X-Men Officially Introduces Founding Hero’s New Golden Costume

An iconic X-Men character has a gleaming new costume, as Cyclops swaps his iconic visor for a golden cowl and military brocade. Here’s why Scott Summers looks so different, and the dark implications of his makeover.

Debuting in 1963’s The X-Men #1, Cyclops has had a lot of costume tweaks over the years, but few true redesigns. Most notably, he swapped his blue and yellow for black and red (plus an X-shaped visor) in the Marvel NOW! era, marking his move into a revolutionary mindset.

Now, Cyclops gets an extreme makeover that marks him out as one of Marvel’s greatest tacticians of all time. The only downside? He loses his free will and heroic outlook…

X-Men’s Cyclops Gets Golden Redesign As A Villain

In the recent Marvel Dimensions, Alex Ross, Jason Millet, Josh Johnson and Ariana Maher introduce a twisted version of the X-Men. The story takes place in the In-Verse – a new alternate dimensions where Earth’s greatest heroes are ruthless villains, fighting over territory on the global stage.

One faction of ‘heroes’ are the Exalted – a dark new take on the X-Men where mutants are part of a caste system where more human-looking characters lord over their monstrous lessers (the ‘Branded.’) The Exalted signal their status with garish golden costumes, while the Branded wear golden chains and muzzles.

In-Verse Cyclops wears Victorian military clothing and a golden cowl that covers his hair, as well as sporting a handlebar mustache. Scott’s powers remain the same, as is shown when Magneto (in this world the heroic Metallurgist) tears off his helmet and affixes it to Xavier’s head, sending Scott’s optic blasts wild and cutting off his nemesis’ telepathy.

It’s interesting to see Cyclops redesigned as an out-and-out villain, as well as for the creative team to tie his villainy to his role as the team’s tactician, painting him as an upper-class colonialist.

Cyclops’ Dark Reflection Corrupts His Connection To Xavier

One of the most interesting parts of Cyclops’ In-Verse redesign is that he’s being directly controlled by Xavier. The story eventually reveals that the gold worn by the Exalted brings them under Xavier’s control, forcing them to adhere to his will. This is a dark reversal of Xavier taking in and inspiring young heroes, and one that Marvel’s mainstream has explored.

Several stories over the last few decades have seen Cyclops reckon with Xavier’s role in his life – someone who saved him from being alone in the world and gave him a family, but also someone who asked him to dedicate their life to his cause. The Krakoan Era in particular saw the two violently part ways, as Xavier betrayed Cyclops and shot his daughter Rachel as part of a plan to appease the anti-mutant Orchis.

While this story has since been retconned, the theme of Xavier being willing to sacrifice Cyclops’ life and happiness remains intact, and the two remain at odds in modern stories (albeit Xavier has left Earth for adventures in space.) Having Xavier directly control Cyclops with the apparent prestige of a golden costume is a dark reimagining of how a surrogate father drafted a traumatized kid to fight for his dream.

The In-Verse X-Men Need Their Own Series

Depicting a huge cross-section of the In-Verse, Marvel Dimensions is only able to offer a snapshot of each franchise. There’s an immense amount of potential in turning the X-Men‘s thematic interest in discrimination and belonging inwards, especially by introducing gold as a metaphor for class, wealth and cultural power.

Hopefully, Marvel revisits the In-Verse for a series of specials focusing on these fascinating new versions of its biggest heroes, given how much potential these evil X-Men have for future stories.

Marvel Dimensions is available now from Marvel Comics.

Movie(s)

X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

TV Show(s)

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)

Video Game(s)

X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)

First Film

X-Men (2000)

Character(s)

Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23

Comic Release Date

213035,212968