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[Toa TAK]

I like that power girl redesign.

I do, too. Boob window is ridiculous.

 

[Anton Sugar]

I like you.

She's, what, like a 6'3" demi-god at this point, right? I hate how her recent designs take away from how imposing she is. Shit, even in this old image, where you see her under her suit, she looks tough as fuck:

Yup, I LOVE that pic. Ironic how a 90s comic draws her less sexual than her portrayals now. Turning Samus into a voluptuous, big-titted, round-ass blonde was a very "ugh" moment for me.

 

[Apollo Cree]

Speaking of, Overwatch just debuted two new characters, one of them being Zarya:

Mix of unconventional body, pretty face, and boob armor...progress?

This kind of confused me. The way to empower a woman character is to give her masculine features? It doesn't really highlight what it is to be a strong woman. Maybe I'm off key and don't understand what a strong woman is supposed to be in a video game setting.

 

[Galactic Fork]

I think the whole idea, in the relatively short section of Zero Mission where you had to use her without armor, was literally the same as any other game where you're forced to sneak where your character is helpless and without their normal gear...in Samus' case that usually still has her in a highly powerful suit, but simply with her normal arm canon. They just decided to take it a step further. I being 100% honest and geuine in my belief that it had very little if anything to do with being fanservice and showing off Samus' body

In Other M, you probably have a point, but in Zero Mission it didn't come off that way at all

Here is your "reward" for beating zero mission under 200 hours...

 

[Anton Sugar]

Here is your "reward" for beating zero mission under 200 hours...

Yeah, there is absolutely fanservice wankery at play here. Conceptually, maybe not, but absolutely in execution.

Her suit looks straight up painted on here:

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

Here is your "reward" for beating zero mission under 200 hours...

One out of 6 ending images, that one not even being for the highest completion.

http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Metroid_endings

Like I said, I get it. It doesn't have to be skin tight and I won't even argue that that's all about fanservice, but the idea Samus' physique is some sort of anomaly among built women or that the zero suit sections in the game were to show off Samus' body are not points I can agree with

 

[haikira]

This kind of confused me. The way to empower a woman character is to give her masculine features? It doesn't really highlight what it is to be a strong woman. Maybe I'm off key and don't understand what a strong woman is supposed to be in a video game setting.

I don't see it that way. If anything, it looks like function was a concern in the design. Rare, I know.

The character's femininity is clearly shown, just look at her face, and hair. She's ripped though, as judging by that image, she's a heavy gunner. It would look silly if someone with a skinny build was effortlessly holding a weapon that size. Character design shouldn't just be what looks pretty, but what suits the character.

I actually like it.

 

[Bladelaw]

I like most of them. Polaris and Powergirl are standouts. My only issue with the Peach one is the rocket launcher. Replace it with a magic hammer or something. When did you ever see a rocket launcher in Mario? Unless it shoots Bullet Bills?

 

[Galactic Fork]

One out of 6 ending images, that one not even being for the highest completion.

http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Metroid_endings

*peer* Yeah, the Zero suit wasn't fanservicy enough, so for the next 3 completion levels, they went for what she might wear under the zero suit...

Actually, no, the crop top is mostly lacking boob socks...

 

[Bombless]

Speaking of, Overwatch just debuted two new characters, one of them being Zarya:

Mix of unconventional body, pretty face, and boob armor...progress?

It's not boob armour though, it's a harness that comes around her boob socks. Not sure if it's better, but it has to be said.

 

[Anton Sugar]

This kind of confused me. The way to empower a woman character is to give her masculine features? It doesn't really highlight what it is to be a strong woman. Maybe I'm off key and don't understand what a strong woman is supposed to be in a video game setting.

I think I see what you mean and I think there is some validity there, but hopefully we'll see more bodytypes.

I don't think it's a matter of being a portayal of a "strong" woman (I mean, it looks like every woman character in the game has an awesome skillset), but just a matter of diversity in bodytypes. I wouldn't want the only option to be between busty, voluptuous women OR a jacked, short-haired Russian (nevermind the negative connotations associated with being short-haired and "butch").

