History Main / MonsterModesty

* The Beast in ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' wears only pants and a cape. As the story progresses he wears more clothes and WordOfGod said that if Belle had never showed up eventually he would have stopped wearing clothes entirely.

* The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6748504/1/Attack-of-the-50-Ft-Half-Klingon Attack of the 50-Ft Half-Klingon]]'' has an oversized B'Elanna Torres appearing in the [[Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton Captain Proton]] holodeck program to wreck revenge on a philandering Tom Paris. As she doesn't have MagicPants she's wearing a {{loincloth}} made from stitched bedsheets and [[GoingCommando no underwear]]. Later Tom returns to seek revenge as Film/TheAmazingColossalMan, but he hasn't been able to find underwear either, which makes him vulnerable to a JetPack-wearing heroine using the [[GroinAttack kind of attack]] that wouldn't be contemplated in a 1950's monster movie.

* The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6748504/1/Attack-of-the-50-Ft-Half-Klingon Attack of the 50-Ft Half-Klingon]]'' has an oversized B'Elanna Torres appearing in the [[Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton Captain Proton]] holodeck program to wreck revenge on a philandering Tom Paris. As she doesn't have MagicPants she's wearing a {{loincloth}} made from stitched bedsheets and [[GoingCommando no underwear]]. Later Tom returns to seek revenge as Film/TheAmazingColossalMan, but as he hasn't been able to find underwear either, that only makes him vulnerable to a JetPack-wearing heroine using the [[GroinAttack kind of attack]] that wouldn't be contemplated in a 1950's monster movie.

** Golems usually avert this (some have been painted to resemble clothes, but in any case [[NonhumansLackAttributes they lack attributes]]), but ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' has Gladys the Post Office golem, who wears a dress (and is called Gladys) because Miss Maccalariat objected to a "male" golem cleaning the ladies' restrooms.

** D'vorah in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' is actually a sentient colony of insects inhabiting a chitinous humanoid shell, but in her first appearance she wore [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mkwikia/images/0/0e/D'vorahmkxm3.png a sort of black bikini]] in addition to a cape/hood. By ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', although some skins add it back, [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mkwikia/images/d/de/D'vorah-mk11-renderupdated.png her default look]] has ditched the bikini revealing she has nothing to hide.

Monsters are fun. Whether it's a demon, genetic freak, lab accident, or just some kind of alien that happens to look really monstrous, the creators want to show this monster in all its glory. This means they will wear as little as possible to really let the audience see how, well, ''monstrous'' they are. Of course, they usually can't get away with a [[FullFrontalAssault naked monster running around]], but they want to avoid NonhumansLackAttributes for whatever reason. What do they do instead? Why, they'll slap on a LoinCloth, pair of [[UnderwearOfPower underwear]], or maybe [[MagicPants just some pants]]. The monsters in these situations are almost always sentient but decide to run around wearing as little as possible, rarely with anyone saying anything.

* The Thing from the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' is a prime example. He was turned into a monster and was traditionally disgusted with his appearance. Despite this, he often just wears blue underpants. When the team donned their costumes for the first time in Vol. 1 issue 3, Ben had a full-body costume and a silver helmet completely covering his head, but he quickly discarded them, complaining that the costume restricted his movements. Although usually sticking with his team-colored trunks, he wore a singlet in his solo book and his brief stint with the ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers. Around the time the Invisible Woman began wearing a rather {{Stripperiffic}} version of her costume, the Thing adopted a new bodysuit, which also saw the return of the helmet for a while after ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} slashed the right side of his face during a tussle over the fugitive status of the Human Torch, leaving Ben's face vulnerable for a time. More recently he's been wearing pants, but still no shirt. In the a recent reboot of the team, after the Human Torch was believed dead, as the Future Foundation he's taken to [[http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/petstore/pet-image-large/ff-fantastic-four-variant-1-djurdjevis-gatefold-cover_140537862800.jpg actually wearing a full uniform.]] At various points he's also been seen in a tank top, especially during his stint as a wrestler. The amount of clothing he's wearing at any given time probably has to do with the artist's deadlines as much as anything else.
* The [[MoleMen Mole Man]] from the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' series has an army of Moloids and monsters of varying intellect. More often than not, they all wear multicolored underwear and little else. Odd considering that Mole Man is fully-clothed, highly intelligent, and wants to turn the Moloids into a proper civilization.

** The Beast is another fine example. He started off looking reasonably normal. During this time, he was covered up almost completely. Once he turned into a furry monster, he stripped down to underwear. This is especially odd since the character is a very educated, polite individual who would normally be the type to dress in a dignified manner. Hank explained at least once, though it may not have been fully serious (or even canonical), that he dresses the way he does because all that fur got downright HOT when all covered up. When he DOES get fully dressed, he's about as dapper as a bulky, stocky man with bright blue fur all over his body can be.

