The Worst Golden Age Superhero Costumes

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The Golden Age of Comic Books tried a lot of wild ideas. Many of them didn't last. This is a look at some of the worst costume ideas from Spider Widow to The Face to The Vagabond.
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[@toganium4175]

The mostly forgotten superhero Captain Triumph, created in 1943, literally just wore a red shirt, white pants, brown boots, and a belt when he did hero work. Kinda hard to call this a costume at all, but it’s what he wore when he was crime fighting, so this is technically his hero getup.

[@rclark777]

A weird amount of characters actually just wore shirts and a belt. It was.... a thing.

[@cheritripp9470]

His ace in the hole was to call up the spirit of his twin brother by rubbing the 'T' birthmark on his wrist. The ghost possessed his body and increased his strength.

[@mikepetersen7319]

Despite the goofy costumes and storys the artwork was pretty good espacially on the spider widow. Weird stuff anyway 😄

[@-Teague-]

​@@cheritripp9470JoJos?

[@billtree52]

​@@cheritripp9470that's actually pretty cool

[@TJStellmach]

The thing about the Vagabond is that hobos were a stock character for clowns in the 1940s, popularized by figures like Emmet Kelly's "Weary Willy" character (of course they pre-date that as a figure of comedy, but clown makeup tended to follow Kelly's specific design at the time). So, what we recognize only as a clown would probably have been much more recognizable to contemporary readers as a caricature of a hobo.

[@lakrids-pibe]

Yes, I've seen early 20th century cartoons of vagabonds who looked very clown like. For those who are curious to see some examples from Denmark, do a search for *Storm P vagabond* (full name of the artist was Robert Storm Petersen)

[@mr.pavone9719]

I was going to say the same. When I was a kid in the 70s, some adults still dressed up as hobo-clowns on Halloween.

[@osriccauldwyn]

And often hobo clowns would have fancy pants names like Chauncey as an added gag.

[@AdamYJ]

True. There are probably a lot of looks that were iconic in the Golden Age that lost have lost their context. Like, do people realize that Superman's enemy the Toyman was dressed as the cliche "kindly old toy-maker", or do they just see him as a guy in a corny suit?

[@censusgary]

Later on, Emmett Kelly, Senior sued Emmett Kelly, Junior for stealing his act. Kind of a sad ending to the career of one of the classic “sad clowns.”

[@bobhoskins-kl6ue]

Super impressed with the Spider Widow art. There are some really great panels in there, this guy was pretty amazing especially considering this was still early days for comics.

[@chadmyron2552]

Agreed!

[@rclark777]

The Vagabond deserves a revival. The world needs the dark, gritty story of Chauncey Throttlebottom, the travelling clown, entering the hostile hell-scape of Middleton to liberate them from narcotics-dealing extraterrestrials.

[@gregcourtney751]

And he's from timely... aka future marvel... maybe he could be in deadpool?

[@theblocksays]

He'd be very effective in Portlandia LOL

[@AngusJo]

I don't know why, but I see him in a Grant Morrison story. 😅

[@gregcourtney751]

@AngusJo makes sense morrison likes his deep pulls. Like that issue of green lantern that required you having read a single issue from the 50s.

[@facespaz]

I'd like to see Scorsese's take, Taxi Driver 2: The Throttlebottom.

[@Armedus]

I desperately need a reboot of "The Vagabond" set in modern times. Instead of a homless clown, the DA should dress up as a Juggalo from the Insane Clown Posse. He can call his alter-ego "Chauncey Thug-Nutts."

[@MadMan3498]

Kevin Feige is taking notes as we speak.

[@Supremmo]

That would be insane!

[@brolydictcumberbatchmontou401]

Son of Chauncey Throttlebottom the III

[@RaphBlade7]

The other issue with the Golden Age is some of those comic artists and writers who went to war might not have had the opportunity to come back cause they died during the war!

