Why do superhero costumes keep changing?

Tom Holland has revealed the new-look Spider-Man costume for next year’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, and it’s… perfectly serviceable, as these things go. It’s also the third costume Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has worn in four movies, which is a sign of how much things have changed when it comes to superhero movies, or superheroes in general, as it turns out.

Back in the prehistory of superhero movies — which is to say, before the dawn of Marvel Studios and the current incarnation of the genre onscreen — the issue of what outfits heroes would wear onscreen was very much centered around fidelity to the comic book source material. That Charles Xavier’s mutant superteam wore black leather in Bryan Singer’s original X-Men caused uproar in fan communities, being seen as proof that the Marvel comic books weren’t being taken “seriously” or treated with respect. (What could be more respectful than having Hugh Jackman wear a bright blue and yellow costume with underpants on the outside and pointed books, after all?)