* During Creator/MarvelComics' monster-era, many of the monsters would wear a pair of underpants. They ranged from giant space dragons such as ''Fin Fang Foom'' to radioactive creations. The non-sentient monsters didn't make much sense, considering they shouldn't know enough to have any modesty while the intelligent monsters should be a bit more selective in what they wear. Case in point, the aforementioned Fin Fang Foom, a giant alien dragon that is from such an advanced race that... they are apparently okay with walking around in underwear. Fin Fang Foom occasionally appears without the shorts, and [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Foom%205.JPG may not even need them.]] There is also the question as to how they found [[FridgeLogic giant pairs of underwear.]]

* Pip the Troll from Creator/MarvelComics' ''Infinity Watch'' usually just wore a loincloth: attire usually suited for savages. In fact, many characters on that team had pretty {{Stripperiffic}} costumes. They were all aliens, genetic creations, or otherwise metahuman. The guy in the background of [[http://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel//universe3zx/images/thumb/f/fb/IWatch.jpg/406px-IWatch.jpg this]] picture wore a cape but also ran around in underwear at different points in his career.
* The ComicBook/SilverSurfer ran around in silver underwear in his earlier appearances. He has now been reduced to NonhumansLackAttributes.

* ComicBook/MartianManhunter wears a cape, underwear, and a weird x-shape vest that barely covers his chest. Not only is he highly intelligent, he is also a ShapeShifter so he could very easily form a nice suit if he wanted to. [[FridgeBrilliance On the other hand]], maybe the shape-shifting just makes the Martians indifferent to anything related to physical appearance, clothes/nudity included? Or he wears the uniform of a Manhunter (police officer) as seen in the 1998 ''Martian Manhunter'' series

* For Dr. Manhattan of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the level of clothing he wears at a given point of time indicates his growing detachment from humanity. At first, he continues to appear fully dressed after his transformation. But as time goes on, he pares down the uniform more and more until it's barely there at all, from full-body spandex, to a leotard, to speedos, then literally nothing. His last TV appearance creates a capsule version of this, going from a rather smart suit on the set to pretty much nothing after his abrupt departure cuts his last ties to Earth.

** In the first two [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce sequel]] [[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien series]], this is averted entirely for all aliens except [[ILoveNuclearPower NRG]] (who's in a containment suit) and Four Arms (who wore a [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks much-maligned]] [[UnderwearOfPower speedo]] and chest belt combo).

--->'''Amy:''' (''noticing Bender's wearing super-tight speedos'') Uck.... They don't leave much to the imagination.\\

* ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} wears little more than a [[NoShirtLongJacket long coat]] and brown shorts with a UtilityBelt. The animated and [[Film/{{Hellboy}} live action]] versions of him gave him long pants, boots (the comic version had hooves), and sometimes even a shirt.

** In ''Alien Force'', Ben unlocks Rath, an [[CatFolk anthropomorphic tiger alien]] who wears no clothes, but nobody considers it weird for a tiger to not wear clothes so it never even gets a mention. [[BrickJoke Two entire series later]], in ''Omniverse'', Ben meets other aliens of Rath's species for the first time, and is rather shocked to find out they normally '''do''' wear clothes, meaning that any time he was transformed into Rath, he was by that species' standards, [[FullFrontalAssult fighting bare-ass naked the whole time]].

--->'''Amy:''' (''noticing Bender's wearing super-tight speedoes'') Uck.... They don't leave much to the imagination.\\

** ''Omniverse'' plays with this with Rath, a [[PettingZooPeople tiger man]] alien form who is never clothed. When Ben meets other members of Rath's species, he's rather shocked to find out they normally '''do''' wear clothes, meaning any time he fought as Rath he really was, by their standards, [[FullFrontalAssault running around bare-ass naked.]]

* The [[PigMan Seeq]] from the ''Franchise/IvaliceAlliance'' often wear just loincloths instead of pants and when they wear shirts they cover very little. Somewhat odd when compared to other races such as the Moogle, Bangaa, Garif, and Nu Mou who are fully or mostly clothed. It is justified for the Seeq since they are basically a race of obese pig men, thus most clothing would not fit them.

** In the UpdatedRerelease, there are bush-like creatures that also wear pants. This case is more [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as these enemies' garb, gardening tools, and group cohesion help establish that these are past versions of previously-encountered enemies that went feral over the centuries. Of course, their pants-less future selves [[NonhumansLackAttributes have no genitalia either]], meaning they either lost them over time or simply donned pants purely as an expression of their own ([[EverythingTryingToKillYou relatively]]) civilized nature.

* Mystique from the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''. You can see scales over her nipples and pelvis.

