Photos leaked in March from the set of director Simon Kinberg's Dark Phoenix teased new uniforms for the team, but now that the first official trailer has arrived, we’re introduced to them in their full glory. Even though we only see them for a few seconds, they’re shaping up to be the most faithful representation of the iconic costumes from the comic books.
The X-Men’s movie costumes have been a sore subject for a lot of fans, for the better part of two decades. When the first film premiered in 2000, gone were the classic bright yellow-and-blue uniforms, or even the more individualized Spandex, and in their place was the infamous black "biker leather" that muted the color palette of the entire franchise. However, comic book movies have evolved significantly since then. The original style decisions came from a place of trying to appeal to the widest possible audience, and when you have mind-readers, red eye beams, and hairy guys with claws popping out of their hands, perhaps executives thought yellow-and-blue Spandex was a step too far. They even made a snarky joke in that first film at the expense of their more familiar comics costumes, mocking the very idea of wearing color.
RELATED: Dark Phoenix Trailer Breakdown -- Death, Betrayal & X-Men Angst
Comic book movies have, for the most part, ditched the grim-and-gritty in favor of more colorful (and faithful) recreations of the source material. From the downright gaudy red-and-gold chrome of Iron Man, through Captain America’s stars and stripes, and on to the neon-drenched pop art that is Thor: Ragnarok, Hollywood has largely realized that what makes comics great isn’t the realism, it’s the escapism.
In the X-Men franchise, costume design has taken center stage in more ways than one. Since 2011’s X-Men: First Class, the films have been largely period pieces, beginning in the 1960s and moving forward. In the case of Logan and the framing narrative of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the movies have even ventured into the future, but only Deadpool has been set in the present day. One thing all the movies have in common, however, is a much more discerning eye toward remaining faithful to the comics.
Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='The%20New%20Look%20Borrows%20Directly%20From%20X-Men%20Comics']
Have they always succeeded? Not really. While characters like Storm and Jubilee embraced their iconic comic book fashions in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, there was still an abundance of black leather that reduced the X-Men to nothing more than a pastiche of their earlier movie counterparts. While this look isn’t entirely divorced from the comics, which went through a similar obsession with black leather around the time of the first film's release, it looks as though Dark Phoenix is fully embracing its roots -- or at least, some of its more specific roots.
RELATED: Magneto Gains a New Mutant Brotherhood in Dark Phoenix Trailer
In the trailer, we first see the outfits as the X-Men approach a traumatized-looking Jean Grey. In a wide shot that captures the entire team, the uniforms appear to remain black, or at least dark blue, but with a large yellow X emblazoned across the chest. That exact design is lifted almost directly from the pages of Marvel's New X-Men, illustrated by Frank Quitely, which launched in 2011. That period was written by legendary scribe Grant Morrison, who took the franchise in new directions, one of which was involved the redesign of their costumes. The new look eschewed the more traditional superhero attire in favor of black leather, not unlike the movies, but with a comic book twist: a giant, yellow X across the chest.
The cover of New X-Men #114, appropriately enough Morrison and Quitely’s first issue, showed off these new costumes to full effect. Cast in shadow, the X-Men nevertheless stand out from the darkness due to the large yellow X across their torsos, as well as yellow detailing and matching yellow X's on their black gloves. That look, much like the comics themselves, were divisive among fans, and it wasn’t until after that run ended and Marvel brought on Avengers director Joss Whedon in 2004 to write a run on Astonishing X-Men, illustrated by John Cassaday, that the team reverted back to more traditional costumes.
RELATED: Dark Phoenix Trailer Introduces a New Take on Magneto's Genosha
By the look of this first trailer, it seems Dark Phoenix is making every effort to remain more faithful to the comics than any of its predecessors, not least of which in its choice of uniform. While the decision to pull from Morrison and Quitely’s run will no doubt continue to divide fans, like previous costumes in the franchise, the fact that they’re faithful to a comic book series at all is a major step up.
Written and directed by Simon Kinberg, Dark Phoenix stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters and Jessica Chastain. The film opens Feb. 14, 2019.