 

[Apollo Cree]

I don't see it that way. If anything, it looks like function was a concern in the design. Rare, I know.

The character's femininity is clearly shown, just look at her face, and hair. She's ripped though, as judging by that image, she's a heavy gunner. It would look silly if someone with a skinny build was effortlessly holding a weapon that size. Character design shouldn't just be what looks pretty, but what suits the character.

I actually like it.

I guess I get caught up on what I generally think defines strong women. To me, it's a lot more nuanced than creating a masculine character. Want a man to be powerful? Make his muscles bigger. I like to use 300 as an example of this.

I like to believe this scene sums up the differences pretty well. The control over the situation the queen had is much more subtle than the bulk of the scene but her influence is felt. Not just because of her crush on Gerard Butler, my mom ranted and raved about this movie and noted how strong of a character the wife was.

Edit: I'm getting off-topic. This thread is more about character designs than female empowerment. Please disregard.

 

[Galactic Fork]

This kind of confused me. The way to empower a woman character is to give her masculine features? It doesn't really highlight what it is to be a strong woman. Maybe I'm off key and don't understand what a strong woman is supposed to be in a video game setting.

The way to empower women is to show a variety of body types and that having lots of muscles doesn't make you masculine or less of a woman. There are different types of strong women, and there's not only one way to be empowering. So show lots of different shaped women.

 

[televator]

The way to empower women is to show a variety of body types and that having lots of muscles doesn't make you masculine or less of a woman. There are different types of strong women, and there's not only one way to be empowering. So show lots of different shaped women.

And in Samus' case they reeled back all illustration of her outside her armor to conform to an archaic norm of femininity... A Barbie.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

One out of 6 ending images, that one not even being for the highest completion.

http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Metroid_endings

Like I said, I get it. It doesn't have to be skin tight and I won't even argue that that's all about fanservice, but the idea Samus' physique is some sort of anomaly among built women or that the zero suit sections in the game were to show off Samus' body are not points I can agree with

Looking through that link, it seems that Samus has always had skintight/shorts and a top out of armor. Which makes the hate for the ZSS even more weird, seeing as how she's ALWAYS represented like that when she's not wearing a top/bottom.

Edit-Also yesterday I was having a conversation with someone who thought it was stupid that The Boss went into war being pregnant, and this person proves that you can be pregnant and fit.

 

[Apollo Cree]

The way to empower women is to show a variety of body types and that having lots of muscles doesn't make you masculine or less of a woman. There are different types of strong women, and there's not only one way to be empowering. So show lots of different shaped women.

I agree with this.

Samus's official design is being railed so hard against because on the list of body types, she falls on the far edges of the bell curve. Then it doesn't seem fair to me that Zarya is being praised as a breath of fresh air when she's way over on the opposite side of the bell curve. This is where my disconnect is coming from.

 

[Docflem]

I quite like the Samus / Zero Suit design in the OP, particularly as some have described - as if it were some sort of intermediary outfit or ZS with some extra plating / utility, or even just as a flight suit before changing into a full Chozo thing for planet exploration and the vacuum of space.

But the above kind of reasoning is neither here nor there. It's a futuristic, fantasy setting. Like W40k Space Marines, who're barely human and essentially wired naked into their armour to make it a second skin. Samus, in a (basically magical) suit given to her by ancient bird-people in space, can roll into balls and fart bombs. Of course, none of this requires her appearance within the suit to be some sexualised, fanservice-y thing, but to cite historical and contemporary armours and astronaut-wear as something that need be conformed to in some way within a series like Metroid is a fairly poor argument.

I see this excuse a lot for things in videogames and movies/tv (especially for scifi) and for me it just doesn't hold water. The way I see it is that the closer you get to presenting a logical true to the world (and ours) design the better the world the artists created will be. Basically, it's easier to get behind arm cannons, "fart" bombs, and a suit that can turn into a ball if the rest of it makes sense.

The Zss doesn't make sense as its functionally useless and Samus doesn't seem like the kind of character to bother with something that doesn't get the job done. All this leads me to the conclusion that it was thrown in as fan service and it does not feel true to even her world, not to mention ours.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Looking through that link, it seems that Samus has always had skintight/shorts and a top out of armor. Which makes the hate for the ZSS even more weird, seeing as how she's ALWAYS represented like that when she's not wearing a top/bottom.

