The initial trailer for Avengers: Doomsday didn’t generate much excitement, but recent news about a trailer focusing on the X-Men has changed things. It’s been known since March 2025 that the X-Men would be included in the film, with seven cast members from the 20th Century Fox movies set to appear. However, fans were curious if these returning characters would wear their classic black leather outfits, or if Marvel Studios would opt for costumes more closely resembling those from the comics, similar to what they did with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in Deadpool and Wolverine.
Okay, so the trailer for Avengers: Doomsday leaked, and honestly, I’m buzzing about it! The biggest thing for me? Cyclops – James Marsden – is rocking a perfect blue suit straight out of the 90s X-Men comics and X-Men: The Animated Series! As a longtime fan, it’s everything I’ve wanted to see him in. But it does make me wonder… if Marvel’s going with these classic looks for Doomsday, what does that mean for the X-Men reboot they’ve been hinting at? I’m worried this is just a quick win for nostalgia now, and it might mess up the bigger picture for the X-Men’s future in the MCU. Is this short-term fan service going to hurt the long-term plans?
Why The X-Men Are Getting Comic-Accurate Costumes Now (And Why That’s a Problem for the MCU)
Walt Disney Pictures
Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, began his career working on the first X-Men movie – he even secretly brought Hugh Jackman X-Men comics onto the set when the director had banned them! This shows how much he appreciates the original X-Men actors. That’s why he’s including them in Avengers: Doomsday and giving them the classic costumes. It’s a way to let the actors most fans identify with these characters finally have the opportunity to portray them accurately, with costumes that match the comics. After over 25 years, fans are finally getting the X-Men they’ve always wanted to see.
If we want to see the classic X-Men team up with the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wouldn’t it be more impactful if they wore their famous black leather outfits?
Designing costumes that truly match the X-Men’s comic book appearances presents a challenge for the filmmakers rebooting the franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A major draw for this new reboot would be finally giving fans the costumes they’ve always wanted – ones that are faithful to the comics, unlike previous movie adaptations.
With the X-Men already appearing in comic-accurate costumes in other films, what does this mean for the new X-Men team expected to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Secret Wars? Unlike the long wait for the Fantastic Four, a new X-Men project is currently in the works. Will Marvel quickly introduce the MCU’s Cyclops wearing the same iconic 1990s suit James Marsden famously wore? The MCU X-Men might feel less fresh so soon after the previous team appeared in Avengers: Doomsday, and removing their distinctive look could make their eventual debut feel less impactful.
History of the X-Men’s Black Leather Costumes
20th Century Pictures
When the first X-Men movie came out in 2000, brightly colored superhero costumes seemed outdated and reminiscent of films considered silly, like Batman & Robin and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Taking some inspiration from The Matrix, the X-Men appeared in black leather instead of their traditional yellow and blue suits. The movie even playfully acknowledged the classic uniforms—and fan concerns about the change—with a line from Cyclops: “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?”
The X-Men movies were a big success, playing a key role in launching the modern superhero film boom. However, fans often complained that the costumes in the films didn’t match the classic look from the comics. Interestingly, the movies did influence the costumes seen in later comic book iterations like New X-Men and Ultimate X-Men. While X-Men: First Class briefly featured the traditional blue and yellow suits while still maintaining a practical feel, X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse switched to grey armor instead of the classic black leather. Apocalypse ended with a hint of the iconic comic book costumes, but by Dark Phoenix, the costumes looked noticeably low-budget and cheap.
Fans have long criticized the black leather costumes used in the 20th Century Fox X-Men films, and Marvel Studios has often pointed to this as a contrast to their own films. While characters like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America appeared on screen looking just like their comic book versions, the X-Men movies seemed stuck in an older style of superhero filmmaking. X-Men ’97 cleverly acknowledged this with a joke where Cyclops asks Cable, before putting on their suits, “What did you expect, black leather?” A major draw of Deadpool & Wolverine was the anticipation of seeing Hugh Jackman finally wear the classic Wolverine costume after appearing in nine films. Deadpool even quips about a Wolverine variant, “And bonus, he’s actually wearing a costume like he’s not embarrassed to be in a superhero movie for once.”
The MCU X-Men Will Need to Stand Out Even More
Though giving the older X-Men films’ costumes comic-book accuracy could overshadow the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot, it’s not necessarily a negative thing. In fact, moving away from the familiar look fans have with the original X-Men characters might actually free the MCU to create a fresh take and explore different versions of the heroes from the comics.
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When it comes to Cyclops’ costume in the MCU, there are many great options inspired by the comics. They could use the design from Astonishing X-Men by John Cassaday, or the white outfits with colored accents from Stuart Immonen’s All-New X-Men run – Cyclops’ version featured black and blue. For a bolder choice, Marvel could even go with the X-Men’s striking looks from the Krakoan era, like those worn at the Hellfire Gala. There’s a wealth of comic book designs to choose from, and fans should realize that “comic-accurate” doesn’t necessarily mean just one specific look.
One of the biggest challenges for the upcoming X-Men movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be finding a fresh angle. The MCU often succeeds by introducing lesser-known characters, giving audiences their first experience with them. But when bringing established characters like The Hulk, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and Blade into the MCU, Marvel needs to differentiate its versions from previous adaptations. They did this by keeping Spider-Man’s Peter Parker in high school and giving the Fantastic Four a retro 1960s vibe. Marvel has been working for six years to find a unique approach for the Blade movie, and they’ll face a similar task with the X-Men.
By not immediately using the iconic costumes from the X-Men comics, Marvel Studios is making things even harder for itself. It seems this decision was made simply to give longtime fans a quick nod to the original films, but at the cost of what made those X-Men movies unique.
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2026-01-07 01:19