Summary
- The X-Men face a new threat from the Fourth School, creating human-mutant-AI hybrids for their own agenda.
- X-Men break tradition by ditching their iconic matching uniforms for individualized costumes in “From the Ashes” era.
- Marvel’s new approach to X-Men’s individual style in comics may hint at how they’ll be portrayed in future MCU films.
The new era of the X-Men has officially arrived, and the mutant heroes are back with a vengeance the likes of which even the Avengers couldn’t fathom. Orchis is gone, but in its place has come an all-new threat to mutantkind, one which the X-Men are wasting no time in dismantling. And while they’re doing so, the mutant team is showing off their all-new costumes, which are actually reminiscent of the Avengers in one specific way, breaking a long-standing X-Men franchise tradition.
In X-Men #1 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, the X-Men have established a new base in Alaska, and are even introducing it to local law enforcement for the sake of total transparency with their new human neighbors. At the same time, the X-Men – consisting of Cyclops, Psylocke, Kid Omega, Temper, Magik, and Juggernaut – are storming a base that formerly belonged to Orchis, but is now being run by the new villainous organization Orchis gave life to: the Fourth School.
The Fourth School is trying to create the perfect species by merging human, mutant, and AI into individual people. Upon storming the facility, the X-Men find six ‘mutants’ being used as living weapons by the Fourth School. While the X-Men were successful in winning the day, the Fourth School is far from defeated, marking this new threat as the main antagonist of the X-Men’s ‘From the Ashes’ era. However, what’s arguably more stunning than the threat is how the X-Men looked while battling it, as the team’s appearance is decidedly different from previous incarnations: the X-Men aren’t wearing a uniform.
The X-Men Aren’t Wearing Their Famous Matching Uniforms, Making Them More Like the Avengers
When the X-Men were first introduced in Marvel Comics, they famously wore a single uniform, one that represented their unity as X-Men. This would be seen again in the ‘90s, when the X-Men wore blue and gold suits, and while some looked a bit different, they all adhered to that color scheme. The trend then continued in the early 2000s, both in New X-Men and Ultimate X-Men, which saw the mutant team sporting darker tones (with black replacing the blue of their original color scheme), but a single uniform all the same.
While the X-Men have deviated from this trend before in the past (Giant-Size X-Men, the Krakoan Era), they’ve still famously worn uniforms more often than not, making it all the more noteworthy that the team has seemingly abandoned that iconic tradition in From the Ashes, especially given how that may symbolize how broken down the links between mutants are following the Fall of X. More than that, the X-Men’s decision to do away with uniforms in lieu of individual style – which are all based on their unique powers – is reminiscent of the Avengers, who have famously never worn a uniform.
The X-Men’s New Look May Pave the Way for The Team’s MCU Appearance
The reason the Avengers never had a uniform was that each major member had their own comic book series. The likes of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor had to stand on their own when they weren’t coming together as a team. In contrast, the likes of Cyclops, Beast, and Jean Grey aren’t standalone characters, they are popular because they’re X-Men, and their uniforms usually reflect that. But now, it seems Marvel wants these characters to shine as individuals. Could that be a tease for what fans should expect from the X-Men in the MCU?
When the X-Men finally crossover full-time into the MCU, perhaps Marvel will want to highlight some of the more popular members in their own movies/shows, all leading into X-Men ‘event’ films. That’s what the MCU did with the Avengers, and given the focus on individual style in X-Men’s new era, it’s possible they could get that same treatment. While the nature of their MCU debut remains to be seen, what is currently blatantly obvious are the X-Men’s new costumes, ones which break a franchise tradition.
X-Men #1 by Marvel Comics is available now.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.