Edit-Also yesterday I was having a conversation with someone who thought it was stupid that The Boss went into war being pregnant, and this person proves that you can be pregnant and fit.

I notice in this thread that people are, mistakenly, thinking that there's any level of "focus" on her Zero suit, aside from her appearance being an end of game trophy for completing the game well. They think that because she is included in Smash as a character, despite the overwhelming focus that the game has on her armored self, that somehow just being included in an all start smashup makes Metroid about her Zero Suit now. Which is flat out false.

Which is itself a bit sexist, but at this point it's more for series tradition than anything.

EDIT:

I see this excuse a lot for things in videogames and movies/tv (especially for scifi) and for me it just doesn't hold water. The way I see it is that the closer you get to presenting a logical true to the world (and ours) design the better the world the artists created will be. Basically, it's easier to get behind arm cannons, "fart" bombs, and a suit that can turn into a ball if the rest of it makes sense.

The Zss doesn't make sense as its functionally useless and Samus doesn't seem like the kind of character to bother with something that doesn't get the job done. All this leads me to the conclusion that it was thrown in as fan service and it does not feel true to even her world, not to mention ours.

Do you expect your underwear to do anything except provide a layer between you and your clothes?

 

[KDR_11k]

The Zero Suit design may not match what the ZS was originally meant for but seriously, fuck the Zero Suit because that section played like arse and the structure of Zero Mission suffered a lot from that whole suit exchange stuff (back-loading a lot of upgrades because you cannot use some of the gear until that arbitrary plot point and the power bombs are even placed PAST the entrance to the final boss!).

Until you get to Red Sonja. Conan looks like this.



There is NO REASON why Red Sonja would be wearing a full set of armor in any Conan story. Everybody in Conan wears loincloths. Hell, even most of the women running around in Conan don't have tops on. So that makes no sense, and forcing modern designs on the franchise would be against the entire spirit.

True, if she's supposed to be this savage warrior she shouldn't be wearing medieval armor like that. But in that light I don't like the scalemail bikini on the original either, should probably wear a pelt sash for her sword and whatever else she wants to carry without any respect to what she looks like. Especially since scalemail is pretty complicated and you really wouldn't want to build something like that without a damn good reason.

I mean, you look at Conan, that dude looks threatening. Sonja's clothes probably should exude threat too.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

I liked the Emma Frost redesign. It makes her look like a Castlevania character.

 

[Palculator]

The Zss doesn't make sense as its functionally useless and Samus doesn't seem like the kind of character to bother with something that doesn't get the job done. All this leads me to the conclusion that it was thrown in as fan service and it does not feel true to even her world, not to mention ours.

Yeah, if only Samus had an alternative, much more functional suit that can carry ammo, povides armor against attacks, lava and other dangerous envionments, gives her additional strength, can morph into a ball for increased mobility, shoot rockets and laser beams, place bombs and all that jazz. Even has place for a hookshot!

I bet she'd wear that 99% of the time. Maybe even have it fused to her body.

 

[Docflem]

I notice in this thread that people are, mistakenly, thinking that there's any level of "focus" on her Zero suit, aside from her appearance being an end of game trophy for completing the game well. They think that because she is included in Smash as a character, despite the overwhelming focus that the game has on her armored self, that somehow just being included in an all start smashup makes Metroid about her Zero Suit now. Which is flat out false.

Which is itself a bit sexist, but at this point it's more for series tradition than anything.

EDIT:


Do you expect your underwear to do anything except provide a layer between you and your clothes?

Last time I put on some armor I wore a uniform with ton of function underneath, then I wore my underwear. Guess what, so did the females soldiers I served with, none of them were wearing silly painted on tight "underwear" because they were there to do a job not title men watching the do said job.

Edit:

Yeah, if only Samus had an alternative, much more functional suit that can carry ammo, povides armor against attacks, lava and other dangerous envionments, gives her additional strength, can morph into a ball for increased mobility, shoot rockets and laser beams, place bombs and all that jazz. Even has place for a hookshot!

