In X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation #1, the veteran mutant superhero Nightcrawler gains an all-new, all-different costume that honors his legacy.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation #1, now on sale from Marvel Comics.
The Way of X series gave Nightcrawler two daunting challenges. Firstly, he was attempting to create a mutant religion that could grapple with the unintended consequences of Krakoa’s mutant paradise. Secondly, he and Legion discovered that a devil had made its way to mutantkind’s Eden in the form of Onslaught.
Nightcrawler’s missions finally dovetailed in Way of X’s finale, The Onslaught Revelation, by Si Spurrier, Bob Quinn, Java Tartaglia, and VC’s Clayton Cowles. With Onslaught using Krakoa’s resurrection protocols to control dozens of mutants, including Professor Xavier, it was down to Nightcrawler to lead his people to salvation, and his new costume reflects his new status on Krakoa.
Unfortunately, the new costume does not get put into much action in its debut. When Nightcrawler rescues his young ally Pixie from Onslaught’s control, the action takes place inside Legion’s mind, and the blue mutant’s love of swashbuckling causes him to take the form of a pirate on the mental plane.
The dip into Nightcrawler’s sword-wielding past is short-lived. The rest of Onslaught Revelation offers many glimpses at the new spin on Nightcrawler’s classic look. It’s not a radical reinvention, given that he retains his white gloves and boots with red fringe. His bodysuit also still looks similar to the one he’s worn since his first appearance in Giant-Size X-Men #1, by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum.
The most striking difference is the long coat that he now wears. It takes the place of the chest piece/shoulder extension combination that was the focal point of his old costume. It serves a similar purpose stylistically, breaking up the black bodysuit with a pop of red. It’s the only part of his outfit that reflects his colorful personality.
Beyond that, Nightcrawler’s new coat is reminiscent of a priest’s robe. It’s not the first time his religious studies have been integrated into his costume. When his team of X-Men adopted the black leather uniforms in the early ’00s New X-Men era, Nightcrawler occasionally added a priest collar to his.
The new look is a more natural integration of his classic costume and his religious background. It acknowledges his status as Krakoa’s moral center while not forgetting that Nightcrawler is a performer at heart. The flowing jacket gives him a theatrical presence that fits the role of the charismatic moral leader that he’s growing into.
Nightcrawler’s costume change reflects the breakthrough he had before he sacrificed his life to save Krakoa’s Martian colony, Arrako. Nightcrawler called the visions he received when Fabian Cortez overcharged his mutant powers “The Spark.” This is how Nightcrawler unites Krakoa to defeat Onslaught, not by overwhelming him with force, but instead by embracing him.
At Nightcrawler’s direction, Onslaught was crushed under the weight of their very human emotional baggage. As Nightcrawler crushes the pathetic creature that Onslaught has been reduced to, he declares that his defeat is a message to the world that “we rule us.” While he calls Onslaught’s defeat Krakoa’s “holy sacrament,” The Spark isn’t meant to be a mutant religion.
As one of his allies, Lost, puts it, The Spark isn’t a cult, but a new mutant culture that combats the aimless hedonism of Krakoan immortality. While Nightcrawler has positioned himself as an evangelist, it isn’t in the service of a god that demands worship. Instead, the mission of his new team will be to unite mutants by giving them a purpose while fighting anyone who tries to hinder their pursuit of happiness. His new costume illustrates that he’s going to be a different kind of moral compass than his fellow mutants were anticipating.
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