Cyclops & Jean Grey dust off some classic 80s costumes in X-Men #17 preview

Storm, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl are going into space to help out some old friends – the Shi’ar Empire – in January 27’s X-Men #17 (opens in new tab).

The story is part of the X-Men line’s overall return to space in the newly-christened ‘Reign of X’ era, spearheaded by the new S.W.O.R.D. series. Back in 2019, Marvel editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski told Newsarama there were some “very cool” things planned for the “cosmic side” of the X-Men – namechecking the Shi’ar Imperial Guard and the Starjammers.

Check out this preview of X-Men #17, which features some of the aforementioned Imperial Guard:

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(Image credit: Brett Booth (Marvel Comics))

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(Image credit: Brett Booth (Marvel Comics))

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And you might notice these Brett Booth-drawn pages feature Scott and Jean in some throwback costumes. From the looks of it, that’s their 1986-era X-Factor costumes designed by Walter Simonson. It’s not clear if it’s a story reason for the costume change (not that we’re complaining), or simply an aesthetic choice by Booth.

The issue will feature a primary cover by former series artist Leinil Francis Yu, with a ‘Marvel vs. Aliens’ themed variant by Russell Dauterman.

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(Image credit: Leinil Francis Yu (Marvel Comics))

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X-Men #17 covers

(Image credit: Russell Dauterman (Marvel Comics))

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Speaking of Booth and flashbacks to bygone eras of X-Men lore, after this guest issue of X-Men he is sliding over to draw the first issue of the X-Men Legends title, paired with writer Fabian Niceiza. Their story will focus on twisted mystery of the third Summers brother from ’90s X-Men comics.

“It’s incredibly exciting to finally tell the story of the infamous ‘third’ Summers brother,” Nicieza said. “25 years in the making, to see the truth about Adam-X revealed – and drawn so magnificently by Brett Booth – is one of the most surreal experiences of my career! Getting the opportunity to tell this tale while kicking off the new X-Men Legends series is x-tremely x-citing!”

X-Men head writer Jonathan Hickman said this current ‘Reign of X’ era is about expansion – and as they go into space, and into 20+ year old continuity questions, it certainly is.

Keep up to speed on all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections in 2020 and beyond.

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