I bet she'd wear that 99% of the time. Maybe even have it fused to her body.

Seems like the kind of person that wouldn't get caught in a dangerous situation with nothing but her underwear huh.

 

[Fee]

I agree with this.

Samus's official design is being railed so hard against because on the list of body types, she falls on the far edges of the bell curve. Then it doesn't seem fair to me that Zarya is being praised as a breath of fresh air when she's way over on the opposite side of the bell curve. This is where my disconnect is coming from.

It's possibly because there are so few characters that fall into "the opposite side."

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

I see this excuse a lot for things in videogames and movies/tv (especially for scifi) and for me it just doesn't hold water. The way I see it is that the closer you get to presenting a logical true to the world (and ours) design the better the world the artists created will be. Basically, it's easier to get behind arm cannons, "fart" bombs, and a suit that can turn into a ball if the rest of it makes sense.

The Zss doesn't make sense as its functionally useless and Samus doesn't seem like the kind of character to bother with something that doesn't get the job done. All this leads me to the conclusion that it was thrown in as fan service and it does not feel true to even her world, not to mention ours.

Its under garment of all types kinda suppose to be tight or close to the body, their main functionality is comfort in movement while being absorbant/warm/protective/connectivity/ect.... You rarely or never see underwear, underarmor, underlayer cloths that are loose and baggy.

 

[DannyDanger]

I like Nariko, Power Girl, and Red Sonja redesigns

The rest were just "quick, cover the sexy parts" to me

 

[Kinyou]

Last time I put on some armor I wore a uniform with ton of function underneath, then I wore my underwear. Guess what, so did the females soldiers I served with, none of them were wearing silly painted on tight "underwear" because they were there to do a job not title men watching the do said job.

Edit:

Seems like the kind of person that wouldn't get caught in a dangerous situation with nothing but her underwear huh.

As someone posted in this thread before, it's more comparable to what an astronauts wear under their suits.

I agree that it doesn't have to be super latex tight, but this kind of undersuit makes sense.

 

[Palculator]

Seems like the kind of person that wouldn't get caught in a dangerous situation with nothing but her underwear huh.

Which is why she doesn't. You're getting hung up on 20 minutes of an emergency situation after her ship crashed in a 5h game, from a series of about 10 games.

 

[Roto13]

Last time I put on some armor I wore a uniform with ton of function underneath, then I wore my underwear. Guess what, so did the females soldiers I served with, none of them were wearing silly painted on tight "underwear" because they were there to do a job not title men watching the do said job.

And I'm sure you were wearing anything at all comparable to a Varia Suit.

 

[PtM]

This kind of confused me. The way to empower a woman character is to give her masculine features? It doesn't really highlight what it is to be a strong woman. Maybe I'm off key and don't understand what a strong woman is supposed to be in a video game setting.

Maybe the muscles aren't about empowerment?

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I notice in this thread that people are, mistakenly, thinking that there's any level of "focus" on her Zero suit, aside from her appearance being an end of game trophy for completing the game well. They think that because she is included in Smash as a character, despite the overwhelming focus that the game has on her armored self, that somehow just being included in an all start smashup makes Metroid about her Zero Suit now. Which is flat out false.

Which is itself a bit sexist, but at this point it's more for series tradition than anything.

Yeah like...it's only in Smash that her ZS has any sort of actual recognition outside of just being a result screen. And people are putting such a focus on it despite the fact that in Metroid games she's still just wearing her power suit.

When it was first included in Smash, I always saw it sort as a little bonus in terms of characters. Hell, the only way you can start as ZS in the last smash is by holding down a button on the Samus character. (I dunno how it works in the latest Smash). But even in the context of Brawl, it was a part of her character-Her Smash features her firing a HUGE laser that probably overheats her power suit and she has to get out of it, and they probably used one of the latest designs of her being outside the suit to accomplish this.

Putting SUCH focus on the ZS is just weird. It's not her default outfit, it never was.

 

[Kinyou]

I mean, you look at Conan, that dude looks threatening. Sonja's clothes probably should exude threat too.

