These Two Superheroes Have The Same "UGLY" Costume 

Which superhero has the best costume?

When you go to the party and someone’s wearing the same outfit as you and you can’t leave and it’s just be awkward.

Wow that original sandman design with the gas mask and the trench coat is actually awesome. I hope DC uses the character more just because the costume is so cool

My problem with the costumes are not the colors, but the fact that they don’t have a logo. The simple addition of a logo would make it seem less generic.

Sticking everyone in uninspired muscle man tights, a cape , and cowl, and worse of all, a fin on their heads was the one thing that I really hated about the golden age. I loved the Sandman's original outfit. Just something eerie about it. Even though wearing a gas mask for hours while also fighting and running around would be very impractical. I had to wear one in the military, and even though you kind of get used to it after a while they are unpleasant and exhausting. ( Trying to suck in enough air, limited vision, having to yell just to be understood, canister in the way and awkward, and sucking warm water from your canteen with the built in hose make it taste like you were drinking from a junkyard tire....good times.😅)

Roy Thomas's mission statement with All-Star Squadron was to give a modern sense of continuity to the Golden Age stories that had no continuity when they were published. There area ton of little things like this that only hard-core Golden Age fans cared about. In Secret Origins (1986) #7 he eexpplais how the Crimson Avenger gave the Sandman his knockout gas gun, because the Crimson Avenger originally had a gas gun then just stopped using it without any explanation in the Golden Age stories. I highly recommend the retro reviews of All-Star Squadron by James Fulton over at Inside Pulse for more Roy Thomas Golden Age easter egg goodness.

Roy Thomas was reading and loving The Justice Society in All-Star Comics when he was growing up. He's always been fond of digging deep into the history and rewriting it to try and make sense of it all. So of course he's going to try to explain why Sandman and Tarantula had similar costumes!

Sandman Mystery Theatre was such a great series. I feel that Guy Davis artwork was a very big part of the attraction; especially the way that he drew Diane and Wesley as normal looking folk.

Dian Belmont's great. Love that in James Robinson's _Starman_ when she & Wesley Dodds turns up Jack's more interested in her and her post crime fighting career as a novelist.

The connection? If a poisonous spider bites you, you'll get sleepy... Forever...

Yes, All-Star Squadron - a.k.a. Roy Thomas gets to rectify every little continuity kerfuffle that bothered them 40 years ago.

I have your answer as to why they did this- Roy Thomas was obsessed with canon. He believed that anything that was on the panel it was canon and thusly needed a story explanation. He’s the reason why William Burnside/Steve Rogers was created. Same reason. Canon. There are so many instances where this madman took on these ridiculous challenges to make these things happen.

I personally liked the retcon explanation , but I’m the weirdo who love’s continuity and how all bear little things connect

I also find it interesting that when Sandman appeared for the annual JLA/JSA crossovers way back in the day, they felt the need to explain why The Sandman was back in his original costume and why Sandy wasn't around. Sandy was transformed into an actual Sand monster because of a prototype sand-gun backfiring on him and Wesley just couldn't take the guilt of what happened and permanently mothballed his purple and yellow ensemble. The Silver Age was wild when it explained continuity hiccups and I kinda miss that spirit

Well NOW I need a meme with Sandman, Tarantula, and Spiderman all pointing at each other while Robin, Sandy and Bucky look on and snicker! Fun fact 1: one reason Sandman’s original “pulp costume” was purple and green, was that Wesley Dodds was revealed to be color blind. Still don’t know what John Law’s excuse was. Fun fact 2: in the 1970’s, Spiderman had a terrific recurring villain, the Tarantula, who often got the better of him. In the 1980’s his story didn’t end well. Still worth checking out….

My best guess at this time is that some just felt that there were not many readers following the two characters and therefore there would be no harm in having a few inventory stories that could suit either. It wasn't unheard of at the time. And being such a basic design, it is about as easy to redraw into other characters as it could be.

Offtopic, I just recently learned of the Golden Age hero called the Black Bat and how it competed with Batman in the 30-40s, But last night I saw on Tubi a new movie about the Black Bat. I assume because the character is most likely public domain at this point. Were you aware of this hero, and have you seen the film? Id love to hear when you think. :)

Now I need a casually comics video on Sandman Mystery Theatre! I’ve been reading it since last year and I’m hooked!

Ah the All Star Squadron, one of my favourites. 😁 It's about time they were collected into an omnibus or two, mind you as it's DC I won't hold my breath! X

I know it’s on brand, but people really should stop… Sleeping on Golden Age Sandman, he has a really cool and unique mystery noir feel

By odd coincidence, my old high school's colors were purple and yellow (well, they called it gold, but it was just plain old primary yellow) so these costumes feel kind of nostalgic to me. I note that the inability to stay "on theme" with color choices applied to the school administration as well as these superheroes - our only named sports team back in the day was called the Blackbirds. I think there's a Ravens now too, which isn't much different, really.

