Remember the Pants

The New 52 DC Comics Pants Edict

"Put Wonder Woman in a pair of pants!" said DC Comics

The DC Comics "pants edict" is an interesting moment in comic book history, particularly tied to the New 52 relaunch in 2011. During this time, DC wanted to modernize its superhero universe with redesigned costumes, new origin stories, and a fresh status quo, plus there was a desire to be on the right side of critical pressure against the "skimpy costume" complaints that had been thrown at superhero comics for decades. The goal to make female characters' costumes more practical and less revealing directly led to superheroines wearing pants instead of skirts, leotards, or briefs.

The Origins of the "Pants Edict"

In 2011, DC Comics editorial initially pushed for more modest and practical costume redesigns for their female superheroes. The most prominent example was Wonder Woman, who was briefly redesigned to wear pants. This design was first introduced in 2010, before the official New 52 relaunch, in Wonder Woman #600 (written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Jim Lee). The restyled costume featured black pants, a darker jacket-like top, and toned-down accessories.

The New 52 and Costume Controversy

When the New 52 was announced, Wonder Woman was shown wearing pants in promotional materials. Other characters like Supergirl and Black Canary were also initially depicted with redesigned, more practical outfits. The intention was to prepare the market for the new direction of a more "realistic and practical supersuit."

However, the project got derailed as fan reaction (mostly negative), retailer reaction and worry over the sale implications began to arrive at the DC Comics' offices.

The "No More Pants" Edict

Once the negative reaction to the new designs became clear, an internal "no pants" rule was supposedly enforced within DC editorial. This meant that many of the originally intended redesigns were either scrapped or modified to bring back more traditional looks.

For example:

• Wonder Woman's pants were removed, and she reverted to her iconic briefs/skirt look.
• Supergirl’s costume design changed, maintaining a bodysuit but without full pants.
• Black Canary’s design was also altered, keeping her classic fishnet stockings look instead of pants.

This decision was not officially acknowledged in a press release, but it was widely reported by comic book journalists and industry insiders. Former DC artists and writers have since commented on it, confirming that there was indeed editorial pressure to revert back to the more traditional, revealing costumes for their female characters.

Reactions from Fans and Creators

The reaction to the "pants edict" was mixed. Some fans appreciated the return to classic designs, while others criticized it as a step backward in terms of female representation and practicality in superhero costumes. The shift also fueled larger conversations about how female characters are portrayed in comics, something which predated the "New 52" project by many years, but was not settled in 2011 nor is it settled today as the argument about direction is ongoing within the DC Comics company and the fanbase, too.

Later Costume Changes

The New 52 moved back toward the traditional costumes, but later DC initiatives saw a careful shift toward the idea of more practical and diverse costume choices for the female characters as newer books were published, such as:

• Rebirth (2016) introduced more modern redesigns that tried to split the difference between practicality and tradition.
• Wonder Woman’s movie look (2017), inspired by the star Gal Gadot's portrayal, influenced her comics costume, incorporating a warrior-like armored skirt.
• Characters like Batgirl, Supergirl, and Black Canary have since seen redesigns that offer more varied and practical options.

The Pants Edict denouement

The 2011 "pants edict" at DC Comics was a short-lived but important moment in comic book history that clearly marked that the ongoing debate about the portrayal of female superheroes was not settled and though it brought forth a strong fan reaction and corporate retreat back to tradition at DC Comics, there were also clear signs that a modern 21st century attitude was going make an impact going forward and less overt ways.

While DC attempted to use a theme of modernization as the basis of its new designs to respect a visual conformity to "practical reality" for superheroes, the industry veterans and the fan push back stopped the direction of the project. However, in the ongoing years, costume redesigns at DC Comics demonstrates the idea is still alive and ongoing within the editorial direction of the company, and it still kicks up opposition, too, which results in tradition reasserting itself in visual design.

Original page February 3, 2025