Heroes
I was looking at redesigning Power Kid’s costume for his new crusade on the web. Naturally, I looked to other heroes, some of my own design, some not.
I am a long time fan of Cloak & Dagger, the Marvel Comics Group pair of wayward teens who were forced to take experimental drugs. Naturally, they developed super powers. Tandy Bowen, Dagger, was my first real boy-girl thing with a comic character. Come on, that’s not weird, you’ve all looked at Betty Rubble and wondered what she was doing with Barney. Besides, just look at that costume, there’s a reason we don’t have any pictures of girls dressed as Dagger in San Diego. That’s just not a possible cut of cloth. What’s not to oggle?
Tandy’s costume is, according to the comics, her old ballet outfit. I’m not making this up. In an issue of The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak & Dagger, Dagger’s father recognizes her and asks what she’s doing in her old ballet costume. This got me thinking about using normal uniforms and costumes as super hero costumes.
Imagine, if you will, charging out to fight crime in your old band uniform, feather in hat, drop sash around waist, and fresh polish on your white buck shoes. I suppose you’d leave the souzaphone at home. Or, the newest crimefighter on the block wearing one of those vinyl halloween costumes with the name and picture of who you’re supposed to be printed across the chest. Criminals beware, here comes the Battlestar: Galactica! I suppose if it were the moon-sized warship criminals would beware, fortunately for the rest of us it’s just a kid in a vinyl toga with a cast photo on the front.
Ballet and theatre, of course, offer the best array of wearable costumes. Though, I doubt many crime fighters would actually seek out and confront the forces of evil dressed in a ballet outfit.