Five Of My Favorite Suit-Up Transformations

As much as I don’t like the new look, how it was debuted was actually quite spectacular.

I LOVE suit-ups, combination, and transformation sequences!

One of the disappointments for me as a comic creator is that I can’t have my heroes doing “suit-up transformation” sequences. That’s panel space better served by pushing the story forward. It’s why the superhero costume reveal perfected by Clark Kent is so widely used. Suit-up transformations is when you know the action is about to start. The heroes are in full hero mode and it’s time to get down to business. Others write these off as padding, but done right you get pumped up for what’s to come. Done wrong, and you get Filmation’s Ghostbusters, a suit-up sequence that goes way too long and can’t even be written off as “we’re not seeing it in real time” because unless that big space is a timeless dimension it takes that long. It’s also boring, and I’m one of that show’s defenders.

I call this “five favorites”, but we’re getting a bonus video because they kind of connect. Interestingly, those two also come from Filmation, so not only do they redeem themselves but most of you out there already know at least one of the connections. The others you may or may not have heard of before, or haven’t seen in years. They’re still a great example of the hero getting ready for action, and the first one is kind of what inspired this.

Skysurfer Strike Force

I reeallly wish I had a better version of this for you. I hate when uploaders stretch the video out just to hit the modern aspect ratio, especially with how terrible the video quality is to begin with. Unfortunately my only other options was one whose title admitted they used the wrong music (probably for the giggles), the intro that only shows parts of the transformation, and a full episode. Still, I think this gets the point across.

They don’t spend time showing the change to their body suits. The sequence is all about their gear and occasionally seeing their small cars convert to their giant skyboards. For the uninitiated, the plot involved Jack Hollister, Skysurfer One, trying to prove his father was murdered by Cybron, who stole his father’s cyber brain project and started a gang of “bio-borg” warriors to gain wealth and power. The transformation starts with the activation of the hero’s “digitrans”, showing up in their body suits, and then all their various armor and weapons appearing, showing off their signature gear. When the transformation is done, the investigating takes a break so the action can happen. I’ve been re-watching this series lately and I love watching this sequence. The show does know when to skip it, just giving us the digitran activation part, but when I get to see the full sequence, I’m here for what’s next.

Kamen Rider Kabuto

If I didn’t put something Japanese in here I was sure to be yelled at. Action anime has a lot of cool stock transformation sequences, but I wanted to show that you don’t need stock footage to have a cool suit-up. Simply repeating the sequence is possible, though it does take more time to film it all and then go into post. Kamen Rider Kabuto seemed to fit that. The armoring up portion is probably the only stock there, as the hero, Soji (played by an actor named Hiro), uses his Zecter (I need to watch this show) to go into his first mode. Then he goes into his second speedier mode after softening up the baddie, even using bit of the armor themselves as an additional attack so he has time to get his “clock up” form complete. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but those of you who comment “why doesn’t the monster attack them while they’re transforming”, this show has the answer.

Just as not every suit-up transformation has to be stock footage, not every suit up has to be into some superhero form. For example…

Rambo: The Force Of Freedom

Unfortunately this time I HAVE to use an intro, but it’s okay. Unlike Skysurfer Strike Force, Rambo: The Force Of Freedom uses the same suit-up in entirety. It’s short, but it makes the point. For most of the episode Rambo will fight in his civies alongside his allies, but when things get serious they grab the animated version of the gear-up scene from Rambo: First Blood Part II, and you know the fan’s going to need a good cleaning in a moment.

I could go to other shows and do the same thing. The forgotten Mr. T series T&T, where he plays an investigator working for a lady attorney (the other “T”), is good as well, but this is the one I remember most from my childhood. I wish I could show this in the proper context, but the sequence is so short, yet gets the point across. Fun and games are over. The baddies are gettin’ a whuppin’!

I know a number of you out there hate that this show exists, that it “dilutes Rambo’s tale of the treatment of veterans and POW/MIA issues” and stuff. However, this was a show for kids trying to play on the success of G.I. Joe, an age group who would never be allowed to watch these movies but had to sit through ads for it anyway because the distributor didn’t want to wait until the kids were in bed to push this. There were also cheap Rambo costume play toys, too. Plus this show was really good. It’s not like James Bond Jr or RoboCop (though I enjoyed the first cartoon when it originally came out–Alpha Commando can suck it and the first live-action series is still fun for me)

He-Man/She-Ra

Oh, you knew this was coming.

I could have done any He-Man transformation not done by Netflix and it would go here, though of those three The New Adventures Of He-Man would be the weakest and the 2003 “Snake Armor” transformation is good but lacks the nostalgia update of the regular He-Man. Someday I’m going to do an article comparing ALL the He-Man and She-Ra transformations, but nothing will hit as hard as the originals.

You get that sense of power, though She-Ra’s is a bit softer because it’s more feminine, but not so soft as to be outright girly girl, since that’s clearly not the girls that would be watching this and Filmation realized this was a good way to get brother and sister to hang out together as they were already enjoying He-Man’s adventures together. This is back when she was allowed to be feminine and still be strong and powerful. She-Ra’s also takes advantage of the jewel to have Swift Wind’s transformation differ from Battlecat’s.

It’s dramatic. It’s powerful. It’s time for action. However, we’ve seen not every transformation has to be long to make that point. I thought I’d need two videos to make that case, but I found a compilation of the character over many years, creators, and media. Hope it’s still up when you see this article.

All of Captain “Shazam” Marvel’s Transformations

A word, a lighting bolt (or a big puff of smoke if you’re a 1940s serial on a budget), and instant superhero. Some iterations use it better than others, but Billy Batson, whether he gets to use his real superhero name or not, has a great transformation.

What are some of your favorites? I might go more Japan heavy next time, because sadly American animators and especially live-action shows fail to see how cool the suit-up transformation can be. I did this to give myself an excuse to watch my favorite suit-up transformations show off how fun they are, and when done right gets your audience ready for important evil-busting tasks.