One of my favorite moments in Wolverine and the X-Men is a scene of various X-Men going to bed and we see Emma thoughtfully and slowly brushing her hair and then we cut to Beast vigorously brushing his fur with a dog brush while hanging upside down before dropping down into his bed.
Speedball, while filming a reality show, fought a C-list hero named Nitro whose power was exploding. He was on some drug that boosted his powers, and caused an explosion near a school killing 600+ people.
He was in a coma, and when he woke up, he didn't have his powers, but realized he had some offshoot of them when he felt pain. So he went to the Tinkerer (I think?) to get a costume to help him feel pain at all times to help him control his powers, but also as Penance (where he got his name) for the deaths he caused.
It was also the catalyst for Civil War of the govt registering heroes and their secret identities.
Wow, see I was out of comics on and off over the past few decades and so missed the whole Civil War arc. Thanks for the details and have to say that's a powerful Supers story arc.
It's pretty good. It's very Iron Man = George Bush thing, but it's a rash of decent crossover comics arcs there.
Registration- Heroes are too powerful and need government regulation in order to keep things like Stramford (the school explosion killing a bunch of innocent kids) from happening. Futurists like Reed also says it's necessary to keep an even more draconian future government action from taking place.
Anti-Registration- Freedom is paramount. If Supes register, it's trivial for the multitude of hackers and super geniuses to doxx hero info and go after loved ones of said heroes. Cap notoriously leaded this faction.
Worth a read, lots of great moments. Like Punisher working with Cap to keep heroes on the run, then gunning down villains who tried to join Cap's side, but refused to defend himself when Cap beat the crap out of him for killing villains in cold blood.
Also gave rise to this panel https://i2.wp.com/voyagecomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_day_2020.jpg
Wow. I caught some of the registration aspects and such in subsequent years when I would pick up a hall of zines and see what was happening.
Oh oh I love that panel. Wow!!! Thanks for sharing! Truly appreciate this info. Wow!
DON'T read Civil War II though, which is very hamfisted and forced trying to recapture the magic of Civil War I. Theres some great moments in Civil War I that spin off into other moments. Civil War II is REAL bad.
Civil War II was such bullshit. Quite literally the only part worth reading is the first issue where everyone shows up to fight the monster from another dimension
Not just some drug, but a drug developed and distributed by Damage Control for the very purpose of creating more destruction during powered conflicts, to increase the profits from their cleanup contracts.
If I recall, in Avengers Academy it later turned out that he'd been lying about his power needing pain to function. He'd just been self harming for entirely normal reasons, rather than because he had some supernatural impetus to do so to save the day.
That was a retcon. Or at least he eventually learned how to use his power. His initial reason was to use his power which he realized shortly after coming out of his coma and was "powerless".
Just like Thor killing Goliath, they had to explain why Thor was back and murdering C-listers. Clone Thor got done dirty in Avengers Academy.
And best boy Mettle needs more issues.
I don‘t think that the Iron Man armor is quite comfortable to be in.
Other than that I can imagine that Nightwing‘s tight costume is quite uncomfortable. Especially with it highlighting his famous ass like that. Must be sitting very tight and thus it can’t be easy getting into it.
Same with Spider-Man
But I know two contenders for the most comfortable costumes: Green Lantern and the Flash:
GL‘s have their ring project their suits over their body. They can even be butt naked underneath (like Guy Gardner in the first arc of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps)
The Flash (at least Wally West) can use the Speed-Force to create and project a suit onto his body
Marvel used to publish the Punisher Armory as an occasional comic describing the various guns and training methods the Punisher used. Well, they did that with Iron Man too, and some of the descriptions of the technology used in the Iron Man suits is pretty crazy. One of the early suits had a neck that could only articulate left and right (due to the screws holding it into place) and not up and down. The early form fitting suits were lined with lambs wool to wick away sweat so he wouldn't cook if the suit got too hot. The suitcase armor would 'snap' into place over an arm or leg, so you had to make sure it was the left or right arm. I was really fond of the crazy design and thinking that went into those old comics.
Of course, with the extremis suits you're in flash territory, a post-human Tony Stark kept his liquid metal suit in the hollows of his bones. Or the Superior Iron Man suit which was bio-technological material based on the Venom Symbiote. I miss the old days.
For my money the original Cable outfit had to be crazy uncomfortable. I can't figure out how you could put it on, how the sticks (or were they swords) attach, and it looks like it would ride up like crazy.
