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Don't Costumes Get Smelly?

Leather doesn't breathe.


  I'd be sad too if I was covered head to toe in leather/spandex. It's got to be hot and putrid inside there.
 I'd be sad too if I was covered head to toe in leather/spandex. It's got to be hot and putrid inside there.
One thing that's always bugged me about reading these action packed comics is the costumes. They look like there was a lot of time and effort put into creating these things and a majority of the time, they're getting torn apart in battle, but what about when the hero or villain comes out of battle without a scratch on them? What happens to the costume then? Do they clean it or what? Fighting crime is serious business and serious business involves serious perspiration, which in turn, can turn into a serious funk. 
 
I go running on the weekends, and after a nice jog/run of a hour or so, I've built up a decent sweat. After I shower and slip on something a little more comfortable, I notice my clothes that I just ran in and sweated all over, smell pretty much awful: Dry sweat is insanely gross smelling to me. Now, take that scenario, and multiply it by 100. Why? Well, I run in sweats and not a costume presumably made with a mixture of spandex and leather. Leather doesn't breathe, so that sweat and stink, sits in there until it starts smelling in ways I don't even want to describe to you. 

Why doesn't a conversation come up, after a large battle, between Emma and Cyclops. "I can't believe we won, after hours of battling. We have triumphed." ::sniff:: "Scott, seriously, you smell awful. Can you sit in the back of the Blackbird for the rest of the trip, I think I'm going to vomit." (See picture above for Scott's facial expression after hearing that) We may never see this scene, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. What do they do with said smelly costume though?
== TEASER == 
One of two things can happen when dealing with a suit soaking in the horrid smell of victory. (The taste of victory is also awful by the way) The first thing you can do is toss it. I'm sure there's a pile somewhere at the old X-Mansion of smelly and beaten up costumes that make the average garbage dumb smell like lavender and rose petals. Sometimes, these suits are just too far from saving. The second thing they can do is wash it. But where can you take a smelly suit like this? Does the average laundry joint know how to get armpit sweat out of a leather/spandex hybrid fabric? Or has Reed Richard invented some sort super-dry cleaning machine? I may be reaching, but I'm sure you all are just as curious as I am.
 
 --Go into the Blackbird and grab the Febreze.. All of it.
--Go into the Blackbird and grab the Febreze.. All of it.
I know I've picked on the X-Men, and mainly Cyclops a little too much here, but he's got it bad. He's covered head-to-toe in that tight, hot fabric, with only a place for his mouth open. Sure, there are other characters fully covered, like Spider-Man, but i always imagined his costume to be lighter and breathe better because of the fact that he has to be so agile. Cyclops just doesn't look comfortable. In fact, I think he's got it the worst.
 
What do you think they do with the smelly costumes and which character smells the worst because of the costume they are wearing?
 
 
~Mat "InferiorEgo" Elfring is a comedian, teacher, comic book writer, comic store employee, and religiously washes himself to avoid bad smells.~