Characters who look better in costumes and characters who look better in clothes

[The Mandarin]

A few years back, there was a big move at Marvel towards putting characters in street clothes or into uniforms that were very close to being street-clothes. Recently this movement has been utterly undone.

I was frustrated by that, because I think some characters look better in street looks and/or relatively realistic uniforms, and others look best in costumes.

For example, I think Wolverine looks best when in cowboyish/lumberjacky street-clothes. He just doesn't feel right in yellow and blue spandex.

Bullseye looked much cooler in street-clothes than in a costume as well. Especially after they added the scar to make him visually distinct without a costume.

I've been thinking about what makes a particular character work better without a costume, and I've decided it is because certain characters have elements to their appearance that are their true costumes, making spandex redundant.

For example, Kingpin looks best in a business suit. Why? Because he's a 7 foot tall blad power-lifter! That's his costume. Anything added to that is extraneous.
The Mandarin's costume is his evil moustache and pimp-rings. He needs nothing more, and as such looks best when in a business suit. (see my sig on that one. Middle figure)

Spider-Man, however, looks much better in a costume. There is nothing visually distinct about Parker in regular clothes. He is almost a charicature of ordinary.

[Whip]

I agree. Luke Cage has, more or less, always worn street clothes (or something similar to that effect), so if he were to suddenly wear a uniform of sorts, I don't think it'd look... Well, it'd certainly take getting used to!

Some characters, like you said, look better in their costumes or a variant of it, IMHO. Like Gambit and his trenchcoat. If he didn't have that, it wouldn't look like Gambit to me -- just some Joe Schmoe wearing the distinctive red-on-black contacts. For some characters, their costume is the only thing that distinguishes them from the next.

I remember reading the Generation X comics back in the 90s and being confused when Husk and Emma Frost were in the same scene together and being almost unable to tell them apart (this was when Emma wore her more "conservative" outfits, but the fact that they were white in color helped out).

Spoilers:

This sort of confusion also happened to me recently with USM. I could barely tell Gwen Stacy and non-uniformed-Sue Storm apart!

[Wastrel]

all costumes other than spiderman look kinda goofy to me. i do however differentiate between costumes and uniforms, but anyone in neon bodypaint just looks retarded.

[andrew french]

luke cage's costume was perfection

[Colby]

Most of the ones already mentioned work better outside of costume, but there does ned to be some distinctive element- Wolvie's hair, Luke and the Kingpin's size, Bullseye's scar.

I also think Gambit could work in just a trenchcoat. M' I right, ladies?

If nothing else, I think it makes more sense. Wolvie, Luke Cage, and Bullseye have neither the resources nor the temperament to wear neon onesies.

[Vonn Hennigar]

luke cage's costume was perfection

Damn Straight,Cracker!

[sto110]

i love kingpin in a orange jumpsuit, love that he can still control things from prision.


and yes i have read the recent DD trade so.....

[dEnny!]

Bullseye did NOT look better in street clothes than a costume.

[bartleby]

What about "which characters look better naked?"

[Kefky]

Bullseye did NOT look better in street clothes than a costume.

Did TOO!