The great thing about the Azrael Batman suit is that it was literally designed to show people in the 90s how bad a 90s redesign of Batman would be. It was the creative team avoiding having to do that by doing it haha
It was a wee bit more than that. At the time, Image was a big deal simply because of their over the top and bloody violence. Without the authorization of the Comics Code Authority, they could go as far as they wanted, and inevitably there were comparisons to Marvel and DC as being "for kids". DC answered this by giving us what is essentially Batman as an Image character in Azrael. (Take note of the exaggerated muscles and multiple pouches. These were a staple of early Image artists!) They were basically asking, "Is this really the Batman you want?" From the response, nope. Most people didn't!
There was a lot of stuff like that. Lobo was also creators saying "Oh, is this what you want, an ultra violent moron with chains everywhere, fart" and then audience said: "Yes, actually", and the creators were sad as creators always are when the present their worst idea to ppl that can force them to use that idea. I like Lobo personally, but I do feel for the creators.
@@Edlin261 They made him a tough guy bounty hunter with hilariously violent stories that seemed ripped right out of "Heavy Metal". Of course we loved him! 😁
Ben Reilly's design is so good that May Parker used a costume with the same patterns and it also fit her perfectly. Easily one of my favourite spidey designs ever.
In the book it's litterally Ben's old suit. There is an extra layer in using his design for her too, as she is the baby MJ miscarried in the clone saga.
How could you forget Danny Ketch Ghost Rider? Even though it's technically a different character, that's Ghost Rider's best look, so much so that both the film adaptations and the mid-2000's relaunch use that look for Johnny Blaze.
I always appreciate a good Marvel Vs Capcom shout out. Great list. Jim Lee's character designs, though steeped in 90's style, have proven to be timeless and iconic decades later
i was a teenager back when the Robin (tim drake) miniseries launched and that particular story combined with the redesign completely changed how i perceived the sidekick concept also brian bolland covers were A M A Z I N G
Few costumes are as 90s yet timeless as the Jim Lee X'men looks, definitely Cyclops and Storm, but also Psylock, Rogue, and Archangel. So many great looks that are still definitive decades later.
Aaaahh LOVED this one! Great subject and I _loved_ the chatty vibe. Felt like we were hanging out chatting about 90s comics, which is just lovely, super cosy energy. I hope to see more videos like this!
I love the sensational spider man suit for all the reasons you brought up in the video and I'm glad someone is finally giving it the respect it deserves. Probably the best spin on the classic suit without overdesigning it.
You actually showed my favorite 90s costume in the video. It's Kyle Rayner's Green Lantern look by Darryl Banks. From the asymmetrical black and white suit to the super stylish update of the Green Lantern chest logo (the black and green Yin Yang pattern represents the Darkest Night, Brightest Day of the classic Oath), topped by that slick metal mask (or faceplate, if you want), that's perfection. It really set this apart from Hal and the Corps, and it showed Kyle's creativity as a graphic designer. 10 out of 10.
What a fun video! Who would have known so many iconic looks were created in the 90s, the way ppl talk about 90s comics you would never know lol…but every era has its bad and its good yeah? Shoutout for Iron Man’s modular armor! That look really grew on me as I was reading the first time. The Kaminsky/Hopgood run in general is sorely underrated and doesn’t get talked about enough imho. (But I admit to being a shameless Iron Man fan so I may be a bit biased lol 😅)
The only suit here that I never really liked is the Azrael suit, but that just speaks to how bombastic and different they were willing to take designs in the 90s. Great era for revamps!
Fun thing about the X-Men, as a kid I thought that the tiger stripe look was the '90s Wolverine costume, not realizing that it had been around forever and that they just brought it back. There was a throwaway line in Wolverine #50 that alluded to that, and it blew my young mind.
@@craigjomaia yeah that went away after his initial fight with Hulk if I’m remembering right. By the time he appeared in Giant Size X-Men he had the mask we all know today
I LOVE the Ben Reilly Spider-man suit. Only thing I would maybe change is the boots. Not fan of the weird 50/50 split between red and blue. I'm curious about what the suit would would look like if the red part of the boots was angled, covering the feet completely and then running from the upper part of the inner ankle to the outside of the leg rather than just being split evenly between red and blue. Or maybe the red part should just be removed from the boots completely. Anyway, its not enough to ruin the suit for me but just a little detail that always bugged me as a kid.
