Secrets of Superman's Underwear

Fri May 9, 2014, 5:52 PM

Of all the questions that have long vexed my mind, and made for so many sleepless nights, has always been the Big One: Why the shorts on the outside of the leotard? At long last, it is with great pleasure that I present intrepid cub reporter and talented new writer, Ariel Williams, who has finally succeeded in getting to the bottom of “Superman’s Underwear.” Please join me in welcoming Ariel to the depthRADIUS family.

JSA 40's banner for Blastoff Comics by elena-casagrande

Written by Ariel Williams

A common question I get, especially from those that don’t read comics, is...

“Why do superheroes run around in those strange outfits?”

“Why does Superman wear his underwear on the outside?”

It really does seem strange when you think about it. Superman is apparently wearing tights with underwear over them and no clothes other than the spandex and his cape. This sartorial style is echoed in many comic book heroes with their origins in the earliest days of comic books in the 1930's and 1940's onward. The reason for the unusual superhero undies is a strange mixture of economics, printing technology and artistic talents trying to find a middle ground between the two.

Superman, Art Deco, and Colorby ComicBookArtFiend

Shuster Awards Poster Finalby manapul

Supermanby ChrisFaccone

— Aeschylus, in Prometheus Bound (c. 478 BC)

In the early 1930's and 40's, the printing of comics came in two forms, black and white and 4 color. (This is also where we get the term “4 color hero.”) In general, comic books were intended to be as cheap as possible so the lowest grades of paper were often used and the fastest and cheapest printing methods.

Capt. America, 1954 – Atlas Comics

Comics and comic books were not considered a serious art form. They were a cheap diversion or something for children. The color printing was initially only reserved for the cover page of a comic because it was a costly process that required the ink to be applied in 4 separate stages, one for each color. The problem became that when doing this the machines had to run at a very high rate of speed to produce enough comics and they would eventually become misaligned and need constant adjustment. This is why we see comics from this era onward with the colors bleeding outside of the lines. This is especially true when color was later applied to entire comics.

Due to these minor imperfections in the process itself the comics were produced with sharp clean edges defined by hard black and often the layouts would be done so that objects could be painted a single color. These restrictions and a lack of a proper gray constrained the art style to fit within the technology of the day. The methods they used to overcome this came in using either a style much like pointillism (halftone) as the image above or hard solid colors, hatching and crosshatching as below.

Keeping your colors simple was the best way to do this but it restricted character design and forced them to create an inventive way to make the character stand out.

Daredevil Comics #25, 1944 – High magnification scans of comic book details

— E. B. White, in "The Old and the New," in The New Yorker (19 June 1937)

Working within the limitations I have just described, comic book artists took great strides to make powerful and lasting impressions. Right or wrong and consciously or not, this led to emphasizing hyper masculine or hyper feminine character traits to make the characters seem larger than life on such a simple format. We often see color changes or divisions at the head, chest, waist, hands groin and feet. This allows the characters to have certain "attributes" stand out.

Which one looks more "heroic"?

Left: original, Center: "no undies", Right: groin accent

The center option almost seems to have neutered Superman with its lack of definition. While option three might be acceptable in this panel, in some poses or in very small panels in the comics his legs might overlap the groin area and the entire pose might loose definition. You literally might not be able to tell his leg from his a-hole. Also, inadvertently defining his "package" would have scandalized 1940's sensibilities.

Even characters that wore only a single color often had detail lines outlining the pelvis from the rest of the body so their features could easily be made out on small panels.

Here we can see what looks like "undies" even on the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic.

— William Shakespeare, King Lear (1608), Act III, Scene 2

Modern comics are starting to move away from this trend a little as better printing technology has allowed smooth gradients and shading to compensate for the issues of the past and opened up a whole new range of possibilities. Even so, the iconic images of superheroes in comics are so strong that little has changed from those early days.

“Look ma no undies!”

(To be honest, even here a fine line is observed to make sure there is definition between pelvis and legs, but at least it doesn't look like underwear.) Even here we can see the issue of not segmenting the body by contrasting colors. In the pose to the bottom-left, Superman’s leg and groin area seem to blend together a bit too much for my likes but the shading makes it acceptable and the red belt provides a visual queue for his midline.

The New 52 Superman – Art by: Jesus Merino, Lettering by: Carlos M. Mangual, Colored by: Brian Buccellato

Fantastic Four #49 (1966) – A comparison between a scan from the original to the present-day reprint.

