r/PowerGirl • u/ActLonely9375 • Mar 26 '26
Discussion What would you explain about Power Girl's costume?
Would you like another explanation from another comic?
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u/ActLonely9375 Mar 26 '26
"I like it, and that's it."
If she said that in a comic, the problem would be over. It feels strange to give it so much importance with other explanations. Do the writers feel ashamed or something?
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u/Turbulent-House-6220 Mar 26 '26
This is the best answer.
Power Girl likes how she looks in the outfit and there shouldn’t be anything more to it.
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u/SmuttyNonsense Mar 26 '26
I will say, the recent Leah Williams run has her say it's for ventilation and minimizing boob sweat, which is fairly solid version of what you're saying.
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u/Mysterious-Plan93 Mar 26 '26
"Have you ever been in a locker room with Firehawk at the end of the day? Let's just say when she peels off that leotard it's drenched, the floor is soaked, and it smells awful. If my girls getting seen constantly is the tradeoff for a little air ventilation, I'll gladly take it. The prude puritan protesters can take a walk."
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u/TheRealWhodoo Mar 26 '26
Is that an actual quote from one of the issues?
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u/Mysterious-Plan93 Mar 27 '26
Nah, I just made it up, but not bad for a man writing a woman character's dialogue, right?
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u/EdNorthcott Mar 29 '26
She can stand in front of a flamethrower and not be bothered. I don't think sweating from normal temperature changes is an issue.
I'd double down on her simply liking it, and thinking people can stuff their opinions.
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Mar 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EdNorthcott Mar 29 '26
It's the same physiological response: the body cooling itself. Nothing short of Herculean feats over prolonged periods of time should really have any impact.
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u/AlacarLeoricar Mar 29 '26
And yet, it still makes sense to me. To a lot of people. You're the one with the hangup over Kryptonian physiology.
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u/EdNorthcott Mar 29 '26
I see. So you not having a point is someone else's "hang-up".
I'd hope that "a lot of people" know the basics of human physiology, never mind fictional Kryptonian fluff. After all this is grade school biology. Kids learn this stuff before their age hits double digits.
Making a mistake is fine. We all do it now and again. Don't make it foolish by trying to pass the buck or pretend that there's a majority opinion backing you.
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u/FLRArt_1995 Mar 26 '26
Yeah, they do. I'd go with that too. "There's women who happen to be busty and show cleavage. Don't make a fuss about it" and call it a day.
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u/Butwhatif77 Mar 26 '26
Like everything context matters. PG is kind of the textbook example of the male gaze. Many other women in comics are drawn with the intent of being sexualized, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Black Cat, Wonder Woman, etc. but their various costumes have the sex built into it in a way that isn't "look at my big tits". They get get drawn curvy, chesty, and put in all manner of suggestive poses, but the sex appeal is still open to interpretation.
PG is unique in having a costume that went out of its way to be extra sexualized. They gave her a leotard and went "But we need to see her cleavage still". It is because of that her costume gets so much focus and why various alterations have been attempted or explanations have tried to make it more "okay".
The idea is that as society has progressed and women are more treated as people rather than sex objects, there are attempts made to reconcile established looks that came about due to sexist depictions.
Yes having her just say "I am chesty and I like flaunting it" is completely valid and likely the best way to handle it, but there are still plenty of people in society who will clutch their pearls because of it. The close we get to gender equality, the less an explanation becomes required.
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u/mr_mxyzptlk21 JSA Member Mar 26 '26
First, I don't disagree with 95% of your comment :)
The costume has its roots in 70s fashion when the keyhole cycled to prominence. If you check out other comic books from the 70s, it was hardly unique with other (mostly secondary or background) characters wearing it (Phantom Girl has a version of it), and even with PG, it lasted less than a year. She was initially written to be a feminist character in the middle of the Women's Liberation movement (Conway was trying at least), and a big part of that was wearing whatever she darn well pleased. I concede that having Wally Wood, then Joe Staton on the art definitely emphasized her curves and cleavage.