I like that Sandy's origin story is the exact same one as Syndrome from "The Incredibles", but Sandman doesn't throw him away and turn him evil. Unless someone did bring him back as a villain in another story because oh edgy look how dark the DC universe is dispute being built on concepts of hope and happiness. Truly a living Nightmare.

Fizzfop1 recently had a video about a character called Demon Hunter, that was an idea his creator loved so much that he created the exact same character at 3 different companies hoping it would stick. It's wild to dig into the comics recycling bin.

You remember that apocryphal movie dialog: "This town ain't big enough for the two of us". For some reason it occurred to me that if one superhero was really offended by another's costume for any reason, then that one vigilante might forcibly disrobe the other. Then I got thinking about naked superheros. Like: Dr. Manhattan.

And then there's the Black Hood, who wore a nearly identical costume.

I guess in an era where superheroes pretty much all had to have a costume like this weird workout outfits from the thirties, there probably would be some overlap.

Now I want viideos of the original Sandman since Sashan finds him so interesting.

I think I may know a reason for the matching costumes. For a time, DC (at the time National Comics) had another imprint, AA, for All-American, which had some heroes like Flash, Green Lantern, and many others. They were all under the same umbrella company, they were advertised in both books, and heroes from both appeared in All-Star Comics (a DC imprint). DC and AA ended up in a dispute and split, so the AA heroes were no longer allowed in DC books and vice versa. I believe this was around the time of the costume switch, and probably it wasn't noticed since the imprints were, in effect, separate companies. Eventually National bought out AA and incorporated those heroes back into their stable, discontinuing the multiple imprints and leaving only the "Superman DC Comics" one.

Love the pulp costume. Makes him look like MF Doom

6:00 Since you ask, he's presumably swinging on the cables from his newest toy, the (ahem) "wirepoon gun" - because it shot wire cables with mini-harpoon head on the end, of course. When you think about it, it's not actually any sillier than Bruce's endless array of bat-gadgets, but "wirepoon" still manages to be simultaneously amusing and sound vaguely dirty somehow.

The original Sandman costume reminds me of a character that was on The Flash TV show back in the '90's. His name was, "The Nightshade".:He also wore a gas mask and put bad guys to sleep with a gun that shot tranquilizer darts.

The attempt to make the Sandman more popular by redesigning his pulp style costume into a more superhero-ish outfit reminds me of how Archie Comics tried to keep the Shadow trendy in the 1960s by replacing his iconic pulp look (Fedora, red scarf and cloak) and redesigning it as a generic purple-and-blue super hero costume with a mask.

Another interesting thing about 1940s heroes, esp. when they were brought together in All Star Squadron, was how many of them were named John. Roy Thomas had to use as many variation as possible to distinguish John Law (as Jonathan Law) and Johnny Chambers a.k.a. Johnny Quick. John Zatara was renamed Giovanni Zatara in his origin.

Sandman is one of my favorite characters, and this is one of my favorite stories. Thank you for making this video.

This makes me think about a costume change for Zatana when she and Black Canary were going to be on the same team. What I heard gave the impression that someone came up with a long and convoluted storyline just to give Zatana a new costume. Realistically, the two women would show up to a meeting, realize they look match when they shouldn't, and Zatana would offer to change since she's a stage performer with easier access to more costumes. I'm sure there's plenty I don't know about that Zatana story, so it makes me wonder.

One of the Golden Age costumes of MLJ Black Hood had an identical purple and yellow costume as well. It was very popular!

Who ya gonna call? Crime Blasters!

Tarantula's appearances in All-Star Squadron aren't subtle about clowning around with the Spider-Man similarities at all. Ordway even goes out of his way to copy some common Romita Sr. poses just to drive the joke home.

3:10 "come see the weridies I've dreamed up for you" is the funniest line. it gives me the same vibes as "come peep the horror" from that jerma clip.

There is a tailor who specializes in costumes who bit of more than he could chew stacking The Sandman and Tarantula jobs. With a tight deadlines on both, he only has enough time to design one costume (and no time for revisions) so he delivers the same to both and hopes they don’t run into each other.

It's worth noting that The Flash (1990-1991 TV series) had a superhero named Nightshade who in costume looked a lot like Sandman in his original costume.

7:43 That panel with Tarantula dangling upside down from the ceiling with his cape potentially becoming a nuisance would have been a good enough reason to ditch it.

I would have tied them both into Morpheus, both sharing the same dream in different ways.

The first story I read with Sandman in it he was wearing the yellow and purple. But in a later story I saw him in the Gas mask trench coat ensemble and was hooked on that look. It made him less on a generic super hero guy and more of a Mystery Man. There was a rumor once that Darkwing Duck was loosely based on Sandman. (Cool hat, coat, gas gun.) But I am fairly certain that was just a rumor.

