21st Century Advancements: Cool Costumes!

As you can see from this 1974 Sears Catalog page, options for Halloween costumes were extremely limited, especially if you wanted to go as a superhero (click on the image for a larger view). Unless you were a kid who had a world-class seamstress for a mom, anyone who wanted to trick-or-treat in an authentic-looking Superman or Batman costume had to dramatically lower their hopes and expectations.

You see, this was the era when adults who designed such costumes believed that as long as there was at least a vague resemblance to the actual comic book costumes, it was good to go. That mindset certainly explains the decidedly non-tough, pajama-like look of the Superman and Batman costumes...not to mention the non-sensical red mask for Superman and that eerie plasti-face mask for Batman. Those types of masks, besides being incredibly dangerous (by virtually eliminating peripheral vision) were also somewhat claustrophobic, hot, and tough to breathe through...making tripping and kid collisions a common occurence in darkened yards.

Flash forward thirty-four years and you can see that Halloween costume-tech has come a long way since those dark days of inauthentic jammy-costumes and creepy "old man face" plastic-masks. Let's do a side-by-side comparison of the 1974 Superman costume with readily-available versions sold today:

In almost all respects, the modern costume looks very convincing, and a dream come true for a young Superman fan.  I think the fake muscle padding is the most significant "advance" from the Bad Old Days...and, of course, tossing aside that bizarre red mask (whose idea was that, anyway?).

The modern Batman costume offers an even greater contrast with its 1970's predecessor. Gone is the giant chest emblem with the "Batman" label and the weird, expressionless mask, replaced by a torso of synthetic muscles, a cool scalloped cape, and a nifty-looking cowl. Man...if we had anything close to these modern costumes in the 70's, our superhero Halloweens would have been even more exciting and certainly alot less dangerous.  

Of course, even if we did have cool costumes like this back in my day, I'm sure my mom still would have made me wear a jacket over it.

Comments

[Z Ryan]

Haha! I still love that cartoon you did of the Minnesota Spider-Man. As a fellow Minnesotan, I can appreciate it.

What poozer decided Superman needed an uncomfortable, blinding domino mask with a rubber band strap that snaps if touched?

I'm pretty sure, these days, one of the basic safety tips is to NOT wear a plastic mask like that '74 Batman.

[ShadowWing Tronix]

I wonder if that's where they got the idea to add the S to the belt in Returns? One of my favorite costumes was a Greatest American Hero costume my mom made herself. Looked better than the 70's costumes. I have very creative parents. You should see the old-style telephone and cookoo clock costumes my dad made. Not safe without someone to act as a guide, but a lot of fun to wear when you can crouch down and hide in them. :)

[suedenim]

As an aside, the 1974 "Highway Trooper" costumes are actually pretty cool-looking. Was red ever a big law-enforcement color, though? These look kind of like late-period Blackhawk outfits to me.

[Jason]

Lame as those costumes are, I would kill for an adult-sized version of one of those totally boss Planet of the Apes costumes.

[Mark Engblom]

"Haha! I still love that cartoon you did of the Minnesota Spider-Man. As a fellow Minnesotan, I can appreciate it."

Yup...I remember many-a-Halloween bundled up in costume-obscuring jackets, hats, and mittens. My parents just didn't seem to understand (but I completely "get it" after being a parent awhile myself).

"One of my favorite costumes was a Greatest American Hero costume my mom made herself. Looked better than the 70's costumes. I have very creative parents."

God bless creative parents! They were the ones who really got into the fun spirit of Halloween. As much as I rag on my mom for making me wear jackets, she also really got into creating costumes for us...the best one being a werewolf get-up with fake fur and everything. The good thing was that was when my elementary school threw an elaborate Halloween carnival each year, so we did get a chance to show off our costumes in an inside setting without the dampening effect of warm winter-wear.

"As an aside, the 1974 "Highway Trooper" costumes are actually pretty cool-looking."

LOL! Yeah, I noticed them, too. Clearly the best looking outfits of the whole bunch.

"Lame as those costumes are, I would kill for an adult-sized version of one of those totally boss Planet of the Apes costumes."

You can't go wrong with a mask surrounded by a ring of fake fur. It just seems so....70's!

[Andrew Wales]

That Batman mask is weird! I for one, however, am not a big fan of the rubber padded pectoral muscles and abs on small children, but that's just me!

[Mark Engblom]

I take your point, Andrew...but from a kid's perspective, the illusion of bulging muscles is probably icing on the cake.

[mw]

Ah, the 1974 Sears catalog! The hours I spent thumbing through it looking at all the cool toys I would never own...

[Al Bigley]

As a kid of the 70s, I had both costuems.

I'm sure the manufacturers thought the mask for Superman had to be in place to offer kids some identity protection, since the actual character wore none... That Batman mask is a classic.

I'm sure you know Jerry Sienfeld did a routine on his Superman Halloween costume experiences..All so true, including his Mom insisting he wear a jacket over the costume that night!

Al Bigley

[Al Bigley]

Also-

Did you know Ben Cooper, in 1966, took the Batman face mask, colored the top portion red (actually pink), and made it a part of a Daredevil costume? Yep! They even slapped the "DD" symbol on the forehead!

It's pictured in the book GUIDE TO MARVEL SILVER AGE COLLECTIBLES....

Strange but true!

Al Bigley

[Pat Curley]

They not only got the Superman outfit right, the kid even has the little curl in the middle of his forehead. Now that's a detail you'd get only if a fan had done the photo shoot!

BTW, am I the only person who thinks the 1970s Batman kid looks a little old?

[Mark Engblom]

Well, that would be the effect of the 1970's Batman mask, which (to me) always looked like an old man trying to pass a kidney stone.

If anyone looks a little too old it's the kid wearing the modern Batman costume, though with the fake muscles and the obscured face, it's hard to get a good idea of how old the kid actually is.