Did you ever question why Superman wore his shorts outside his leotard? Or did you simply accept this as being the standard super-hero uniform? Can you think of other odd quirks we accepted in our comics heroes that were necessitated by technical/political/economic/social considerations more than by artists’ choices?
If you are an aspiring comics artist, do you think you would have enjoyed the challenge of trying to solve the restrictions of primitive print production, or are you very grateful to be using today’s technology?
Do you think more should be done to educate arts students in the creative innovations that were invented to keep comics alive in their earliest days? Should the comics narrative storytelling form get more of the respect regularly lavished upon early cinema?
After reading an article like this one about Superman’s underwear, does this special knowledge make you feel just a little bit superior to everyone else not in the know?
Funniest answer possible please: Youtubing the opening credits of the weekly 1952-58 Superman TV show, the bad guys shoot Superman in the chest. He stands there as a motionless target, smiling, hands on hips. The bullets all bounce off his big “S” insignia. Out of bullets, the bad guys toss their empty revolvers at Superman’s head. He ducks. Why?

484 Comments

Fullview

Secrets of Superman's Underwear by techgnotic

Watch

Ihave always been a fan of comic books. I grew up in mostly small towns in the 80’s and 90’s and often had to entertain myself with only one or two television stations and no cable TV. Books were always a source of escape from the real world and from my own rather boring life. Art was also a way for me to express my own ideas and flesh out the images I saw in my mind’s eye when reading. From there comic books were a natural draw for me as they had both amazing tales like the books and creative visuals. The more I read comics the more I tried to learn everything I could about this unique art form. When it comes to comics, I’m the geek who usually has the 411…

Writers: FromAriel, techgnotic
Designers: marioluevanos
Credit: to John Hilgart @ 4CP | Four Color Process

For more articles like this, visit depthRADIUS.
Want to submit any ideas, suggestions, collections, or an existing work for consideration for the Today page? We'd love to look at it. Email us at share@deviantart.com

The-Last-Phantom Featured By Owner Dec 18, 2015 Professional Digital Artist

AWESOME COLLECTION!!!!

Thank you soooo much!!!!

Gun-Cougar Featured By Owner Dec 15, 2015

“The reason for the unusual superhero undies is a strange mixture of economics, printing technology and artistic talents trying to find a middle ground between the two.”

Perhaps this statement is true in the afterthought of the comic world after the character was created, but in reality it’s much simpler. Allow me to explain:

First off, it was never, ever underwear. Non-sports people often make this mistake. In fact, the trunks were specifically designed OUTERWEAR for those of us who had to wear them. That’s why they were deliberately cut high, wide, and thick. And why was it worn on the outside? Simple: to make a smooth, clean masculine line on the outfit.

Outside of printing, Superman’s costume is based on the standard wrestling uniform at the time---a leotard worn over tights to keep the tights up, and trunks worn over the leotard. (I was in school wrestling in 1988 and we still wore the same thing. This style is also mentioned in the film “The Breakfast Club”.) Anyway, from the 30’s to the 90’s, one of the most common non-ballet/non-gymnastics sports leos for men had a 2-button closure at the crotch, and the trunks over them covered the buttons. Not only that, it was wider than the cut of the leo, so it also covered the waistband line of the tights; and at the same time it covered the leg-hole opening lines of the leo. Instead of seeing all the outlines of the support cup, tights, and trunks under the leo, the trunks on the outside covered ALL lines giving the outfit a nice, clean look. Thus the artists drawing Superman (or any other Gold/Silver Age hero) were simply emulating the real-life tight fitting sportswear designs common for men at the time; which apparently also happened to be a good looking aesthetic within the confines of comic design.

jvenegas Featured By Owner Edited Dec 15, 2015 Student General Artist

superhero underwear is like sports-wear- it protects the sensitive parts, works with any physical transformations [were-animal, hulk], and is also completely indestructible, in case of a catastrophic costume failure/disintegration.

rambideunt Featured By Owner Dec 19, 2015

or, to hide unnecessary boner

jvenegas Featured By Owner Dec 22, 2015 Student General Artist

Interwoven with lead, so it's x-ray resistant!

Blue-Angel12 Featured By Owner Dec 14, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

I actually never thought about that. I just thought that his underwear on his leotard was part of the costume.XD Great collection, and very interesting article.

RedFox1304 Featured By Owner Dec 12, 2015

5: Well ... as mentioned above, a broad chest is a significantly male attribute, isn't it? Being able to let bullets bounce off it makes one very heroic and male-looking. But letting somebody throw things at your face is quite another thing. Just think about the effect of being struck in the face. It's not about the pain but more about hurting the pride of a person. A hero cannot let his pride getting hurt.

