All the Colours of the Costume

I admit it this has nothing specifically to do with Venom or the black costume, but it is  about a  costume. Specifically Spider-Man’s original one and how it coincidentally ties in with the ladies of his life.

In my article ‘Red vs. Black Part 3: Ladies Choice’ I spent a lot of time discussing the symbolic/subtextual relevance of Mary Jane’s preference for the original red and blue costume and Black Cat’s preference for the black and white one.

However have you ever noticed how Spider-Man’s classic costume colours symbolize facets of his personality and his relationships with his three big love interests: Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson (Parker) and Black Cat/Felicia Hardy?

Of course you haven’t, because it was never intended that way by any creator in the character’s history.

This is undeniably 100% speculative and reliant upon pure coincidences.

But then again, this is all in the name of fun anyway so why not?

Black: Felicia Hardy

Whilst in my ‘Red vs. Black’ essay series I was drawing a connection between Felicia and the black costume, here I am talking specifically about the black components of Spidey’s classic costume.

Obviously at face value the connection is clear cut. Spider-Man’s costume has some black elements to it, and his ex-girlfriend Felicia Hardy dresses mainly in black  because she is the Black Cat.

Big deal right?

Well consider the following.

I think most reasonable Spider-Man fans will agree that as much as Peter loved Felicia, he evidently cared more for Gwen and MJ.

This is in spite of fandom and Marvel frequently (and quite rightly) regarding her as one of the ‘Big Three’ Spider-Man love interests.

Nevertheless, whenever a story or Spidey himself references the great loves of his life, Gwen and/or MJ are always brought up, but Felicia (along with Betty Brant and every other girl he’s dated) is not.

And yet Spidey’s outfit still contains black within it. However noticeably it is the least represented colour of the three that comprise his costume. This is perhaps symbolic of how Peter cares for Felicia, but not as much as other people in his life.

That being said, the black parts of the costume do cover all  the red areas of his suit. Almost as though Felicia is in frequent conflict with a certain other Spider Lady represented by red; though they do ultimately complement each other?

The colour black has also (within Western culture) represented negative emotions and corruption. In this context we could also see the black of Spidey’s outfit as perhaps symbolic of the emotional and legal temptations that Felicia has often presented him.

Even putting Felicia aside, Peter can at times be tempted by and fall victim to certain negative emotions and temptations. He is only human after all, and the largest black area of his costume (his chest symbol) does rest rather close to his heart.

You could expand that further to argue Peter was at his worst when he was dating Felicia due to her bad luck powers and his making allowances for her criminal past. And after they broke up Peter still at times turned a blind eye to her at times less than legal/morally questionable activities. But then again the eye pieces of his costume are highlighted by black aren’t they?

However perspective is important so let’s bear in mind that there is a reason that Pete’s costume isn’t mostly  black.

Blue: Gwen Stacy

This one is at first glance fairy obvious and I am far from the first person to notice it. In fact I am so far from the first person to notice it that Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale made a mini-series about it in the early-mid 2000s.

But just in case you missed it, the blue of Spider-Man’s costume represents how he at times ‘feels blue’ about his life, in particular whenever he thinks about his dead first love Gwen Stacy.

However we can go much further than that.

When you look at Gwen Stacy’s character in the silver age it becomes evident she was at least upper middle class, possibly even on the low rungs of the upper classes. So in a sense Spider-Man was dating someone who was metaphorically ‘blue blooded’.

More significantly though, Gwen’s character (outside of her death and relationship with Peter) is defined through her relationship with her father, George Stacy.

And what occupation did old George have? He was a police captain, the police of course being heavily associated with what the colour? Blue.

Not only does this tie Peter and Gwen together through the connection with her father, but it bears even greater significance given how Spider-Man as a crime fighter is a kind of policeman analogue.

Red: Mary Jane Watson (Parker)

Unfortunately I actually have the least to say about this one, mostly because I discussed a lot of it in my ‘Red vs. Black’ essay series.

Like with Gwen and Felicia, associating MJ with a colour of the costume is obvious. MJ, the famous redhead, is represented by the colour red. She is Spidey’s biggest and longest serving love interest with the most serious relationship with him and her colour is arguably the most dominant one out of all three.

And of all three women she is the only one to express outright admiration and preference for the costume, even making copies of it herself.

But as with the other two ladies we can go further.

Typically red is the colour of passion. Not only has Spidey always been a passionate and emotional guy himself (even getting a little hot headed at times) but Mary Jane is the woman Spider-Man loves the most, i.e. the person he is most passionate  about.

Furthermore, although his chest symbol is black, the larger symbol on his back is red. This could be said to represent how MJ is his most reliable friend and confidant. Above everyone else she always ‘has his back’. And interestingly in media and merchandise it is usually the back symbol design that is used to represent Spider-Man more than the front symbol design. Appropriate given that MJ is Peter’s most represented love interest in media and merchandise.

Red also dominates Peter’s arms, lower legs and head. That is to say the parts of his body he most frequently uses when crime fighting, whether it’s punching, kicking, thwipping or outthinking  his opponent.

And because Peter’s outfit has red dominating his head and chest, we could say this represents how MJ is often in his heart and on his mind. It is his passions for her (and other people and aspects of his life) that can often dictate what he does; for better or worse. Sometimes they cause him to lead with his heart, or else cloud his mind.

Hearts and minds?

You know, that has actually given me another idea for an article…