** Spoofed to ☠☠☠☠ and back (like everything else) in ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}},'' where Fin Fang Foom's giant monster pants is a source of constant derision. It's the trope image for a reason.

* Mystique from the ''Film/XMen'' films. You can see scales over her nipples and pelvis.

* Vampire spirits from the ''Imperivm'' saga which are barely meat-covered decayed skeletons, wear loincloths. Given that they are actually corpses of fallen men, one has to question how is that a piece of cloth resisted decadence while the rest of their bodies did not. Interestingly, the image for the spirits summoned from Carthage shamans' bodies show them wearing tattered robes, though their final aspect is the same.

* The Thing from the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' is a prime example. He was turned into a monster and was traditionally disgusted with his appearance. Despite this, he often just wears blue underpants. When the team donned their costumes for the first time in Vol. 1 issue 3, Ben had a full-body costume and a silver helmet completely covering his head, but he quickly discarded them, complaining that the costume restricted his movements. Although usually sticking with his team-colored trunks, he wore a singlet in his solo book and his brief stint with the ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers. Around the time the Invisible Woman began wearing a rather {{Stripperiffic}} version of her costume, the Thing adopted a new bodysuit, which also saw the return of the helmet for a while after ComicBook/Wolverine slashed the right side of his face during a tussle over the fugitive status of the Human Torch, leaving Ben's face vulnerable for a time. More recently he's been wearing pants, but still no shirt. In the a recent reboot of the team, after the Human Torch was believed dead, as the Future Foundation he's taken to [[http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/petstore/pet-image-large/ff-fantastic-four-variant-1-djurdjevis-gatefold-cover_140537862800.jpg actually wearing a full uniform.]] At various points he's also been seen in a tank top, especially during his stint as a wrestler. The amount of clothing he's wearing at any given time probably has to do with the artist's deadlines as much as anything else.

* The Thing from the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' is a prime example. He was turned into a monster and was traditionally disgusted with his appearance. Despite this, he often just wears blue underpants. There was a time (circa issues 290-300) when the Thing wore a full FF body suit and a helmet to hide his shame. The helmet was to help him heal after a set-to with Wolverine, who took a swipe at Thing's face during a fight over who would take Johnny Storm into custody. More recently he's been wearing pants, but still no shirt. In the a recent reboot of the team, after the Human Torch was believed dead, as the Future Foundation he's taken to [[http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/petstore/pet-image-large/ff-fantastic-four-variant-1-djurdjevis-gatefold-cover_140537862800.jpg actually wearing a full uniform.]] At various points he's also been seen in a tank top, especially during his stint as a wrestler. The amount of clothing he's wearing at any given time probably has to do with the artist's deadlines as much as anything else.

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo:'' the title RidiculouslyHumanRobot always wears full pants and usually wears a shirt and sometimes a hat because it helps him fit in better (or as he puts it "I wear pants because it's the law").

[[caption-width-right:350:...even though he has [[NonHumansLackAttributes absolutely no genitals whatsoever.]][[note]]And he shops from the same tailor [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] does.[[/note]]]]

* For Dr. Manhattan of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the level of clothing he wears at a given point of time indicates his growing detachment from humanity. At first, he continues to appear fully dressed after his transformation. But as time goes on, he pares down the uniform more and more until it's barely there at all (from full-body spandex, to a leotard, to speedos, then literally nothing). (His last TV appearance creates a capsule version of this, going from a rather smart suit on the set to pretty much nothing after his abrupt departure cuts his last ties to Earth.)

* From DC, [[http://namtab.com/jla/254batman.gif most]] versions of [[http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/c/c0/Despero_002.jpg Despero]]. Athough [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/229/96075-25506-despero_super.png some]] fall into NonhumansLackAttributes areas.

* During Creator/MarvelComics' monster-era, many of the monsters would wear a pair of underpants. They ranged from giant space dragons such as ''Fin Fang Foom'' to radioactive creations. The non-sentient monsters didn't make much sense, considering they shouldn't know enough to have any modesty while the intelligent monsters should be a bit more selective in what they wear. Case in point, the aforementioned Fin Fang Foom, a giant alien dragon that is from such an advanced race that... they are apparently okay with walking around in underwear. Fin Fang Foom occasionally appears without the shorts, and [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Foom%205.JPG may not even need them]]. There is also the question as to how they found [[FridgeLogic giant pairs of underwear.]]

* Another DCUniverse example, ComicBook/TheSpectre, who is a ghost in a green cloak and matching shorts. In ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', he was hinted to only be wearing the cloak, as several of his poses had him holding the cloak as if covering up his lower body.

* Sean and Patrick in ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'' engaged in some ConversationalTroping about this trope in regards to the Wolfman in an earlier scene. Sean points out that the Wolfman had to wear pants because those movies were made in the 40s and they didn't want us to see his..."wolf dork." Yeah.