TrulyParanormal Featured By Owner Dec 12, 2015

• i actually thought he did that to hide groin areas or it was some type of fashion.
• i dont know what could inspire young art students, there should be more respect.
• i feel a tiny bit superior
• "Not the nose!" Superman yelled, ducking as guns flew at him. He had a date tonight, and he would rather not have Batman shouting: 'NOSEMAN! Or SUPER-BROKEN-NOSE', at him through the window as he tries to enjoy some pasta.

or
maybe his face is his weak point, even acne would make him cry.

Diamondec Featured By Owner Dec 10, 2015

Superman ducked because he was worried about the gun messing up his hair. Lets face it hair gel isn't cheep and the amount superman must use and the hours it took him to get his hair like that. I would have ducked too.

alec7971 Featured By Owner Dec 8, 2015 New Deviant

really like the collection,thanks

danielmchavez Featured By Owner Dec 6, 2015 Digital Artist

Thank you so much for the feature!

niqbee Featured By Owner Dec 6, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

5. The more mundane the attack, the more it smarts?

lligthning Featured By Owner Edited Dec 6, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

BATMAN >SUPERMAN
because : BATMAN

IronArmy Featured By Owner Dec 19, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

-__-

Varjokani Featured By Owner Dec 4, 2015 Student Digital Artist

Never even noticed that, but now when mentioned, he does look stupid with out undies. :-D

Great-Lord-Dread Featured By Owner Dec 2, 2015 Professional Writer

I always read that the undies were intended to mimic the look of a circus strongman. This is an image that was, at the time of Superman's conception, deeply embedded in the American consciousness as representative of inhuman strength.

PrincessofDaggers Featured By Owner Dec 2, 2015

This was neat. I had never really put much thought into that, instead just chose to accept it. I love learning the 'why' behind things.

daphne3631 Featured By Owner Nov 29, 2015 Student General Artist

A very nice read

Eremitik Featured By Owner Nov 28, 2015

I read once that the reason the underwear was over the suit was a type of homage to the wrestlers, or "strongmen" of that era. In those days, wrestlers wore little other than underwear to show off their physique. The comic artists designed the suits that way so people would associate Superheroes and wrestlers, who were thought to be the perfect male specimens of health and strength.

WingDiamond Featured By Owner Nov 21, 2015

A joke I read in one of them "Dirty Joke Books"

How do we know Superman is (insert target ethnicity or locality)?
Who else would wear their jockey shorts over their leotards?

E2-Class Featured By Owner Nov 20, 2015 New Deviant Hobbyist General Artist

answers to those five questions:

1. Yeah, i used to question why he wore undies outside that jumpsuit, but i never thought it was for economic reasons. Mickey mouse also has four fingers because it saved money too.
2. I'm proud of today's modern technology, but I wouldn't mind using technology of old.
3. Maybe so, I do enjoy a good classic.
4. Most of my friends don't know this, so I guess this means I have bragging rights.
5. Because those guns had villain DNA, and superman is secretly germaphobic. (that's the best I could think of)

RexdeDino Featured By Owner Nov 19, 2015 New Deviant Hobbyist Writer

I don't have answers to 1-4 questions, BUT I have one for nr. 5
*ahem*

It's because his mother made the suit, and his head isn't covered by the suit.
The suit is bulletproof, because as we know from Harry Potter, motherly love is an indestructuble barrier.
Well, maybe if a giant rock monster punches you in the gut, BUTTHAT'SDIFFERENT!

daphne3631 Featured By Owner Nov 29, 2015 Student General Artist

Good one

coolcat378 Featured By Owner Nov 24, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

The insight! *-* I must get my mother to use all her motherly love to make me a cloak of indestructible power and greatness!!!!!!!!

MissyTD Featured By Owner Nov 17, 2015 Hobbyist Artist

So it's not ok for me to wear my underwear on the outside since I'm not a superhero...?

ashwhite3110 Featured By Owner Nov 16, 2015

nice job. i like your reasoning.

mylovelyart1 Featured By Owner Nov 16, 2015 New Deviant Hobbyist Artist

mmmmhhhh....no comment

Miarath Featured By Owner Nov 14, 2015 General Artist

Thanks for sharing such a great journal!

Well, I actually never thought about the why, although, sometimes
I wondered why many superheroes fight in bathing gear or nearly naked, which has to be really
uncomfortable for fighting.

Deepizzaguy Featured By Owner Nov 13, 2015 Student Writer

Thank you for sharing the history lesson of why Superman's costume has had so many changes.

