This Is Why Superman Really Wears His Underwear On The Outside

When you think of comic book heroes, Superman’s suit is arguably the most recognizable one in the world. The primary colors, the signature cape, the yellow and red “S” emblem – they’re all trademarks of the classic superhero. They’ve become so ingrained in our cultural consciousness that it isn’t surprising the duds have stood the test of time.

In fact, the Man of Steel’s suit has remained familiar across comics and other media to this day. Sure, there’ve been some changes over time, mostly in the movie and TV franchises. But even when they do make adjustments, few designers dare to step too far away from the original.

And it’s fair to say that Superman’s outside briefs are among the most recognizable elements in the ensemble. It’s hard to forget them, right? They’re certainly the easiest element to poke some lighthearted fun at as well. Yet devout fans are dedicated to the iconic look. Perhaps it’s because those particulars resonate on a subconscious level.

But where did Superman’s comic book journey begin? Well, they say that a hero’s only as good as his villain. And with that in mind, Supe’s story could’ve been a lot different. You see, back in the 1930s, comic books weren’t quite the same as they are today.

Caped crusaders were far too busy putting thieves in jail to defend the planet. That was still the case when comic book artists and writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster came along. The pair conceived an idea for a more threatening presence, the first super-villain with a familiar name: Superman.

Slow your roll, though – this wasn’t the same Superman we all know and love today. In 1933’s The Reign of the Superman, a completely different person called Bill Dunn developed psychic abilities. But he did have some similarities to the Superman we’re now familiar with. For example, Dunn’s powers came from a drug that a scientist created using a fallen meteorite.

Dunn predates Clark Kent, but he was actually something of a precursor to the classic superhero. Siegel and Shuster’s next attempt at a Superman became the iconic archetype we now recognize. Many fans won’t need reminding that he made his bow in the debut edition of Action Comics in April 1938.

So how did the comic-book writers come up with a hero like Superman? Though there’s no definitive word on the subject, many people believe he’s a work of faith. Siegel and Shuster were Jewish immigrants and their superhero concept has a lot in common with the origins of a prophet.

In 2017, The Jerusalem Post wrote, “The Man of Steel is based on a pretty blunt metaphor for Moses. Little baby Supes escaped a dying planet on a rocket through space. [It] is very similar to how baby Moses escaped the wrath of the Pharaoh in a basket on the Nile river.”

“Also, His Kryptonian name when spelt in Hebrew is קל-אל which can be translated into English as the voice of God, a phrase used to allude to Hebrew prophets,” the article continued. “Some of the earliest enemies the last son of Krypton fought were the members of the Ku Klux Klan and Nazi Germany.”

It isn’t surprising that Superman was given almost god-like powers to fight against the world’s injustices, then. Of course, as the comic books raised the stakes, Supes got progressively more powerful. At his peak, he’s strong enough to move planets and flies fast enough to time travel. That wasn’t always the case, though.

Back in the 1930s, aka Superman’s Golden Age, his powers were significantly weaker. Even so, he was still far more potent than most other heroes at the time. He couldn’t lift buildings, but he could shift large objects such as ships. And while he wasn’t quite as speedy, he was still able to outpace a train.

What about invulnerability? Golden Age Supes wasn’t immune to artillery like his modern day counterpart, though he was bulletproof. But arguably the largest difference to the Superman we know and love today was that the original hero couldn’t fly. That’s right – he could leap tall buildings in a single bound, but it wasn’t true flight.

So while he’s had some changes over the decades, such as his waxing and waning power levels, Superman’s remained the same at his core. The same could be said for The Man of Steel’s outfit, too. Several changes have been attempted on the pages of comic books, but none of them really stuck.

One of the biggest changes followed a comic book series called The Death of Superman. A Kryptonian murder machine named Doomsday fought and apparently killed Supes. His death didn’t last, though. An alien placed Superman’s remains in a regeneration machine and out popped Superman, complete with a new silver and black suit.

Superman’s black outfit’s actually his rebirthing suit, so it’s associated with his return from death. And it isn’t only comic book fans who saw a version of these threads, either. Director Zack Snyder treated movie buffs to his interpretation of the rebirth suit in the director’s cut of 2017’s Justice League.

There’s one element Snyder still felt was missing from his movie versions of Superman, though. He told the New York Post as much in 2012 on the subject of Superman’s screen outfit. Snyder said, “The costume was a big deal for me, and we played around for a long time.”

It turns out that Snyder’s a fan of Superman’s exterior trunks, but he couldn’t include them. “I tried like crazy to keep the red briefs on him,” the director continued. “Everyone else said, ‘You can’t have the briefs on him.’ I looked at probably 1,500 versions of the costumes with the briefs on.”

In the end, the director had to remove Superman’s briefs, so to speak, in order to make the hero’s appearance modern. He could easily have pruned the cape, too, since such an accessory seems a bit antiquated, At least, that’s if you believe superhero suit designer Edna Mode from The Incredibles.

Thankfully, Snyder kept The Man of Steel’s cape. Supes was actually one of the first heroes to wear one, and following his success others started sporting capes, too. Batman, who appeared a year later, also wore a cape and Superman was likely a source of inspiration. Supes’ “S” sign’s also a consistent design choice.