This was so cool! What great comics and designs - Breyfogle's storming run on Batman; Modular Armour Iron Man, and the wonderful Tim Drake Robin series (so much better than the dross they vomit out for him now). One of my other favourites was the Grummett version of Superboy - fantastic art, and huge fun. Many thanks for making me smile at the memories, Josh. Stay safe, my friend. :)
Great vid mate. Always loved the sexier catwoman designs and 90s are definitely my era as well with their over the top designs and edginess. Feels so classic to me
I loved the Superboy costume from Reign of the Supermen storyline. It's a striking departure from the classic Superman outfit. The same can be said for John Henry Irons' Steel armor. As for Ben Reily's Spider-Man costume, I must admit it looks better on May "Mayday" Parker.
the whole xmen line up in the 90s are so iconic that the all those character eventually end up back in those costumes at least once ever few years in the comics
All great picks! I would add the 90s redesign for the Flash, debuting in Flash Vol 2 Issue 50 in 1991. It revamped the Silver Age Flash uniform that Wally West had been honoring into basically what we know the Flash suit to be today. Removing the boot wings but adding the white lenses, larger chest symbol, V shaped belt, and chrome finish, it showed how modernization can come with plenty of restraint.
Just wondering if James Marsden comes back as Cyclops in Secret Wars with other Fox X-Men actors do you want to see them all in their original black leather costumes from the original X-men trilogy or in Jim Lee inspired X-men costumes
I really dug this list. Not a bad one of the bunch. Nightwing was my first real ongoing, buying a monthly comic, so that one holds a special place in my heart. Also, I mean, Cyclops, Storm and Iron Man because of MvC and X-Men v. SF.
The Midnight Sons comics art is so awesome just pure 90s over the top goodness hey just wondering are there any more panels to plastic videos I'd love to see them if you made them also take care of yourself josh love from Fiji bro
Thoughts as watching... Tim Drake -Has a special place in my heart since Tim is my all time favorite fictional character, and Robin II: The Joker's Wild #1 was the first comic book of my collection. Parallax -Was cool at the time, but I never liked using the name for the fear entity. The name was supposed to be symbolic of how Hal's vision was skewed to make him see the world in the wrong way. Catwoman and Nightwing -I always felt that both of these characters were always trying to find a costume that fit and the 90s was the point where they FINALLY hit it. (Though it took much longer for Catwoman then for Nightwing.) Ben Reilly -My favorite Marvel character. I loved the "Scarlet Spider" suit because it looked like something somebody could throw together from scraps they found at a thrift store, in the trash, etc. (One of which was the actual origin for his suit, I belive.) Gave it more of a real world vibe in that it didn't have that "custom-made-by-a-world-class-taylor-for-thousands-of-dollars" look. I also liked both of Ben's suits for having the web shooters on the outside. To be honest, this is the thing that cinched him as my favorite Marvel character. Even as a 5-year old watching "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends", I wondered why the heck such a complex mechanism as Spidey's web-shooters wouldn't result in a huge bulge on the wrists. I am surprised the video didn't mention the later (and longer) use of Ben's Spider-Man costume for his AU MC2 Niece, May Parker. (AKA Spider-Girl) Azrael was an interesting character, and I was always sad that DC just abandoned him. Knightfall was the source of one of my two all time favorite comic book quotes... "Murcielago! Murcielago! ....He has RETURNED!!!" (Bane: Robin ongoing, #10) I too liked the black suit (Though I've always referred to it as the "resurrection suit), but I hate when they try to give it a cape like in the Snyderverse. If you need to make it flashier for film, then maybe have the silver "S" start glowing as it absorbs more power or something. One you didn't mention (that some liked, though it might have been more early 2000s)... The Superman Blue (later red and blue) suit. (AKA Energy Superman) I've always thought that one would have looked better with the blue parts the same, the light blue parts red, and all the surrounding energy Yellow. Made it once with an MS paint edit. Looked a lot better with the classic colors.
