Justice League | The meaning of Superman’s black suit

Clothing is one of the most iconic comics and fits into a much larger context

Along with the release of Zack Snyder’s latest Justice League trailer, there was also a flood of new footage that was not present in the version that hit theaters in 2017 under the direction of Joss Whedon. Among them, the one who has perhaps become the symbol of the movement for the distribution of this cut by Zack Snyder even during the campaign for the #Release Snyder Cut: the black suit.

From the moment of Superman’s death to the end of Batman vs Superman: The Origin of Justice at the Hands of Doomsday (or, depending on the movie, a copy of Doomsday made from Zod’s remains), it was obvious that the work was partial adaptation of the 1992 Superman Death Ark; partly because the heart of the story was taken to the movies but the context was very different.

So it was inevitable to speculate, throughout the production run of Justice League, whether the black suit Superman wore after his return from the dead would be suitable or not. It was then learned that the outfit was not in the version that was going to the movies, but via social media, Zack Snyder confirmed that the costume was in the plans and even posted an image around 2019. According to the virtual campaigns for the Distribution of the original cut intensified, the image of this costume became a representation of the film that the studio had abandoned and replaced.

Superman’s death in “Batman vs Superman” had already hinted at the inevitable costume

But after all, what’s more about this outfit? It all starts at the last stage of the Superman vs. Doomsday fight at the end of The Death of Superman (or Superman # 75) when the hero, seeing that the new enemy was such a relentless force of nature that even the Justice League couldn’t stopping him, besides being already badly injured and exhausted, he decides to risk a final all or nothing by using brute force against Doomsday.

Both fighters eventually succumb to the extent of the injuries, and Superman’s downfall is felt around the world. The editorial decision to kill the hero was made around the turn of the ’80s to’ 90s when the company faced a financial crisis due to declining comic book sales and the leadership Marvel Comics achieved with the successes of X-Men # 1 and Man-Spider.

Needing to turn things around, DC Comics brought in some of its best writers of the time to plan a counterattack. In the end, it was decided that it would be Superman (whose sales weren’t good even though he had three different magazines for him) to star in a big event that would not only shake the status of the industry. but the real world. also: a marriage with Lois Lane.

The expected wedding would only take place in 1996 with “Superman: The Wedding Album”

At least that was the original idea; this kind of storytelling tactic was nothing new, in 1987 Marvel released The Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 21 in which Peter Parker marries Mary Jane and one of the most watched shows of the time so far was Lois & Clark: The News Adventures of Superman, whose expected ending was precisely a wedding of the protagonist couple.

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Having to choose between waiting for the series to reach such a climax or rethinking everything, the result was a “back to square one” of planning until one of the creative team, Jerry Ordway ( who worked in Superman magazines during the John Byrne phase in the 1980s), suggested that the hero be killed and this began to be considered by the team, as seen in the documentary Superman Doomsday – Requiem & Rebirth: Lives !.

It wouldn’t be the first time the character would die, since in 1958 there was Superman Vol 1 # 118 (also titled The Death of Superman) and in 1986 Alan Moore released another episode of the hero’s “death” with What Happened at the Man of Steel? among other situations. What has been established is that this particular downfall should highlight the absence the character would leave in the DC Universe, and its impact on everyone who has in one way or another interacted with him. the Kryptonian.

Alan Moore had previously played with the possibility of killing the hero

Shortly after the publication of the Seven Editions involving the fight between Superman and Doomsday, the media response was immediate and the historic event did not go unnoticed, being considered one of the great cultural events of the 90s. Six million copies were sold and one position on the bestseller list in 1992.

The next question to be answered was, how do you bring Superman back? It was inconceivable that the character would be out of the picture forever, but at the same time, for the impact of his death to truly be felt in the DC Universe and among readers, it would take time to digest. what happened. The first arc after death was Funeral for a Friend, which spanned from Adventures of Superman # 498 to Superman (Volume 2) # 83 in which mourning the loss (at very powerful times involving Kent and Lois) and the vacuum was established left by him.

Then came Superman’s return after a three month period in which no new story involving Clark Kent was released. The same creative team met again and decided that they wouldn’t bring him back immediately, but would introduce four new applicants for the Defenders of the World position who would represent the space left by Superman’s death as he never returned. not really.

“Funeral for a Friend” has emotionally strong moments

They were the Eradicator (a violent version of Superman that matched the way history was written in the 90s), Steel (a kind-hearted human who in the past was saved by Superman and created armor which replicates his powers to fight uncontrolled crime in Metropolis), Superboy (a teenage clone of Clark Kent, quite arrogant and inspired by the eponymous stories of the 50s) and Superciborgue (an organic and technological hybrid who wants to eliminate everyone on his passage).

Therefore, after recovering his body by the robots of the Fortress of Solitude and then relaunching it, Clark had to wear a special suit (known as the recovery suit) that would speed up the absorption of solar energy by his cells. body. This same outfit is equipped with boots that aid in flight, as its powers were far from near maximum power after reviving.

The black suit made the hero’s return to life easier

From a historical perspective of the character, some aesthetic variations of the black suit made other important appearances. One was in the character’s special appearance in Batman of the Future, when an old Clark visits Bruce and Terry in the Batcave; a more recent was in the first solo edition of the character from the new Rebirth line in which the New 52 Superman had died and another from a parallel Earth comes to take its place. Even more recently, he appeared in the Superman Returns animation which adapts the arc of the same name.

It’s quite possible that your presence in Zack Snyder’s Justice League has the same purpose initially proposed in the comics but it may also undergo changes. Either way, the black suit is one of the most iconic in any comic book, and since its inception has caught the imagination of fans of the azulão as a symbol of its rebirth.

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