The Hobbit is not one to put much stock in rumors, but lately I'm hearing one that has me worried. It seems there is a rumor floating around that Sam Raimi, director of the upcoming Spiderman movie may have some drastic costume changes in mind for the webslinger. We're talking total makeover here folks, rumor is he wants to totally do away with the traditional Spiderman Red and Blue and come up with his own costumed vision of the wall crawler.

Sammy boy, you and I need to have a talk. Earlier this year, there was a movie in theatres called the X-Men, based on another Marvel comic book franchise. These superhero's costumes went through a revamp similar to what you may be planning for Spidey. Perhaps you think that if X-Men can get away with it, you can to. Think again.

The X-Men are not defined by their costumes. They have all always worn a wide variety of costumes in their history. In or out of costume, they have never been the type of superhero's that are identified simply by what they wear. Spiderman is different. Much like DC's Superman and Batman, Spiderman's costume is integral to the identity of the character. Richard Donner when making Superman The Movie realized this and had the sense to stick with the traditional S costume. Tim Burton when making Batman, realized this as well. And while they may have made minor stylized changes to the Batman costume to modernize it, and get the kind of look they wanted... it was STILL the Batman costume we all know and love. Why is costume so integral to these characters and not to the X-Men?

Lets take a moment and look at a hypothetical comic book scenario comparing X-Men, Spiderman, and Superman. Wolverine is walking down the street in his street clothes and sees a mugger attacking a woman. He immediately leaps to the rescue and rips the mugger to shreds. Clark Kent is walking down the street, and he sees a mugger attacking a woman, he quickly ducks into a phone booth, changes into his Superman costume, leaps out, and rescues the woman. Peter Parker is walking down the street, and sees a mugger attacking a woman. He quickly ducks behind a dumpster, pulls on his Spiderman costume, positions a camera to capture the rescue, and leaps out and saves the woman.

You see, Wolverine is Wolverine no matter what he is wearing. He is who he is. On the other hand, characters like Superman, Batman, and Spiderman, BECOME someone else when they put on that outfit. Who they are is in part, defined by their costume. Unlike the X-Men, for Spiderman, the clothes really do make the man.

So, before you go screwing with a beloved character, bear in mind it is more than just his costume you are changing. Red and Blue IS Spiderman. Anything else is just an imitation.