Superman’s New Costume – Some Answers!

Or, really, one long answer.After yesterday’s commentary on Superman #7, which raised as many questions with fans as it answered, Superman co-writer and artist Dan Jurgens agreed to take some questions from ComicBook.com about the nature of Superman’s New 52 costume of Kryptonian armor.Here’s what we sent to Jurgens:

• Can the costume change color? It was originally white, and then changed to red, blue, and yellow when Superman put it on. Why did it change? Will he be able to make it change color at will? For example, if Superman decided to go deer hunting, might we see a camouflage costume?
• We’ve seen the costume form around Clark Kent. Just like it forms around him, can sections of it disappear? Like if Superman had to take a pee, could he do it just by willing an opening in his costume?
• Is the costume alive? Is it a symbiote like Spider-Man’s black costume?
• Does some of Superman’s power reside in his costume? Is his costume what makes him invulnerable?
• Tinkering with Superman’s costume is a unique thing–even though the WHOLE POINT is that nobody sees it, arguably the most enduring image many fans have of Superman is the shirt rip. Is that why you kept that visual beat in the issue, even though it arguably makes less sense?
• Does he really go around with the costume set up as “Superman t-shirt” under white dress shirts all the time or did it just change that way before he ripped the shirt open?

And here’s what we got back from the veteran writer:

No, Superman can not change it to a camouflage costume.Nor is it a symbiote.The easiest way to think of it would be Kryptonian nano-tech, activated by the wearer.And, yeah, when it comes to Clark Kent opening the shirt to reveal the “S” shield– that image is simply too iconic to ever give up.As for the wider questions of what it is, what it can do, that will play out in the stories.

What do you think? Is the ripping-his-shirt-open-in-the-closet bit enough to keep the traditionalists satisfied? Does this newest costume tweak work for the Man of Steel?