idk if it counts but the Sensational She-hulk costume is a great upgrade for me, since that purple and white leotard She-hulk got her most recognizable looks and stick out of Hulk as something for herself, idk if it counts tho since it is from '89 lol
Great list and whole heartedly agree being a kid of the 90s myself. And it was true, Azrael Batman and Black Suit Superman were among my favorites for them. And for me, the king of them all was Ben Reilly Spider-Man. Both Hoodie and Sensational suits. The Hoodie is dope because it was very original, something anyone can put together and the pure red underneath was cool. But Sensational was the best for me because I loved the slight blue and red ratio difference on the suit, web shooters on the outside, and truly loved the giant spider logo because to me it was like an all black logo version of the Symbiot spider suit.
I never knew Nightwings most iconic suit came from the 90s. It’s one of my favourite suits for a superhero ever. Bens outfits are the absolute coolest. I love Bens homemade look with the huge sharp looking eyes and the darker red with the hoodie and all the gadgets. My favourite is the Sensational look. It’s a great redesign and looks absolutely awesome. I don’t know if the Spider-Man armoured suit is from the 90s but I love that aswell. I think the modular Iron Man look is great aswell. Tim’s 90s outfit is the most perfect Robin outfit ever.
A lot of people use the Azrael Batman suit as the poster boy for why the 90s sucked. But I loved it. The claws and red eyes along with the helmet were great. Yeah, the pouches around one thigh weren’t entirely necessary, but it was still a great look. I especially enjoy the final version where he ditches the cape for the big wings.
Aah, the 90s... the OTT look of Azrael, Stryfe, Adam X/X-Treme, Rob Liefeld's obsession with pouches and muscles upon muscles, and Jim Lee put the X-Men in leather jackets As an 80s kid, punk mohawk Storm was my introduction to the X-Men, and I still think it's her best look
Jim Lee's X-Men redesigns were pretty iconic, to are large degree because they were used for the cartoon. If I could add one more to this list, it would be Rogue's. Lots of heroes were doing the brown bomber jacket over a colorful costume look, but Rogue made it work better than anyone. I also have a soft spot for Rob Liefeld's redesigns for the New Mutants/X-Force. I know, I know! Liefeld's work is considered the epitome of everything wrong with 90s comic art, but I actually liked the new costumes they got after Cable became their mentor. Colorful, but uniform. It felt like a positive change that finally let the New Mutants grow up a bit.
@@josesarango3408yep. Trashing Liefeld is basically a viral internet meme. Yes, I blame the internet. He is a legit artist. His good stuff far outweighs bad feet and Caps chest lol
I agree with most of these. Though I think I'd also place Rogue and Armored Spider-Man, while the latter might've been strictly temporary, it's been a classic in a lot of the video games for a reason I think. It's a bit bulky, but the sleek colors and similar color layout to the Red and Blue keeps in stylish enough. Rogue's 90's look became as definitive as Cyclops' or Storm's as you've mentioned. I wanna say Psylocke as well, but I don't know if the Jim Lee/MVC design was in the 90's or was a late 80's look. Tim's Robin design wasn't just in Batman TAS, but Teen Titans, The Batman and a few others, it's probably the best example of a modern take of a old-school design.
Agree, I'm shocked Rogue wasn't included. It was the first time she finally received a definitive look (had gone thru about a dozen variations in the same amount of years). It's still so good that everytime they try to change/update her look, she always goes back to her 90s costume within a few years. Good Spidey armor mention too!
A small pet peeve I have with Tim’s original Robin suit is the red trunks, I don’t like them. It makes him look as if he’s wearing a women’s swim suit. If you change the trunks to black it’s actually amazing
Maybe it's because it was my first X-Men story, but I've always been fond of the Age of Apocalypse X-Men designs. AoA Magneto, Nightcrawler with swords, Storm with her short haired black and white look etc. were all bangers, but Sunfire with his full on Human Torch like look is my absolute favourite from that series. Such an upgrade over his regular (and rather bland) original design.
I love the Jim Lee X-Men designs, but after starting to pick up some mid-2010s X-Men stuff recently, I really dig Chris Bachelo's red and black Cyclops design. It's right up there with the 90's look for me.