This is how Gail Simone (the current Red Sonja writer) sees it:

The costume, I go back and forth on, a bit. I get why it upsets some people, there’s a long tradition of sexist costumes and bullshit going back to the end of time in comics.

But, I don’t know, to me, it’s a bit like Canary’s fishnets, which I defend forever. To me, it makes some sense for Sonja. She wears what she damn well pleases and couldn’t care less what you think about it.

Conan wears less. The comics versions of Howard’s barbarian characters barely wear clothes at all. Their core concept is freedom, a hatred of being encumbered. They’re barbarians, not knights.

http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/55266444606/gail-simone-talks-about-her-red-sonja-hitting-the

So for her it's not about appearing threatening but about expressing freedom. That said, she also doesn't mind putting Sonja in different, more practical outfits when it seems appropriate.

 

[roknin]

I've really been adverse to posting about this since I'm usually on the other side of this debate, but I guess the topic's irritated me enough in one instance - ZSS - that I felt compelled to reply. Well, here goes:

"Some endings may have been inspired by that of Alien and Aliens, films which heavily influenced Metroid. At the end of both films, the female protagonist, Ripley, is scantily clad as she prepares for hyper sleep."

Just taking that quote from the Wiki page linked above.

I really quite honestly have no qualms with ZSS, both in the context of Zero Mission (where it functionally is explained) and can excuse it in Smash, since part of the point of Smash is ignoring what the actual mythos of characters are...

...thus why the whole "Ridley is too big excuse doesn't really fly.

Many have mentioned different body types being needed, and I agree completely. But I think that's then unfair to turn around and say "that one is too sexy!", especially when its an alt you see in literally one section of one game, and as a non-canon appearance in one series.

Outside of Other M, when do you ever play a powerful version of ZSS that out-powers the Power Suit in any way? I really don't get the "she's replacing Samus" arguments. She isn't.

Unless, again, we're looking strictly at Other M... Which I thought 99% of the world agreed, was shit as far as story and being part of Metroid's canon.

Hell the one section of Zero Mission is about her getting her more powerful, legendary suit, and highlighting how powerless the Zero Suit is. Which the redesign - while cool in its own way - defeats the purpose of.

I get it, I really do. There is a glut of bad designs and over-sexualization. I really, really do. But I really feel sometimes it turns into an unfair witch hunt, where every single instance is hunted down and given the "you're just fap material!" stamp.

But I think we also need to tread carefully, so as not to sit back and dictate what women are allowed to be designed like or what to wear. I'm not a fan of that, either, regardless who's doing the designing.

 

[Docflem]

Which is why she doesn't. You're getting hung up on 20 minutes of an emergency situation after her ship crashed in a 5h game, from a series of about 10 games.

That's disingenuous, there hasn't been a new metroid for a while, the last one not only had the ZSS in it but also destroyed the characters personality, and the most recent high profile game to have Samus her even more sexualised zero suit form is better than her power armor.

And I'm sure you were wearing anything at all comparable to a Varia Suit.

You can be dammed sure if/when I do I won't be wearing an unbearably tight letex suit (with high heels) and nothing else underneath

 

[Palculator]

Yeah like...it's only in Smash that her ZS has any sort of actual recognition outside of just being a result screen. And people are putting such a focus on it despite the fact that in Metroid games she's still just wearing her power suit.

When it was first included in Smash, I always saw it sort as a little bonus in terms of characters. Hell, the only way you can start as ZS in the last smash is by holding down a button on the Samus character. (I dunno how it works in the latest Smash). But even in the context of Brawl, it was a part of her character-Her Smash features her firing a HUGE laser that probably overheats her power suit and she has to get out of it, and they probably used one of the latest designs of her being outside the suit to accomplish this.

Putting SUCH focus on the ZS is just weird. It's not her default outfit, it never was.

She's a seperate selectable character in the new Smash with her own moveset. She's a pretty good character too:
http://www.ssbwiki.com/Zero_Suit_Samus_(SSB4)
Regarding her design the only dumb thing in Smash are the rocket heels. But we've been over the heels many times in this thread so I'm not gonna go into them.

