10 Stupid Arguments About Superman That Don't Make Sense
4. The Underpants Look Silly
A running joke in comic book fandom is referring to superheroes as underwear perverts, meaning those tighty-multi-colours they often wear over their tights. That particular foible of superhero costume design comes from the early days, where they were originally inspired by the trunks that circus muscle-men used to wear. They were the strongest men around back then, hence superheroes wear them. Overwhelming fan pressure meant that, when DC rebooted their entire continuity with the New 52 they also took the opportunity to redesign a lot of their characters. Which mainly meant that Superman (and Batman, and a few others) had their trunks taken away, and lots of fabric lines added to their costumes for some reason. It's an argument that makes no sense because, well, the pants aren't the silliest part of Superman's costume. All of it's silly. It's baby blue, it has a cape that doesn't do anything, he has his first initial plastered across his chest. And it's not just Superman: Batman, Spider-Man, et al. have goofy outfits. That's just part of the deal, really. The pants are no more of less ridiculous tan any other element.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