[@InvisibleAvenger]

Spider Widow seems to be a female take on the pulp hero, the Spider. In the pulp stories Richard Wentworth would eventually wear a face mask with grizzled hair and a false hunchback. For more fun, check out either of the movie serials based on the Spider; the serial makers chose a very different look for the Spider but modern audiences will find something rather familiar about the look.

[@johnburt7935]

Heh, ISWYDT.

[@Nearphotison0]

A civilian adopting a witch gimmick just because she was thrown into a situation and that's the disguise that was available could be a fun explanation for a weird concept. I can't for the life of me understand why she's called the Spider Widow instead of, like, the Spider Witch or something more sensical. It's interesting to see her cross over with one of my personal favorite Golden Age heroines in the Phantom Lady, though.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

I feel like the implication is that she's literally a rich widow living by herself in a big manor.

[@Nearphotison0]

@@casanovafunkenstein5090 You're probably right, but her being a wealthy widow is far from the most interesting thing about her character, haha.

[@Kijinn]

Considering the time when these stories were written, the only but very remarkable thing to point out is that she had a butt-load of spiders under her costume. Since I didn't see it established by the story that she could create them as a power, I can't help but imagine a woman stuffing a long coat with hundreds of spiders and then pulling it onto her body. Or maybe she already wore the coat and just poured the spiders into her sleeves shortly before going into contact with the gangsters? That seems like the part that needs more exploration...and images.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

@@Kijinn it was established that she has learned to train them to follow commands

[@bobcarn]

Spider Widow: "She weaves a web of justice to trap the insects of corruption." ... Oh my. My expression is like yours after seeing the Captain America Halloween costume!

[@michaellombardi1620]

I do love it when you talk about golden age wackiness!

[@Yurikon3]

@@simonbrehm358 Considering that moral panics over comics are not new thing, we are again riding one phase of the wave until we get to new one.

[@TheMelMan]

My favorite videos 😅

[@pancanidae4758]

The name "Spider Widow" works. It works in the same way "The Princess Bride" works using the first noun as a descriptor. She is a bride who is a princess. She is a widow who is a spider.

[@BronyNumber4096]

I was kind of expecting the lovely face to be the mask. That she was The Crone underneath.

[@baldeagle5297]

Yes. It's a pity people have forgotten how to parse a sentence.

[@censusgary]

Except she’s not a spider, and as far as we know, she’s not a widow.

[@johnburt7935]

@@censusgary I think it's a damn shame she isn't a young and beautiful woman who is a spider's widow. That would allow for a swell origin story.

[@censusgary]

@@johnburt7935 Yes, Indeed!

[@garethrns]

"We'll call him 'Doll Man'" "Perfect. No notes."

[@MrRurounismc]

The Vagabond is clearly the hero we need

[@gimmedat5541]

but we dont deserve him

[@Kitsaplorax]

These are closer to Mystery Men/Women. It's a mystery why these choices were made by writers, editors and artists. It can work though -The Spirit by Eisner was as bare bones as possible in the costume department, but excellent writing and great art made it work.

[@Yurikon3]

Stories weren't necessarily even about Spirit himself. Sometimes he was just side character who was either in the sidelines punching criminals while "protagonist" was going through their own Odyssey. At least the ones I know most vividly are more about criminal itself or someone else who gets tied up to Spirit's current case.

[@johnburt7935]

They're certainly closer to the film *_The Mystery Men_* . . . .

[@SimonMoon5]

One of my "favorite" bad superheroes had a really bad costume, but not even in a " it's so bad it's good" way. I'm talking about "Just N Right" (aka Justin Wright), whose only costume was wearing his mother's scarf over his face. He's another character that had no powers or anything else special. He didn't last long. I'm sure as soon as he said his superhero name, everyone instantly figured out his secret identity, so some mob boss probably had him killed off.

[@censusgary]

He’d be a really easy Halloween costume to do, though.

[@censusgary]

I sort of love the fact that his alter ego’s name was an exact homophone of his real name, just spelled differently.

[@johnburt7935]

I was disappointed that Just 'N Right wasn't two characters.

[@censusgary]

@@johnburt7935 Good point!