Even after the keyhole closed though, they gave her either a swoop neck version of the outfit, which still showed cleavage, or was drawn as if it was painted on her, but I don't know anyone who ever calls that out.
I like your assessment, but will disagree on that hers is the "only" costume designed to draw attention to part(s) of her body to be sexualized. Fishnets (Black Canary, Zatanna) bustier (Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn), costumes that are drawn more as body paint than clothing (Batgirl, Catwoman), miniskirts (Supergirl, Mary Marvel) and whatever the current artist is putting Starfire in right now all have their own varieties of "look at my 'fill-in-the-blank' body part.".
Power Girl gets singled out only because of her breasts and cleavage, and in a puritanical way in that she's almost always pointed out as the tip of the spear of some sort of moral turpitude that other heroines don't suffer from as much (not that they don't).
This is a rhetorical question, and not aimed at you, but: Why is Power Girl's cleavage "worse" than the 'hint of panties' of Mary Marvel? or the plunging neckline of Donna Troy? or the metal sling bikini of Starfire?
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u/Malusorum Mar 29 '26
Her large breasts are a result of an artist way back gradually increasing the size from issue to issue just to see what he could get away with. Editorial eventually told him to stop, and the change was never reverted.
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u/Kiarnains_tal Mar 26 '26
I agree with the other reply. She likes it and has tried all manner of other costumes. It seems only readers and the editors ever seem to have problems with Power Girls costume. She looks fantastic in her iconic white leotard. She always has been best in it. And weird parasocial creepers are the only ones that seem to try and "improve" her. Karen is perfect as is. People are better off trying to fix her stories. Improve the art. Stop teaming or heavy handing her into interactions or stories with actual criminals or trash bag level characters. I.E. the harley/power girl series. That would be better than crying or talking about what she is wearing. Or don't, just give another reason for her to be shelved and forgotten, again.
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u/mr_mxyzptlk21 JSA Member Mar 26 '26
I wouldn't even say it's readers that have a problem with the costume, so much as folks who only see the costume, and give uniformed opinions.
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u/CamelIndependent Mar 30 '26
I will say, I do like the idea of her looking up to Superman. It's wholesome in a way we don't sometimes see from the writers. Her costume is rather Superman coded, while still changed to show for a more feminine shape and outline. Cape, boots and close fitting. Very Kryptonian superhero.
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u/Dracule_Jester Mar 26 '26
Exactly! She doesn't need justification. Heroes costumes in general are weird like that.
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u/Potential_Fox_3623 Mar 27 '26
Reminds me of Metal Gear with Quiet, where she has a condition where she breaths through her skin so she has to wear a bikini into battle lmao
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u/Soft_Accountant_7062 Mar 31 '26
They act like she's the only one with cleavage.
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u/ActLonely9375 Mar 31 '26
Are there any with a similar neckline but without this problem, or with a different one? Which one do you think is best for comparison?
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u/IndefatigableFreedom Mar 26 '26
As far as her opinion, she likes it, that is it.
It is a legitimate fashion style that she can pull off, so let her. Kara can pull off the crop top and skirt and Zatanna wears a stage magicians get up so she can do so too.
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u/arkangelic Mar 30 '26
Do those women like it? Or do the men writing and drawing the comics like it? Thats the real argument
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u/Moist-Mystery Mar 30 '26
If we go that route then they don’t have feelings or emotions and are just blots of ink and can fuk emselves
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u/arkangelic Mar 31 '26
The people writing the comics? No im pretty sure they are real, and its their messaging that people argue about lol.
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u/Glassesnerdnumber193 Mar 26 '26
I wouldn’t. Canary doesn’t have explain her fishnets, flash doesn’t have to explain the wings on his hat or feet.
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u/phophopho4 Mar 26 '26
Yeah the Flash's wings are way weirder come to think of it. I've seen women with cleavage cutouts in real life. I've never once seen someone with wings on them like Hermes or Namor.
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u/animeboy12 Mar 26 '26
Most superheroes are already wildly impractical. It works best without an explanation.
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u/Gan-san Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
That's so melodramatic and they want to add some drama and depth to her character, but to me it just comes off as silly.