1. In 1939, there was only the barest seperation between the still-in-its-infancy super hero genre and the pulpy mystery man genre. 2. Robin came into existence because of Billy Batson; it's all about the audience identification character. 3. The change-suit-and-cloak-guys-into-tights-wearers started at National with the Crimson Avenger a few months before Sandman changed. (Not actually related to Wing's recent change from a 20-something valet/chauffer to a 12 year old boy *BARF*.) 4. The "Wonder Woman tie-in" had nothing to do with the 1970s "Sandman" series. It was several years later, in the 1980s, and Roy Thomas was trying to make the 2nd DC Sandman make sense in relation to the rest of the DC Universe. It was awkward, yes, but really very divorced from what Kirby and Simon had done. 5. Tarantula's second costume was cool looking, but it stuck out like a sore thumb. It doesn't look like a golden age costume; it made Tarantula look like a member of Infinity Inc. 6. The introduction story of Tarntula's second costume is clunky. All-Star Squadron #19-28 (and Annual #2) all take place over just a few days. So it reads like 'On Thursday night, Tarantula meets the Squadron and tells them why he has a near-duplicate of Sandman's costume. On Friday afternoon, he shows up in a completely different costume.' If he knew Olga was working on a new costume for him, why not just use it in the first place for meeting the Squadron?

I love All-Star Squadron, one of my favorite books when it was coming out. Though to be fair there was a difference between the two costumes. Sandman had purple boots and Tarantula didn't.

Firestar and Spitfire called. They feel left out.

Justice League of America 113 (October 1974) revealed why Sandman switched back to the Pulp Costume in the 1960s. He was working on some high-tech weaponry that exploded and turned Sandy into a monster. He trapped Sandy in a sleep gas-filled chamber "The creature in the Velvet Cage." Sandy wasnt restored until 1982 as a teenager and eventually joined the reformed JSA wearing a version of the Pulp Costume.

omg the title of this video fucking killed me.

it'd be funny if the in cannon explanation matched the real one. artist came up with a new look for the sandman they said no so they gave it to someone else then they changed there mind.

I don't know whether there'd be enough material for a full video, but it would be interesting to hear you talk about Wesley Dodds' connection to the Morpheus/Dream version of Sandman. I've read that the latter was retconned to be responsible for the former's powers, so I'm curious to know more.

You joke but, you didn’t live through the purple shortage of ‘41.

6:00 What is he swinging on? Dreams. Hopes and dreams. 😂

There was a Chapter Play movie serial thing called "Commander Cody" It used the same exact outfit as another rocket pack hero. I am thinking that the editor was not paying attention when he okayed an outfit. When someone showed him the second one he said "Yeah, I already told Joe it was fine."

God, that Roy Thomas expository dialogue is like a dentist's drill.

Man the sandman's gasmask costume goes so hard, like sandman mystery theatre's is so cool

Anything connected to All Star Squadron will get my attention. Love that series! Roy's obsession with the golden age, is what helped get me obsessed with it. I'm torn, as I like both of Sandman's outfits. Most likely, the explanation, is they recycled everything in the GA: names, costumes, art etc. And the in story explanation is fun.Considering how many heroes were around in the 40's, I'm surprised Roy didn't have to do several versions of this story.

Id read the 90s sandman comic at library all the time, it gave me a love for the artstyle and the character. Even if he was always a little silly the Wesely Dodds Sandman was always my favorite for just how straightforward and goofy his premise is. Good memories.

All Star Squadron had some great costumes - I loved Liberty Belle's and Commander Steel's

Roy Thomas LOVED to spend a lot of time explaining costume changes, no matter how minor. He was an encyclopedia about them.

I just mentioned Tarantula's costume change a couple of weeks ago on a Comic Tropes video... and now you come out with this.

Superhero costume history for the win!

I was just rewatching the “Claylist” so this wideo came in a gr8 time

Lol. Great video. 😂 Sandman from the 90's was truly an extreme departure.

I’d love if you did a video on sandy because he’s one of my favorite characters who hasn’t appeared in such a long time

It looks like Rob Lifield based his entire aesthetic on the boots of the brown Tarantula costume.

That first issue with tarantula, i read it. It also has a captain X story with an editor or publisher whos initials are JJJ. If I remember correctly.

If you read the description of Sandman in his first appearance when he first showed his green and purple outfit, if described it as "all black costume". Coloring error or improvment?

I always enjoyed Janet Van Dan having multiple costumes.