[@johnburt7935]

@@censusgary What if Justin Wright split into two people, Just and Right...?

[@TheBeowulf]

All the Golden Age stuff is my favorite, it's such a fascinating look at all the bizarre beginnings of the genre

[@yowatchie]

The "Oh Hi!" intros never get old.

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

Always love these "worst of " videos/lists

[@jamesschulziii9098]

Chauncey Thottlebaum, I love it!!! He can loudly exclaim ,"evildoers beware" lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@alanrogers7090]

I remember reading Phantom Lady comics when I was younger. If I remember correctly, she ride a motorcycle with a special Black Light that caused complete darkness to form around the criminal's car, or wherever they were. Still a cool idea.

[@mattlewis6517]

Borth understood the whole "every line on a face adds age" concept.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I actually like the Spider Widow! That artwork looks beautiful and had a noir feel to it! If we really wanna talk about bad costumes, let's talk about Batman's earlier concept before Bill Finger! Now that was HILARIOUS!😂

[@johnburt7935]

That artwork is flippin' *_awesome,_* and the premise is spectacular.

[@kyrtuck]

The Vagabond is by far the most amusing golden age story I've heard of, especially with the fancy way he talked. That was one classy Hobo-Clown.

[@SupremeGreatGrandmaster]

Poverty is no excuse for bad manners!

[@imaginerejector1429]

I would not have commented who about the Vagabond. During 2019, but especially in 2020 and 2021, I was so in to researching Marvel that I read up on various Golden Age heroes, including him.

[@slothfulcobra]

I think that a lot of classic clown stuff is actually related to old archaic ideas about vagrants and drunks, but just it's been so long that nobody really remembers the details and we all just accept clowns as being a thing unto themselves.

[@nylirama]

My son loves unknown/underdog characters. One year (he was 13yo), he dressed as Forbush man. Easy costume as in the comic he wears red long johns with the letter F on the front, blue cape, black galoshes and a cooking pot with eye-holes on his head. He loved what we did, and he loved explaining to people whom he was dressed like. We loved this video with obscure and funny characters.

[@kanna-san.]

Your son rules.

[@thepeternetwork]

The Face reminded me a lot like a de-powered The Mask, particularly the scene when the main baddie stole the enchanted mask and used its power for his purposes.

[@AlexRamirez-fj4dj]

The vagabond too funny and bizarre but it would be cool to see a reboot of him. Be the opposite of the joker as the clown prince of justice.

[@Tiggeralt]

I love it when you put a spotlight on obscure Golden Age characters. Your video on Midnight inspired me to do a deep dive on the character, and his stories are a lot of fun, especially in the Jack Cole era.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

The Spider Widow is like what would happen if a rejected EC horror comic host was transferred over to a superhero comic.

[@bxsolx5086]

To be fair, the color reproduction on "The Vagabond" is excellent!

[@M.E.plusminus]

I think he just photographed the originals, no reproduction.

[@Dantharr]

OK, the Vagabond is officially my new favorite Golden Age Hero! Just wished Roy Thomas had added him to the Invaders.

[@conradojavier7547]

The Vagabond is a Heroic Bum Clown we need instead of the Usual Monster Clown.

[@alanbear6505]

I really hope The Face doesn’t use “fainting in terror” as his dating technique.

[@williampalmer8052]

Today I learned that "alley oop" comes from the French expression "allez houp." Thanks, Chauncey Throttlebottom!

[@edwardhock6940]

I really like The Face. There's a kind of Ditko-esque charm to him, like he really seems kind of unstable and causes more trouble than he stops.

[@ZipSlipHollingbrook]

I spurted water out of my nose when I heard, 'Chauncey Throttlebaum III.'

[@MarsHottentot]

C'mon, let's demand Marvel revive Chauncey Throttlebottom the 3rd!!

[@blumoon131]

I love these Golden-Age characters. They're just so wild and out there.

[@captainlengthwidth6692]

That 'car racing away from the scene' panel is just *beautiful*!