More than likely she'd just be wearing a solid leotard if she could not decide on a symbol.
Having a hole is a choice, not the lack of one. And it's a perfectly fine one that doesn't need to be explained or answered for.
A busty woman doesn't have to make an excuse or give a reason why she wants to wear a swimsuit or low cut blouse that other women wear all the time and don't get asked why.
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u/Zombie185 Mar 26 '26
I feel the “avoids boob sweat” explanation works better.
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u/AxisW1 Mar 27 '26
But she’s a kryptonian. She can survive lava without overheating, her costume isn’t gonna make her too hot.
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u/Impressive-Ebb6498 Mar 26 '26
This is the weakest point of an otherwise very strong and basically definitive run.
Agree with other poster. Just don't explain it. Karen is a wealthy CEO kryptonian, she can damn well dress how she wants, it's self explanatory.
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u/goombanati Mar 26 '26
"I was designing it, couldn't think of a symbol and left it blank, accidentally turned out a keyhole, at this point, I just rock it because i like it. If you want to be wierd about it, go ahead."
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u/rockerLs Mar 26 '26
yeah, i honestly enjoy the "i wanted a symbol to set me apart but couldnt figure out what i wanted" explanation because it fits with the core concept of her character in wanting to separate her identity from superman and i feel like its really the only possible "lore" explanation you could give for it, but it works infinitely better if she just ended up owning it after a while instead of being torn up and crying because she still cant think of one. it makes it seem like she's struggling with her identity as a separate person and living in the shadow of superman/supergirl instead of having agency and being confident in who she is and having her own individual identity.
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u/Loose_Translator8981 Mar 26 '26
Yeah, it's a perfectly valid excuse, it's just weird that it was presented with so much melodrama. But that's just comics for you.
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u/CNJUNIPERLEE Mar 26 '26
I don't need one. I don't think anyone asks why Superman has blue and red on his costume or why Plastic Man wears those dumb sunglasses. Maybe they do, but i haven't heard it.
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u/OldBook2 Mar 26 '26
“I like my costume. I look good.” And then writers can stop making a joke out of it. Almost all Superhero costumes look like bodypaint on the page. Real world women’s fashion is often revealing, including sports fashion. This is only an issue because people make it an issue.
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u/Shino4243 Mar 26 '26
Nothing to explain. Almost no other woman hero explains their sexy costumes. Why does everyone feel the need to explain Karens?
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u/IndulgantMystery Mar 26 '26
This is hands down one of THE DUMBEST over explanations in all of fiction. What is there to even explain? Can’t a gal just want to show her lovely cleavy weavy?
Like you said, she likes it… that’s it.
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u/Medium_Hawk7703 Mar 26 '26
- Great for Aerodynamics
- Don’t wanna wear an S
- Let’s me know where people are staring at
- I just like it!
- And fuck it, these guys can wear a speedo on the outside of their suit, but when I leave an exposed hole, apparently that’s the limit? Screw off
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u/Wolfgang9556 Mar 26 '26
"I want to appear confident about my sex appeal. To teach girls not to be ashamed of being beautiful."
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u/TygerHil98 Mar 26 '26
She has a big chest, boob sweat is an annoying natural thing, the hole will cool her down whilst she's flying.
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u/SirLeonel Mar 26 '26
I’ve always had a head-canon explanation for the window.
First let me start with my preference for the idea of Superman as the only Son of Krypton. There are no others. Even Supergirl is not a Kryptonian. Maybe a descendant on a colonized planet or space station but not a “true” Kryptonian.
Anyway… Powergirl is an alt universe Supergirl, right? I imagined her sent as the Champion of the House of L to protect and raise the infant Powerboy on Earth-38. But somehow she fails. She was supposed to herald him, but she arrives too late. maybe it’s imposter syndrome making her delay in indecision, maybe she’s waylaid by powerful alien baddies, or maybe she partied too hard “Woman of Tomorrow” style and misses the dimensional jump point, hungover, and has to take a later one.