Though Superman’s famous ‒ or infamous ‒ trunks predate it, the “S” has become just as iconic. In comic books, it simply stood for The Man of Steel’s name. But this changed when Chrisopher Reeve’s unforgettable 1978 Superman: The Movie attributed the “S” to the House of El’s family crest. That’s Superman’s biological family, in case you didn’t know.

But, of course, it all comes back to the briefs. The real question is: how did Siegel and Shuster settle on those trunks? Well, you might be surprised to hear that they took inspiration from the circus. That’s right, Superman’s outfit was actually referencing strongman outfits from the 1930s.

Have you ever seen the classical circus strongmen? They basically wear a pair of trunks and sometimes a leotard, often in leopard print. If you’re wondering why, it’s because they wanted to show off their most defining characteristic. No, not that. Get your mind out of the gutter. We’re talking about their muscles.

With the 1930s being what they were, though, you couldn’t have people parading around in nothing but thongs. So to avoid people swooning in the audience, the strongmen went with some nice modest trunks. These concealed the goods but still showcased their impressive physiques. And that was the intention for Superman, too.

As quoted in a 2014 piece on the re:form website, Henderson State University professor of psychology Dr. Travis Langley believes the trunks were a practical choice. “Acrobats and strongmen would wear trunks over tights,” he stated. “That gave them greater freedom of movement while both showing off the muscles and covering the more private creases and bulges.”

The trunks served an added bonus of bringing some definition to the comic books. Back when Superman burst onto the scene, printing presses and paper weren’t as high quality as those we have today. So Siegel and Shuster introduced the distinctive red shorts in part to define Big Blue’s upper and lower body.

And it isn’t just the trunks that act as a visual reference for the 1930s circus performers, either. It’s possible that the classic outfit’s yellow belt buckle is another nod to the burly strongmen. The boots also serve the same purpose. They mirror the old-time muscle man look without being too obvious.

Not everyone can be as muscular as The Man of Steel, though. This posed a problem when Superman made the transition to the big screen. Take Kirk Alyn, for example, who portrayed the superhero in the 1948 series simply titled Superman. Producers were concerned he couldn’t pull off the trunks – metaphorically speaking.

Alyn literally had to remove his pants, thus showing he had the legs to live up to Superman’s superbod. It turns out he did, and his performance paved the way for future on-screen Supermen. He wasn’t the only actor whose casting was tied to those infamous red underoos, either.

Christopher Reeve famously wore the outside underwear in 1978’s Superman. Instead of eschewing unrealistic comic-book tropes like more recent movies, that film leaned into them. The result was Reeve portraying a Man of Steel strictly faithful to the one seen on printed pages. Some small alterations still had to be made, though.

For starters, designers narrowed the signature underwear considerably which also made them an incredibly tight fit. They revealed too much of Reeve’s “Fortress of Solitude,” if you catch our meaning. To fix this, the costume department used a molded steel codpiece to add definition and put the “steel” into The Man of Steel.

Those red briefs played an important role in another Superman’s casting, too. Henry Cavill, who played Superman in the more recent DC movies, apparently owes his success in part to them. He had Reeve’s suit on when he auditioned for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013. Snyder revealed as much to DuJour three years later.

Snyder recalled, “We didn’t have the suit made when Henry was auditioning, so he wore a replica of Christopher Reeve’s suit. He put it on and when he came out of the trailer, everyone was like, ‘Dang, you’re Superman!’” When Snyder put out a shot of the video, he said that Cavill “got the suit from Warner archives.”

Of course, we now know that the red shorts didn’t make it into ‒ or onto ‒ Snyder’s Superman. But they were almost featured on another famous actor whose rendition of The Man of Steel never made it onto the big screen. We’re talking, of course, about the now-legendary Nicolas Cage Superman.

Nick isn’t cagey about his love of Superman. He has a large comic book collection, including the first issue of Action Comics. He even called one of his kids Kal-El in honor of Big Blue’s birth name. And he was also once scheduled to play Supes in an ill-fated comic book movie.

Following Tim Burton’s 1989 hit Batman, the director planned to make a film called Superman Lives starring Cage. Very little physical evidence exists of the aborted project other than a few shots of Cage in a couple of Superman suits. One included the traditional trunks while the other ditched them for a more modern look.

The briefs aren’t always a staple of Superman’s outfit, but his cape’s a constant. Langley theorizes that even that’s influence by old-fashioned circuses. He explained, “Circus performers would wear capes, too. Although they tended to take them off before lifting barbells or swinging out on the flying trapeze. There’s more to the cape than that.”

Whether you love Superman’s classic outfit or hate it, there’s no denying its importance to The Man of Steel’s development. And who knows, those little red shorts might make a return in future movies. We can’t picture Henry Cavill in them ourselves, but hey. We’ll just have to leave that to your imagination.

Whether you love Superman’s classic outfit or hate it, there’s no denying its importance to The Man of Steel’s development. And who knows, those little red shorts might make a return in future movies. We can’t picture Henry Cavill in them ourselves, but hey. We’ll just have to leave that to your imagination.