My Maximilian Armor Influence

Back in my childhood, I was fascinated by suits of armor. It's one reason I like armor for superheroes that I invent. One of the most influential types of armor on my tastes was Maximilian armor.

This suit of armor was thought to have been made for Maximilian I, one of the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperors. There are actually several suits built in this style, and it reflects the design ethics of the era.

The armor style is called fluted armor, wherein flutings are ribbed or raised lines on the armor. They are thought to have provided strength while allowing the plates used to be thinner. But a more likely explanation is that they were for decorative purposes, probably to imitate pleats that were popular on clothing of the time. Whatever the reason, it makes for very attractive armor, and it struck me as a good decorative idea even on modern armor.

Thus, I made use of the concept on my original character, Biohawk, who I invented back in 1987. Here he is holding Rogue of the X-Men:

Later designs do not reflect the use of Maximilian style-fluting, since I find it tedious to draw nowadays. But it did make for an interesting idea back then.