x-men's jean grey marvel girl
The X-Men franchise is approaching the 60th anniversary of its first big costume change, which proved to be a milestone for Marvel's mutant heroes. Let's take a closer look at this defining moment in X-history; how it happened, why it happened, and what it meant for the future of mutantkind.
The X-Men #39 was written by Roy Thomas, with art by Don Heck. At the end of the issue, Marvel introduced personalized superhero gear from the original five X-Men. In the story, the slick new costumes were designed by Jean Grey. Behind-the-scenes, it was the result of Marvel realizing the one thing Avengers had that X-Men was missing: some style. X-Men's Late '60s Costume Change Was A Pivotal Moment Of Growth For The Fledgling Franchise The X-Men #39; Written By Roy Thomas; Art By Don Heck; Published In October 1967 In September 1967, Marvel's X-Men celebrated its fourth anniversary. At the time, it wasn't a sure thing that the series would survive. In fact, just three years later, X-Men was canceled. So, it's fair to say that in fall '67, Marvel was looking for ways to reinvigorate its mutant heroes. It started with a classic move: a costume change. ScreenRant.com | X Cerebro Files Personality Quiz ScreenRant/ Movies/ X-Men/ Personality Quiz Marvel · Mutant Profile Which X-Men Character Are You? “Mutation: it is the key to our evolution.” 🐺 Wolverine The Loner 🧠 Professor X The Visionary 🧲 Magneto The Survivor ACTIVATE CEREBRO → QUESTION 1 / 8PERSONALITY 01 Humans discover your mutant abilities. What do you do? ADisappear. Go off the grid before anyone can come after me — I don’t owe them an explanation BReach out calmly and try to have a dialogue — fear comes from misunderstanding, and I can help bridge that gap CMake a show of strength — they need to understand that mutants will not be hunted or controlled, ever NEXT → QUESTION 2 / 8INSTINCTS 02 Anti-mutant protesters surround a school full of young mutants. What’s your first move? AGet between the kids and the mob. If anyone raises a hand, they answer to me BAddress the crowd telepathically or publicly — show them the children are just scared kids, not threats CEvacuate the children to safety, then make the protesters deeply regret their choices NEXT → QUESTION 3 / 8TEAMWORK 03 A team of mutants needs a leader for a dangerous mission. What role do you naturally fall into? AI work alone, but I’ll take point — someone’s gotta make sure nobody gets killed BI coordinate the team, play to each person’s strengths, and keep morale steady CI lead from the front — my vision, my plan, my responsibility if it fails NEXT → QUESTION 4 / 8CONFLICT 04 A powerful mutant threatens innocent humans. How do you respond? APut them down fast — talk later. Innocent people don’t have time for a debate BTry to reach them mentally — understand why they’re doing this and find a peaceful resolution COffer them a place at my side — their power is wasted on chaos when it could serve a greater cause NEXT → QUESTION 5 / 8TRUST 05 A human politician offers to champion mutant rights — but has a shady past. What do you do? AGive them a chance — people can change, and this alliance could mean real progress for coexistence BI don’t trust politicians. Watch them closely, and the second they betray us, I’ll be right there CUse them — let them think they’re in charge while I control the narrative from behind the scenes NEXT → QUESTION 6 / 8WEAKNESS 06 What’s your biggest flaw? AI push people away — I’d rather be alone than risk losing someone I care about BI’m too idealistic — I keep believing in people even when the evidence says I shouldn’t CMy anger — once I commit to a path, I’ll burn everything down before I admit I was wrong NEXT → QUESTION 7 / 8APPROACH 07 Sentinels are hunting mutants in your city. What’s your move? AHunt the hunters — tear them apart before they find anyone else BCoordinate an underground network to hide and protect every mutant in the area CSeize control of the Sentinels — turn the weapons of oppression into instruments of liberation NEXT → QUESTION 8 / 8VALUES 08 What do you believe about coexistence between humans and mutants? ACoexistence is a fantasy. Humans will always fear what they can’t control — mutants must secure their own future BI don’t care about the big picture — I protect the people I care about, and everyone else can sort themselves out CIt’s possible and worth fighting for — the dream of a world where humans and mutants live in peace is everything REVEAL MY MUTANT IDENTITY → Cerebro Scan Complete Your X-Men Identity 🐺 Wolverine “I’m the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn’t very nice.” You’re the fierce loner who