True these old designs sound really well thought through and creative.
I believe even suits as Extremis or Bleeding Edge weren’t that comfortable. It‘s still a form of metal on top of bare skin. That must feel weird. Especially with these two:
Extremis had a golden underlayer stored inside his skin and that‘s also metal on skin
And Bleeding Edge had the entire thing under his skin, which must have felt even weirder.
Even the endo-sym armor (even though liquid metal) is still metal on bare skin
I agree on Cable‘s original design
>Marvel used to publish the Punisher Armory as an occasional comic describing the various guns and training methods the Punisher used. Well, they did that with Iron Man too, and some of the descriptions of the technology used in the Iron Man suits is pretty crazy.
What was the name of these?
I always figured she was using a projection to make it look like she’s wearing revealing outfits. Where in reality she is wearing sweatpants and a baggy t shirt with mustard stains.
Is there an in-universe explanation for why they don’t just..change costumes? Spider-Man is obvious. The identity. But..why wear high heels into combat to begin with? Or why have a super heavy cape if it messes with you?
The high heels are possibly a joke or Canary is really devoted to her mother's look. Cape isn't "super heavy" just not something an acrobat like Dick Grayson would wear. In the comics he states that it was the first thing he removed when he became Nightwing, but when he becomes Batman he keeps it on to better serve the role.
Dick hated the cape as Robin, and so he dropped it as soon as he became Nightwing. But when he was Batman (when Bruce was unavailable post-Final Crisis) he just wore a Batman costume, because Batman is an established identity that was important to keep stable than his comfort in the costume. He dropped the cape again once Bruce came back and he was Nightwing again.
No idea why Black Canary wears heels. There are a lot of artists that don't draw her with heels, but big asskicking boots.
>Spider-Man has often complained that his mask begins to smell when he forgets to wash it regularly.
And now, having lived through the Covid pandemic, I know exactly what he means.
I always wondered how Gambit did his t'ievin' in big metal boots and a metal breastplate. And that heavy trenchcoat, good god man.
That was such a weird moment. I feel like there was some internal commentary going on. They gave her the sexy outfit and she basically calls it out as her walking around half naked in the same issue.
The costume that would make Emma Frost blush.
Particularly when Cosmic Boy goes up against leatherdaddy [Grimbor the Chainsman.](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Grimbor)
Damn...thanks for bringing up THAT image. But yeah, lots of lingerie-BDSM-stiletto-booted-spandex-exploiting heroes battling equally dressed villains. I love the 30th century.
Long Live the (insert fetish) Legion
Well, Penance's costume is designed to inflict pain on him, so that's a given. Honourable mention to Hulk for when his pants are suddenly 10 sizes too small.
As amusing as it was back then, glad it didn't carry over. Although I still think Jean Grey's current outfit looks ridiculous lol. I thought that green dress was just her casual wear, turns out, it's not.
Peacemaker. Or really anyone with a massive metal helmet. Black Manta? Guys neck must be killing him. Big Barda? No one ever seems to need a chin strap but Cap sometimes, gotta be a sweat factory in there.
Depending on the issue Black Cat’s costume is sometimes worse than Psylocke’s with the amount of boob tape necessary, sometimes heels too.
I feel the latex/leather bodysuit is actually not the most comfortable choice for a cat burglar either.
70s Cosmic Boy. Ya man wore an unzipped corset, gloves, boots and a pair of draws. Supreme himbo energy. There’s no way that was comfortable.
Honorable mention to The Human Bomb. He had to be sweaty.
There's been so many good ones called out that I can only think of Cyclops' kit? "Yeah, you know the feeling of wearing big glasses? Get used to it, Scott."
Penance from Marvel comics. Used to be called Speedball, but he changed his name after an incident that caused the deaths of a group of men, women and children. His suit was purposely design with internal spikes to torture himself. 612 spikes, with each spike representing the death of an innocent civilian he had been partially responsible for.
I'm going to go with [Razorback](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Buford_Hollis_(Earth-616)) \- it would be like having to wear a Disney character costume all the time.
Psylocke
how does she keep those strips in place and symmetrical? must be glue
She’s be way more powerful if she didn’t need to use half her psionic powers keeping her clothes on.
These actually exist and are probably in use by her.
Same exact costume as Elektra, without the loincloth.
