Underoos is a brand of underwear primarily for children, produced by the Fruit of the Loom company. The packages include a matching top and bottom for either boys or girls, featuring a character from popular entertainment media, especially superhero comics, animated programs, and fantasy/science fiction. Typically, the garment mimics the distinctive costume of the character, encouraging the wearer to pretend to be the character. In other designs, it features an image of the character or logo on the undergarments.
Underoos were developed as a product idea in 1977 by an independent entrepreneur, Larry Weiss, [1] who obtained licenses for the four major comic character groups (DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Hanna-Barbera, Archie Comics), which included Superman, Batman, Shazam, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Spider-Man, and Captain America. [2]
The product idea was first offered to Hanes, but was rejected. Scott Paper company pursued development, but ultimately decided to not market the product. Fruit of the Loom had been engaged as supplier of the blank underwear and another vendor engaged to apply transfers. Informed of Scott Paper Company's decision to not market this novel product, Fruit of the Loom inquired if they would be permitted to market the product, now fully developed. [3] Weiss agreed, and in 1978 Fruit of the Loom bought Underoos. [4]
Early advertisements for the brand featured images of boys and girls in wrestler poses with the marketing slogan "When the color lasts, and the fit lasts, and the quality lasts, and the joy lasts, it's got to be Underoos...the underwear that's fun to wear."
The product was tested in three markets including the New York Metropolitan area. [5] Retailer and consumer demand was so strong the product was immediately expanded to national distribution.[ citation needed ]
Fruit of the Loom licensed out the Underoos brand name to Bioworld, which made Underoos in adult sizes. [6] By the end of 2020, Underoos was selling out its existing stock. [7] Its homepage changed to a thank-you notice to customers in 2021. [8]
In Captain America: Civil War , Iron Man shouts out "Underoos" at Spider-Man as a signal for the teenager to join the superhero confrontation and steal Captain America's shield. [9] [10] The nickname references Spider-Man's youth and suit. [11] [12] [13] The Underoos reference resulted in numerous memes circulating online and being compiled into collections inspired by the movie scene.
Due to the product being sold predominately in America and being unfamiliar internationally, the brand name Underoos was exchanged for relevant regional meanings during the movie's translations. Some of the alternative names shouted by Iron Man to Spider-Man include the nicknames collants (French), pirralho (Portuguese), pijamalı çocuk (Turkish), joljori (Korean), and rugdalózós (Hungarian). [14]
Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film that is a sequel to Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). It is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". It is directed by Richard Marquand based on a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The film follows the ongoing struggle between the malevolent Galactic Empire and the freedom fighters of the Rebel Alliance. As the Rebels attempt to destroy the Empire's second Death Star, Luke Skywalker tries to bring his father, Darth Vader, back from the dark side of the Force. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz.
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He was introduced in the original film trilogy and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a farmer on the planet Tatooine, Luke joins the Rebel Alliance and becomes a pivotal figure in the struggle against the Galactic Empire. He trains as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, and eventually confronts his father, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Years later, Luke trains his nephew Ben Solo and mentors the scavenger Rey. Luke is the twin brother of Leia Organa. The character is portrayed by Mark Hamill in six films and two television series. Hamill won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Luke in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983) and The Last Jedi (2017). He was also nominated for the award for his performance in Star Wars (1977). In addition to films, Luke appears in animated series, novels, comics, and video games.
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. The prequel trilogy chronicles his transformation from the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. His metamorphosis begins when he is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, who later becomes Emperor. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader is severely injured and is transformed into a cyborg. He serves Palpatine for over two decades, hunting down the remaining Jedi and attempting to crush the Rebel Alliance. When Palpatine tries to kill Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, the Sith Lord turns against his master and destroys him. Vader is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke and his twin sister Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. In the original film trilogy, he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. In the prequel trilogy, he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan is portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and by Ewan McGregor in the prequel films. McGregor also plays the character in the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Guinness's performance in Star Wars (1977) earned him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical Star Wars films to date, including every film in the "Skywalker Saga", which includes the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, an astromech droid, is a friend to C-3PO, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 and his companion C-3PO are the only characters to appear in every theatrical Star Wars film, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with The Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until its near-annihilation. Yoda first appears in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, in which he is voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz, who reprises the role in Return of the Jedi, the prequel trilogy, and the sequel trilogy. In addition to films, the character appears in animated series, comics, novels, video games and commercials.
The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.
The Star Wars science fiction media franchise is acknowledged to have been inspired by many sources. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, Qigong, philosophy, classical mythology, Roman history, Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, parts of the other Abrahamic religions, Confucianism, Shintō and Taoism, and countless cinematic precursors. Creator George Lucas stated "Most of the spiritual reality in the movie[s] is based on a synthesis of all religions. A synthesis through history; the way man has perceived the unknown and the great mystery and tried to deal with that or dealing with it".
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr., the character first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1. He is one of the earliest black superheroes to be featured as the protagonist and title character of a Marvel comic book.
Yavin is a fictional planet in the Star Wars galaxy. It first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars and is depicted as a large red gas giant with an extensive satellite system of moons. The hidden military base of the Rebel Alliance is located on its fourth moon, Yavin 4.
Dark Empire is a Star Wars comic book metaseries produced by Dark Horse Comics. It consists of a six-issue limited series written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Cam Kennedy, followed by a second six-issue limited series by Veitch and Kennedy, followed in turn by a two-issue limited series written by Veitch and drawn by Jim Baikie. The initial series is notable for being one of the first Star Wars comics to be produced by Dark Horse, which retained the comic rights to the franchise for over two decades.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy is the third trilogy of the main Star Wars franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. It is produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The trilogy consists of episodes VII through IX, chronologically following the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, serving as the final act of the "Skywalker Saga". Lucas had planned a sequel trilogy as early as 1976, but canceled it by 1981. He produced only the first six episodes, and for a time described these as comprising the complete story. The sequel trilogy concept was revived when the Walt Disney Company entered negotiations to acquire Lucasfilm in 2011. Lucas produced new story treatments, but these were largely discarded. Both the acquisition and plans to produce the trilogy were announced in late 2012.
Marvel Zombies is a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam. It was the first series in the Marvel Zombies series of related stories. The story is set in an alternate universe where the world's superhero population has been infected with a virus which turned them into zombies. The series was spun out of events of the crossover story-arc of Ultimate Fantastic Four, where the zombie Reed Richards tricked his Ultimate counterpart into opening a portal to the zombie universe only for the latter to contain the former from ever coming to his universe.
Funpals is a children's underwear name brand that was established in 1985 in order to compete with Underoos. Its trademark was renewed on March 17, 2005, by William R. Hansen, trademark correspondent.
Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back as The Emperor. The character is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of the 1999 film The Phantom Menace.
Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor. He starred as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, in the original and sequel trilogies.
The Iron Patriot is a patriotism-themed exoskeleton used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Dane Allan Smith is a film and television producer, and visual effects producer. Smith currently manages daily operations as founding partner of Daneiam Inc., a studio through which Smith has served as visual effects producer on such films as Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Sinister 2 (2015), Deadpool, Star Trek Beyond, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). He has also worked on numerous films as a visualization executive producer in association with The Third Floor, Inc.
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