After the character’s debut in X-Men ’97, Nightcrawler has received a sleek design update that potentially explores how he will look in the MCU. Nightcrawler was introduced to the latest animated Marvel show amid the many character deaths of X-Men ’97 episode 5, acting as Gambit’s official replacement on the titular team. With X-Men ’97 season 1 being counted among the MCU’s best TV shows, excitement has only grown for the potential of a live-action X-Men MCU movie, as well as Marvel Studios’ portrayal of mutants like Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler.

With the MCU’s X-Men movie on the horizon, concept artist _artkin_ has taken to Instagram to imagine what Nightcrawler could look like in live-action. The concept is stunning, showing Nightcrawler in a similar red and purple spandex-like suit as is the case in X-Men ’97, only with accentuated armor padding. This way, as explained in the art’s caption, Nightcrawler’s signature mobility and flexibility can be utilized without sacrificing protection, providing the MCU with a comic-accurate look that would be perfect for the fan-favorite mutant.

What The MCU’s X-Men Reboot Can Learn From X-Men ’97 Characterization And Designs

As evident by the artwork above, the MCU’s inevitable X-Men reboot could stand to learn a lot from X-Men ’97. While the storylines and character arcs of X-Men ’97 are fantastic, it is the characterization and design of the titular team that the MCU could learn from the most. One of the biggest issues with Fox’s live-action X-Men movies was how they drastically altered the characters from Marvel Comics, be it through their personalities and characterization or their suit and costume design.

The likes of Rogue, Cyclops, Gambit, and Wolverine were all changed from their comic-book counterparts in live-action. Wolverine was positioned as the leader of the X-Men, which X-Men ’97 wisely changed back to Cyclops, while Rogue’s entire personality was changed. Concerning Gambit, the character’s characterization was also changed, as were his powers before a solo movie was stuck in development hell. These are only a few characters from the franchise that were mischaracterized in live-action.

Another common complaint of Fox’s X-Men series was the lack of comic book-accurate costumes for the team. X-Men ’97 changed this almost instantaneously, and the MCU would be wise to do the same going forward. If the MCU’s X-Men reboot can nail the characterization of the team as X-Men ’97 has, the project will already have more positives than the Fox movies. Similarly, a commitment to comic book-accurate costumes in live-action would be great, something that upcoming MCU movies like Deadpool & Wolverine seem to already be fixing from previous live-action iterations of the characters.