Have you ever wondered why so many comic book super heroes wear their underwear on the outside? I have. And let me admit to you that it never made any sense, but always made me laugh.

Till I understood why.

Mythology, both Indian and European, and perhaps Oriental as well, depicted figures who had exaggerated proportions and a different skin tone. So Vishnu, Krishna etc. were Blue Skinned. Similar examples exist in other native myths.

Now art is said to be a reflection of imagination, and imagination is known to be a thought process from a different time plane. So when the comic book super heroes were created, the artists at Marvel, DC Comics etc. drew on the imagery of the divine and thought of giving their characters a different colored skin. Unfortunately, unlike the time when Hollywood made the movie AVATAAR and James Cameron could conceive of characters who in their animated glory, had blue skin, extraordinarily long legs and so on, the older day creators had to think of giving their heroes costumes…skin fitting costumes. That was the closest they could get to representing skin tone.

And to take the illusion forward they chose a vibrant color or a contrast, and made underwear out of the fabric. So the whole image looked like a blue skinned Superman with a Red Costume that consisted of a cape and the underwear. Batman and Phantom had grey and purple bodies, but black masks, belts and underwear worn outside.

And those are the images we all grew up with.

Was there something sexy involved? Did we wonder what would happen if Superman’s Chaddi were to fly off…would he have blue genitals? No. Not at all. We simply accepted the package, just as we accepted that Scots may or may not wear anything underneath their kilts. And yes, we fell in love with the fantasy without having to disrobe them.

And that holds true even for female super heroes like Wonder Woman. I have yet to meet someone or even hear of someone who got his kicks wondering what she would look like without her Wonder Bra

So now, when we hear of a super hero movie that dispenses with the offending garment (in this case, the underwear), we are upset…we are distraught. And in fact we get downright angry.

The next thing you know, kryptonite will not affect Superman because he is color blind. And Phantom will not be allowed to keep Devil as a pet because that’s a transgression of some obscure wildlife law. Batman and Robin in any case will not stand a chance because they will surely be labeled Gay and Bruce Wayne will be accused of child molestation.

Damn this new breed of writers. When they run out of ideas why do they have to muck around with OUR imaginations? Please…please I implore you…leave their clothes alone. Their costumes are part of their charisma…and an essential part of our childhood.

Let them be…and we shall desist from desecrating Barbie Dolls…and stop ourselves from propagating a myth that if you plant your cabbage patch dolls underground, cabbages will grow.

Be warned!!!