WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Force #17 by Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara, Guru-eFX & VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now
Thanks to the various futures that have been teased by Marvel over the years, there are multiple young heroes who have the power and influence to shape the Marvel Universe for the next generation. One of the most potentially powerful is Quentin Quire, an Omega-Level telepath and telekinetic mutant. And even though he's come a long way since he started riots at Xavier's Institute, his general attitude hasn't suggested him to be anything remotely resembling a hero.
But thanks to Phoebe Cuckoo, that starts to change in X-Force #17. Now, Quentin Quire is finally reaching the point where he can grow up to be the hero he's always had the potential to become, and he celebrates that change by getting a brand new costume.
Since he debuted in Grant Morrison and Keron Grant's New X-Men #134, Quentin Quire has been through a lot, even when compared to his fellow drama-prone mutant teens. After leading a mutant rebellion New X-Men and losing his corporeal body, Quire returned just in time to be the spark that would lead to the X-Men diving over in-fighting in Schism. He was taken in by Wolverine's X-Men and given a place at his new school, which allowed Quire to grow as a person and actually make connections. He ended up befriending classmates, finding a place of understanding with Wolverine and even learning about his eventual destiny to become the host to the Phoenix Force as a major hero in his own right. In the era of Krakoa, Quire has continued to be a proud hero, albeit one with a terrible tendency to get killed in the field and require resurrection by the Five.
Reflecting on his multiple deaths after another solo mission resulted in his demise, Quire speaks with his girlfriend, Phoebe of the Cuckoo Sisters. Phoebe helps him investigate the circumstances of his most recent death, and even reaches out to him to open up. Phoebe forces Quire to finally confront the fact that he's not the center of the universe -- and that he has the potential to be a great man. He even looks into his past, and how it shaped him into who he is. They agree that Quire needs to finally grow up and start acting like the hero he could become.
To this end, Phoebe suggests the first step is embracing a new look, leaving behind the punk-rock aesthetic he's had for years. While visiting the mutant fashion designer Jumbo Carnation, Phoebe watches as Jumbo designs a new costume for the Omega-Level mutant. After a couple of other attempts, they settle on a distinct black body-suit. Appearing not too dissimilar to the Alex Ross redesigns for the X-Men, Quire's costume makes it clear that it's still his by incorporating bright pink lines, similar to his hairstyle and look of his powers. Quire even had the Five tweak his body upon resurrection, giving him perfect eye-sight and making his glasses a fashion choice, one which Quire now even changes to be a psychic representation of glasses instead of actual frames.
It's also notable that Quire's costume bears some similarity in terms of color to his eventual Phoenix look, which also employed a black leather design. The biggest change is the substitution of fiery red and yellow for Quire's signature pink, though the Phoenix colors likely only come when Quire embraces his role as the Phoenix.
Overall, this is a huge step for the former juvenile delinquent, that moving him closer to becoming the universally important Omega-Level mutant he's always been capable of becoming. This also suggests that Quire might be willing to finally step up and drop his more childish and immature elements, turning into the kind of active-duty field telepath that X-Force truly needs him to be to keep up with threats like XENO and the Orchis Protocol.