The Legion of Super-Heroes reached its stride in the 1980s. With Keith Giffen and then Steve Lightle joining long-time LSH writer Paul Levitz, the book received a much-needed futuristic look for regular issues and epics like "The Great Darkness Saga." With this shift came costume changes for various Legion members.
Some of them were subtle. Others were significant enough they transformed heroes of this large team into more prominent characters. But which ones were the best?
10 Star Boy's Small Costume Changes Made A Huge Difference
The 1970s version of the costume, designed by Dave Cockrum, was far better than Star Boy's initial costume, a pinkish-white creation with a cape. Cockrum's V-neck unitard revealed Thom's strength and enhanced his chiseled features.
To totally change Star Boy's look starting with the first Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #1, Giffen closed the costume's high neck. Additionally, he filled out Thom's face with a beard. The result was a more mature look for the hero.
9 Chameleon Boy Went From Nightcrawler Wannabe To Leader
Chameleon Boy didn't have much luck in the costume area during the Legion's first two decades. His first offering, a blue outfit with "futuristic" white shoulder blades, was generic. The second one, a red bodysuit enhanced with a purple vest, gloves, and boots, was better. Nevertheless, it made the character look more like the X-Men's Nightcrawler.
The next outfit, displayed on the cover of Legion of Super-Heroes #301, gives Cham a bit more strength as the leader of the Legion's Espionage Squad. Instead of purple highlights, the color is the main hue of his suit. Gone is the partial hood. Instead, the costume is complemented with yellow gloves and boots.
8 Shrinking Violet Harkened Back To Her Original Costume
Shrinking Violet went through two costume shifts in the early 1980s due to a change in attitude that began around LSH #287. That's when Vi was unknowingly replaced Yera, a shape-changing Durlan actress.
Therefore, when artist Giffen made massive costume changes, Vi went from her standard green to something similar to a purple pants suit. It wasn't until after the tiny hero was recovered by the Legion in issue 305 that the real Violet decided to return to a costume style similar to what she originally wore in the 1960s.
7 Blok's Costume Changed Because He Changed
The stony hero named Blok didn't have a costume per se during his early days with the Legion. His bulky form only accommodated a sort of chain mail. This continued during the Keith Giffen era of the series. Though his body began to transform, his only form of covering was either a pair of shorts or blue-and-red tights.
It wasn't until Steve Lightle took over the art duties in the second volume of Legion of Super-Heroes did Blok get something resembling an actual outfit. Still, some might not consider it a true costume— rather, a blue-and-yellow cummerbund with blue shoulder pads.
6 Element Lad's Costume Change Went With His Increased Prominence
Though a long-time member of the Legion, Jan Arrah, known as Element Man, was one of the quietest. Nevertheless, his power to manipulate matter made him an indispensable hero. He finally opened up and came into his own in the 1980s.
This is when E-Lad became one of the few Legionnaires to serve two-terms as leader. It's around this Giffen decided to make a change to his costume. He went from the green-and-blue one-piece of the 1970s, which made no sense, to a dark pink and black model. Additionally, Giffen added the Interlac symbol for the letter E to the chest of Element Lad's costume in a callback to his 1960s outfit.
5 Timber Wolf Was A Costume Clotheshorse In The 1980s
Timber Wolf was quite the clotheshorse when it came to costume changes in the 1980s. He made two of them during the Keith Giffen era and another when Steve Lightle took over. This was after years with a costume and face with a certain resemblance to a famous feral X-Man.
His first change occurred in LSH #288 with a replacement outfit that T-Wolf said was a nightmare dreamed up by his girlfriend at the time, Light Lass. His second one, a more pleasant design, was introduced in LSH #301. The one he would wear for most of the LSH's second volume, which harkened back to the 1970s costume by Dave Cockrum, came about during the early days of the series.
4 Shadow Lass Wore A Costume Batman Would Like
In a contest between the 1970s bathing suit-esque costumes of Saturn Girl and Shadow Lass, the latter would win with the lack of material: It was basically just a two-piece bikini connected with a line of black fabric down her abdomen. The cape might have been the only thing that kept the costume weighed down.
This is why her 1980s costume introduced by Giffen was a great change for the better. At first, it was a black unitard with a flowing cape that would make Batman proud. Steve Lightle and future LSH artist Greg Larocque would enhance it with a V-neck and open area around the hero's stomach.
3 Polar Boy Wore A New Costume For Legion Tryouts
Originally a member and leader of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, Polar Boy became a member of the LSH in the second series. With that came a new costume. It represented both his promotion and his maturity level.
It was also more superheroic. Gone was the fur-lined collar and hat. Instead, it was a unitard with an open tunic that revealed a black shirt. The hat was replaced with a helmet that hid his icicle-like hair. Overall, a nice transition from a wannabe Legionnaire to the team's eventual leader.
2 Cosmic Boy Gained A New Costume Representative Of His Stature
Cosmic Boy's 1970s outfit was a halter top. The only elements that resemble a costume were his boots and gloves. As one of the Legion's founding members, it was a somewhat humiliating costume to wear.
Fortunately, Giffen and Paul Levitz decided the look was over in the 1980s. Hence, during the first annual, Cos introduced a new outfit that closely resembled his original costume. The main difference was the loss of the shoulder wedges that artists in the 1960s felt represented a far-flung future.
1 Saturn Girl Went Back To The Basics In The 1980s
Like other female heroes in the LSH, Dave Cockrum decided to change Saturn Girl's outfit in the 1970s to resemble a futuristic bathing suit. While obviously eye-catching, it wasn't functional in any type of battle. That changed in Legion of Super-Heroes #288 when the costume was destroyed.
In its place was an outfit that closely resembled Saturn Girl's original. Instead of being dark red, its tones leaned toward pink. To reflect her a more mature look, she didn't have a long skirt and leggings. Instead, she wore a long tunic cinched by a belt. White gloves helped complete the costume.