6:28 'The Question lingered' I think that is a very different comic that shouldn't be sold to children

I loved reading Roy Thomas All-Star Squadron. It was fun. I think DC Crisis on Infinite Earths sort of pull the rug underneath it. I remember being very confused about who was supposed to existing, who wasn't and who remembers whom. Always wish each title was its own little universe unaffectedly by continuity by other titles

Yellow and purple isn't a terrible color choice but I'd go for more purple myself.

This reminds me I should give Sandman Mystery Theatre a try. I liked him in Starman, but for whatever reason I never read his solo series. Looking it up now.

Could we be blessed with said Hardcore 90s Sandman series retrospective please.

This is only slightly tangentially related, but it's been bugging me for years, and I'm going to vent. Facebook's Avengers Alliance was a wonderful game for alternate costumes, including some original designs like Rogue as Horseman of Famine and Iceman as Horseman of Death that were just amazing... but! Hulk had alternate costumes. Avengers Hulk was pretty cool, they resculpted his face and body to make a Ruffalo-inspired version, so far so good. World War Hulk, sure. Grey Hulk, missed opportunity since they just changed the palette instead of giving him a Fixit suit. Age of Ultron Hulk, the Ruffalo Hulk but with stretchy pants... so now with Savage Original, we've got five different costumes, one of the highest counts in the game, for a guy whose costume is that he's wearing ripped purple pants. Meanwhile, Janet Van Dyne has one costume. I demand fashion justice!

Ya know how Marvel has tailors that make the heroes their costumes, maybe it's like that. What if The Sandman and The Tarantula just went to the same guy?

5:21 Uhh… I don’t think that’s what a spider looks like. I hate spiders and avoid looking at them at all costs and even I know that’s not even close!

Great video. Roy Thomas was probably the first comic fan who went pro, and he brought a fascination with continuity with him. He's the one who introduced the idea of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being the children of Bob and Maddy Frank (Whizzer and Miss America). Ialways felt the worst thing Crisis on Infinite Earths did was derail his plans for All-Star Squadron.

Even I, an outspoken fan of purple, think that yellow and purple costume looks ugly. As a side note, I read Star Spangled Comics no.1, and man, even back then Stripesy couldn't catch a break.

Tarantulas do not of course spin webs, although they can produce silk and use it to line the holes they use as dens.

Great video! I am a huge All-Star Squadron fan. I totally bought the costume explanation when I first read it in the 1980s, and I still buy it now.

I don't know, seems unrealistic to me. If two guys end up at the same party wearing the same outfit, they're not going to be mad, they're going to be best friends. It's the same hat trope. We were robbed of a Sandman/Tarantula team up comic.

Please, please talk about The Sandman, I did some digging a while back, and how it ties to the Gaiman Sandman, and it's SO interesting, please, you have to cover it

There never seems to be any poor playboys in comics.

Roy thomas never met a plot hole did'nt fill and I LOVE HIM FOR IT

I have arachnophobia and when you showed that tarantula picture, i jumped a little 😅

The golden age black hood also had the same costume. Minus the cape

Yara Flora blew up because her costume and...now where is she? WHERE!?

Always loved the original sandman costume never understood his change to his yellow costume but he had left the JSA around that time more golden age please sasha 😊

One of them had to have said "Well, one of us has to change!"

Turns out that a department store had just debuted a breathable line of strongman gym outfits where the yellow onesie would be a clearance rack regular and a local halloween costume looking to cash in on the Batman craze accidentally purchased an earless purple knockoff instead of black or blue mask cape combos and had to cleanse them out. Belmont had purchased the clearance combo outfit to demo to Dodds, which Tarantula then buys the same combo. There you have it.

Another great episode. You didn't mention that Kirby's 70s Sandman was just on telly, but I guess that's a whole 'nother story.

You should do the interesting history of Tex Thompson [or Thomson, spelled both ways] and his evolution from adventurer to costumed crimefighter to costume freedom fighter. He first appeared in Action Comics #1. I owned the Action Comics {#74} with his last appearance. Pretty cool ending last page. Then he got retconned ... a lot.

Any time anyone brings up the Angel, I feel compelled to remind them that, as an old man, he was behind the Scourge Of The Underworld, the killer of villains (okay, sequence of killers) in Marvel Comics in the late 80s / early 90s. Fact!

Wesley Dodd Sandman is a character I never really understood or got. That is why I'm going to pick up his upcoming comic. To see if I can connect or "get" comic.

Sasha I have those All Star Squadron issues, I went with the " in cannon " explanation lol

I always liked the Tarantula's brown costume. Also, loving a look back at All-Star Squadron. That run of comics in that time-period was surprisingly good. :)

Great video. I recall that issue of All Star Squadron well and it was a good explanation at the time. Keep up the great work.

I definitely think there can be a problem with overexplaining weirdness in a franchise, like why the Klingons have a different look in TNG but there is the potential to have some fun with it. I think in this instance the explanation is kind of fun.

'He even has a personality' 😂😂