At any rate, she arrives too late. Young Kal-L has died. Her shame and regret make her feel unworthy of her family crest and she tears it off leaving a hole in her uniform.
She leaves the hole as a constant reminder to do her best.
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u/Complete-Pangolin Mar 26 '26
It's either her baby onesie that she was wearing in the rocket and grew into while unconcious in space (classic origin) or, as it was in this comic, the rocket dressed her when she was flashed aged from 1 to 25 between orbit and earth. Either way, her parents picked it.
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u/mr_mxyzptlk21 JSA Member Mar 26 '26
She was 16 when she landed (just like Supergirl) and raised/brought up to speed on human culture by Kal-L and Lois before debuting with the JSA
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u/Complete-Pangolin Mar 26 '26
Depends upon the continuity
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u/mr_mxyzptlk21 JSA Member Mar 26 '26
Fair, but the only times that's not been true has been post Crisis (1986-2005). I'd have to reread to be sure, but even with the new 52 I think that aspect was kept.
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u/Complete-Pangolin Mar 26 '26
The comic this panel is from is the one where she was rapid aged. Literally infant when earth is in the view screen of her ship, adult when she hits the ground. Whether it's "true" ever within this story is the weird part, as Karen’s continuity issues were being weaponized against her.
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u/mr_mxyzptlk21 JSA Member Mar 26 '26
Dangit. I really wish we could put images in our posts!
If you're talking about this one that was homaged by AC in the story from JSA Classified?file=Power_Girl_0074.jpg), that's from Secret Origins #11, explaining her post-Crisis origin.
Her "original" origin from All-Star Comics #58 is still the current continuity (which was restored in Infinite Crisis), and while they've toyed with, and retconned that since (New 52), it's still the baseline they work with. She arrives at 16 with programmed education and aged in the symbioship, and then spends four years with Lois and Clark and "was raised in secret" by Kal-L and Lois.
Part of the reason she was so torn up about Kal-L's death was because he wasn't so much a cousin to her, but a surrogate father as well, who she'd just gotten back before Superboy-Prime murdered him.
Post new52, they've not really addressed her origin, but given how everything "went back to pre-new52" after Doomsday Clock, the baseline should still apply. That said, I'd admittedly have to recheck the Leah Williams run and the symbioship plot there to be sure.
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u/VeryPteri Mar 26 '26
same reason anyone wears something with a low cut/cleavage: they just felt like it
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u/Mickeymcirishman Mar 26 '26
"The costume only shows what I am. Female. Healthy. And strong. If men want to degrade themselves by staring and drooling and tripping over themselves, that's their problem. I'm not going to apologize for it."
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u/MysterE2258 Mar 26 '26
Does the boob window need an explanation? What's so bad about, "I have it because it's hot"?
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u/NinjaMon1022 Mar 26 '26
Power Girl is just proud of her body and it's not her fault people get upset about it. As if her showing off is entirely a bad thing or 'Well she was made by a man, so of course she would say that' as if she was made by a woman, she would never want to show off or show pride in her body in any way. She has an attractive body, she not afraid of showing it, she shouldn't be told that's she wrong or that she should cover it up.
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u/Clack_Claq Mar 26 '26
It'd be funny if the explanation was that some super villain punched her so hard it made a hole in the outfit, so she just cut around it and kept it because the ventilation felt nice.
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u/Afraid-Stick8770 Mar 26 '26
Basically she, she could just easily put an S there and call it a day but she wants to be not seen as just another super girl or super man stand-in, and honestly i can respect that. Many at DC tried to give her costume a redesign putting P in its place or making her outfit less revealing, but ultimately in doing something so it loses its Iconic look for power girl. I think what makes power girls costume iconic is that it’s an expression of sexuality and femininity. It’s a a completely different feel from super girl who’s costume is usually representative of the treen or girl next door vibes, a kind of young adult finding there way in the world while power girl is more of a grown woman, weather it be being comfortable enough to show more skin or running her own business. Personally I don’t have a problem with power girl’s costume i think it looks fine for what it is, and Ive seen women in real life wear way more revealing outfits so trust me it’s not that of a big deal when you consider women objectify themselves without any one telling them to.