I really dug this list! All those costumes are personal favorites of mine as well. Only things are want to say the Ben Reilly costume was designed by Dan Jurgens (Death Of Superman) actually if memory serves and the Az-Bat suit was actually designed by Joe Quesada, because of how well Azreal was received by the public at the time. He did an interview a few years back on the creation of the design. The light in the center of the chest was actually a play/knockoff of Iron Man’s arc reactor. I’m a 90’s era comic kid myself lol
The Ben Reilly Sensational Suit was actually created by Mark Bagley but Jurgens was the first to properly draw it in a comic issue since he drew Sensational Spider-Man issue 0.
There was a real elegance to the way that the Batman writers handled the development of the Azrael costume, as well. For the most part, the changes didn't occur all at once (although the big shift obviously happened in Batman #500); Jean-Paul Valley started out wearing the OG Batman costume, only to begin changing it bit by bit--and the more his Order of Demas brainwashing began to take over, the more he'd change the costume, until by the end it resembled a vaguely bat-shaped Azrael costume more than anything else. It's as if the writers were trying to say that Jean-Paul Valley could never really be the Batman. Just brilliantly done.
I think the thing that throws me on Storm’s early 90’s look is that it really is solid but many of her older and newer looks(especially the mohawk looks) overshadow it THAT much. I guess I’m hard pressed to think of a look she’s had that ever missed. Nightwing is such a solid choice. The exact opposite of the stereotypical excess of the period.
Nightwing is my number 1, he's my favourite character and got two redesigns, both better than the previous and both are my favourite look for the character. Cyclops is my second favourite character and I have to agree, but I think a couple previous attires had that "half-sock" style mask, but I really like the Casady redesign in the 2000's as well. I personally would have said Rogue over Storm and thrown Gambit in as well as these are the definitive looks for me. Also, Kyle Rayner definitely has one of my favourite designs of all time.
The green trousers actually snuck earlier in an elseworlds comic. But honestly, it could've been a miscolor as it was still the fairy boots trunks costume but with green leggings.
90s Nightwing is absolutely iconic, but two big things I think you missed: they cut Dick's long ponytail in a literal fight sequence at the beginning of the ongoing 1996 series where he even comments he was meaning to get a haircut, and imo that hairstyle is much more iconic for the era. Also, the FINGERSTRIPES! SUPER important to the flow of the costume and accenting the color on the minimal look and every time they remove them in more modern suits it makes me very sad. I'm very happy you included him tho, even if his look is a bit opposed to the general ethos and design language of the era :3
I love the Jim Lee X-Men redesigns, Rogue could've been on the list. Have you thought about a video on the WildC.A.T.s? Or maybe Gen 13? The original Image comics titles were FILLED with 90s style and excesses that looking back from 2024, are probably the BEST art ever put out on a comic (yeah, I forget Byrne and Adams and Kirby on purpose). These days costumes are a disgrace.
I don’t mind that people see it as white. I think it’s fun that it’s open to interpretation. But to say that it was not drawn as black leather by Lee, Portacio, and others is simply incorrect.
