KazeAizen said:
Therumancer said:
That said I have mixed opinions about the leggings myself, at the end of the day super heroines are supposed to have some degree of cheesecake factor (whether the PC crowd likes it or not) and to be honest I admit that part doesn't look right. At the same time however girls can age badly unlike their super-counterparts, the current costume will probably help if the show survives for say a 5 year run. Not a politically correct way of putting it, but it's the kind of thing I'd imagine the producers are thinking about as much as anything.
Superheroines aren't "supposed" to have some degree of cheesecake. They just always have and its really hard to break old habits. Have you seen Kamala Kahn the new Ms. Marvel? Not a single degree of cheesecake to be seen there and she's one of Marvel's most popular books. So no super heroines aren't supposed to have anything other than a motivation to fight evil and be a girl while doing it. That's literally all that's required of super heroines. Same for super heroes. They aren't required to have anything other than a motive to fight crime and be a boy while doing it.
As a general rule "Superheroes" are supposed to represent a physical ideal, and to show it off. This means the the guys tend to be studs, and the girls tend to be cheesecake. Everyone at least has great tone, and/or is incredibly ripped, at least in their heroic identity. The typical "super suit" involves tights or spandex in part to show off the physique (and partially because that's what people who work out and do gymnastic wear for the range of movement). The girls might tend toward "Anti gravity melons" but at the same time all the dudes routinely rock six packs. Even the nerds wind up having incredible muscle definition when they put on their super-suit (such as Reed Richards and Peter Parker) look at the muscle curves in their arms even when they aren't rocking the abs.
That said, exceptions do exist, after all one way to make a character stand out is for it not to conform to the usual stereotype, of course for the exception to work within the genera the stereotype must continue to be the norm to some extent. A dark hero doesn't work if there aren't moral paragons doing the job effectively to compare him to, and a character who isn't some kind of physical ideal, at least in their hero identity, needs to be around those that are.
That said Supergirl is an iconic character, part of the point is that she's supposed to be the female version of superman who himself is a paragon of the masculine physique, at least when he's Superman, and he shows it off with all the spandex and shorts. As a general rule these classic characters might pass as being unremarkable when they are disguised, wearing baggy or non-physique flattering clothing and such, but when they come out as heroes your supposed
to be looking at a paragon of beauty and power.
I won't get into the new Ms. Marvel, but understand the old version who runs around doing the whole "sex goddess in spandex" thing is still around as Captain Marvel, not to mention all the other super heroines in Marvel doing a similar thing.
The point here is that Supergirl shouldn't be modest when she's in her heroic identity. A lot of people tend to pick on "Power Girl", but the bottom line is that at the end of the day Power Girl shows off her bust, Super Girl tends to show off her legs (and perhaps her bust and midriff if she's wearing one of the halter top costumes).
That said, I've given my theories on why they probably did the costume that way. Artists drawing a character don't have to worry about what kinds of looks she's going to be able to pull off in five years.