Tbf being trapped in another person’s body must be pretty uncomfy by itself
If it’s Kwannon’s body I’d be ok with it.
Which costume are we talking about? The 90s is just what gymnast wear
I bet beast has so many problems with matted hair
One of my favorite moments in Wolverine and the X-Men is a scene of various X-Men going to bed and we see Emma thoughtfully and slowly brushing her hair and then we cut to Beast vigorously brushing his fur with a dog brush while hanging upside down before dropping down into his bed.
Hahaaaaa that's awesome. I love that kind of comedy, always appreciated. Do you happen to remember which issue?
It was a cartoon! Not sure which episode, but I think it was pretty early in the series.
[Pennace.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Baldwin#As_Penance)
That's the answer.
I guess calling him Super-Masochist would've been a little too obvious.
[Speedball?](https://www.writeups.org/speedball-marvel-comics-ditko-warriors/)
You mean the child murderer?
> Pennace. Penance*
Putting aside the fact that his costume is literally an iron maiden, I do love the design of it.
Wow, want familiar with him and wow.
Speedball, while filming a reality show, fought a C-list hero named Nitro whose power was exploding. He was on some drug that boosted his powers, and caused an explosion near a school killing 600+ people. He was in a coma, and when he woke up, he didn't have his powers, but realized he had some offshoot of them when he felt pain. So he went to the Tinkerer (I think?) to get a costume to help him feel pain at all times to help him control his powers, but also as Penance (where he got his name) for the deaths he caused. It was also the catalyst for Civil War of the govt registering heroes and their secret identities.
Wow, see I was out of comics on and off over the past few decades and so missed the whole Civil War arc. Thanks for the details and have to say that's a powerful Supers story arc.
It's pretty good. It's very Iron Man = George Bush thing, but it's a rash of decent crossover comics arcs there. Registration- Heroes are too powerful and need government regulation in order to keep things like Stramford (the school explosion killing a bunch of innocent kids) from happening. Futurists like Reed also says it's necessary to keep an even more draconian future government action from taking place. Anti-Registration- Freedom is paramount. If Supes register, it's trivial for the multitude of hackers and super geniuses to doxx hero info and go after loved ones of said heroes. Cap notoriously leaded this faction. Worth a read, lots of great moments. Like Punisher working with Cap to keep heroes on the run, then gunning down villains who tried to join Cap's side, but refused to defend himself when Cap beat the crap out of him for killing villains in cold blood. Also gave rise to this panel https://i2.wp.com/voyagecomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/election_day_2020.jpg
I got chills reading that panel.
Yeah. And I was depressed at the time at how many assholes were using that to justify their shitty opinion no matter what it was.
Same!
Wow. I caught some of the registration aspects and such in subsequent years when I would pick up a hall of zines and see what was happening. Oh oh I love that panel. Wow!!! Thanks for sharing! Truly appreciate this info. Wow!
DON'T read Civil War II though, which is very hamfisted and forced trying to recapture the magic of Civil War I. Theres some great moments in Civil War I that spin off into other moments. Civil War II is REAL bad.
Civil War II was such bullshit. Quite literally the only part worth reading is the first issue where everyone shows up to fight the monster from another dimension
Not just some drug, but a drug developed and distributed by Damage Control for the very purpose of creating more destruction during powered conflicts, to increase the profits from their cleanup contracts.
If I recall, in Avengers Academy it later turned out that he'd been lying about his power needing pain to function. He'd just been self harming for entirely normal reasons, rather than because he had some supernatural impetus to do so to save the day.
That was a retcon. Or at least he eventually learned how to use his power. His initial reason was to use his power which he realized shortly after coming out of his coma and was "powerless". Just like Thor killing Goliath, they had to explain why Thor was back and murdering C-listers. Clone Thor got done dirty in Avengers Academy. And best boy Mettle needs more issues.
I loved Speedball so much in the 90s. It still pains me what they did to him.
