Superman Redesigned

So you can see what I've done here - I tried to keep everything that makes Superman Superman, after removing the dumb stuff: the spit-curl from 1939, the underwear-on-the-outside. I linked the S and the mantle, and made the S, the belt and the crests of the boots gold. I see this as looking sort of like a regal riding outfit from another planet.

It's a funny thing with this sort of project - everyone has an emotional response, because Superman belongs to everyone. It's like people woke up and I redecorated their living rooms without asking them. Some are offended I did it at all, some are horrified by what I did, others by what I didn't do. I simply consider it a long-overdue make-over - like getting Uncle Fred to lose the comb-over and wear black socks with his black shoes.

I welcome criticism, except from comic book purists. Comic book purists want everything to look like the 1982 José Luis García-López DC Style Guide, and any design that attempts to improve on that is an abomination and an affront to their precious nostalgia. Here's the thing - those designs were created for marketing, and were intentionally as bland as they could possibly be. The only thing still interesting, to me, about these characters is how someone can take the essence of what makes them eternal and re-interpret that to be relevant and engaging in one's own time. If you want the Superfriends Superman, he's still there, and you can go enjoy that. This is not that.