Why can't Captain America have a new costume?

[Frank]

Because Jack Kirby designed it. And it works.

Try John Cassaday.

[arachne_azure]

If Disney mandates that Captain America needs a new costume, then Captain America gets a new costume. Many people that have dealt with Disney in the past (Jim Shooter being one of them) have a saying, and it's this "You don't mess with the mouse." (To say Disney is "hands on" with it's assets is an understatement ).

[DeadXMan]

it should scream Golden Age to you!

Steve Rogers: Aren't the stars and stripes a little... Old fashion?
Agent Coulson AKA Phil AKA Son of Coul: With everything thats about to happen, thats about to come to light... people are going to need old fashion

(from memory so I maybe off a few words)

And you won the internet for the day

[Hrist]

People know that Bucky filled in for Cap? And what do you mean he isn't a modern guy? When's the last time Cap actually was treated like someone out of place in the modern era? Hasn't he been unfrozen long enough? I mean it's not like he's still missing references or trying to hold Sharon's hand instead of getting to third base.

In and out of universe, yes, people know that Bucky filled in for Captain America. It was a big part of the story and how he dealt with the legacy, and it also meant that Marvel could make specific "BuckyCap" action figures and such. There's a lot of black on that Captain America costume specifically because it's meant to recall Bucky'd darker past and stealth background, the stars on the arms recall some elements of the Winter Soldier design, the whole thing basically just looks like Bucky.

Captain America as a man-out-of-time is core to his character concept, it's more than just jokes about the mistaken idea that people never had sex in 1944. Brubaker's been writing Captain America forever, and WW2 stuff is one of his favorite themes to explore, so uh.

[RohanRiderX]

it should scream Golden Age to you!


Steve Rogers: Aren't the stars and stripes a little... Old fashion?
Agent Coulson AKA Phil AKA Son of Coul: With everything thats about to happen, thats about to come to light... people are going to need old fashion

(from memory so I maybe off a few words)

i loved that moment it was awesome

[Choppa]

Because the Ultimate Universe was created for the exact purpose of being up-to-date. If you want a modern Captain America costume, go there.



I'd prefer to keep that military crap out of the 616. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

If that were the case then wouldn't every other character have the same costume they did from when they were created? That logic doesn't make sense.

And that's because Hawkeye's new costume is an uninteresting, generic military garb while Captain America's is colourful, engaging and unique. Bring back Hawkeye's good costume and the problem is solved.

But the point is that it's different, not that it's visually appealing to you.

Why pick on Cap in particular? The majority of heroes still wear costumes, not military gear. It would be visually boring if everyone wore the same thing.

With Cap in particular you kind of dismiss the timeless and classic thing, but for someone like Cap a big part of his identity is serving as a symbol and that's exactly what the classic suit does. And it has been updated. The emphasis (I think over emphasis) on the chainmail is still relatively new, along with the pouched belt. Personally I think the Ultimate Cap looks much more ridiculous than the original costume.

I'm mostly talking about the really big popular characters. As far as I can tell, Cap and Spiderman are the only characters who haven't had major changes in their looks. Wolverine, Iron Man, Thor, etc have all changed since their original debuts.

Anytime a classic costume is tweaked or changed, a good percentage of the time the change doesn't stick.

So odds are descent if Steve's outfit did get swapped out, it wouldn't stick. That's not to say there's isn't anything wrong with occasionally changing a characters look. But classics are classic for a reason.

For what its worth, I liked Steve's Commander Rogers outfit he wore while Bucky was Cap... I'm kinda sad to see it go.

Wouldn't Wolverine, Iron Man, etc disprove that point?

In and out of universe, yes, people know that Bucky filled in for Captain America. It was a big part of the story and how he dealt with the legacy, and it also meant that Marvel could make specific "BuckyCap" action figures and such. There's a lot of black on that Captain America costume specifically because it's meant to recall Bucky'd darker past and stealth background, the stars on the arms recall some elements of the Winter Soldier design, the whole thing basically just looks like Bucky.

Captain America as a man-out-of-time is core to his character concept, it's more than just jokes about the mistaken idea that people never had sex in 1944. Brubaker's been writing Captain America forever, and WW2 stuff is one of his favorite themes to explore, so uh.