It's kind of weird, they slit up Sheik and Zelda this time around as well. Not saying it's bad since I like all of those characters but they definitely deviated from Brawl in that regard.

That's disingenuous, there hasn't been a new metroid for a while, the last one not only had the ZSS in it but also destroyed the characters personality, and the most recent high profile game to have Samus her even more sexualised zero suit form is better than her power armor.

Even in dogshit Other M her default fighting gear is the Power Suit. That's my point: Everybody else focuses on the ZS more than Metroid does.

 

[Choomp]

I don't know what women want in women characters, but I can make a safe bet that it's not this. I'm more than fine with it though.

Peach with a rocket launcher is realll. Make it happen Platnium.

 

[Sephzilla]

That's disingenuous, there hasn't been a new metroid for a while, the last one not only had the ZSS in it but also destroyed the characters personality, and the most recent high profile game to have Samus her even more sexualised zero suit form is better than her power armor.

That feels a bit deceptive right there, because Power Suit Samus has always sucked in Smash. They used ZSS as an opportunity to radically alter Samus and make her not suck.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

She's a seperate selectable character in the new Smash with her own moveset. She's a pretty good character too:
http://www.ssbwiki.com/Zero_Suit_Samus_(SSB4)
Regarding her design the only dumb thing in Smash are the rocket heels. But we've been over the heels many times in this thread so I'm not gonna go into them.

It's kind of weird, they slit up Sheik and Zelda this time around as well. Not saying it's bad since I like all of those characters but they definitely deviated from Brawl in that regard.

I see. Still, it's only in Smash where she has an actual place as her own character. Sheik too IIRC has only been in...OoT? I think? Well, Sheik as seen in Smash Bros. And yeah, like you mentioned in Brawl you can 'secret' start as Shiek by clicking on Zelda with a button combination IIRC.

 

[Haly]

Smash's fanbase is likely much bigger than Metroid's fanbase. Being a character there counts a lot for mainstream recognition.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

It's kind of weird, they slit up Sheik and Zelda this time around as well. Not saying it's bad since I like all of those characters but they definitely deviated from Brawl in that regard.

They intentionally split up ALL transforming/multi characters. It's why we have Samus/ZSS, Shiek/Zelda and why Charizard is alone. It wasn't something special just for ZSS

Smash's fanbase is likely much bigger than Metroid's fanbase. Being a character there counts a lot for recognition. What game do you think justified the existence of the Zamus amiibo? Or was the primary inspiration for Zamus cosplayers?

Uhh, Smash justified it...because she's a separate character and Amiibos are tied to characters...You do realize amiibos serve a functional purpose, right? You can't just use one amiibo to train a completely different character.

Also Smash only sort of counts for mainstream recognition. It's not like we're getting more F-Zero games despite Falcon being in from the start, people still have no idea who Marth and Roy are, and Mother 3 isn't getting localized anytime soon despite Lucas in Brawl

 

[Astral/H3X]

Last time I put on some armor I wore a uniform with ton of function underneath, then I wore my underwear. Guess what, so did the females soldiers I served with, none of them were wearing silly painted on tight "underwear" because they were there to do a job not title men watching the do said job.

Edit:

Seems like the kind of person that wouldn't get caught in a dangerous situation with nothing but her underwear huh.

Yeah same here, but I didn't expect the underwear to do anything.

And the ACU's (or whatever you wear, I don't know your branch) are functional because it's the major part of the battle uniform -- it's designed to get you by in the event stuff goes down before you are ready. It's not your underwear, it's part of your combat outfit.

The Zero Suit is her underwear, not just "less" battle gear. It isn't battle gear at all.

Fun fact, in one game Samus had to have her suit surgically removed. It blasting off in Zero Mission was an excuse for a cool stealth segment, leading up to the "Super Metroid" power suit, as an explanation for why the suit changed appearance.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Looking through that link, it seems that Samus has always had skintight/shorts and a top out of armor. Which makes the hate for the ZSS even more weird, seeing as how she's ALWAYS represented like that when she's not wearing a top/bottom.

