SPOTLIGHT COSTUMES AND CUSTOM TAILORING

Classification: Clothing store

Creator: Unrevealed

Users/Possessors: Melvin Potter (Gladiator), Li Ling Potter owners; unnamed receptionist
Clients include Luke Cage, Daredevil, Kingpin, Foggy Nelson, Thunderstrike, White Tiger

Aliases: Potter's Costumes

First Appearance: Daredevil I#18 (July, 1966)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: Spotlight Costumes specializes in designing costumes on order, and can have costumes completed for their customers even overnight.

History: (Daredevil I#18)- Melvin Potter was running his costume shop when he was visited by Foggy Nelson, who wanted a Daredevil costume to use in a scheme to impress Karen Page. Potter convinced Nelson that having someone dressed up as a villain to fight him would impress her even more, and Nelson agreed, unaware that Potter was mentally unstable, and had designed for himself the costumed identity of the Gladiator. The Gladiator was ultimately defeated by the real Daredevil.

(Daredevil II#67 (fb) ) - Bont visited Potter at his store and demanded that he suit up again to battle Daredevil. (Daredevil Annual I#1) - Gladiator flew to the states, donning his new costume in his old costume shop, and joined with Leap-Frog, Electro, Matador, and Stilt-Man.

(Daredevil I#186)- On the road to recovery, Potter was visited in his shop by Turk Barrett, who wanted him to become his partner, but he turned Turk down.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#77)- After a gang of criminals hid out inside of Spotlight Costumes, Potter was forced by them to don his Gladiator costume to help them evade the police. Although his mental state deteriorated after being wounded, resulting in him battling Spider-Man, Spider-Man managed to appeal to his sense of reason.

(Daredevil I#230-231)- Potter was forced by the Kingpin to design for him another Daredevil costume to be worn by one of his agents in order to discredit the real Daredevil.

(Amazing Spider-Man I#287)- After the Kingpin vanished from New York, resulting in a crime wave, Daredevil had Potter design for him a Kingpin costume in order to trick the criminals vying for power that he had returned.

(Thor I#433)- After being granted the power of Thor by Asgard, Eric Masterson decided that he needed a new look, drafted up a new design, and sent it to Spotlight Costumes under Thor's alias of "Sigurd Jarlson". Their chief tailor put the order together overnight, and Masterson used the costume they designed for him constantly over the rest of his career as Thor.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#98)- An unnamed young man visited Spotlight Costumes, hoping to have Potter design a Gladiator costume for him, apparently unaware that Potter was the real Gladiator. Potter donned his Gladiator costume again in order to persuade the man from becoming a costumed villain.

(Thunderstrike#1)- After being granted the mace Thunderstrike, Masterson continued to wear Thor's costume and was often confused with the Thunder God. After loosing to Bloodaxe, Masterson decided to change his look. He went to Spotlight Costumes with a few designs and got after a few changes to those designs his new costume.

(Daredevil II#69 (fb)) - Bont, high on MGH, approached Potter in his costume shop once again.

(White Tiger#1 (fb) - BTS) - Li Ling continued the shop with the help of SHIELD. She was contacted by Daredevil (Danny Rand) to design a costume for the new White Tiger (Angela Del Toro).

(White Tiger#1) - At the shop White Tiger tried on her new costume, while Spider-Man, who was sent by Luke Cage, and Black Widow (Romanova) watched her. The present heroes approved of White Tiger's costume. Li Ling threatened Spider-Man to sew the legs of Cage's pants if he didn't stop his remarks about White Tiger's costume.

Comments: Created by Dennis O'Neil, Stan Lee, John Romita Sr. and Frank Giacoia.

by Prime Eternal

In the novel Daredevil: Predator's Smile Potter talked to Daredevil at Spotlight Costumes. Thanks to Per Degaton for the info.