to the "lone wolf" character that he is. yes, he's a soldier and knows uniformity is important, but Logan has been written as having a ton of issues and enemies that have absolutely no stake in the X-Men, just him. he doesn't have to be in uniform to stay in his iconic image. the fur lined bomber, jeans, lumberjack shirt, stogie: iconic...brown uniform: iconic...running around shirtless and bloody in the snow: iconic. the black leather in the movies was awesome to me because it was more tactical and war like, which is the angle for every movie.
bfan82 I agree. Wolverine is an exception, depending on the enemy and the story.
bfan82 Except that goes against what the X-men stand for, doesn't it? The X-men wish to coexist peacefully with humans. Try just want to live their lives. Black leather military uniforms scream "run, pitiful humans, you're time has come." Which is the exact opposite of what Xavier is trying to accomplish.
Man I'm really hoping this new Marvel Studios interpretation of the X-Men reverts them back to something along the lines of the original costume designs, because as much as I liked at least half of these old X-Men films, the costumes definitely disappointed me.
Some of the costumes are hard to translate to film. Bright Yellow spandex would look goofy and you would have the audience finding it very difficult to take the movie seriously. Now I'm not saying that its impossible to have the comic accurate versions of the costumes on screen. Its just that you have to take certain liberties when translating them to live action like toning down the bright colors and tight ass spandex. Look at Captain America's costume in the MCU. Its done right. It stays true to the source material of the comics while retaining some sense of grounded reality for the tone of the movie. Same for Deadpool and Spider-Man. That's the way you do comic book movie costumes. It has to take into account that not everything can translate to live action well, and make it fit in with the tone of the universe.
Not t all. Just look up some fan designs and manips. Doing it right is key. THey are playing with 100 million dollar. Be creative.
It's all about creativity.
Color is just as vital of to the design as the costume itself.
This is off topic, but when NEON GENESIS EVANGELION gets adapted, I want those plug suits and giant robots/cyborgs (EVAs) to be in their colors, not just plastered in black like what FOX has been forcing upon X-Men for years (I get that they had to in the early 2000s, but come on, we can be much more creative than that now). The colors help characterize them: the redhead's red one shows off her temper and passion, while the blue-haired one's white suit emphasizes how empty she is in terms of being human.
And also, the pilots need to be 14 years old as characters, not changed into high school students to pander to audiences' comfort zone because making them older, especially Shinji Ikari, would be missing the point of what Hideaki Anno was trying to accomplish with NGE; NGE is dark and involves child pilots with emotional issues, and 14 year-olds are much more vulnerable than high school students (especially if forced to pilot a giant robot).
I think what Deadpool (specifically negasonic teenage warhead) did right is that they experimented with hues and saturation. You see wolverine in the comics and the yellow in his suit is basically the same yellow that would be in a crayola box with no variation, same with the blue and the occasional red belt. But Warhead's costume used a yellow that was still light in tint, but very desaturated. It looked appropriate for both film and comics. Like Rogue; if they gave her a suit that had a yellow that was almost white, a dull, kinda olive green, both of those would mesh well with a brown over coat and the whole design would look good. I think the main problem is that the designers don't experiment much. When singer says "and we did try" all I hear is "we tried to apply the EXACT colors onto the designs we made".
Wolverine's had more that just the yellow costume, they could easily bring his original brown one to life.
I think there's wiggle room. First Class had yellow and blue suits, they weren't spandex, but the colors were there. there's a difference between comic accurate and comic faithful costume representation. comic accurate is page to screen identical costumes, which don't always work. comic faithful costumes, take the spirit of the original design, take what works and what is crucial for the characters, and bring it over, ditching what may not work in live action. Cap and Iron man are in their original color schemes, but they are wearing costumes with designs that differ from their comic counterparts. the material or the physical design are different. hell, Spiderman has almost always been in actual spandex in his films, brightly colored spandex, and it's worked. saying it won't work and just leaving it at that is a lame excuse to be lazy. especially with the X-men. they have some of the most unique costumes in all comics, and the movies should embrace them, and adapt faithful versions of the suits to the films. they don't need to be identical to the costumes on the page, but they have to capture the spirit of the characters actually.
I saw the new Deadpool and wolverine trailer and had to come watch this again.
only three videos in and you are indeed one of my favorite youtubers, keep up the great work kaptainkristian
Dude, I don’t know who you are but this is perhaps the most intelligent and well-thoughout video I’ve ever seen on TH-cam in the subject of fantasy/sci-fic cinema realism, and especially super-hero cinema realism. This was like an university-level visual essay. Kudos.
Just remember - Marvel still has no control over the cinematic X-Men. That's why you have directors with no faith in the source. If (when? please?) Marvel get them back, you can trust Feige and co to bring the colours back
i'm so happy that the avengers franchise has no problems with individual costumes and colors at all.
btw. love your video, subscribed!
“Staying true to the character doesn’t mean stripping away the one design element that Wolverine has always had since his first appearance.”
I sometimes just comeback to these old videos. They're awsome.
Use me as I like button, if all of the x men content from X men 97 to Wolverine & Deadpool brought you home.
I just want to thank you for the additional point paying respect to Cyclops as a leader! He is a heinously misunderstood character. When people dismiss him as a boy scout or a jock it's frustrating.
It's a video like this that gets me interested in comic books and superheroes.
I'm coming back to this video after seeing that Deadpool 3 has Hugh Jackman in the proper Wolverine attire, including the mask. The Deadpool writers trust the media and it's style.
I hope the MCU can make the X-Men’s costumes more colorful, recognizable, and legit to the comics.
I have some bad news for you, then.
You missed the point. Fox is where imagination goes to get tortured to death. As long as they own X-Men X-Men will suck. So will the fantastic fuckups errrmmm four.
+Corbin Hall First Class and DoFP are stand-outs in the genre. Don't let the bad films in the series taint the good.
+Rakanishu2 I'm so tired of ppl saying First Trash errrmmm Class is good. It. Is. Not. Even with my second favorite comic character, Magneto, they still get it wrong. Why is Sebastian Shaw head of a Nazi death camp...where Magneto just happens to be a prisoner of? Why is Shaw German and alive during WW2?? Why does Magneto still not have his trademark silver hair??? Because FOX sucks and they don't care about the characters or their stories. Days of Future Bleh...Past got a passing grade of C from me. The best part of the movie was Chris Claremont's cameo...and his acting wasn't that great!
(No disrespect intended to the legendary X-Men scribe of 16 straight years, Chris Claremont)
The ending was basically an apology for the movies after X-2...
Then Singer goes and makes this new crap...
I'm done with FOX-Men movies.
trealsteve All of them are a fucking crap.
Such hard work and research went into this, unlike the majority of youtube. Thank you so much. You are the rare gem that makes this site worth visiting.
I see a lot of people asking how if Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films got the suits right then how did the X-Men films fail and I have a simple response:Bryan Singer, Singer openly admits to disliking the source material and banned X-Men comics on set!
Fricken love you man! Another great video
Awesome video, I hope Fox is taking notes.
Another reason is because this movie came out right after "The Matrix" did. There was an occult revulsion for the appearance of the comic characters, surely. They disliked actual flowing variegation humans might wear but also opposed the notion that they could ever work. So the plain hyper darks are what they went with. Partly due to Neo and family who brought to the screen a magnificent story & aesthetic element or style that needed to be emulated.
My favorite x-men sound bite is from marvel vs street fighter! The voice that yells "X" really loud and strong when an x-men performs their special attack.