With the unveiling of the latest live-action incarnation of the Maid of Might going viral faster than a speeding bullet, SUPERMANIA leaps ‘once upon a time-warp’ to compare Super-Fashions thru the ages.
While the new small-screen ensemble leans heavily to the modern trend of muted, almost blacked out colours (influenced by, and therefore canon with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel) its interesting to observe that the basic format of the suit has transcended any excessive studio revisionism and still echoes the movie version years later.
Emerging from a decade where the Superhero costume in live action was considered passé and decidedly uncool (pioneered by the producers of Smallville and their ‘no flights, no tights’ rule) its refreshing have the source material embraced fully once again.
Indeed, given the creative freedom afforded to other recent DC Comics adaptations like Arrow and The Flash with their ultra-modern twist the fact the mini-skirt and even the classic ‘S’ shield survived intact signifies a welcome return to classic comic iconography.
The translation of a comic-book costume to screen is traditionally subject to infinitesimal changes as designer Emma Porteous discovered in creating Helen Slater’s look for Supergirl in 1984. Literally adapting the style seen in the comics of the era, early versions of the costume (as seen in the Making of Supergirl) had the young actress screentest in a baggy suit resplendent with red headband. Successive fittings would eventually realise a feminine version of the Superman costume worn by Christopher Reeve (even utilizing his production-used capes) with the subtle additions of yellow waistband and a two-tone skirt in place of red shorts.
In 2011 The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis was host to a multitude of screenused treasures in their ‘Incredible Costumes from Film & TV’ exhibition, where an original Supergirl costume (on loan from the Azerian collection) was paired with one of Lynda Carter’s surviving season 2 costumes from Wonder Woman (top pic). Exclusive images courtesy of their flickr album permit detailed inspection of the costume as it was prepared for display confirming the fabric used was indeed the same ‘Bridal weight spandex’ from the Superman series and that the capes were trimmed considerably (second pic).
As the boots were not present to complete the outfit its notable that the tights actually had boot-esque stockings attached to be worn beneath them in exactly the same design with the yellow trim. Construction-wise the suit retains the same patterns as the Superman costume with the exception of the chest shield, which in this instance is so small the complex method of inserting the negative shapes gave way to simply stitching the ‘S’ directly onto the yellow background.
With the new show debuting this year and rumours of Helen Slater making an appearance it seems the Supergirl fairytale is set to continue for years to come…
“I look at Superman IV as the unmasking of Superman, with much more emphasis on the Kal-El, the being from Krypton. It becomes clear in the film that both of his identities are a job – both Superman and Clark Kent are personae that he has to become for other people…”
To aid Christopher Reeve on his ambition to give Kal-El his own identity, costume designer John Bloomfield would select an understated casual wardrobe befitting a contemporary farmer for his Smallville homecoming in the opening scenes of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
Always trying to add new dimensions to the character, Reeve would pepper his story (to be adapted by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal) with subtle vignette’s expanding on the quote above by showing Kal-El just as ‘himself’ rather than his other assumed identities. Whereas the comics would typically portray Clark Kent as permanently bespectacled whether ‘on duty’ or no, it was refreshing for audiences to see Superman’s transformation to ‘Everyman’ in very human (but ultimately deleted) scenes as visiting his adoptive parents graves (Top pic).
Today, that costume resides in the halls of The Super Museum in Metropolis, Il, where, it stands (seemingly unprotected) among hordes of other artefacts from the classic movies and beyond. While it may not be the most memorable costume from the franchise, it does symbolise an advancement in the character that would be adapted in some form for every incarnation of the character going forward, most prevalently in Superman Returns years later…
Thanks to Jim Bowers of Capedwonder.com for the one-of-a-kind continuity Polaroid of Reeve in costume (Third pic – note his stand-in wearing an identical gilet). To see more behind the scenes stills of this costume in action go here…
Courtesy of Superman In Advertising And Media come these exclusive vintage photographs of the artefacts featured in The Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Superman, Many Lives, Many Worlds’ exhibition circa 1988.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of a true American icon, SUPERMANIA continues its retrospective from the star-attended opening (click here) to the significant collection on display and even some memorabilia from the event itself.
While the George Reeves TV show The Adventures Of Superman features prominently behind the Plexiglas, the recent release of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace had clearly yielded some treasures under the banner of ‘A New Superman In Hollywood’ where both Christopher Reeve’s Superman Costume featured at one end (top pic) and Mark Pillow’s Nuclearman costume at the other. Quite why the expensive outfits were mounted on such cheap wooden cutouts is a mystery but faring better is Margot Kidder’s silk dress (second pic) accompanied by no less than Reeve’s Clark Kent glasses and Marc McClure’s bow-tie worn as Jimmy Olsen.
Other great items from the movies on show are an original Daily Planet newspaper cover and below it, one of the script drafts for Superman IV by Konner and Rosenthal. As if the opportunity of seeing these relics first-hand was not enough, there was also an opportunity to purchase exclusive collectibles on the day, such as the advertising postcard (third pic) with superb art from Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and two buttons below from the SUPERMANIA collection pictured with a promotional ad…
SUPERMANIA is again proud to host another outstanding fan contribution, this time from arguably the most prolific archivist of The Man Of Steel across all genres.