That makes sense. I will say though that it's not impossible to update the suit without losing it's timeless look. This version below that Sighphi I think illustrates perfectly how to capture both. Plus I thought that Marvel was all about having a more realistic approach to their books? Wouldn't it make sense for Cap to want to have a more practical suit to fight in?

I think this is the best Cap costume i've seen and should be his standard getup.

[Recon1]

You all already know how it is. Hollywood often chooses to change the heroes costumes for one of two reasons:

1. Either because they think it'll look like crap on the big screen

2. Or some big time wardrobe designer wants to get the credit for coming up with something new.

Personally, I have mixed emotions about Caps movie costume. I actually prefer the one he wore in the First Avenger movie to this newer one. Who knows, they'll probably wind up changing it again for his next movie. Although, I must admit I'm quite fond of that one he wore that they later gave to the USAgent back in the 90's though.

[Prince Of Orphans]

I wouldn't mind a bit of an update either, although I'm not too keen on the "modernizeing" of superhero costumes for established characters. It works for some, like Iron Man, but not for others, like Hawkeye (at least for me). It takes away from the fantasy element for me.

[Mr. Rice]

Fun idea: Captain America was created as propaganda that helped inspire the troops in WWII.

Captain America needs to become inspiration for the troops again. Instead of Call of Duty inspiring little nerds to march into recruiting stations, a true hero, with good morals and just ideals should inspire young adults to be the best they can be.

So they should mix modern soldier garb into his costume.

[Prince Of Orphans]

Fun idea: Captain America was created as propaganda that helped inspire the troops in WWII.

Captain America needs to become inspiration for the troops again. Instead of Call of Duty inspiring little nerds to march into recruiting stations, a true hero, with good morals and just ideals should inspire young adults to be the best they can be.

So they should mix modern soldier garb into his costume.

Problem is, propaganda then and propaganda now are perceived as two completely different things.

[Mr. Rice]

Problem is, propaganda then and propaganda now are perceived as two completely different things.

Hopefully people would understand the difference between propaganda and brain washing. It seems like patriotism is a negative thing nowadays.

I want my Captain America to inspire the youth to make our country better, not install an ignorant sense of pride...

[Memphis Raines]

Cap does need SOME kind of costume upgrade; when people who don't even read comics yet who understand that it involves a level of fantasy comment on how corny and out of date his costume looks, then that's a problem.

Also, as someone pointed out earlier when talking about Hawkeye, Cap just looks too old fashioned, goofy and out of style fighting alongside so many other older heroes who have all updated their looks to fit the current times.

And before anyone says Cap's look is "timeless", it's not, or so many people wouldn't even be discussing giving him a new look in the first place. Someone mentioned Spider-Man still sticking with his original costume for the most part; Spider-Man's original costume is timeless because it was already ahead of it's time when it debuted. Cap's costume has just gotten to the point where it looks corny and impractical, even for a comic book super hero.

[Mr. Rice]

Cap does need SOME kind of costume upgrade; when people who don't even read comics yet who understand that it involves a level of fantasy comment on how corny and out of date his costume looks, then that's a problem.

Also, as someone pointed out earlier when talking about Hawkeye, Cap just looks too old fashioned, goofy and out of style fighting alongside so many other older heroes who have all updated their looks to fit the current times.

And before anyone says Cap's look is "timeless", it's not, or some many people wouldn't even be discussing giving him a new look in the first place. Someone mentioned Spider-Man still sticking with his original costume for the most part; Spider-Man's original costume is timeless because it was already ahead of it's time when it debuted. Cap's costume has just gotten to the point where it looks corny and impractical, even for a comic book super hero.

And still, even spider-Man's suit has evolved, newer logo, bigger eyes, I'm sure the lines have shifted around, etc etc.

[XPac]

Wouldn't Wolverine, Iron Man, etc disprove that point?

I don't think they really disprove the notion that a good percentage of the time classic costumes return, no.

Even Logan as we speak is basically wearing his original outfit, though the mask is different. I actually prefered the brown outfit myself, but I guess Jim Lee disagreed with me.

[Wellman]

It hard to improve upon a classic icon, it's like trying to reinvent the wheel, no matter what you still get a similar shape because the original ain't broke and probably never will be.