Edit-Also yesterday I was having a conversation with someone who thought it was stupid that The Boss went into war being pregnant, and this person proves that you can be pregnant and fit.

Again, there's a difference between being sexy and being sexualized. Sexy is more about a personal choice and agency versus sexualization, which is more about how OTHERS view you, or that the character was designed in ways to specifically please men.

Wearing workout clothes (sports bra and top) isn't the same as being sexualized. Seeing Samus with less clothes, as a reward, is objectification, if not sexualization. Same goes for the classic rearview "butt and ass" shot that Samus seems to find herself in nowadays with the Zero Suit.

Like I said, with a few tweaks, ZSS is perfectly acceptable to me. It can be a fine line, at times.

Also, was the person actually arguing that you can't be fit and pregnant? I know women who still workout while they're pregnant and they're in great shape. It's entirely possible.

If the argument was "it's horrible for your body to be pregnant while in a combat scenario and would be a huge hindrance", I agree.

 

[Docflem]

Yeah same here, but I didn't expect the underwear to do anything.

And the ACU's (or whatever you wear, I don't know your branch) are functional because it's the major part of the battle uniform -- it's designed to get you by in the event stuff goes down before you are ready. It's not your underwear, it's part of your combat outfit.

The Zero Suit is her underwear, not just "less" battle gear. It isn't battle gear at all.

Fun fact, in one game Samus had to have her suit surgically removed. It blasting off in Zero Mission was an excuse for a cool stealth segment, leading up to the "Super Metroid" power suit, as an explanation for why the suit changed appearance.

That's the thing, ACUs are apart of our battle uniform, but it is not our armor, it is what goes underneath. When we take of our helmets and our IOTV we are not in less armor, we are in absolutely no armor, but we are still not in our underwear.

P.S. I love the idea of putting Samus in that position by taking her armor away, but you realize she doesn't need to be in a skin tight "underwear" to make that work, just anything but her armor would put her in the same situation.

That feels a bit deceptive right there, because Power Suit Samus has always sucked in Smash. They used ZSS as an opportunity to radically alter Samus and make her not suck.

Or they could make regular power suit Samus a good character and stop coming up with excuses to make her as naked as possible.

Edit:

As someone posted in this thread before, it's more comparable to what an astronauts wear under their suits.

I agree that it doesn't have to be super latex tight, but this kind of undersuit makes sense.

Something like this would be passable for me, but you got to remember that an astronauts mission is one of peace and science, they are not bounty hunters. I'd imagine what they wear under their space suits would be very different if they were intergalactic bounty hunters.

 

[Apollo Cree]

There's a lot of fan service in the design of Samus. If her being 6'3 200lbs is still canon, there's no way she's close to that. This is a 6'3 200lb man.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/poissonrouge_photos/044.jpg

When it comes to the skintight suit, I the complaints about the function of it are unfounded. Often times when the future is imagined, it is sleeker than what we have now, whether it be cars, homes, electronics, and this applies to clothes as well. It's a common aesthetic for sic-fi worlds. The under suit itself is there to provide a barrier between the suit and her skin. If you look at Spartans from Halo, they wear similar under suits.

 

[Palculator]

Also, was the person actually arguing that you can't be fit and pregnant? I know women who still workout while they're pregnant and they're in great shape. It's entirely possible.

If the argument was "it's horrible for your body to be pregnant while in a combat scenario and would be a huge hindrance", I agree.

We had a discussion with Crossing Eden yesterday about The Boss' involvement in the Normandy invasion from WW2, even though she was pregnant at the time. Sure, I can understand why it seems weird to him/her but being pregnant does not render women useless and The Boss especially has been built up as the most legendary soldier in that universe. So it's not far fetched that she was too important for the mission to be left out.

(Completely ignoring that it fits her character, sets up part of the MGS3 story and she even says in the game that she discovered her pregnancy much too far into the planning stages of that mission.)

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I like that power girl redesign.

I don't myself. She's a character who absolutely could use a redesign, but the execution is bad. It removes the stupid boob window (thank goodness) but it also makes her completely devoid of any iconic look. There are a dozen better ways to redesign her character and still keep her recognizable.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

That's the thing, ACUs are apart of our battle uniform, but it is not our armor, it is what goes underneath. When we take of our helmets and our IOTV we are not in less armor, we are in absolutely no armor, but we are still not in our underwear.

