DC Goes Medieval

(click to enlarge)

There’s something about transporting superheroes to other eras that I really enjoy, and artist John Staub has made me a very happy camper today. He’s taken three of DC’s finest and transported them back into medieval times with a complete costume makeover.

Superman is naturally a knight (who looks suspiciously like Sean Bean), while Batman stalks the rooftops with a pointed cowl. Wonder Woman? She actually kind of looks the same, with 100% more owl. Is it an invisible owl?

Check out the other two below, and more of Staub’s work here.

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16 Comments

  1. @brett

    The original superman, and all comic book heroes to follow, is dressed in spandex because that is what the strongmen of the 1930’s wore. Superheroes became an extention on the “superhuman” powers of these early performers.

    In the Middle Ages, knights in shining armor were the equivalent of strongmen, as they entertained the masses with their feats of strength and daring in tournaments.

  2. Looks like Superman is based on the character Exodus from the Marvel Universe… or, you know, every character ever that has flown and then hovered in one place.

  3. @brett

    He’s also faster than a speeding bullet and able to stop a locomotive, neither of which exist in the Middle Ages.

    Think about it like this. If you were superman, your job is to protect the innocent. If you go back in time about 700 years, the inncoent will see your blue and red spandex suit and assume you are the village idiot, or some sort of sorceror or monster when you start showing off your superpowers to them. Remember, we’re talking about people who lived their entire lives in the same 10 square miles usually, so you would need to find a symbol universally recognized at the time in order to garner trust: a suit of armor. Everyone from lords to peasents knew what a knight in armor looked like, and it would be the best mantle to take if you were going to be a medieval superhero.

    It has nothing to do with if he needs a suit of armor. He doesn’t need a cape, but he still wears one. He doesn’t need boots since his feet are still “made of steel,” but he still wears them. Superman’s costume is as much a symbol as it is an artical of clothing.

  4. @Lahey
    Care to elaborate on a source of your information about the spandex suit originating from carnival strongmen? I’m not much of a comic nerd, mind you so it could really be a generally accepted theory, but this is the first I hear of it. Quite interesting, might I add.

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