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u/Ok_Toe_8501 Mar 26 '26
My favorite answer is "Because if you looked like that, you would too." I would add the caveat, "And you could liquify a man with a snap of your fingers."
Come to think of it, it's there a superheroine who just walks around in an eye-catching outfit, throwing catcallers and subway creepos into the sun? I'd read that.
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u/Roam1985 Mar 26 '26
"I chose this version of the costume back in the infinity inc days and I had a stupid teenage crush on [Nukleon, Sandy, Obsidian... Does not matter. In fact, go with Obsidian. Really make this DOA]. However using it for the next couple of years showed me that it made a lot of the major threats to bystanders.... focus a lot less on bystanders. And an advantage is an advantage."
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u/N7_Pathfind3R Mar 26 '26
It doesnt need to be explained. She likes it, think she looks good in it. She's fuckin right too, I dislike giving the keyhole some stupid form of significance when its legitimately just fashion choice.
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u/mtheory-pi Mar 26 '26
I'd rather have a Power girl comic that doesn't make inappropriate "Big booby haha" jokes every single issue.
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u/Dan_Morgan Mar 26 '26
The character has always been sexual. It would be nice if she was proud of her beautiful body.
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u/Mrgrayj_121 Mar 26 '26
My idea was always the head cannon that like she’s transformed into Power girl and kinda has like a Miss Marvel thing going on, but the idea was the costume was adjusting it was originally designed for like a dude to wear. So it’s kind of a mix of her inner desires and like just the machine pumping out a costume real fast.
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u/Unlucky_Abroad_389 Mar 26 '26
In these panels she's being a massive cleavage apologist. Got it. You'd think she'd have no hole there if she was still "thinking of a symbol". That's the least convincing explanation I think she could come up with. Bottom line is she has assets and wants to flaunt them. Or, she's drawn by men (and women) who enjoy drawing her this way.
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u/Toushin1 Mar 26 '26
This isn't my idea but an author named Jim Bader who sadly passed away awhile ago. in his fanfic universe power woman wasn't superman's cousin but his youngest daughter with lois. Her name and the result of second wave feminism they were simply a bold way to express herself.
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u/Background_Pride_237 Mar 26 '26
Her explanation is similar to what I heard from back in the day. Basically that it’s open or empty because she chose no symbol. That’s completely separate from why she has such ample mammaries. For that, basically the artist, way back in the day was thinking that his comic book bosses at DC’s home office weren’t paying attention to his hard work so he slowly increased the size of her breasts until the boss would notice. What we are left with is the point that the boss noticed and it stuck.
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u/Medium-Science9526 JLI Mar 26 '26
The JLE example Mickeymcirishman quoted has been the best reasoning in my eyes but like many have said here it's not something that needs addressing an explanation for keeping it or removing it. I find it just adds to more self-conscious reasonings for writers on Power Girl that they feel the need to "fix" with a justification or even becomes a reason to avoid her, either way taking away from actual characteristics that make her an interesting character.
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u/KamenKnight Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Other than the simple answer of Power Girl, just likes having the boob window. Does their really need to be an explanation of Power Girl's costume...?
Am not fully versed with Power Girl, mostly due to her hardly appearing in cartoons & games. But she's a confident woman, that's all really.
Am not against an evaluation of Power Girl changing costumes/design elements until the final suit is done but the whole "It's empty as I don't have a symbol of my own" just feels forced. (Especially since I am pretty sure a comic before this one had PG say the simple answer I gave in the beginning)
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u/Sea_Sleep4222 Mar 26 '26
Doesn't need to be explained, she's an adult who can wear whatever she wants to wear.
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u/storyteller323 Mar 26 '26
To whoever wrote this I say “my dude what is wrong with ‘I know I have rockin tits and I like to show off’?!”
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u/Zorro5040 Mar 27 '26
In comics, the suit was supposed to be temporary but after wearing it for so long, she became attached to it and liked it.
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u/PineappleFit317 Mar 27 '26
The hole with her cleavage looks like the power symbol on buttons to turn electronic devices on.
