Re: MMS200 - Man of Steel: Superman Collectible Figure
If you watch the New 52 costume closely, you'll notice that actually, he doesn't wear briefs, but the outline vaguely ressembles the shape of briefs, and not accurately.
Notice that the line at the side of the "briefs" isn't straight, that it turns upside. My interpretation is that it's not really a brief, but actually part of the surface design of the kryptonian material that his costume is made of (which is not fabric, as shown in the next scan).
Here you can see how "puts on his costume" or rather, how the costume extends on him. It's something made from kryptonian technology found in Brainiac's spaceship, and not fabric:
Also, he doesn't have a "priest" collar. Priests have a closed collar with a little white square, while Superman's collar is open.
The bit about the circus strongmen is true, that was the idea back then in the 30s and 40s, when they designed the first superheroes. But later it just became the standard look, and the reasoning for it was lost.
In the 90s and 00s they no longer had any meaning, and most new characters were being designed without them, and the most traditional ones started following suit.
I'm fine with this. If a concept/character doesn't adapt to the times, it becomes stale, and stops being relevant. Superman has struggled with that at times, and the look in the New 52 universe is a step in the right direction, IMO.
Of course, you can never please everyone, and a lot of people still don't like the look and want the return of the briefs, but to me, they no longer make any sense.
