MovieChat Forums > Superman III (1983) Discussion > Why did Superman have a darker outfit wh...

Why did Superman have a darker outfit when he was "bad superman"?


Did I miss that part? I know he was having a breakdown but why did the outfit get darker?

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Just to differentiate the two during the fight scene.

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I understand that, but there was no explanation in the movie as to why it changes color then changes back?

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Perhaps it was just that the costume got dirtier. Same reason he had that five o'clock shadow. The evil Superman had the ravages of going on a weekend long bender

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He fought the Clark Kent persona, who was wearing normal clothes.

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Darker colors are used as a visual shorthand to show that somebody is "bad."

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But I'm not sure if it's effective though (at conveying "evil"). Burton's and Nolan's Batman were darker than The Joker. And both are darker than the O.G. grey-and-blue Batman.

In fact, new version of most superhero costumes are usually darker than the original versions. Captain America today is darker than old Capt... Hulk, Thor, etc. Including Superman and X-Men.

I can only think of Spider-Man that has not significantly darkened for modern iterations. But then again, there is a black version of Spider-Man which was evil.

I think darker also means "more serious," as in more serious threat in Superman III.

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Or how Anakin was the only Jedi in the prequel trilogy (or one of the very few) who had black in his outfit.

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I can only think of Spider-Man that has not significantly darkened for modern iterations. But then again, there is a black version of Spider-Man which was evil.

Actually he wore a non symbiote version of the black and white suit after getting rid of the symbiote. In fact, in the first appearance of Venom he is wearing an identical costume to Venom. Then goes right back to wearing the classic red and blue at the end of the story.

Also these movies all have unexplained things. Heck, the first one doesn't even show how he got his suit. Then there's the fact the 2nd film introduces heat vision as a power for Zod, Ursa, and Nom and that wasn't even something the first film showed Superman doing. Then in the same movie suddenly Superman has freezing breath also not shown in the first movie. Then he, Zod, Ursa, and Nom all have the power to shoot energy out of their hands not shown in the first movie. I could go on all day.

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dark blue is better than light Blue why Cavillls Superman is great along with Evans Cap

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True.

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dark blue is better than light Blue why Cavillls Superman is great along with Evans Cap

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I thought it was from when he attacked the oil tanker.

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I thought that too.

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Bad supes skips laundry day.

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Bad supes is a rebel. No doubt about that.

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I used to think it was due to him flying about accumulating dirt etc and not washing

However after rewatching the film just now for first time in years (and in HD/blu) he first sports the darker costume just after the 'what bridge' scene with Lana so too soon for any dirt..

Also if you think about it why would the costume even need washing? its made from kryptonian materials and like Superman is seemingly indestructible (seen in previous films withstanding molten rock, bullets, fire, freezing, faster than speed of light travel, space travel, lasers, and later in III an acid bath..plus on occasion is seemingly tied to superman himself like in the crystal chamber disappearing as he loses powers)

So its actually more to do with his state of mind being corrupted/turned to the dark side by the fake kryptonite and that affecting the colour of the suit almost like a disease gradually making it darker until its almost black - symbolizing the same happening to his psyche

Similarly his hair goes from the usual jet black in the first half to lighter/brownish colour after he's been exposed.. and his skin becomes darker

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