Captain America’s helmet wings have always been difficult to update over the years, but Daniel Heard’s concept solves the problem completely.
There are many superheroes whose costumes were inspired by the American flag, but Captain America stands head and shoulders above the rest. Although its appearance has been changed and updated by different artists over the years, its look is timeless enough to fit in surprisingly well with modern times. That’s with the exception of one design element that has only seemed dumber over time, the wings of Cap’s helmet, there are many different interpretations, but they’re often incorporated because they have to being. But fan art from a now-defunct redesign contest came up with the perfect solution for the wings, and it was staring everyone in the face the whole time.
The wings of Captain America’s helmet are a problem, artists have stencilled them on the side of the helmet, recent movies and games have shaped them into the shape of the helmet, other versions of the Captain America costume have sprung up. get rid of it completely. When Cap was created in 1941 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, many superhero comics were inspired by classic mythology, and the winged helmet not only evokes Hermes, the Greek god of speed, but also the helmets worn by soldiers in ancient northern Europe. Unfortunately, what once looked like God now looks completely ridiculous.
In 2010, a website dedicated to superhero costume design called Project Rooftop held a contest called “Captain America: Fighting Styles” which encouraged contestants to reinvent Captain America’s iconic outfit. The winner was an incredibly bold concept by the artist Daniel heard who completely reinvented Steve Rogers from the ground up. Most notably, instead of the usual Captain America costume, this cap wears a short-sleeved red and white striped zip-neck shirt under a navy-style peacoat. But the most ingenious part of this design is easily the wings on the side of the helmet, now represented by diagonally bisected white American flag stencils.
Instead of trying to hide the wings or make them less obtrusive, Heard’s design embraces the wings’ respect for soldiers of the past and blends them with the iconography of the modern American soldier. It evokes the flag patches worn by the military while serving as a nod to the warriors and gods of yesteryear. More importantly, they look like they belong, even if you had never seen Cap’s original design, you could still see how this updated version of the wings matched the rest of the costume.
Helmets with wings still work for characters like The Flash, who is essentially an updated version of Hermes, and Thor, who is the literal embodiment of an ancient god, but Cap’s association with the army evokes clean designs and a utilitarian aesthetic. This design could be used for Steve Rogers as well as his counterparts like Sam Wilson, who has working wings, and characters like Bucky Barnes and USAgent, whose more black ops style tactics match the simplicity of this design. This Captain America Fan art is a great example of how to turn the worst thing about a costume into the coolest thing about it.
Source: Daniel heard
