Sam Guthrie, AKA Cannonball, has been on one of the most dynamic change arcs in Marvel Comics. This original member of the New Mutants grew from a teenage student to a member of the X-Men, leader of X-Force, and an Avenger. These days, Sam is back hanging out with the New Mutants, although in outer space. All of those varying roles mean different costumes, and Cannonball's looks have been unique.
Some elements carry over from team to team and era to era, which only makes sense given anybody who can propel themselves like a rocket has practical needs to consider. Here is every Cannonball costume, ranked.
10 The New Mutants Movie
None of the characters in the long-delayed The New Mutants movie wear superhero costumes as such. Sam Guthrie's look in the movie consists of street clothes, the most distinguishing aspect of which is his red baseball cap. The lack of crazy, colorful costumes is a different take for the now-concluded X-Men Fox franchise, and while it may be disappointing for fans of The New Mutants comics, it's not too bad. His powers work to visually distinguish him, with a purple-ish glow that is different from the orange flame of the comics.
9 Graduating Costume
At a certain point in the original run of The New Mutants during the 80s, the team graduated from Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters and left their classic yellow and black training costumes behind. Each got a new, distinctive one, and Cannonball's might have been the most distinctive. He adopted a light-purple jumpsuit with white gloves and boots, and a big white belt with a red X buckle. The best part was his helmet, which looked a lot like the original Robocop helmet, and also like the unique helmet of 80s G.I. Joe laser trooper, Sci-Fi.
8 Hellion
The 80s were complicated. No doubt about it. The New Mutants had wildly different guardians and mentors - Professor X, Magneto, and for a time, Emma Frost. In the aftermath of the Secret Wars event, the team fell under the stewardship of the White Queen and adopted the costumes of the Hellions, footsoldiers of the Hellfire Club. This amazingly 80s costume consisted of a tight, v-necked suit in bright and loud neon magenta with a white triangle symbol over the heart. Sam also briefly wore the basic blue and red Hellion outfit.
7 X-Men
In the late 90s, Cannonball became one of the few New Mutants students to become a full-fledged member of the X-Men. This outfit echoed pretty strongly that of Cable's blue and yellow costume of the same era, which in turn echoed that of his father's, Cyclops.
This costume consisted of a basic blue suit with yellow trunks, similar to the standard X-Men team suit, along with yellow gloves and boots. A yellow harness topped it all of, with a red X-symbol across his chest.
6 Age of Apocalypse
Pretty much the entire X-Men universe got a makeover for the massive Age of Apocalypse event in the mid-90s, and Cannonball was no exception. Sam Guthrie's circumstances changed significantly in this dark, alternate future, becoming a member of Mr. Sinister's Elite Mutant Force. His costume changed correspondingly. A thin black domino mask served as a disguise, while his costume featured heavy padding around the torso and shoulders, all belted to a simple black bodysuit. All that padding didn't help Evil Sam, as the X-Men eventually killed him.
5 Avengers
Good friends, Sunspot and Cannonball are never far apart, whether that's on the New Mutants, X-Force, or eventually, the Avengers. The two joined up in the aftermath of the disastrous Avengers vs. X-Men crossover, working with Captain America to try and improve human and mutant relations. His new yellow and black costume echoed elements of his original New Mutants look, but updated with a stylized imprint of a fireball on his chest. The black undersuit recalled his New X-Men-era outfit with his distinctive lines.
4 X-Force
Cannonball launched into the 90s with a dramatic makeover. When superstar artist Rob Liefeld took over The New Mutants and helped transform it into X-Force, everyone got new duds. Cannonball got the now-classic skullcap and goggles, forecasting many of his later looks. Less successful, and permanent, was his padded white and purple suit. The clash of colors continued with brown gloves and boots, and brown shoulder pads, which were surprisingly modest for the era. This costume only lasted a brief time before being destroyed.
3 Post-Cable X-Force
The early years of X-Force saw a lot of tumult, especially within the ranks of the team. When Cable apparently died, the team changed costumes again. Cannonball kept the basic idea of his first X-Force costume, but otherwise, it was completely different. The skullcap and goggles stayed put, but the white and purple color scheme fell away in favor of a blue and yellow one. The costume became much more padded, perhaps trying to account for the enormous aerodynamic forces Cannonball endured. He also got a lot more pouches than he had before, but then everybody did. It was a pouchy kind of decade.
2 U.S. Avengers
Cannonball's most recent gig has been as a member of the U.S. Avengers. This costume finally leverages the character's passing similarity to the classic Golden Age hero, The Rocketeer.
The goggles, one of his key visual elements since his X-Force redesign in the 90s (more on that in a moment) become the foundation for a look that incorporates a blue bomber jacket with a furred collar (because it's cold up there at altitude). Under the bomber jacket, he wears a blue shirt with a stylized yellow 'C' on the chest.
1 Classic
Many times, the first is still the best. That's true of Cannonball. His most recent costumes do a great job of realizing later elements like the Rocketeer theme, but his original New Mutants look remains the standard. Perhaps it's because it's so synonymous with the X-Men themselves. The yellow and gold costume acted as the team's training uniform (worn by Kitty Pryde when she first started) and thanks to the blue and yellow team uniform that emerged later, this basic look just says X-Men, and in this case, Cannonball.