Is it the most 90's comic thing ever?

It was the 90s, and comic heres had a new look, and it was all about the accessories. When people look back on the comic hereoes of the late 80s and 90s, the question always pops up: Why, oh why was there a huge need to accessorize the comic hero uniform with military web gear? What was the need for survival knives attached to suspender straps, or even better, attached to your pirate boots, like Nick Fury, to the left? Why did the super hero need to have bulky pouches attached to otherwise slim-fit, skin-tight uniforms (what were they made of? knit wool? Spandex? Lycra?). Why did Sue Storm have to make the ultimate pouch declaration in Fantastic Four (1961 Series) #375, sporting not only the pouches (which aren't overbearing on this cover), but also the bomber jacket and the Big Gun (tm).

To me, it's a sign of the times, and I blame (credit?) Hollywood, who at the time was busy recycling (or introducing, in most cases) the stories of the Vietnam-era soldier. The comic readers of the time, whose parents may have served in the Vietnam conflict were seeing the mid-too-late 80s movies like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, or the Rambo series. The tragic heroism of those soldiers made their way especially into comics like Punisher, The 'Nam, and even Wolverine-based titles started hinting at service there. G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero #26 remains, to this day one of my favorite comics of all time—particularly because of the Vietnam narrative. TV shows like CBS' Tour of Duty and ABC's China Beach were on every week, and offering PG adventure versions of Vietnam, which kids were consuming. And presumably, so were comic artists.

So, I will posit here that the image of the Vietnam-era GI was the main inspiration for what we saw a lot of in the pouch-and-bomber era of super hero costuming- the baggy bomber over the typical superhero unitard, strappy web gear with utility pouches that somehow never got used in the same way that Batman famously tucked away everything, and somewhere there was a Big Gun(tm). The bomber's origins? I think it was the short-sleeve M-1951 model flak vest that you see on the many film and TV characters, as well as Reed Richards to the left. The web gear is straight up GI issue, as well. The big guns? Obvious.

Was this a good thing? Yeah, I think so. For me, this was a time when my comic and TV intake collided, and in the same way that my parents' comics were filled with the stories of WWII heroism and cowboy stories echoing the Hollywood storylines of the time, there was an aesthetic that felt contiguous between all of this visual entertainment. The pouches and bombers weren't unlike the bomber jackets that we were wearing in high school, or the fanny packs that we accessorized with. It was taking the world that we were living in and channeling the reimagining of the 60s fashions and history, and somehow synthesizing the looks in an abstract  way that made sense, and still allowed room for fantasy and science fiction to creep in around the edges. It was a fun time for comics, with a changing of the artistic guard, a changing of styles, and pouches were the perfect allegory for packing it all in.