General Sci-fi designs across various media

[Big s]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Well, you're not wrong. It is odd that she traipses around in a thong regardless of situation or environment and nobody bats an eye or shows any discomfort. I realize she's fully  prosthetic, but it seems she's anatomically endowed and fully functional. She sleeps topless in just panties next to a teenaged boy in 2nd season after emerging from the shower in said panties with naught  but a towel draped around her neck to partially cover her breasts. Moreover, after he inquires whether she can have sex, she playfully invites him to find out. A bit risqué if not ethically questionable. If the genders were reversed, I think there would've been far more flack and attention given to it back when it was airing on tv. What's more disturbing about it is that she's a cop.

 

Yeah, that’s a creepy situation. But imagine if it were a random dude in a Speedo with everyone acting normal while he’s having an important conversation with dignitaries and such. And it’s only him. Just that is pretty creepy. I don’t know how that task force would keep any credibility. Then again that’s probably why Batman had so many eyes on him when he brought out his sidekick 

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Yeah, that’s a creepy situation. But imagine if it were a random dude in a Speedo with everyone acting normal while he’s having an important conversation with dignitaries and such. And it’s only him. Just that is pretty creepy. I don’t know how that task force would keep any credibility. Then again that’s probably why Batman had so many eyes on him when he brought out his sidekick 

I get what you're implying, but honestly, I don't think anyone was really thinking that way in the 30s and 40s. I never made that correlation as a kid watching Batman in the 70s and 80s so I think that's more of a worldly adult POV. 

In retrospect, a lot of superheroes have questionable costumes hence the reason none of the actors in recent decades have worn skin-tight body suits like Batman '66 or Chris Reeves' Superman. Beyond that, the majority of female superheroes and villains were drawn to accentuate their feminine appeal, which generally means a fair bit of skin showing or just really form-fitting suits with ample bosom and plenty of cleavage. That trend carried over to sci-fi as well. 

[sketchley]

On 1/5/2026 at 12:29 AM, electric indigo said:

We can't talk about British SF influences without mentioning Chriss Foss.

One of the most prolific and unique SF artist since the late 70s. You couldn't walk into a bookstore without noticing one of his wild cover illustrations back then.

He was part of the Jodorowski Dune design team and contributed some preliminary art to the Alien movie. To this day, I'm waiting for a big SF production to fully utilize his style.

Chris Foss is a very icon artist.  Recently "Jodorowsky's Dune Official Trailer" popped up in Youtube, and what I now know as Foss's artwork immediately caught and retained my attention whenever it appeared—even in the background!

The covers above reminded me of a book I used to love taking out of the library when I was a youngin':

While Stewart Cowley's style isn't quite as iconic as Foss's, I can see a lot of Foss's influence in Cowley's work (such as the checkerboard patterns on several derelicts in the book).

Nevertheless, the combination of artwork and short stories in "Spacewreck: Ghostships and Derelicts of Space" had quite an impact on my young self.  I don't know how well the stories hold up now, but the whole concept of the book still gives a lot of food for thought.

Edited yesterday at 03:04 PM by sketchley

[mechaninac]

All the hardware in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The designs are distilled perfection for "realistic" near future (now, laughably optimistic given that the story depicts fictional events 1/4 century in our past) technology, some of which has become reality while others remain in the realm of attainable fantasy.  They are all so iconic that they inspired miniature work and film making for decades to come until the (unfortunate?) advent of CGI.

 

[mechaninac]

Another iconic classic sci-fi design that is more than worth a mention, and has appeared in several media and iterations since its debut is Forbidden Planet's most memorable supporting actor, and coolest automaton to ever come out of Hollywood, the unique and unequalled Robby the Robot.

Honorable mention to the classic B9 from Lost in Space

 

[Big s]

7 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I get what you're implying, but honestly, I don't think anyone was really thinking that way in the 30s and 40s. I never made that correlation as a kid watching Batman in the 70s and 80s so I think that's more of a worldly adult POV. 

I don’t think it was a big issue until the 50’s or 60’s I remember it was supposedly a big part of why silver age comics had the comics code stamp to prove that things were wholesome and kinda tamed a lot of things in comics. I guess it even distracted parents when the Adam West series popped up that Robin had to cover his junk with his cape due to parental complaints 

[M'Kyuun]

55 minutes ago, Big s said:

I don’t think it was a big issue until the 50’s or 60’s I remember it was supposedly a big part of why silver age comics had the comics code stamp to prove that things were wholesome and kinda tamed a lot of things in comics. I guess it even distracted parents when the Adam West series popped up that Robin had to cover his junk with his cape due to parental complaints 

Really?!!! I had no idea. That show was so kitschy and appealing to kids (with some adult humor in there too, just like a lot of Looney Toons). I thought it was great when I was little. However, the Superfriends cartoon largely eroded Batman's appeal for me as I got older, as he couldn't really do anything without his utility belt. I called him Utility Belt Man for years until '89 rolled around and Burton's Batman was announced. As it happens, I had a friend who was huge into Batman, including the comics. I got him a copy of one of Frank Miller's graphic novels for his birthday, and of course, I read it before I gave it to him.😄 That changed my perception of Batman quite a bit as well as all the info my friend and his brothers told me about the character, as I think they were all versed somewhat in the comics. Batman: TAS went a long way towards righting the wrongs of the old 70s and 80s Batman toons- just an excellent show. Warner Bros also started turning comics into animated movies, which also lent some grit to the character for me. Rocksteady's Arkham Asylum/Knight series still stand as some of my favorite games and just a fantastic depiction of the Caped Crusader. It's a shame they stopped at three games.

With all his tech wizardy, Batman and Cyborg definitely qualify as sci-fi staples, at least for me, as they both rely on neo-futuristic tech to do their thing. Batman Beyond certainly qualifies, as that's sci-fi through and through. I still need to finish that series. I started it last year and kinda fell off. It's good- I'm just easily distracted by shinier things and then I forget.

[Big s]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Batman Beyond certainly qualifies, as that's sci-fi through and through.

I kinda liked the robot that had that Zeta project spin off show