I feel like this is a dude I could vibe with - just about every costume on this list is one I've considered an underrated gem for a while now A few thoughts: Parallax - I love this design by Daryl banks (an underrated 90s artist, I'd say), I think a big part of why Parallax keeps being brought back is just to give artists an excuse to draw this costume because it just looks that bad-ass. I think it should be mentioned that Banks also did something rare by knocking it out of the park with back-to-back costume designs, because the Kyle Rayner GL costume is just as good, IMHO (hence why DC brought it back and made it Kyle's defacto look a few years ago) Sensational Spider-man - loved it when i first saw it, and still my favorite Spider-man costume to this day. There's a reason they gave it to Spider-girl for her series instead of having her wear her dad's threads, because it's that damn good looking a design. Azbats - I moreso love the debut version of this costume (the upgraded versions are still good, but a little overdone I'd say with all the extra bits), and what I don't think it gets enough credit for is the way it blended many of the design elements from the Quesada designed Azrael costume into a costume that still looks like a Batsuit (albeit a hyper 90s, edgey Batsuit). Which I think fits with what the writing team was going for with the storyline beyond "edgey costume for an edgey batman" - multiple points throughout the overall story arc, Valley makes it clear that while he's taking on the Bat mantle, he's going to have be Batman in his own unique way if he's going to succeed, so of course he builds a batsuit/armor that has more similarities with his Azrael armor that he's more used to using Black suit superman - maybe the best design from that storyline, which says a lot considering the story featured 4 other new designs for replacement supermen that were all bangers. Again, there's a reason DC keeps dusting off this design for stories since it initially debuted because it's just such a striking visual for the character. That said, it's still not my favorite 90s superman redesign - people can dump on it all they want, but i love the electric blue containment suit and the powers that came with it (I feel like most people I see ripping on it haven't even read the actual storyline, they just made a snap judgment based on some cover art and jokes other people have made online that they saw, and assume the consensus is that it sucks and if they want to be accepted they have to take some easy dunks on it that they copy-pasta'd from an old chat forum). Cyclops & Storm - Jim Lee is usually pretty weak with costume designs (ie look at literally anything he did after X-Men, 95% of those designs kinda blow), but damn did he knock it out of the park with these iconic looks. And these two aren't even the best designs he did for the x-men - his costume for Rogue is maybe the best look she's ever had and the standout from a batch of standouts (also, shootouts for gambit and psylocke, which came a couple years earlier but are also iconic in their own right).
You might want to check out Catwoman's costume upgrade in the Batman '89 comic books (based on the script for Tim Burton's third Batman movie that was never made). It is basically just her black Batman Returns costume with the white stitches, but the bottom part is now replaced by Balent's purpe tights and black thigh-high boots with a copper '60s "disc belt" like the one she wears in the BTAS cartoon. It pays homage to three iconic Catwomen looks and looks amazing. It has become my favorite look already.
This was really fun! There was actually an answer to what colour Storm's costume was, beyond the cartoon. All of the toys produced with her wearing that outfit are white in colour (so it can't just be dismissed as a one-off misinterpretation), across multiple toy companies (and even the Harvey's fast food promos!).
Thanks! That's a good point and I hate to "well, actually" you but there have been many figures depicting it as black. The first ever Marvel Legends Storm went with black. And back in the 90s, when the suit was still new, Toy Biz did versions in black, white, and metallic silver (although these were more based on the Outback costume). I still think the cartoon popularised white and most figures after that point reflect that.
@@PanelstoPixels Nah, it's a good call. I only ever remember the white versions, so it's good to know that those variations are out there. I do find it fascinating that the Marvel Legends figure you mention came with a comic featuring her first costume, and a Marvel VS card (geez, remember that game?!) with her contemporary 2004 costume, so they don't really give a proper frame of reference for what they were trying to do. I agree - it is absolutely her Jim Lee outfit; it would just be nice if they had, well, included the Jim lee illustration for context.
@@PanelstoPixels Storm is nothing if not fashionable, perhaps she had them in each of those colors. Black for the covert stuff, white for better PR by looking more angelic and silver for just looking plain damn regal and powerful.
I am surprised you mentioned Ben's suit and DIDN'T mention the design was essentially reused on Peter's daughter's Mayday in her solo series. It's even canonly his old suit.
I loved the mid-90s Jared Stevens Fate costume, when it went from jeans, t-shirt & trench coat with Pauldron/arm wrap(Fate Cape), to an actual solid red or Black bodysuit with the gold Pauldron, Arm wrap that looks more like armor, and some of the best use of 90s pouches with the cross body pouch strap & arm pouches on the opposite arm with the bracer to balance it out. I also LOVED Triumph, & his simple aquamarine-ish green & gold suit, LOVED it, wish they didn't shit on the characters just because they were 90s. I will also die on the hill, that no matter how much hate it gets, 90s armored Daredevil costume is AWESOME when drawn right. They are even breaking it back out for Daredevil: Black Armor and it looks even cooler now
Azbats was legit 👊🏼 just wish they didn't play his character so safe in the brief stint while he had complete control. So many more ideas could've been done. I'd love to see an ongoing outlaw series focused on Azbats.
