There’s a weird thing that happens when comic books get adapted to other media where the iconic costumes they’ve worn for decades get changed in any number of ways. DC made Superman’s iconic costume look darker and washed out in Man of Steel, instead of having the iconic bright blue, red and yellow costume he’s known for. The Adrianne Palicki Wonder Woman pilot put Diana Prince in long pants instead of a skirt. The X-Men movies put all the characters in black leather coats instead of the iconic costumes Dave Cockrum had designed for the team in the 1970’s.
Women’s costumes seem to get this more than men’s, because we’re in the middle of a period that’s more puritanical about sex than we were in the 70s and 80s. Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman wore a costume with the hot pants that had replaced Wonder Woman’s skirt in the comics, but Arrow has replaced Black Canary’s fishnet stockings with a jacket over a corset costume that dates back to 1947 with a leather suit that covers pretty much every inch of skin on her body.
The Scarlet Witch, introduced in 1964, wears a sheer pink body stocking under a red corset with a cape. When Elizabeth Olsen was brought in to play the character in the Avengers films, she was given a much more conservative costume, a jacket and leather pants with a top with a slightly plunging neckline. It also ditched the headpiece, but that’s another argument.
Elizabeth Olsen still seems to think she’s showing too much skin, though, telling Elle:
“It would just not be a cleavage corset. I like corsets, but I’d like it to be higher. Everyone has these things that cover them—Tessa Thompson does, Scarlett does. I would like to cover up a bit. It’s funny because sometimes I look around and I’m just like—wow, I’m the only one who has cleavage, and that’s a constant joke because they haven’t really evolved my superhero costume that much. But then you look at where it started in the comic books and it was a leotard and a headband so…oh, it’s horrible, it’s so horrible. So at least they know that’s not cool. But then they made Wonder Woman, you know? And that’s what she’s in. I think of the costumes and what we have to wear—it’s more about iconic images, because that’s what these movies are…. I think that’s the goal with the costumes, and it’s not representing the average woman.”
Yeah, Wonder Woman is in her traditional comic costume, and it’s also the only decent movie DC has made in at least a decade, not to mention being an inspiration for little girls everywhere. And Marvel has been unashamed of its comic book roots, bringing Jack Kirby’s Thor designs to life and making Iron Man films with all the campy fun a comic book movie can have. But we should probably put Scarlet Witch in a burqa. You know, for feminism.
Maybe if it bothers her so much she should turn down the role!
Jesus, I’d wear a corset for that kinda money… And I’m a man
Cough, your superhero outfit is “not representive of the average woman.” But your superpowers are representative of the average woman? Isn’t the entire point of the genre to be not-average? I’m waiting for Iron man to complain that his suit is representative of the average man lol