Famed for making his Superman obsession a lifestyle, Cleveland-based Jamie Reigle has dedicated his life (and a considerable fortune) to the upkeep of some 40,000 items of memorabilia (read more here) and makes the pilgrimage to Metropolis, Ill. every year to showcase and sell items at the Annual Superman Celebration.
Kindly loaning the original unpublished pics above to be scanned exclusively for SUPERMANIA, Jamie’s visit to Downtown Disney’s Planet Hollywood restaurant in Orlando is a further chronicle of the screen-used Christopher Reeve Superman costume (Presented by by Reeve himself according to the sign, third pic). first documented in this post as a free hanging display before being relocated to the lobby in an acrylic case .
As we know, the costume was used in the screentests for the SuperBoy TV Series and used again in a subsequent episode before being incorporated into PH’s considerable prop collection in the early ’90’s. These pics are the earliest examples of the display as the suit, fading onset aside, looks to be in pristine condition. As discussed in earlier posts, the current whereabouts of this costume is unknown so any record of its existence is a welcome addition to the site…
For a multitude of Super-treasures old and new please visit Jamie’s website supercollectibles.com..!
Superman III / Superman’s Bodysuit (Christopher Reeve)
(Warner Bros., 1983) Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. With the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American comic book. In the late 70’s, Christopher Reeve became the embodiment of the Man of Steel. Though he had predecessors, his name became synonymous for the Man from Krypton, sent to Metropolis to protect Earth. In 1995, with the tragic announcement of Chris Reeve’s spinal injury from a horse accident, rendering him paralyzed in a wheelchair, fans’ ongoing hope of Mr. Reeve once again donning the suit were shattered. As a result, Chris Reeve’s Superman costumes have become one of the most sought after artifacts in film history. As witnessed in the fine arts world, it did not take long for the forgers to see an opportunity and today, several fake suits, manufactured long after filming – yet copied from the real thing, therefore identical – are known to have ended up in private collections, sold as “originals”. Many of the die-hard collectors are aware of that fact, which naturally makes a purchase choice in today’s market a rather difficult one, especially since hardly any of the suits documented in public sales seemed to be accompanied by any meaningful provenance. In fact, the standard “COA” often reads that the suit was given to “x” person by an employee from the costume department with no direct link that would allow tracing it back to a credible or indisputable source.
ScreenUsed is proud to offer a rare original Christopher Reeve Superman bodysuit with his trademark belt, accompanied by an actual Certificate of Authenticity direct from Warner Brothers Studios. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only original Superman costume ever to be released to the public with full Warner Brothers Archives sanctioning. The studio’s unique DNA encoding system allows for matching the suit with its corresponding COA at any given time, eliminating the risk of the valuable and authenticating paperwork ever being matched up with a replicated body-suit. To adequately display the suit, it was dressed on a custom muscular ‘heroic’ mannequin with custom sculpted Christopher Reeve head (painted in silky white to direct the emphasis towards the suit, not the sculpture) and completed with a replicated set of cape and boots. Superman’s appearance is distinctive and iconic, making this costume instantly recognizable the world over.
Currently offered in auction by Screenused.com this excellent piece from Superman III represents a first in authentication technology – although exactly what it is and how its achieved remains unclear.
As acknowledged by the outstanding description above, the market has been saturated by fakes (some better rendered than others) but all with corresponding paperwork with ‘legitimate’ correspondence easily capable of fooling the casual fan in to spending thousands. Prevalent throughout the nineties, it is unknown just how many of these copies are still out there pertaining to be the real thing. In fairness to the buyer, there was very little out there for reference as a basis for comparison until the last decade where access to genuine costumes was kindly made available (by the likes of the Propstore.com etc.) where extensive research and studies could be made for a definitive guide to what makes Yvonne Blake’s creation quite so Super.
Thankfully there are now sites committed to policing the web to ensure the consumer is not being fooled auction by auction as they become available. The best of these by far is Jason DeBord’s Original Prop Blog, where the dissection of every listing (right down to the fabric weave) caters for your every authentication concern. For those wanting a more exhaustive overview may I recommend SUPERMANIA’s very own essay on the costume found right here on the incomparable Capedwonder.com.
Revolutionary and genuine as the lot here is, however, its not all good news. While the bodysuit looks to be in fantastic condition (studio labelled throughout – even the belt – noting Reeve was a 36″ waist at the time of filming) the overall display does it little justice. Mounted on what looks to be a plain white basic shop display mannequin (lacking anywhere close to Reeve’s height or proportions) with a cast of Howard Senft’s stylised Reeve bust added painted to match, the obvious reproduction boots and cape, while completing the costume, seem to undermine the legitimacy of the production-made pieces.
Whomever the lucky new owner is, SUPERMANIA’s advice would be to remount the bodysuit as is (while binning the repro gear) or at least reinvesting in sharp new pieces from either Super Costumes or Action Costumes for a closer match…
