Today's topic of discussion: female super hero outfits, and sometimes the lack thereof.
When one thinks of Wonder Woman, her iconic bathing suit-esque costume is what you typically envision. As awesome and patriotic as it may be, the costume is kind of impractical.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/downside-of-superhero-cleavage
That comic sums it all up rather nicely in terms of fighting disadvantages. However I'd also like to point out where video games and comic books both seem to miss the target: vulnerability.
The human body (assuming the hero in question is humanoid) has some great strengths and some terrible weaknesses. We have self regulation of temperature, a nearly waterproof hide, and complicated body systems that fend off illness and prioritize the usage of nutrients to our individual needs.
In terms of weaknesses from the battle-ridden view of a fighter, vital organs and blood vessels are exposed to damage in skimpy, barely-there armor.
For instance, kidneys are essential to our survival because they filter out impurities in the blood and remove broken down blood cells from circulation. But the rib cage stops just short of providing them the same protection as the heart and lungs.
With a costume that exposes the lower back, you're putting a big target on the kidneys that says "Here, kick me and make me hurt real bad!" Kidney failure is not fun and in this case is totally preventable.
Midriff exposure speaks for itself. Almost all of your lower digestive tract is situated in your belly: your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. There are no natural defenses for protecting your belly other than the instinct to curl up in the fetal position in the face of attack. Also, your belly is a relatively large target; one well placed attack and you're done for.
And now for Colossus Rant Part 1. Some costume designers are intelligent enough to understand the stupidity of exposing the torso for the sake of appeal. But they leave the neck exposed.
Damage to the neck can be fatal at worst and crippling at best. Neck wounds are very difficult to treat from a medical perspective, because of the delicate brain stem, the carotid artery, and the jugular vein. Any damage to those means fatality in a matter of moments.
Also, if you grab a hero by their long hair and they don't have neck protection, putting them out of a job and the land of the living would be quick work. Don't get me wrong. You can have long hair. But pin it back, put it up in a bun, or for the love of all things holy wear neck armor!
And now the finale, a.k.a. Colossus Rant Part 2: leg exposure.
Okay so you were smart enough to design armor that protects the torso and the neck. Congratulations. But there isn't enough appeal for you, so instead of pants or leg plates, you give them thigh high boots and assume thats enough protection. WRONG.
The gap between a bikini bottom, short skirt, or hot pants and a pair of thigh high boots is one of the weakest points in the body. Lesser known than its associates the carotid artery and the jugular vein is our friend the femoral artery. Providing blood to everything south of the pelvis, damage to the femoral artery would prevent a heck of a lot of blood from recirculating to the heart, and system shut downs would begin very quickly.
Thank you for taking this magical informative journey with me. I don't mean to squash anyone's creativity, however please keep these pointers in mind.
Disclaimer:
This argument doesn't really apply to undying entities, magic fights, or people who fight in the cockpit of a giant robot. (S)He whom has the Gundam makes the rules.
