I miss underoos
March 4, 2008 6:46 PM   Subscribe

Secret Skin - an essay in unitard theory A joyful essay on superhero fashion via Project Rooftop. Hi Edna!
posted by device55 (16 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
No capes!
posted by Class Goat at 6:52 PM on March 4, 2008


*awaits user 17721
posted by caddis at 6:55 PM on March 4, 2008


AND HERE I AM!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:55 PM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]


March 10, 2008

/me flies around Earth so fast time reverses and posts this back on the 4th
posted by DU at 7:01 PM on March 4, 2008


When criminals in this world appear,
And break the laws that they should fear,
And frighten all who see or hear,
The cry goes up both far and near for
TPS!TPS!TPS!
Speed of lightning! Roar of thunder!
Fighting all who rob or plunder!
TPS!TPS!TPS!

posted by caddis at 7:03 PM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]


Curses. Foiled again.
posted by not_on_display at 7:47 PM on March 4, 2008


You know, at first glance I thought this was something to do with the internet and string theory.

The universal theory of retards, or UniTard.

Which I guess is like Unicron from Transformers, who was a cartoon villian. Which somehow relates back to this topic of conversation.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:40 PM on March 4, 2008


Dude can write.

"That moment—Krypton exploding, Action Comics No. 1—is generally seen to be Minute Zero of the superhero idea."

That not so much. Plenty of that going on throughout literature (Scarlet Pimpernel, Invisible Man, hell, tons of H.G. Wells' stuff) and mythos - Achilles, Hercules, or Samson if you want to stay with the Jewish thing. Quibbling tho.
posted by Smedleyman at 9:15 PM on March 4, 2008


That not so much. Plenty of that going on throughout literature (Scarlet Pimpernel, Invisible Man, hell, tons of H.G. Wells' stuff) and mythos - Achilles, Hercules, or Samson if you want to stay with the Jewish thing. Quibbling tho.

Yeah, The Shadow was first published in 1930 and Doc Savage started 1933. Whatever it was, it was definitely going around. Also the depression may have had a little to do with the appeal of heroes who weren't confined by rules and laws.
posted by doctor_negative at 9:27 PM on March 4, 2008


What a (uni)tard.
posted by wendell at 9:49 PM on March 4, 2008


(I also understand, doctor_negative, that Superman used to fight landlords, robber barons and the like)
posted by Smedleyman at 10:09 PM on March 4, 2008


What a bunch of unitards, and wendell stole my joke.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:58 PM on March 4, 2008


Superman, in his earliest incarnation, wears the tights-and-trunks common to circus strongmen and professional wrestlers in the '20's and 30's. That's the grand sum total of it. No more, no less. It's very disappointing that the author didn't make that connection. At all.

It gets more iconic in later issues, because it's essentially painted on an idealized nude figure with the naughty bits omitted, as the artists are lazy and working on a deadline and probably tracing straight from an artist's anatomy reference.

The cape is a symbol of power, taken from the costume of kings. The boots and gloves are symbols of power, taken from boxers and noblemen and prussian army officers. The colors are bright, to catch the eye of children and differentiate without much effort one badly-traced idealized male nude augmented with power-symbols from another.

As the art gets more sophisticated, artists take what stands out the most - the hot bod, the S&M accents and accessories, the bright colors - and amplify on it.

But, at it's core, it's just circus strongman tights-and-trunks from the time of the Great Depression, drawn by lazy and rushed hacks, sagging seat and bunched underarms and all.
posted by Slap*Happy at 3:38 AM on March 5, 2008


Superman, in his earliest incarnation, wears the tights-and-trunks common to circus strongmen and professional wrestlers in the '20's and 30's. That's the grand sum total of it. No more, no less. It's very disappointing that the author didn't make that connection. At all.

Slap*Happy - you may wish to reread the first two paragraphs of page two, wherein the author (Michael Chabon of the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) makes that connection explicitly. He also connects superheroes to Doc Savage to answer to another poster above.

Chabon is trying to make a metaphorical point about how superhero costumes are necessarily unreal as they are metaphors for "secret skins."
posted by Slothrop at 4:50 AM on March 5, 2008


Great article, btw. Thanks for the post!
posted by Slothrop at 4:51 AM on March 5, 2008


See also Top 10 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha and Zander Cannon, which shows Neopolis, a city where everyone's a superhero and wears a costume, regardless of their body type; best example of this is Shock-Headed Peter.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:05 AM on March 5, 2008


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