One of the biggest knocks against the DC Extended Universe has been its general lack of vibrant colour compared to the comic books. In exchange for gritty realism, the DCEU — especially its costumes — come across as unsaturated and dour. That’s a shame because, up close, the League’s costumes look great.
Photo: Cheryl Eddy
Yesterday, Warner Bros. and DC unveiled a series of replica costumes from the upcoming Justice League movie that showcased every painstaking detail that went into bringing the characters to life. It’s one thing to see the costumes in motion on a screen in a trailer — you know what you’re looking at even though you’re not taking it all in. But it’s another thing when you actually get a chance to pore over the geometric complexity of Aquaman’s chest armour or the intricate latticework that makes up Cyborg’s abdomen.
The vast majority of Cyborg’s body in the DCEU is composed of metal from a Motherbox that creates a much less human look compared to his comics counterpart, and is much more akin to Marvel’s Ultron body.
Batman will apparently don his desert armour again, here accented with gold details that hearken back to the days when the Bat logo was primarily yellow and black.
We can expect Wonder Woman’s costume to be largely similar to the flawless one we’ve already seen in vivid detail in her solo film.
The Flash’s costume is actually the one worth paying the closest attention to, as it’s less a single piece of armour like most of the other Leaguers’ and actually a dense bodysuit plated with disconnected pieces of armour, allowing for maximum flexibility while in motion. The plates are also tethered to one another by a network of flexible fibres.
Surprisingly, all of the costumes are much more vibrant than they have looked on screen in a way that makes you wish Warner Bros. post-production colour grading process were a little less aggressive. These costumes are absolutely gorgeous and when we finally get a chance to see them in theatres all together, we can only hope that Justice League gives them a chance to shine.