# X-Men: Why so many costume changes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337 "2005-02-22T14:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/1 "2005-02-22T14:34:28Z")
I’ve been perusing this detailed site on the X-Men, [http://www.uncannyxmen.net](http://www.uncannyxmen.net), and I noticed that under “Cerebro files: spotlight on” they give details on all the different costumes worn by major characters in the series. I was surprised to see how many there were. Cyclops – perhaps the most straightforward of the X-Men characters – has worn at least **11** different costumes! ([http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/spotlight/showquestion.asp?faq=10&fldAuto=66&page=10](http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/spotlight/showquestion.asp?faq=10&fldAuto=66&page=10)) What’s up with this? Why do they change so much? Isn’t it confusing to long time readers? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/2 "2005-02-22T14:49:20Z")
Short version: The team’s been around for more than 40 years. Fashions change, so costumes that look cool in one era, will…not in another. Some characters change in personality/powers/both over the course of the series. A few even change bodies. Some creators want them in uniforms, others want them in individual costumes, and when the creative team changes from one or the other, they make their changes to them, rather than just bringing up the old version untouched. Some members leave, join other teams, or just have solo adventures, and then rejoin, taking on different costumes/uniforms at the transitions. This accounts for a couple of Scott’s. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/3 "2005-02-22T14:52:16Z")
Add to that every artist’s desire to put their own stamp on the franchise, and you get multiple costumes. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/4 "2005-02-22T16:25:41Z")
I still remember when they briefly changed superman’s costume to [this](http://www.thekryptonian.com/images/costumes/superman-blue.jpg) blue one. The complaint with the old one according to the daily show: not gay enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/5 "2005-02-22T17:14:54Z")
> [@wolf in second hand clothing](#): > > I still remember when they briefly changed superman’s costume to [this](http://www.thekryptonian.com/images/costumes/superman-blue.jpg) blue one. The complaint with the old one according to the daily show: not gay enough. Actually, the observation was made by Norm MacDonald, when he was doing the “Weekend Update” segments on Saturday Night Live. Well, it’s possible the Daily Show made the observation as well. It does seem kind of obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/6 "2005-02-22T20:04:56Z")
Marvel is presently owned by Toy Biz. The more costumes they give Wolverine, the more Wolverine action figures they can sell to compulsive completists! Also, their biggest costume change (4-5 years ago) brought their look in line with the movie, as well as with Grant Morrison’s desire to make them less superhero-y. Morrison’s replacement, Joss Whedon, has a very different sensibility and wants to make them _more_ superhero-y. (Yeah, I know they technically write/wrote different titles, but Whedon’s work feels like a continuation of Morrison’s in a way that Austen and Claremont don’t.) ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/7 "2005-02-22T20:18:23Z")
I think being popular contributes a lot to the various costume changes, particularly during the 90’s (you had the Jim Lee thing, after which costumes went through a number of minor - and usually really ugly - changes, and then you had those [abominations before the Lord](http://www.tslendinga.com/Marvel/xm100.jpg) that everyone wore in the pre-movie costume revamp - I think that’s when they brought back Claremont, but I can’t remember). Give the X-Men all new costumes and it’s a big deal. Give, say, Hawkeye a new costume, and who cares? I think it also partly has to due with the X-Men’s history (and, indeed, survival) being tied to an extremely successful revamp. It makes sense that the team would be kind of revamp-happy. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/8 "2005-02-22T20:24:53Z")
> [@shy guy](#): > > (you had the Jim Lee thing, after which costumes went through a number of minor - and usually really ugly - changes, and then you had those [abominations before the Lord](http://www.tslendinga.com/Marvel/xm100.jpg) that everyone wore in the pre-movie costume revamp - I think that’s when they brought back Claremont, but I can’t remember). Looking at that picture, I have to ask… …why does Storm have purple clevage? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/9 "2005-02-22T21:07:30Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Looking at that picture, I have to ask… > > …why does Storm have purple clevage? Too much California raisin lovin’. Of the major DC characters (major meaning having had one’s own title), I’d guess Supergirl would be in the running for the most costume changes, with the red-hotpants 1970s-80s version as my personal favourite. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/10 "2005-02-22T21:12:48Z")
Apparently, she’s wearing a purple body suit underneath the low-cut thingy. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/11 "2005-02-22T21:27:40Z")
> [@shy guy](#): > > …[abominations before the Lord](http://www.tslendinga.com/Marvel/xm100.jpg) that everyone wore in the pre-movie costume revamp - I think that’s when they brought back Claremont, but I can’t remember). Wow. The only outfit that looks good there is Wolverine’s and that’s probably just because I’m used to it. What year is that from? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/12 "2005-02-22T21:29:26Z")
Well, Psylocke doesn’t look bad either. Just plain. And is that Beast in the lower left corner? What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/13 "2005-02-22T21:39:23Z")
Q:Why do I hate the fact that all the superhero costumes, (besides Spiderman) in the movies are made of leather, instead of lycra, unstable molecules , or dancers tights? A: Because leather won’t stretch as much when leaping from roof top to roof top. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/14 "2005-02-22T22:00:35Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Well, Psylocke doesn’t look bad either. Just plain. And is that Beast in the lower left corner? What the hell? And is that Shadowcat perched on Colossus’ shoulder with the crew cut and faux Wolverine claws? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/15 "2005-02-22T22:09:27Z")
> [@wolf in second hand clothing](#): > > And is that Shadowcat perched on Colossus’ shoulder with the crew cut and faux Wolverine claws? Well, actually it’s Marrow. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/16 "2005-02-22T22:10:37Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > Well, actually it’s Marrow. [http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/custom/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=2147](http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/custom/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=2147) ---
**Author:** ![James\_Westphal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@James\_Westphal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Westphal)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/17 "2005-02-22T22:46:24Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Wow. The only outfit that looks good there is Wolverine’s and that’s probably just because I’m used to it. What year is that from? 1. It was his first with the X-Men. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/18 "2005-02-22T23:21:58Z")
Wait - I thought Wolvie had the brown number back then… ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/19 "2005-02-22T23:41:56Z")
Are you sure? I thought Marrow was a relatively recent character? I definitely don’t remember much (if anything) about her from my Marvel fanboy phase from the late eighties and early to mid-nineties. Or is **Scott\_plaid** mistaken? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337/20 "2005-02-22T23:49:55Z")
[http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/issues/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=1115](http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/issues/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=1115) Damn. It was a good guess based on the costume, and what apear to be bone claws, but no, Aesiron is right. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-why-so-many-costume-changes/291337.md?page=2)