Hey, look! It’s the first public image of Henry Cavill as Superman from the upcoming Man of Steel movie. First impression from this Supermaniac? That’s a lot of hair. Second impression? The textured rubber kinda looks like sequins, which gives Superman a distinctly disco shimmer. I can get behind that. Third impression? The pleats give the cape the effect of looking like movie house curtains.
Frankly, the costume is too busy. Whenever I see superhero costumes full of pockets, piping, or panels I get depressed. Superman’s costume is the way it is for some very practical reasons. The red, blue and yellow made the best use of the four-colour printing techniques of the 1930s. The cape gave the artist a visual shorthand for conveying a sense of motion, which Superman was almost always in a state of during his early appearances in Action Comics. Luckily, Cavill’s Man-of-Steely gaze is convincing enough to draw your attention away from the overdone costume. Here’s some words from Cavill on fitting inside the suit (Dark Horizons).