[@truefanforum3273]

I'm familiar with the Face thanks to the Dynamite series Project Superpowers. In that series the mask becomes permanently bonded to his face and he gains the power to instill fear, even hallucinations in anyone who looks at him. So now if someone faints it makes perfect sense.

[@evanlindsey1100]

Hobo clowns are a legitimate form of clowns. One of the last tv clowns (aside from Bozo) was Blinky, host of Blinky's Fun Club, that ran from the 60s to the 90s (he had an earlier show with pretty much the same format that ran on another station from 58-65). Blinky was a hobo-themed clown.

[@bica7520]

I had thought & still do think one of the most terrible super/not-super hero costume choices was the original 1940s red tornado , it was basically red long johns & a pot on the head with eye holes

[@baindramage]

I appreciated the usage of the Tim Allen grunt on this one 😆

[@theotakux5959]

I demand to know what retail corpse was possessed to become that Spirit Halloween. Also, I don't trust ANYONE called "Dollman" unless they're played by Tim Thomerson.

[@censusgary]

I found a mention of a sheet roofing material called Rubberoid, made by GAF. But I doubt that it existed in the early 1940s, and roofing felt seems like a pretty undesirable mask material.

[@trolldrool]

A lot of costumes from this time give the impression of authors projecting their own phobias onto villains. Spider Widow and witches. The Mask and a mask. Vagabond and clowns. Batman and bats. I'm just grateful nobody designed a costume projecting their fear of Hitler.

[@GleeChan]

I love that The Raven was defeated by getting shot in the back while watching a cat fight. Classy 1941, lol. Wouldn't it have been great if he was never seen again after that? lol. Also, I think it's funny that the "FBI agent" in the last story had a more interesting costume than all of them put together.

[@VencabotArchive]

Across the board, this has been your best voice-acting for the page-readings. Had me laughing throughout. Is this something you've been working on? Either way, great work, lol! So much fun.

[@Oddlogical]

I enjoyed the added sound effects. It got into the Golden Age feel of the comics. These episodes on little known/forgotten heroes are fun!

[@jamesoblivion]

Halloween AND a Golden Age Comic Tropes episode?! It's my lucky day!

[@CRIS_IS_ON_INFINITE_EARTHS]

THE FACE legitimately has the most potential here as long as you make a few tweaks. What if his mask was actually supernatural and causes people to confess, freeze, faint or straight up drop dead by taking form of the thing they fear most instead of just being kinda ugly looking??

[@matti.8465]

The Spider Widow is goofy but the concept is pretty impressive for the time, a woman who takes fighting corruption into her own hands, but they ruin it by turning her into another Superhero's love interest and becoming a sidekick in a revealing outfit who has cat fights over him.

[@stickplayer2]

The detail drawing in The Spider Widow is exceptional. Look at the bad guys' teeth in the close-ups, like where the spiders are on their faces. Bad, but not cartoony - sort of realistically imperfect. For "rubberoid", which you showed wasn't found in search, it does have several results, and is pretty much what you'd think - trade name for synthetic rubber. In WWII, (1940), Goodyear created the first synthetic car tire -- natural rubber was one of the substances reserved in the US for use in the war effort, so it was scarce. By using "rubberoid", the author is again showing his anti-Nazi stance, and supporting the war.

[@Pegwarmers]

There is that weird section of clowns that look like hobos. They have the 5 o'clock shadow and shabby cloths.

[@aikisteven0616]

Spookiest episode yet! I think I fainted about three times while watching!!

[@dyscotopia]

Oooh... Timely Comics became Marvel Comics. They could have the Vagabond team up with Iron Man and go on a bender together. Or maybe he could repurpose all the clothes the Hulk breaks for his costume

[@ZadeWilson]

My costume this Halloween was Jay Garrick's Flash! Made the helmet myself and I'm really proud with how it turned out!

[@herobot1]

I would pay to hear you read out loud golden age comics with your voices, Chris. Good video! Well done!

