X-Men Officially Introduces Classic Hero’s Bold New Costume
Marvel is giving a classic X-Men hero a surprising new costume, contradicting earlier hints that they’d be carrying forward a recent reinvention indefinitely. Here’s what you need to know.
This week, Marvel will launch Maximum X-Men, introducing a new mutant team led by Storm. Unlike other X-Men teams, this roster are specifically standing in for the Avengers, following the team’s dissolution in the recent Avengers Armageddon event.
The high-powered team will act as Earth’s primary superhuman defenders, with their first adventure pitting them against an invasion from the Negative Zone led by the ultra-powerful villain Annihilus. And one of their number will do so with a brand-new costume…
Colossus Debuts Minimal Costume As An ‘Avenger’
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In a recent preview of Maximum X-Men – from Christopher Yost, Tony S. Daniel, Mark Morales, Leonardo Paciarotti and Clayton Cowles – the team are shown taking on the bug soldiers of Annihilus. In the preview, longtime member Colossus cannons through a towering bug, showcasing his new costume.
The new costume is made up of red bracers, trunks and boots, as well as a belt with the X-Men’s ‘X’ logo… and that’s it. Colossus’ new look strips him down to absolute basics, taking the opportunity to showcase his steel muscles. And while it may look like Colossus’ classic costume was just torn in the fighting, Tony S. Daniel and Jay David Ramos’ cover art for the first two issues confirm it’s his ongoing look.
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Colossus’ costumes have always shown a lot of skin – understandable for a character whose primary power is transforming his skin into metal – however this is the most extreme yet. It’s an unusual choice given that teammates Justice, Firestar and Betsy Braddock are all wearing new, matching outfits for the new series.
Colossus’ New Costume Is a Surprise for X-Force Fans
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Something else which makes Colossus’ costume noteworthy is that it deviates from his recent persona change into ‘Tank.’ 2024’s X-Force (by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To) saw Colossus adopt a new secret identity, wearing red armor and wielding hard-light weaponry.
2025’s X-Men: Hellfire Vigil saw Colossus tell his sister Magik that he’d be keeping the armor, citing the gloves’ ability to generate weaponry and the helmet’s ability to block telepathy, stating, “being constantly mind-controlled was a problem.” It will be interesting to see whether Maximum X-Men explains his decision to ditch the advantageous armor after saying this, especially to swap it out for what’s essentially a bathing suit.
While Colossus Gets a New Costume, Psylocke Gets a New Name
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While Colossus is getting a new look for Maximum X-Men, teammate Betsy Braddock is going one better. While she’ll be getting a new look in a matching costume, she’s also taking on the new codename ‘Butterfly.’ This appears to be a permanent change for the character, who lost her prior ‘Psylocke’ codename in 2019.
Over the decades, the codename has become associated with the design of the mutant ninja Kwannon, whose body Betsy possessed for the majority of her X-Men adventures. After Kwannon reclaimed her body, she kept the name, followed by a period of Betsy acting as the new Captain Britain.
With that moniker now gone, she needs a new permanent codename, with ‘Butterfly’ referring to the psionic signature of her telepathy, which often surrounds Betsy’s face when she uses her powers.
On top of Betsy’s new name and Colossus’ new costume, the mutant hero Justice will join the X-Men for the first time, all contributing to Maximum X-Men starting a bona fide new era for Marvel’s mutant heroes.
Maximum X-Men is coming December 2 from Marvel Comics.
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