P.S. I love the idea of putting Samus in that position by taking her armor away, but you realize she doesn't need to be in a skin tight "underwear" to make that work, just anything but her armor would put her in the same situation.



Or they could make regular power suit Samus a good character and stop coming up with excuses to make her as naked as possible.

In the context of Zero Mission, it made sense. It wasn't that she was just chilling in her zero suit and decided to take a stroll. She was attacked while in her suit and it was damaged.

Also I wouldn't call a skintight suit "naked" unless you feel Captain Falcon and Snake were also naked...their suits were as unrealistically tight as Samus'. And then you have a character like Shulk who is flat out in swimming trunks in Smash!

 

[Sephzilla]

Or they could make regular power suit Samus a good character and stop coming up with excuses to make her as naked as possible.

Yeah but I think it's been safely established by now that the Smash team doesnt like overhauling characters. I'm also not sure I'd classify form fitting suit as "naked"

 

[Docflem]

In the context of Zero Mission, it made sense. It wasn't that she was just chilling in her zero suit and decided to take a stroll. She was attacked while in her suit and it was damaged.

Also I wouldn't call a skintight suit "naked" unless you feel Captain Falcon and Snake were also naked...their suits were as unrealistically tight as Samus'. And then you have a character like Shulk who is flat out in swimming trunks in Smash!

First I think swimming trunks Shulk is pretty silly, but it is only a costume variant not a whole separate and better character selection. Second if the situations were reversed and 90% of male characters were cardboard cut out, sexualized objects and then they took snake one of the few great and fully realized male characters and put him in a latex suit perfectly outlining his junk (which btw while both falcon and snake have tight suits on, they are nothing like ZSS) then yes I'd be pissed about it. The reality of the situation, and the context of gaming as a whole points to the opposite being true.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Again, there's a difference between being sexy and being sexualized. Sexy is more about a personal choice and agency versus sexualization, which is more about how OTHERS view you, or that the character was designed in ways to specifically please men.

Wearing workout clothes (sports bra and top) isn't the same as being sexualized. Seeing Samus with less clothes, as a reward, is objectification, if not sexualization. Same goes for the classic rearview "butt and ass" shot that Samus seems to find herself in nowadays with the Zero Suit.

Like I said, with a few tweaks, ZSS is perfectly acceptable to me. It can be a fine line, at times.

Well, seeing as all her result screens with her wearing sports clothing or a skintight suit were a sort of bonus for beating the game fast..yeah it's pretty objectifying. But it's not her default outfit, and if true based off Aliens. Or something. Either way I don't have a problem with it because when it hink of Samus, I think of her power suit. That's just me though. I can see why someone would be offended by it.

Also, was the person actually arguing that you can't be fit and pregnant? I know women who still workout while they're pregnant and they're in great shape. It's entirely possible.

If the argument was "it's horrible for your body to be pregnant while in a combat scenario and would be a huge hindrance", I agree.

He was arguing that the Boss(Who in the MGS series is the greatest soldier ever know and helped end WWII) going into battle(During WWII) was stupid. I disagree on that aspect. She wouldn't have helped stop WWII if she didn't go(In that universe). And it would go against her character as I outlined before.

 

[Sephzilla]

First I think swimming trunks Shulk is pretty silly, but it is only a costume variant not a whole separate and better character selection. Second if the situations were reversed and 90% of male characters were cardboard cut out, sexualized objects and then they took snake one of the few great and fully realized male characters and put him in a latex suit perfectly outlining his junk (which btw while both falcon and snake have tight suits on, they are nothing like ZSS) then yes I'd be pissed about it. The reality of the situation, and the context of gaming as a whole points to the opposite being true.

I've personally never liked this argument/statement because what a woman will find sexual isn't a 1 to 1 translation compared to what a male will find sexual.

Personally I think Captain Falcon having visible rock hard Superman abs through what looks to be a racing coat is makes less sense than Samus wearing a form fitting undersuit, but that's just me.