[@orinanime]

God that Spider Widow comic! "I don't mind shootouts with the cops! But I can't stand spiders!" LOL And the mobster yelling "Howling Hitler!" That's hilarious!

[@andresschiffino1262]

Steve Ditko eventually took a crack at The Face years later during a revival of the character.

[@GerarddeSouza-yt3fc]

Yes, Spider Widow's art was great. The power to command spiders is also a great power. But like the others you featured, when a superhero lacks a plausible origin, everything else that follows will lack plausibility.

[@CC-qx7hk]

They need to bring back Vagabond!

[@angelroads574]

Anyone ordering milk at a bar is automatically suspect.

[@NJMerlin]

“Rubberoid” is in the Oxford English Dictionary, going back to the 1880s.

[@jamesschulziii9098]

Oh man, he looks like when Roger Moore had that clown disguise in Octopussy 🤣🤣 except he kicks butt without any consequences to himself. Oh Chris you make these dives into golden age characters so much fun. Happy Halloween 🎃

[@ComicTropes]

Why not just premiere it live?

[@TheMelMan]

😂😂😂 I love old "bad" comics. They are so good.

[@TeatroGrotesco]

Sub-par food is one thing but to intentionally get poisoned food is just that extra bit of evil. Reminds me of Moriarty in the 2nd RDJ Sherlock, where he buys not just ammunition in anticipation of the War but also buys up the linen to be able to also profit from the treatment of the wounds caused.

[@BrowncoatFairy]

not gonna lie, if your superpower is to get a bunch of spiders to jump on my face, i'm instantly surrendering too. This is like the most terrifying version of Squirrel Girl.

[@jessmccart3937]

The worst costume I saw in a comic reprint collection Golden Age Greats was the Black Dwarf. He looked like he had combined Zorro and Uncle Fester and forgot the mask.

[@caje41]

This was a really fun and silly episode, from the costumes to your presentation. You had me cracking up a bunch and I needed that. And I appreciate the Halloween theme for this one too! Keep up the good work Chris!

[@KillerBebe]

In the era this comic is from, being called athletic, usually referred to just being fit.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

Vagabond has to be satirical to some extent. Throwing two guys into a pit with a ladder, only for the ladder to be made of razor sharp steel is absolute nonsense and I'm all for it 😂

[@BixRibene]

Vango, you are such ambitious!

[@kneeckle8312]

I've finally collected a large amount of the Usagi Yojimbo series. Thank you for getting me into it!

[@blackphillip8486]

Is that the rabbit Samurai from TMNT?

[@michaelcomics]

yeah@@blackphillip8486

[@kneeckle8312]

@@blackphillip8486 yep

[@kneeckle8312]

@@blackphillip8486 yep

[@alphacat4927]

I can't comprehend how if you could go back in time and convince your mother to name you something else it wouldn't be Chauncey Throttle Bottom.

[@claytonjacobs4098]

It wasn't his name. He was one of the three lawmen we saw earlier. Chauncy was his hobo name.

[@jdwilliamsnorkprojects734]

Throttlebottom is was the first way to say Whoop Ass ,precurser to Kick,😂👍🏾

[@Jamesalec63]

This mask reminds me of the creeper and the other mask to, as for the other witch like character, she could be Aunt May or marvels black widow, and there a story in Superman where Lois Lane is transformed in a hag. Many origins of heroes are unique to their looks, or so it's believed some may have strange ideas on names or identities for hidden who are, or possibly have a connection to older heroes who are probably related to them. The mask does have a darker version in common with a villain in dc to two face, or tvs Batman False Face, and Question of dc comics. Then there the unknown soldier, to which I recall had a backstory similar to the mask character to never saw his real identity?

[@ptorq]

The thing that's amusing to me about the Face is ... he's a radio announcer. So people know him primarily as a voice. You'd think that pretty quickly somebody would say "Hey, if that Trent palooka what reads the news on the radio ever got a sore throat or somethin', he could get the Face to sub for him and nobody would even know the difference, haw haw" and then the person he was talking to would say "hey, wait a minute ...."

