Superman Costumes

Dress Up as the Man of Steel

Why are Superman costumes so powerful? Superman is unquestionably the most recognizable superhero of our time, to a point where he is synonymous with the term ‘superhero’. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman first appeared in 1938, and 78 years later, we have reached a point where it’s hard to imagine a world without him. Superman has come to be widely acknowledged as an American cultural icon, with his strong moral compass, righteousness and quest for justice having inspired his catchphrase, “Truth, justice and the American way!”

Superman’s popularity has led cultural theorists and scholars to study the impact Superman has had on America and the world in all walks of life and that impact has been considerable. Through a costume and colorful adventures, Superman has constantly been a beacon of hope and optimism in the darkest of times, signifying with the shield on his costume that everything will eventually be all right, and all that is needed in the meantime is a little resilience and belief.

Perhaps that is the reason the shield – and Superman’s overall costume - has remained the same all these years. Ever since he first came into the public eye, Superman has looked the same, with the meticulously coiffed hair and the bright blue and red costume being the mainstay of every iteration, save for a costume change or two in the comics every now and then. It’s a costume so iconic that no big or small screen adaptation has dared tinker with it too much yet. The first major adaptation of Superman was the 1978 Christopher Reeve film. The film paid very close attention to comic book accuracy, and that is the most apparent in the costume. The costume seemed lifted straight off of the pages of the comic book and onto the screen, with how closely it resembled the comic costume. The film costume was of the exact design and color of the comic book costume, which mightily impressed the fans, and combined with Reeve’s general demeanor as The Last Son of Krypton, the costume remains a fan favorite even today. The costume does lack the texture seen in today’s costumes, but for the era it was seen in, the costume is near perfect. Bryan Singer’s 2006 film Superman Returns serves as a homage to the Reeve films in its nature and aesthetic, and it is clear in how closely Brandon Routh resembled Christopher Reeve. The costume maintained the general style, but added texture, used darker shades and was now made of spandex to be more believable. The biggest major change to the costume came with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel where Henry Cavill’s Superman’s costume finally ditched the inside out underwear and revamped how it came to be to fit the needs of the universe, and make the costume’s organic and alien nature more plausible. This is a theme that has carried on to the small screen as well, with Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman costume changing things up, yet remaining respectful to the original costume.

Because of what the costume represents and how similar all iterations of it are while having their own identity, fans generally don’t tend to have a favorite costume and adore each of them equally. We at Wonder Costumes understand this sentiment in the fanboy community, and as such keep all iterations of the Superman costume in stock to ensure everyone’s needs are met. Whether you prefer Henry Cavill’s costume, or Christopher Reeve’s, or even Brandon Routh’s costume, we have it in stock, and you’re always just a click away from getting your favorite costume to being up, up and away!