Superstar Marvel Comics artist Russell Dauterman’s latest X-Men variant cover showcases all of Psylocke‘s different costumes. The original X-Men made their debut all the way back in 1963 and they’ve changed costumes so many times over the years that the current relaunch is literally treating the different outfits as changes of clothes. It’s an amusingly meta way of acknowledging that every artist has tried to make their mark on the mutant community.
One curious example is the X-Men’s Psylocke, whose story is a tortuous one because it involves a degree of body-swapping; as a result, Betsy Braddock isn’t even Psylocke anymore, with the mutant body once again possessed by the former assassin Kwannon. Psylocke is best known for a costume that’s can be described as a ninja bathing suit, a look that’s considered iconic but that was actually supposed to run for just three issues. “And then at the end, when she finally breaks free, in the original concept in my head, the breaking free would be literal,” legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont explained, “The whole illusion or false face of ‘Asian Betsy’ would shatter, peel off, and she would be back the way she was.” He decided he liked Jim Lee’s ninja design too much, though, so that final scene never actually happened.
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Artist Russell Dauterman has been tearing through a number of variant covers for X-Men books that celebrate the various costumes the X-Men have worn throughout their storied history. Hellions #13 features a fascinating variant showcasing Psylocke’s various costumes, positioning her initial X-Men look and her ninja assassin costume in center-stage.
HELLIONS #13 variant! ❌🦋
My latest X-Men costumes cover ft. Psylocke, Betsy Braddock, Kwannon, Captain Britain! Drawn and colored by me. pic.twitter.com/cOeeVsIiGQ
— Russell Dauterman (@rdauterman) April 19, 2021
The image is a fascinating one, unintentionally highlighting all the confusion over Psylocke’s identity. Dauterman’s approach with these variants has been to create one body model of a character and then spotlight the different costumes, but in truth, Psylocke doesn’t lend herself to that approach; looking at these sketches, one would never believe there were actually supposed to be two different bodies. In fact, in an even more ironic twist, Dauterman has confused costumes worn by Kwannon and Betsy Braddock, while using the same body. Attentive readers will recognize a costume Kwannon wore briefly back in the ’90s in a confusing body-swap arc.
It’s also particularly interesting to note that Dauterman hasn’t actually positioned the two modern outfits front-and-center. Fans might expect the Hellions #13 variant cover to highlight the current Psylocke and Captain Britain costumes. It’s possible the reason for this strange creative decision is Dauterman’s desire to place the armored Captain Britain look opposite the Lady Mandarin design, which is actually quite a fascinating juxtaposition.
Source: Russell Dauterman
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