[@scylloid]

i'm kind of obsessed with the way you read the dialogue for the fight sequence in spider widow. top tier work.

[@nickdirienzo2849]

Happy Halloween, and congratulations on your nomination! You certainly deserve it.

[@AdamYJ]

A neat reworking of the Vagabond as a legacy character would be for him to be a hero who protected the homeless. Just no clown makeup this time.

[@zyxaqc]

Ever since I saw him in the "League of Regrettable Superheroes" book, I've had an idea for how The Face could be made better. Imagine if the mask was magic and had the ability to instill overwhelming fear in anyone who looks at it, and the only reason our hero can wear it is because he overcame its influence by sheer force of will.

[@Kijinn]

Tbh, I don't see how that would be very different to how the character was presented in the story. Everyone who saw him was overcome by overwhelming fear. That's a bit too mild of an upgrade.

[@zyxaqc]

@@Kijinn I mean, at least then he would have a real superpower and not just a dumb gimmick.

[@Kijinn]

@@zyxaqc When that "dumb gimmick" has the exact same effect as the "superpower", I feel like you're mislabeling it. I also think that a "scary" looking mask is getting a lackluster treatment, when it's magic effect is to be "scary". When we're talking about visual storytelling, a more efficient concept might be to find an art-style and design that makes the mask look scary to the reader/viewer. That way you wouldn't have to write "People are scared, because it's magic." I'm just giving my thoughts, though. Seems to me like there's more potential than just to say it's magic.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

Not Spider-Woman... not Black Widow... Spider Widow. Brilliant.

[@hamzadawud]

I love the voices you do for '40s gangsters, they're too good!

[@Sheldon-senpai]

The Spider Widow and Mr. Whiskers could make a pretty good couple, if you ask me.

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

4:22 Forget The Spider Widow! I want to read a comic about Bob Ableson! Just that name alone is filling my head with amazing adventures that Bob could end up having! His sidekick could be nammed Gary Goodnuff! They could even start a group of crime fighters called "The Averagers"!! Seriously. These are comics that need to exist!

[@futuristica1710]

The language of The Vagabond is epic, and your voice! 😂

[@Tazirai]

Not gonna lie. I liked the spider widow so much I did a fan art of her. But updated. I love these golden aged heroines. The sillier the motif the better. You're right, athletic doesn't mean a whole lot. She wasn't very, except the sword skills.

[@AztecCroc]

And the horse riding.

[@needfoolthings]

My favorite is Phantom Lady.

[@Kijinn]

Sadly, doing a fan art of spider widow is completely indistinguishable from the most commonly used depictions for folklore witches. Nothing unique about her. Even the spiders fit with the common witch theme.

[@kemmdog4444]

Great WC Fields impression,Chris.

[@perfectblue8443]

love, love these videos about golden age comics, they're the best!

[@Rocketboy1313]

I feel that "The Face" needed just a little something to work. You know the Goosebumps book "The Haunted Mask"? Maybe have the mask be magical somehow and that it influences him to hurt people, it is addictive to be this sadistic other self, and he compromises with his dark side by hurting bad people. Kind of a Dexter situation, mixed with The Mask, and Dr. Jekyll, and I guess Venom?

[@arkayanon]

I only really knew of The Face through Project Superpowers which waseasily so much better than the source material.

[@LARKXHIN]

Between Carstairs and Throttlebottom, what is going on with the Vagabond's last names here

[@skatemonk]

I'm gonna don a domino mask so no one can recognize me, take off all my other clothes, and fight crime as the Streak!

[@hatednyc]

Wow, what a great video idea! I miss the old intro theme tune with the twangy guitar and the “comic trooopes” chorus.

[@3dartistguy]

I thought this was about the worst golden age superhero costumes not origin stories.

[@SoulStarSketchin]

"Chauncey ThrottleBottom III" has to be one of the top worst alias names I've ever heard of in a long time even in comics from way back when. Like where in the world did they pull that out of? xD

[@grkpektis]

@4:58 WTF she's supposed to be athletic? Compared to who spongebob?