acts first and philosophises later — but beneath that adamantium-plated exterior beats a heart that cares far more than you’d ever admit. You’ve been burned enough times to distrust the world, so you keep people at arm’s length, yet you’d throw yourself into any fight to protect the ones who slip past your defences. You don’t need a cause or a manifesto — you just need someone worth fighting for. Like Logan, your greatest strength isn’t your claws or your healing factor; it’s the stubborn refusal to let the people you love face danger alone. Fierce Protective Resilient Untamed 🧠 Professor X “Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever.” You’re the visionary who sees the best in everyone — even when the world gives you every reason not to. Your greatest power isn’t telepathy; it’s an unshakeable belief that understanding and compassion can bridge any divide. You lead not through force but through hope, building bridges where others build walls. Some call you naive, but you know that real strength lies in extending a hand to your enemy. Like Charles Xavier, you carry the weight of a dream that most consider impossible, and you refuse to let it die. Visionary Empathetic Diplomatic Hopeful 🧲 Magneto “Peace was never an option.” You’re the survivor who learned the hardest lesson life has to offer: the world will not protect you, so you must protect yourself. Your conviction is unbreakable and your patience is terrifying — you’ll wait years to set the right plan in motion. You don’t hate humanity; you simply refuse to let your people be victims ever again. Every action you take, no matter how ruthless, is driven by a profound love for those who share your struggle. Like Erik Lehnsherr, you are both revolutionary and tragic — a leader forged in pain who will bend the world before it bends you. Resolute Strategic Ruthless Unyielding ↻ PLAY AGAIN Up until X-Men #39, Charles Xavier's X-Men wore a uniform. Yellow and blue-black tights with an"X" belt buckle. The cover for the issue promised"NEW Costumes," which debuted in the final pages. Most famous, of course, is Jean Grey's green minidress and thigh-high yellow boots. It still ranks among her signature looks today. The same goes for Cyclops' refined version of the team's OG costume, which remains his most iconic design six decades after the fact. Meanwhile, Angel got a new red-and-yellow color scheme, while Beast's new look was red-and-blue. Iceman, the coolest of the original X-Men, didn't have to change a thing, of course. The X-Men Quickly Outgrew Their OG Team Costumes, But It Took Marvel Time To Realize It What Marvel's Mightiest Mutants Learned From Earth's Mightiest Heroes Giving the X-Men a cohesive look made sense as a creative choice when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby launched X-Men in 1963. The book's characters were students at a boarding school, who doubled as superheroes. They were a team first and foremost. One unit, one look. Except this always clashed with the individuality of their mutant powers. Charles Xavier practically says as much at the end of X-Men #39. When he's asked about the change, Professor X says it is"long overdue." It's a pretty overt example of Marvel's creators indirectly speaking to the audience. Saying,"we realize these characters deserve more distinct costumes. Sorry it took so long." After all, The X-Men and The Avengers debuted in the exact same month. Both were team books, but The Avengers brought together pre-existing characters, who each had their own established looks. Which actually turned out to be part of Avengers' appeal, making it Marvel's most popular book of the '60s while X-Men struggled. The X-Men's First Costume Upgrade Foreshadowed The Future Of The Franchise It Even Teased Beast's Iconic Transformation X-Men #39's costume change was a glimpse of the future. It wasn't enough to completely change the book's fortunes in the late '60s, but it prefigured one important upgrade Marvel's mutants needed to be successful down the road. Curiously, it also predicted the evolution of one character in particular: Beast. Hank McCoy is the only one not totally thrilled with his new outfit, leading Angel to tease him that:" could have helped live up to nickname by knitting a nice fur outfit -- with a cute curly tail!" Of course, it was just five years later that Hank mutated further, gaining his trademark animalistic appearance. It's almost as if author Roy Thomas recognized that the hero named"Beast" wasn't living up to his full potential. And according to behind-the-scenes lore? It was actually Thomas who pitched Beast's evolution, which author Gerry Conway made a reality in 1972's