For director Zach Snyder, everything within the world of Man of Steel needs to have a reason and needs to "be consistent with the world we are creating."

It is for these reasons that that Superman suit that Henry Cavill dons in the new iteration may seem a little different than what fans are used to. Most notably, there's now no red underwear hanging around on the outside of Kal-el's pants.

"The cape has to be there," said producer Deborah Snyder when speaking of the costume design in a recent extended feature. "You look at the suit without the cape and you realize its not Superman. But you know what, I think the underwear outside of the pants is something that maybe can go."

Also gone is the spandex look. Instead Clark Kent will be donning a new, high-tech looking material from his home planet.

"Our approach was not a comic book superman, it was just to do a more realistic superman. A superman that exists in a real world," said screenplay writer David Goyer.

It is for this reason that all the denizens of Krypton can be seen in the tight fitting material, often with other additives such as armor or, in the case of Superman, a shiny red cape.

However, where the design team hit the most difficulty was rationalizing the iconic Superman "S." The team states that the symbol is the second most recognized symbol on Earth but they needed it to have a reason stemming from the Man of Steel's home world. To do so, the costume designer, Michael Wilkinson, took a look at mideval heraldry.

When Lois Lane asks Kal-El what the "S" stands for, he responds by telling her "on my world it means hope."

All the members of Kal-El's family can be seen donning the symbol, now much more elegant and embellished, in one form or another.

"Its that fine line of reinventing [Superman] but still seeing him in there," said Zach Snyder.

Tags: Man of Steel