Original Ms. Marvel Creators Reveal Marvel Demanded the Skimpy Costume

Before she was kicking ass as Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers went by Ms. Marvel nearly from her inception until the early 2010s. Part of her time as Ms. Marvel revealed her donning a super revealing black spandex suit with a large yellow lightning bolt and a red sash. Now, thanks to a viral tweet containing a clipping from the 70s, the skimpy outfit was something demanded by Marvel despite objections from the creative team at the time.

Long-time Marvel writer Kurt Busiek brought the topic of the black suit up on Twitter, saying the classic version was one of his favorites until recent artists began taking advantage of the skimpiness of it. Artist Eric Zawadzki was quick to respond to Busiek with an apparent news clipping of writer Chris Claremont saying how he and artist Dave Cockrum. Claremont explains the practicality of not having a full body suit just didn't make sense, though editors insisted otherwise.

"...my own personal feeling is that if I were a superheroine, if I were doing what she's doing, especially with her powers, which are involved in punching and hitting, I would cover every square inch of my body," Claremont wrote. "...but again, it's the aesthetic that we want to portray as attractive a physical image as we can, and it was felt that — even though to me, a well-drawn female figure supposedly covered with a skin-tight costume is as attractive as a well-drawn female figure in a G—string, it was felt that we ought to show some skin."

Here’s Claremont discussing the design back in the 70’s. pic.twitter.com/JOJnifpRVC

— Eric Zawadzki (@ericxyz) July 7, 2019

At one point on the press tour leading up to Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige explained why the production outfit didn't end up going with the black and gold look.

"If you look at the comics, the further you go back, the less clothes Carol Danvers seems to be wearing," Feige told THR. "Oftentimes it's a one-piece bathing suit basically, with outrageous comic proportions. … Brie pointed it out on the wall, and we went, 'Yeah … just so you know, that's not what we're doing.' She goes, 'OK. I didn't think so, but I'm glad you said that.'"

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Captain Marvel is now available digitally and on home media wherever movies are sold. Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, on the other hand, are now both in theaters.