Amazing Adventures #11. The X-Men's Mid-70s Revival Saved The Franchise; It Learned A Valuable Lesson From "X-Men #39" Giant-Size X-Men Nailed The Balance Between Heroic Teamwork & Individualism We mentioned before that the original X-Men comic was canceled in 1970. It's actually a bit more complicated than that."New" issues of X-Men continued to appear on shelves for the next few years, but they were really reprints of old stories. Marvel's mutant heroes themselves continued to pop up in Avengers, Hulk, and other stories, but their future was uncertain. That is, until 1975. Giant-Size X-Men #1 is considered the second birth of the franchise. It introduced legendary mutants Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and opened the door for even more mutants to proliferate and populate the Marvel Universe. It's also often conflated with the introduction of colorful costumes to X-Men. Related X-Men's 10 Greatest Superhero Designs Of All Time, Ranked The X-Men have some of the most iconic costumes in superhero history, but who are the best of the best? Here's our ranking of the top ten. Posts 5 By Robert Wood And that's because Giant-Size took the assignment seriously. It was a product of the lessons learned by both X-Men and Avengers in the 1960s. Readers like teams, but they want each team member to have their own thing going on too. Their own distinct personality. Their own unique visual aesthetic. After Giant-Size X-Men's success, Marvel resumed publishing new stories in X-Men #94. This was the debut of writer Chris Claremont for the franchise. It was a period of upheaval that ultimately set the franchise on a course to become one of Marvel's most successful franchises. Yet it's worth questioning if it would've happened the same way without X-Men #39 laying the groundwork. The X-Men's '60s Redesign Was An Essential Evolution For Marvel's Mutant Heroes A Necessary Reinvention For The Original Five X-Men It's a great Marvel"What If?" That is,"what if Giant-Size X-Men hadn't been a hit?'" What butterfly effect does that have on comic book history as a whole? If there's no X-Men revival, does Marvel still recognize Wolverine's potential and make him an Avenger? Does he remain just a guy wearing gloves with retractable metal claws, rather than a mutant icon? Subscribe to our newsletter for X-Men history deep dives Discover deeper context and fresh perspectives by subscribing to our newsletter — curated explorations of X-Men milestones, behind-the-scenes lore, and the broader comic history that shaped the mutants. Join to deepen your appreciation of their design and Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Maybe Marvel does eventually bring back X-Men, but maybe Chris Claremont isn't available to write it. That means a very different 1980s for the franchise, and possibly not nearly as much success. It's impossible to say, but it's a fun thought experiment. You can do the same thing with X-Men #39:"what if Marvel had never introduced the X-Men's late '60s costumes?" Or, you can go back to X-Men #1. What if the team had been given solo costumes from the jump? What if X-Men is the dominant Marvel book of the '60s, rather than Avengers? The point is, Marvel history hinges these moments. X-Men #39's costume shake-up was the right move, at the wrong time, but it still counts as a landmark evolution. We want to hear from you, X-Men fans. What other foundational moments in X-history should we revisit? X-Men Movie X-Men , X2, X-Men: The Last Stand , X-Men Origins: Wolverine , X-Men: First Class , The Wolverine , X-Men: Days of Future Past , Deadpool , X-Men: Apocalypse , Logan , Deadpool 2 , Dark Phoenix , The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine First Film X-Men TV Show X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men , X-Men: Evolution , Wolverine and the X-Men , Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion , The Gifted , X-Men '97 Video Game X-Men: Children of the Atom , Marvel Super Heroes , X-Men vs. Street Fighter , Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter , Marvel vs. Capcom , X-Men: Mutant Academy , Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes , X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 , X-Men: Next Dimension , Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds , Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 , X-Men Legends , X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse , X2: Wolverine's Revenge , X-Men , X-Men 2: Clone Wars , X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse Character 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
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