Marvel’s Fashion Overhaul: X-Men’s Bold Makeover for Iconic Villain’s Costume

X-Men ’97 had to make some big changes to a new character’s costume to ensure it was less R-rated than the original version from Marvel Comics.

X-Men ’97 doesn’t follow Marvel Comics’ costumes for X-Men exactly, and one of the show’s newest characters had to have their original R-rated costume toned down. Although X-Men ’97 has been changed in some ways so that it can still be enjoyable for its original viewers, it isn’t quite going for a fully adult audience. This means the series has to contend with many conventional cartoon concerns in terms of keeping things relatively child-friendly, which includes costume design.

In contrast, certain costumes from Marvel Comics are much less appropriate for all ages. One of X-Men ’97‘s most recent additions is a good example of a character whose original costume would not fit within the guidelines of the show’s TV-14 rating. The X-Men ’97 team did a good job capturing the spirit of the original costume, while also toning down some of the elements that would have made it too revealing.

X-Men ’97 Just Massively Toned Down Madelyne Pryor’s Original Costume

X-Men ’97, episode 3, “Fire Made Flesh” revealed that the Jean Grey who had given birth to Nathan Summers was actually a clone of the original. She was also revealed to be under the control of Mister Sinister, who influenced her to become the villainous Goblin Queen for a good portion of the episode. Unlike the Goblin Queen of the comics, however, this version wore a black bodysuit.

In Marvel Comics, Goblin Queen, aka Madelyne Pryor, originally wore a costume that just barely covers her body, with full length sleeves and a turtleneck, but little else besides, as the bottom of her costume was essentially a loin cloth. X-Men ’97 made the wise decision to tone this costume down, but preserve the basic idea of it in the new version. This was likely done for several very practical reasons.

Why Madelyne Pryor’s Costume Had To Be Changed

One of the main reasons Madelyne’s costume had to be changed was that it wouldn’t have worked as well in animation. A comic book artist can make sure that every panel shows Madelyn with her thin loin cloth covering her appropriately, but this would be a lot more difficult in animation. Animators would have had to be very precise about how Madelyne moved, or else simply have her outfit not move convincingly with her.

Aside from the logistics of keeping Madelyne covered, the costume itself is already far too revealing for a TV-14 show. Since the costume serves no real story purpose, it makes sense to simply change the costume into something a little less revealing. This also helps avoid the complaints the comics received in terms of overly sexualizing its characters, and instead allows the focus to be on the character’s actions and emotions. X-Men ’97‘s Goblin Queen costume still gives Madelyne an edgier look and effectively shows that she is acting as a villain, without having to be too over-the-top.