Most characters who are translated into an action figure have an iconic “standard” outfit that they’re identified with. Superman has the classic blue-and-red suit; He-Man has the gray harness and brown furry underwear; Hellboy has his trenchcoat.

But in order to sell more toys, toy companies will often sell the same character in multiple outfits. How good these variants are often depends on whether or not they have any sort of background in the source material. I have no problem with Spider-man 2099 or Recovery Suit Superman or a few different Luke Skywalkers in his various different outfits through the Star Wars films; what I hate are pointless things like Street Strike Batman or Beach Spider-man.

Collectors have generally referred to figures in non-iconic outfits by a variety of terms. Perhaps the most common is “variant,” but this can be confusing because “variant” is also consistently used to refer to a minor difference in a single figure (e.g., a different paint color on a jacket, an alternate head sculpt, or some sort of factory error). Unfortunately, my hunch is that “variant” has become the standard term for both concepts and the latter meaning will be difficult to pry out of the collector lexicon.

I once tried out the term “variation,” but that just conjures up too many images of willowy piano sonatas. So I’ve finally settled on the term “guise” to describe any outfit for a figure that’s not their iconic look. This covers everything from Battle Armor He-Man to Arctic Batman. I’m sure some people will refuse to ever use this term, which is fine – some people often seem to be very resistant to others’ efforts at coining terms.

I fully admit this is my issue, and this is how I’m dealing with it.