“No capes!”

• Edna Mode

It’s hard to believe that in this age where superhero movies have conquered (and some might say ruined) moviegoing in ways that never seemed possible even 20 years ago, but Disney and Pixar’s The Incredibles was truly a revolutionary superhero movie. An animated film utilizing all original characters that lovingly plays with all of the tropes of the superhero genre in suitably comedic ways without ever drifting into parody? Unthinkable at the time and still feels pretty fresh today!

But one of the best things The Incredibles (and its underrated sequel, The Incredibles 2) did, almost for the first time ever on the big screen, was explore the logic of superhero costumes. Even though it’s a family-friendly animated movie, in The Incredibles, super suits are more than just decorative, they’re functional, and thanks to the hilarious and unforgettable Edna Mode, we learned just why some of the favorite design elements of many beloved superhero costumes are strictly forbidden in this world.

So on this episode of Does it Fly? we are taking a look at the very concept of the super suit. Not just the why of them in terms of the story, but the how in terms of design and functionality. And as we often do find, we’re a lot closer to certain elements in the real world right now than you might think…

SUGGESTED VIEWING 

We based the majority of today’s research on this episode on two legitimate animation masterpieces, Brad Bird’s The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2. The broader logic of superhero suits has been explored in countless other places, but it’s particularly well done in early episodes of The Flash (both the recent CW TV series starring Grant Gustin and the earlier 1990 version starring John Wesley Shipp). We’d like to think that everything discussed in today’s episode is applicable across superhero media, though, so feel free to use our findings in your own headcanon as and where appropriate!

FURTHER READING 

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! 

Building the Perfect Super Suit

Hakeem specifically calls out brand names such as Kapton and Kevlar as being potential “super suit materials” that already exist in the real world. You might recognize Kapton as the material used to make “space blankets” but its unique thermal and conductive properties also make it a key piece used in circuitry where significant heat can be generated by processing power. Kevlar is best known as the material used to make lightweight bulletproof vests and other types of modern body armor. Copper has also shown considerable promise as an antimicrobial that can be incorporated into other materials.

Whether or not you have elastic powers, you might want to incorporate technology known as Shape Memory Materials which are currently being perfected by NASA. Many of the materials named here fall under the category of “metamaterials” which will likely become more commonplace in the years to come.

Oh yeah, and maybe one day some of these can make you invisible, too. And those “biomimetic sharkskin suits” that Hakeem references? The jury is still out on them.

Why The Incredibles is Historic

Tamara brings up the fact that The Incredibles was the first Pixar movie about human characters because of the difficulty in getting the subtleties of humans, such as hair, to look convincing on screen. Read more about it here.

The Geneva Conventions

Hakeem makes the point that superhero suits could also be seen as a way to identify “combatants” similar to the protections offered to soldiers under the Geneva Conventions.

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

This isn’t the first time we’ve tackled superheroes on Does it Fly? so you might want to check out our episodes on Batman, The Boys, and Iron Man to get a better sense of the real world concerns that superheroes (and villains) might face.

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