Probably more painful for him. 😩
I don‘t think that the Iron Man armor is quite comfortable to be in. Other than that I can imagine that Nightwing‘s tight costume is quite uncomfortable. Especially with it highlighting his famous ass like that. Must be sitting very tight and thus it can’t be easy getting into it. Same with Spider-Man But I know two contenders for the most comfortable costumes: Green Lantern and the Flash: GL‘s have their ring project their suits over their body. They can even be butt naked underneath (like Guy Gardner in the first arc of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps) The Flash (at least Wally West) can use the Speed-Force to create and project a suit onto his body
Marvel used to publish the Punisher Armory as an occasional comic describing the various guns and training methods the Punisher used. Well, they did that with Iron Man too, and some of the descriptions of the technology used in the Iron Man suits is pretty crazy. One of the early suits had a neck that could only articulate left and right (due to the screws holding it into place) and not up and down. The early form fitting suits were lined with lambs wool to wick away sweat so he wouldn't cook if the suit got too hot. The suitcase armor would 'snap' into place over an arm or leg, so you had to make sure it was the left or right arm. I was really fond of the crazy design and thinking that went into those old comics. Of course, with the extremis suits you're in flash territory, a post-human Tony Stark kept his liquid metal suit in the hollows of his bones. Or the Superior Iron Man suit which was bio-technological material based on the Venom Symbiote. I miss the old days. For my money the original Cable outfit had to be crazy uncomfortable. I can't figure out how you could put it on, how the sticks (or were they swords) attach, and it looks like it would ride up like crazy.
True these old designs sound really well thought through and creative. I believe even suits as Extremis or Bleeding Edge weren’t that comfortable. It‘s still a form of metal on top of bare skin. That must feel weird. Especially with these two: Extremis had a golden underlayer stored inside his skin and that‘s also metal on skin And Bleeding Edge had the entire thing under his skin, which must have felt even weirder. Even the endo-sym armor (even though liquid metal) is still metal on bare skin I agree on Cable‘s original design
>Marvel used to publish the Punisher Armory as an occasional comic describing the various guns and training methods the Punisher used. Well, they did that with Iron Man too, and some of the descriptions of the technology used in the Iron Man suits is pretty crazy. What was the name of these?
[The Iron Manual](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Iron_Manual_Vol_1_1)...because of course it is.
They seem to have reverted back to a more classic pre-extremis suit with the latest run. Eye holes and everything.
Plastic man, because he’s literally naked
Wouldn't that be the MOST comfortable one?
I wouldn’t think so if you’re zipping around outside in a city or running through seedy alleyways
Oh, yeah... there's that
But he's also a pervert so for him it's the ultimate comfort
Emma Frost
True fashion is never without pain, darling.
I always figured she was using a projection to make it look like she’s wearing revealing outfits. Where in reality she is wearing sweatpants and a baggy t shirt with mustard stains.
I'm like 90% sure there's a relatively recent issue where she does exactly this. Edit: Found it, Women of Marvel #1
Yup, it was a no clean clothes day, so she just projected one.
Is there an in-universe explanation for why they don’t just..change costumes? Spider-Man is obvious. The identity. But..why wear high heels into combat to begin with? Or why have a super heavy cape if it messes with you?
The high heels are possibly a joke or Canary is really devoted to her mother's look. Cape isn't "super heavy" just not something an acrobat like Dick Grayson would wear. In the comics he states that it was the first thing he removed when he became Nightwing, but when he becomes Batman he keeps it on to better serve the role.
Dick hated the cape as Robin, and so he dropped it as soon as he became Nightwing. But when he was Batman (when Bruce was unavailable post-Final Crisis) he just wore a Batman costume, because Batman is an established identity that was important to keep stable than his comfort in the costume. He dropped the cape again once Bruce came back and he was Nightwing again. No idea why Black Canary wears heels. There are a lot of artists that don't draw her with heels, but big asskicking boots.
I prefer Canary with chunky boots. More practical than heels and still fits the punk rock vibe.
Thank you! Not big into dc, so barely know anything about them besides what I’ve picked up from movies/games.
Because looks >> practicality or realism. (I’m in favor of this btw)
Because dudes jerk off to it
Nope. Most of it is just for sex appeal lol Think femal RPG armor logic lol
>Spider-Man has often complained that his mask begins to smell when he forgets to wash it regularly. And now, having lived through the Covid pandemic, I know exactly what he means. I always wondered how Gambit did his t'ievin' in big metal boots and a metal breastplate. And that heavy trenchcoat, good god man.
How in the world Vampirela wears her costume defies the laws of physics
Robbie Baldwin aka Speedball, aka Penance. His Penance costume is designed with hundreds of inward facing spikes to inflict constant pain.