SuperSparkplug Featured By Owner Edited Nov 10, 2015 Professional Digital Artist

It was also because wrestlers and some performers would wear their costumes like that, back in the old days, with underwear on the outside. This was probably more of an influence to his design than the technological issues outlined here. While they were certainly a factor, the culture of the time with performer outfits influenced Superman's design, which coincidentally helped them out when they had to deal with their printing limitations. While this does explain the comics of the time, what you're explaining here isn't entirely right with regards to Superman.

secondsign Featured By Owner Nov 21, 2015

There's a practical reason why wrestlers and others wear separate trunks over tights. The tights usually come up to the waist but, regardless of the fabric used or how tight they are made, it's very hard to keep them in place and laying smooth. The trunks, since they aren't pulled as much by leg movement do a better job of staying smooth and in place.

SuperSparkplug Featured By Owner Nov 24, 2015 Professional Digital Artist

Ah, cool! Good to know!

Kilven Featured By Owner Nov 9, 2015

The underwear look to this day still looks better on the comics page. They tried ditching the underwear with his New 52 look, but when you actually look at the art they still have the underwear lines in almost every drawing you'll see, now it's just blue instead of red. And honestly, without the red underwear it just doesn't look like Superman.

Drakonadrgora Featured By Owner Nov 9, 2015

Actually they were not underwear but shorts like what wrestlers wear. People just assumed they were underwear because of how they looked. If you look at many professional wrestlers in today's tv many of them were similar looking shorts. Really all it was for was a difference it color to set off the depiction from upper and lower body. A single color outfit becomes boring and forgettable. where as a multi-color outfit draws your attention and you remember it more.

Same as how in modern times those that try to stand out wear clothes of different colors on top and bottom and shoes to draw attention to different parts of the body. Where as some wear singular colors to draw attention more the to face area instead.

The artists wanted readers to see superman as a whole and not just s face on a body that did some poses while fighting bad guys doing the same. would be boring to read or look at if they did that.

ninjaguy1123 Featured By Owner Nov 8, 2015

Dang, this much effort put into a presentation on how Superman wears his underwear on the outside...
At least it was corrected in Man of Steel.

Great-Lord-Dread Featured By Owner Dec 2, 2015 Professional Writer

Man of Steel is far from the first rendition of Superman without the trunks. It's not really fair to consider this a correction, some people actually like the classic Superman look, myself included.

Bad-Recolors Featured By Owner Nov 7, 2015

Superman is pathetic

TommyGK Featured By Owner Nov 7, 2015 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

You know the real secret of his underwear? It's a one of a kind Chuck Norris edition kind of underwear

AHochrein2010 Featured By Owner Nov 6, 2015 Professional General Artist

I didn't see any mention of superhero costumes reflecting the trunks that wrestlers would wear.

DanteStrife4 Featured By Owner Nov 3, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

I know why he wears under panties. cause he is advertising bonds

Minyassa Featured By Owner Edited Nov 2, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Very nicely explained! I grew up with these old comics and accepted them as superheroic style, with an additional note: It was also how circus performers dressed. I never thought of it as "underwear on the outside". Anyone who wanted to wear tights as a costume wore shorts over them because showing off the entire ass, crack and all, or the possibility of camel toe or defined bulge was simply NOT DONE back then. We didn't DO "no panty line" ass. Putting shorts over tights was not only an opportunity to center and balance a contrasting color for the sake of design (five points--gloves, boots, groin) but it ensured modesty. The look was bold and exciting and adventurous, the way that the trapeze artists dressed, suggesting dynamic motion and fearlessness.

RedWolf955 Featured By Owner Nov 2, 2015 New Deviant

Wow, are you really that blind? His leg is quite clearly separated from his pelvis. The ones without the red trunks look more heroic, because they look less silly than the one that looks like Superman doesn't know how to wear his underwear.

Xeurum Featured By Owner Oct 31, 2015 New Deviant Professional Digital Artist

AbraMichelle Featured By Owner Edited Oct 27, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Interesting new insights

jlgreenlee Featured By Owner Oct 26, 2015 New Deviant

I was always under the impression that Superman's costume was based on those of circus acrobats of the era, and that most superheroes that followed (that would be all of them) just aped the look.

Degamer-EXE Featured By Owner Oct 29, 2015

That's what I think too when everyone makes fun of robin and batman

R-X-Art Featured By Owner 6 days ago New Deviant

In Robin's case, wouldn't that explanation be kinda-sorta canon?

Grecian-Girl Featured By Owner Oct 20, 2015 Hobbyist Photographer

I always thought it was weird that his underwear was outside his costume. I also thought it was weird that his disguise was a pair of glasses. He takes them off and strips down to a unitard, complete with metal utility belt, which cannot be comfortable under normal clothes, and VIOLA he is unrecognizable as Clark Kent but is now SUPERMAN! At least Batman wears a mask that covers almost all of his face. I also never figured out wonder woman. A busty woman wearing a strapless, spangly leotard with no protection except for a pair of bracelets and a tiara. Never made any sense to me.