strangely enough the first time I saw the robin costume was on a plastic westcoat vest thing I had as a child that had a picture of Batman and Robin on the back. I never understood why Robin was wearing bathing trunks to fight crime (a bit sexist of me since I did not have that same concern with Wonder Woman's outfit).

I might have been ok with it if his legs were covered just like Batman and Superman.

Would Robin's original costume be acceptable to today's audiences if the colors were tweaked?  In other words, color the legs to make them tights/pants and tweak the rest of the costume as needed to make it all work together.

Robin's costume has an element of fun and whimsy about it. Changes to the costume often seem to be proposed with a justification of greater realism... And then are less realistic.

No one fights or does acrobatics with a hood over their head that eliminates peripheral vision. No one does acrobatics in a suit of chainmail.

I don't know which robins Ross was looking at, but from where I come from they are lighter and brighter than Robin's red runic.

But as with Superman, the big draw with 40s comics was, of course, the appeal to kids. Batman certainly had the gravitas, but what nine year old wanted to dress like that? Shorts. Cool shoes. Bright colors. And... a cape, too!

When discussions of costumes turns to practical, that's usually a sign that someone is just a liiittle too engaged in costumes. With someone like Iron Man - well, yeah, I'll buy that. Ditto for the winsome Wasp, who changed costumes mid-issue, sometimes.

But the discussion of Nite Owl's costume in Watchmen works great - for that genre of comic story. I feel, though, that that isn't the type of story or comic universe that suits the Justice League* (and yes, pun intended.)

An example of this was an imaginary story in World's Finest where Superman lost his powers and struck out as "Nova." Nova had a gliding cape, which was purportedly unbreakable. Yeah, well, okay. But if they REALLY wanted to do it seriously... make Kal-El into Nightwing on Earth (Kandorian costume and utility belt and all). And have him use his Legion flight ring.

In real life, if a man dressed up as Batman or Daredevil, they'd be dead before they could take that second breath. But it's NOT real life; it's a comic book world.

That isn't to dissuade those who want to see different costumes; variety IS the spice of life. But starting to have practical discussions about it puts a funny twist on it that maybe goes a little too far.

*At least, up until the latest reboot, so I hear tell.