Excitement is building for Avengers: Doomsday, a film that promises to give us the X-Men story we’ve been wanting for 25 years. Fox’s X-Men movies are best seen as trailblazers, releasing long before the superhero boom that really began with the launch of the MCU in 2008. It’s hard for modern viewers to understand, but these released at a time when superhero films were seen as a gamble, and after decades of Marvel trying to persuade studios to give their characters a chance. That’s why the X-Men movies are so different to what we’re used to now.
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It’s visible as soon as you look at the X-Men outfits in 2000. Fox clearly didn’t believe viewers were ready for superhero costumes, and the film even called the comics out in one scene where Wolverine expressed dissatisfaction with the black leather he was given to wear. “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?” Cyclops quipped, a moment of humor that became symbolic of Fox’s approach to the superhero blockbusters. But now, finally, Avengers: Doomsday is correcting that joke.
Avengers: Doomsday is Giving Us Comic-Book-Accurate Superhero Costumes At Last
The third (X-Men-specific) trailer for Avengers: Doomsday has leaked, and it features the return of James Marsden’s Cyclops. This particular hero was poorly handled by Fox (and abruptly killed off in X-Men: The Last Stand so that film could focus on Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine). It is, therefore, thrilling to see the X-Men’s greatest leader given a focus in the upcoming movie’s marketing. Even better, though, Cyclops isn’t wearing black leathers anymore. He’s dressed in what is clearly the iconic ’90s Blue Team outfit.
Created by Jim Lee, this was a blue bodysuit with yellow straps, belt, and briefs. It’s generally seen as one of Cyclops’ best costumes, popularized through the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series and recently resurfacing courtesy of X-Men ’97. Marvel’s already given audiences a look at Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in a comic-book-accurate costume back in Deadpool & Wolverine, but this is something nobody really expected to see in Doomsday. Marvel is bringing the X-Men back in Doomsday, but the MCU is already handling them so much better than Fox.
Cyclops’ Costume Has Major Implications for the MCU
Looking beyond Avengers: Doomsday, though, this classic Cyclops costume is particularly interesting because there’s a sense in which Marvel is getting it out of the way. Doomsday is essentially a celebration of over 25 years of Marvel movies, which explains why Marsden and other X-Men actors are returning. After that, the MCU timeline is now set to be rebooted with mutants a part of it, meaning the X-Men are about to become bigger than ever before, part of a shared universe at last. It’s reasonable to assume Cyclops will be part of that.
But if Marvel is using the iconic Jim Lee costume in Doomsday, then it’s reasonable to assume the main MCU Cyclops will have a very different look (if only because Marvel won’t miss merchandise opportunities). That’s pleasing, because it implies the MCU’s X-Men won’t just be nostalgia plays, but will instead be something fresh and different. It will be exciting to see what happens when Marvel cast a new Cyclops for the MCU, and what costume the new actor wears.
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