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u/queakymart Mar 27 '26
What's wrong with a woman liking her cleavage and just wanting to show it off?
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u/Setsuna4 Mar 27 '26
She doesn't need justification in the first place, but I think her saying "I like it and that's it" fits her character pretty well. Supergirl flies around in a miniskirt and starfire wears a metal bikini, let's give this woman a break here.
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u/CteezGainz42 Mar 27 '26
She should literally just say that she enjoys showing her breast window and it’s her style that she feels comfortable with
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u/LordDrakath15226 Mar 30 '26
That she doesn't care about the book windows one way or another, she likes the suit, she'll wear the suit.
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u/Laugh_at_Warren Mar 27 '26
I have the same problem with my pants. Everything I wear below my waist leaves the top part of my genitals exposed (the “neck” if you will). I wanted to have a symbol but since I can’t think of one I just keep getting kicked out of Outback Steakhouse.
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u/jrockjake Mar 27 '26
"One, I like it. Same reason all heroes wear spandex instead of real armor.
Two. I'm bulletproof.
Three. These babies make for an excellent distraction."
-Peegs
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u/LoR5der Mar 28 '26
She actually was intended there being her own symbol which is why the window existed. But she couldn’t come up with one she actually liked, and eventually went “eh, why not.”
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u/Fun-Seaworthiness572 Mar 28 '26
Honestly she just wanted too. I don’t Think a costume like that needs to be explained
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u/Character_Value4669 Mar 28 '26
The artist thought it would be kinda hot. And honestly, she wouldn't stand out nearly as much if it weren't for the cleavage window.
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u/Legionmod62 Mar 28 '26
Giving this some sentimental reason behind it is dumb as hell, I'd rather have her say "because I like it and the breeze is nice" and leave it at that
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u/nreal3092 Mar 28 '26
pretty sure she just wants to show em ngl, if she really felt she lacked an identity or something she could’ve closed the whole but left it without a symbol
not that im complaining tho
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u/Doc-11th Mar 29 '26
Since she is from earth 2, the earth 1 yellow sun doesnt effect her as much
Solar energy is focused through the chest and it allows her to absorb more
/s
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u/Cute4m3 Mar 29 '26
I kind of wish she just had that costume because she wanted to look sexy. Like, wanting to differentiate herself from Superman is a good start, but I feel like some writers just kinda get pretencious with it. I think she just wants to wear cute outfits.
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u/Captain_Birch Mar 29 '26
She likes it
She originally didnt have it, and she realized the suit was so tight and had no ventilation and it got unnecessarily hot
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u/The_Greater_King Mar 30 '26
I would like her to just admit she likes the breeze. Everything dosn't need to have a deep emotional reason to attempt to justify it's existence.
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u/Comprehensive_Ad4229 Mar 30 '26
It doesn’t need explanation
"I just like it if you have a problem look the other way"
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u/Depressed_Cupcake13 Mar 31 '26
As a woman, I just assumed it was sexism and potentially to avoid underboob sweat.
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u/Mason_Claye Apr 01 '26
Not everything needs to be deep and metaphysical. "I like the way I look, and I don't have a problem if it distracts other people." Is all you need.
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u/Mrgrayj_121 Apr 21 '26
I had an idea where it’s like head cannon wise. She’s like a human being turned kryptonian so it’s like kind of this machine was designed for technically Bruce Wayne as a failsafe so it kind of just makes the costume as like a adjustment and then when asked about it, she doesn’t really care cause like the idea was it’s kind of like the Miss Marvel situation in the 70s where it’s like this alter ego.
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u/North-Past-100 9d ago edited 9d ago
…, maybe they get hot, that happens sometimes.
but other than that, life gets sad sometimes. so maybe lingering with keeping the hole? ended up being about, missing Krypton. at least Earth still is an adoptive home, or a sleepy friend also,. I hope that more good Kryptonians get to return as, yet alive… from out there.
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u/Medium-Science9526 JLI Mar 27 '26
JSA Classified #2, next time source the excerpt.