10 (Actually Cool) Superheroine Redesigns

Despite what the likes of tumblr and BuzzFeed would have you believe, the solution to problematic costume design and male gaze is not, in fact, to slap jeggings onto everyone.

Here are some artists who’ve tackled some of the sillier costumes out there and illustrated some fabulous results:

1. Black Canary

While Black Canary is a great example of DC’s array amazing female characters, going out to fight criminals in fishnets and a Playboy Bunny leotard is really, really silly. This redesign by Joel Carroll keeps her feminine, bombshell silhouette while giving her more mobility and intimidation. The fishnets are retained for a bit of fashion without leaving the viewer wondering how she could keep up with her super-buddies.

2. Wonder Woman

The first female superhero has always been tricky for costume design. Creating a look that deals with the unnecessary cheesecake without taking away from the visual cues of her strength and power is a task worthy of Hercules. When you remember that Diana is a demi-goddess, it’s almost more degrading than helpful to think that she should have to play by the rules of human’s standards for decency and go out in Forever 21 leggings to beat up villains. These designs come from the amazing Colleen Doran, commissioned by J.Michael Straczynski for a graphic novel project that never became produced. Despite technically being non-canon art by a pro in the industry rather than fanart, these are still some of the more striking designs for her out there.

3. Power Girl

Good old Peej’s costume design has been hotly debated for years now. Apparently a person from an alternate-universe version of Krypton who can fly, shoot eye lasers, be faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive etcetera etcetera is totally believable, but not the fact that a woman with those abilities would go, “Hey, I’m basically indestructible. Might as well show off my bangin’ Super-bod”. CallMePo gives Power Girl a costume that nicely balances her robust, flirty and confident nature with the slick Sci-Fi aesthetics of the heroes from Krypton. A detail that really makes this look is the ‘power’ icon on her belt being used to compliment the iconic cleavage window.

4. Zatanna

Zatanna isn’t exactly in desperate need of a makeover given that she is a stage performer, but sometimes it’s a little hard to believe she’d willingly go out and fight crime in her day job clothes, sans-pants and all. The lovely Klifford Ganancial envisions a look for Zee that takes Mikel Janin’s New 52 design and cranks the badass up to 11.

5. Harley Quinn

Everyone tends to forget that Harley had a PhD before she became Mr. J’s partner in crime, and unfortunately, the costume designs in the New 52 and the Arkham City/Asylum games encourage you to forget annoying details like her skills and personality as a character. Artist vika8D gives us designs that fuse the cutesy, cartoony elements of classic Harley with the rock n’ roll look of her newer outfits.

6. Emma Frost

While sex appeal has always been an important element to Emma’s character, it’s always been a little irksome that she would continue to wear dominatrix gear while running a school. Being one of the forefront psychics in the mutant community doesn’t really excuse the unprofessionalism of running an academic institution while wearing painted-on pants and a corset 2 sizes too small. Can you imagine how awkward parent/teacher meetings would be? Artist AznNerd gives Ms. Frost the What Not to Wear treatment and suits her up in a more tailored ensemble with a snazzy coat to keep the line of the superhero-esque cape.

7. Hawkeye II/Kate Bishop

Alright, I admit it: I’ve been reading Matt Fraction’s new Hawkeye series and I’ve guzzled down plenty of the Kate Bishop Kool-Aid. She is fantastic, but an archer feeling the need to show off midriff seems very, very counter-productive. In this revamp by tsbranch, Kate looks tough, slick, and professional while still being totally gorgeous and stylish.

8. Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch is an example of a comic book character where their significance and abilities seem to be lost in translation when it comes to their costume design. A bathing suit and with a piece of modern art sculpture for a hairpiece don’t exactly communicate, “Hi, I am a mentally ill reality-warper who can literally rewrite and destroy everything you know and love about life.” Meanwhile, one MakoTheSketchGuy does a damn good job of conveying how scary Wanda can actually be. The blend between the typical superhero aesthetic of tight clothes and flowing capes lends itself well to this almost George R.R. Martin-esque costume.

9. Psylocke

Whenever people start talking about what an amazing job Marvel is doing of being diverse and inclusive, politely remind them that the most popular Asian character in their continuity is actually a white woman’s mind grafted into someone else’s body who runs around in a thong-back leotard for no reason. Nobody’s perfect. This manga-inspired design from artist ZhaxRa uses the line and shape of Psylocke’s iconic swimsuit but swaps out her ninja style for samurai-style armor, complimented with a mesh bodysuit underneath to give the look of her skin being covered, but not quite in order to retain some of the sex appeal without being ridiculous. The overall look is flirty, but still powerful and heroic.

10. Elektra

Kevin Wada is not exactly a new kid on the block. His Project Runway/X-Men mashup pieces have graced the internet with their presence for a few years now and caused many a nerdgasm in the process. Here, he helps drive away memories of both the Jennifer Garner movie and many of the awkward oversexualized drawings of the character. The choice to keep her face and torso covered while keeping her legs bare (save for the leg wraps) brings to mind her lethal efficiency as a ninja assassin, giving her an air of mystery and granting her much-needed speed and movement.

 

While there are many female characters at DC and Marvel who end up in unnecessarily sexy costumes that are thinly justified by male entitlement, the answer is not necessarily to just cover everyone up and forgo the silly but also significant visual culture of superheroes. Censoring a woman’s body is not always better than exposing it. Power and agency come from the personality and values of the character, not necessarily the clothes on their back, and all of these artists have made great effort to reflect that.