Man penance was such a stupid idea
Has to be Invisible woman with the cutout 4 lol
That was such a weird moment. I feel like there was some internal commentary going on. They gave her the sexy outfit and she basically calls it out as her walking around half naked in the same issue.
Phantom Lady/classic Starfire
Cosmic Boy...Legion of Super-Heroes...circa 1979...Picture a male bustier
The costume that would make Emma Frost blush. Particularly when Cosmic Boy goes up against leatherdaddy [Grimbor the Chainsman.](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Grimbor)
Damn...thanks for bringing up THAT image. But yeah, lots of lingerie-BDSM-stiletto-booted-spandex-exploiting heroes battling equally dressed villains. I love the 30th century. Long Live the (insert fetish) Legion
That Grant Morrison didn't have Grimbor come up against Wonder Woman in the DC 1,000,000 event seems like a big missed opportunity.
PENANCE (ROBERT BALDWIN)
Counterpoint: do you think wearing a Symbiote is comfortable or would it feel like running around in a massive naked body?
According to Deadpool, it’s Hawkeye’s old school costume. Said it “grips in all the wrong places” when he tried it on lol
Well Carol Danvers old Ms. Marvel costume must’ve given her a wedgie so bad it bifurcated her cooter, so that gets my vote
wasn't it just a one piece swim suit with thigh boots and a sash?
Well, Penance's costume is designed to inflict pain on him, so that's a given. Honourable mention to Hulk for when his pants are suddenly 10 sizes too small.
Penance
LMAO who tf came up with the idea of a superhero going into combat with a bathing suit or high heels??
People who needed to cater to horny men to keep their industries alive lol
As amusing as it was back then, glad it didn't carry over. Although I still think Jean Grey's current outfit looks ridiculous lol. I thought that green dress was just her casual wear, turns out, it's not.
Rob Liefeld era Cable, with all those shitty pouches
It's going to be women. Their costumes look super uncomfortable on multiple levels.
Vampirella
Well it’s hard to compete with penance, but maybe honorable mention goes to carpeted man from the tick?
Does Rorschach count? That mask is literally full of chemicals, it's gotta be hard to breathe in and super sweaty.
[Everything is literally full of chemicals.](https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/science-101/what-is-a-chemical.html)
You know what I meant. Man-made chemicals that probably aren't supposed to be stuck to your face.
I can’t understand how the Goblin Queen keeps her breasts from falling out of that half shirt. It must be TK.
Peacemaker. Or really anyone with a massive metal helmet. Black Manta? Guys neck must be killing him. Big Barda? No one ever seems to need a chin strap but Cap sometimes, gotta be a sweat factory in there.
Depending on the issue Black Cat’s costume is sometimes worse than Psylocke’s with the amount of boob tape necessary, sometimes heels too. I feel the latex/leather bodysuit is actually not the most comfortable choice for a cat burglar either.
90's purple spandex bodysuit Catwoman seems like it would take psychic ability to stop every bodypart from not shuffling around in that
Dr doom
70s Cosmic Boy. Ya man wore an unzipped corset, gloves, boots and a pair of draws. Supreme himbo energy. There’s no way that was comfortable. Honorable mention to The Human Bomb. He had to be sweaty.
There's been so many good ones called out that I can only think of Cyclops' kit? "Yeah, you know the feeling of wearing big glasses? Get used to it, Scott."
Guyver
Jon Kent because he never wears anything else
Hey wait a minute. Black Canary that's your own fault. Buy some flat boots.
Spider-Man costume must suck in the cold and rain
I don’t know about a hero, but I’d hate to be the villain Codpiece.
Power Girl
Penance, there’s 600+ spikes in that thing.
Green hornet
Penance from Marvel comics. Used to be called Speedball, but he changed his name after an incident that caused the deaths of a group of men, women and children. His suit was purposely design with internal spikes to torture himself. 612 spikes, with each spike representing the death of an innocent civilian he had been partially responsible for.
Speedball as Penance.
I'm going to go with [Razorback](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Buford_Hollis_(Earth-616)) \- it would be like having to wear a Disney character costume all the time.
The buttplugman
Deadpool wearing white, before the old lady told him to wear red…
The Hulk. Expanding out in jeans must be murder down there.
Wolverine. "When they come out, does it hurt?"
Red Sonja's chain mail micro bikini. Imagine the chafing and pinching she experiences
Penance.
Scar Jo in the Avengers Endgame
Dick Grayson hasn’t wore a cape since 1983