Mike Carey's 2011 Age of X event took place during his run doing double duty on X-Men (then called X-Men: Legacy) and New Mutants. It was a spiritual successor, but not a sequel, to Age of Apocalypse and saw Moira MacTaggert greater a new reality where the Earth's mutant population has been decimated.
Mutant leader Magneto seeks to prevent the extinction of their species, but their one true hope is her son, Legion. Although the memories of these events were wiped from the character's minds, the characters and their designs still live in ours, for good and for ill.
10 BEST: Magneto
In the Age of X, Magneto acts as a savior to his people in this story, but the pure white reminds us of the Magneto we know outside of the Age of X. He is someone who believes deeply in the purity of the mutant species. His helmet is much the same, but with an added fin and nose guard, evoking classic Greek armor.
This is a helmet made for battle, not for show. This design is so strong, so bold, so perfectly in line with the character that All-White Everything Magneto was reborn in 2013 by Brian Bendis and Chris Bachalo in All-New Marvel Now! and in 2019 by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz in House of X and Powers of X.
9 WORST: Basilisk
In the Age of X, Scott Summers accidentally killed his parents during a trip to the movies and was experimented on while in prison, becoming Basilisk. A basilisk is a legendary reptilian creature whose gaze could kill.
While this costume design is pretty darn mean-looking, it does not hint at any of the costume design elements known to readers from any other version of Cyclops and does not invoke any of the depictions of basilisk throughout history. It seems more like a re-purposed character design than one built from the ground up, albeit a very good re-purposed design.
8 BEST: Revenant
For most of Age of X, we have no idea who Revenant is. However, given her firey glow, red hair and the aviary insignia on her chest, it's a pretty short list.
This version of Rachel Summers is one of the best ever. It uses the fire of the Phoenix Force to create an ember-like glow instead of the flickering flames of Jean Grey's Dark Phoenix. It is just as powerful and effective but indicates depth and tranquility appropriate to a hero.
7 WORST: Namor
Namor's Age of X costume in fails for two reasons. First, because it doesn't tell us anything about this version of the character. There's nothing at all in the design to show that this Namor is in any way different from Earth 616's version.
Second, because it doesn't work particularly well as a redesign of Earth 616's Namor, either. He's got a clamshell belt buckle and some scaly pants. This definitely looks and feels like Namor, but is more like a bunt than a big swing at one of Marvel's oldest heroes.
6 BEST: Dazzler
Although Dazzler is still a musician in the Age of X, it is very clear that disco is dead. From the look of her, it's not entirely clear that pop music survived at all. Dazzler's hair is short and spikey, her arms and legs are covered in something that resembles Thor's mail.
This Dazzler is way more heavy metal than the character we know in the regular Marvel Universe, but the white and turquoise stars over her chest and eye may be a nod to the lively Allison Blaire that we never got to see in the Age of X.
5 WORST: Colossus
Much like Namor, the Age of X Colossus design is little more than another look at the character we already know. With Namor, however, we got a passable version of that character.
Here, fans got Colossus with some spikes on his shoulders and something around his waist that is a cross between a weight lifting belt, a back brace and maternity pants. As we saw in Mike Hawthorne's wonderful redesign of Colossus for Age of X-Man, a few small changes can add new dimensions to an old favorite.
4 BEST: Eclipse
In the Age of X, Dani Moonstar runs her own X-Force-like team of stone-cold killers, called Moonstar's Cadre. Among them, is Roberto DeCosta. Of course, we know him as Sunspot, but in the Age of X, darkness has descended. Accordingly, Sunspot has been blotted out, and only Eclipse remains.
Eclipse is totally black. No shadows, muscles or designs can be seen, but bright purple energy appears to be bursting from within him, like the ring of light around an eclipse. This is a great example of how the costume reminds us of the character we know but puts him in a new context.
3 WORST: Jubilee
Jubilee's costume in Age of X makes the naughty list because of the costume dimmer switch. This costume incorporates Jubilee's two most prominent costume features - her pink glasses and yellow jacket, but totally neutralizes them.
The colors are just too muted, serving to wash her out and make her unrecognizable rather than helping us recognize her as Jubilee, but in some new, darker circumstance.
2 BEST: Captain America
Although Age of X was an X-Men event, some of the Marvel Universe's heavy hitters made an appearance. Among them was Captain America, whose costume design breathed futuristic new life into the character while maintaining it's classic feel.
Cap's military-style helmet is intact, as well as the star on his chest and his famous shield, but instead of the shield being circled by the stripes of the American flag, it's surrounded by a blue forcefield, indicating some technological advancement in the Age of X. The blue, black and grey camouflage on Cap's shoulders is a simple, sensible and beautiful touch.
1 WORST: Gambit
If Jubilee's costume suffered because it was turned down too low, Gambit's costume was turned all the way off. With the exception of his armband and blue headband, Gambit's costume is essentially non-existent. The costume gives no insight into the character's powers, personality or circumstances.
It doesn't play on or subvert our pre-existing relationship with the character. Gambit looks like an artist's anatomy model, which is made out of wire and charmless gray plastic and intended to sit on an artist's desk serving only as a reference.