SubscribeNote: I’ve been a fan of Chris Bachalo‘s character designs from back in the Generation X days, and I really think his redesign for Cyclops for the upcoming Uncanny X-Men relaunch could be one of his best. This image, originally published in Marvel’s Previews listing (and scanned by Roho) shows Cyke with the first great design in, well, ever. Bachalo really found something by making Cyclops’ visor in an X-shape and the rest of the design follows that. – Chris A.
Project : Rooftop
Superheroes, Redesigned
P:R Approved: Chris Bachalo’s Cyclops!
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Jay
/ December 21, 2012I like this look, could also work for a new Racer-X design! One question – what does the eye beam look like when it’s shooting out? Is it an elongated 3d X?
Daniel
/ December 21, 2012I like it because it’s based more on John Cassidy’s Astonishing X-men design than Simone Bianchi’s later iterations, which I legitimately loathed when Warren Ellis’ Astonishing run began.
The modifications to the cassidy uniform, in this case, enhance the design and the X-visor does what I think no other cyclops design has done in a long time, which is actually make him look like a cyclops. You can’t draw eyes on that, and something subtle like that can dehumanize a character just slightly enough to make him look like, dare i say, a villain?
Though I hope the actual design doesn’t have that ribbing on the side, or that other artists eventually ignore it.
Chris A.
/ December 21, 2012Jay: Check the previews or bachalo’s first issue for those answers!
acehomey
/ December 21, 2012I agree with Jay, looks like great for Racer-X. This X styled visor looks futuristic here and makes him look more like his namesake.
reid
/ December 21, 2012For my money, nobody has yet surpassed Yoji Shinkawa when it comes to making a cyclopean character design.
http://images.wikia.com/metalgear/images/7/70/Red_Ninja_Metal_Gear_Solid.jpg
Neil Kapit
/ December 21, 2012Good call on the design making Cyclops look like more of a villain, because he’d headed that way for years now, finally arrived at that territory during AvX, and shows no signs of reformation.
Thomas Fummo
/ December 21, 2012Visually, it’s really imposing and iconic. I love the simple red and black, and the strong lines. But from a practical point of view, aren’t his eyes covered by the black segments on either side of the ‘X’s center? Unless he actually has a single, middle eye now (I don’t know, I haven’t read comics in a while), how would the visor work? Wouldn’t it have to be just a bit bigger, so that the X’s center goes across both eyes? That’s my only quibble with it.
Chad
/ December 21, 2012Cyclops was on the route to villainy the minute the dropped blue from his costume.
I like this look, I wish they’d gone further than tron-lines and jumpsuit seams. The subtle Magneto collar is clever, too!
Alejandro
/ December 21, 2012I LOVE this design. That visor is just brilliant, and along with that new arms-crossed X gesture of his it’s a great indicator of Scott trying to redefine the name “X-Men”.
The only thing I’m not super big on about this look is the overabundance of red. It looks good, and I’m glad he’s finally wearing something other than the standard X-Men colors, but Marvel’s already got an iconic character who’s associated with two shades of red – Daredevil.
So basically, to me, as a stand alone look it’s fantastic, but considering the context of the Marvel Universe I’d possibly have substituted the dark red with a dark gray.
DaniSpite
/ December 21, 2012Although I don’t like the X-shaped visor, it’s good to see Cyclops change his costume’s color scheme now that he is leaving behind Xavier’s dream, and the red triming fis perfectly with his power.
Sam Albro
/ December 21, 2012The one gaping flaw I see is that the lense doesn’t appear to line up with his eyes.:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/salbro20/xvisor_zpsc4473d8c.jpg
It has a really cool, intimidating look. I’m just not sure about the functionality.
grendeljd
/ December 21, 2012Visually, this is a fantastic design – well chosen piping patterns and I like the ribbing along the, er, ribs [& legs]. Solid choice to go with black & red, keeping the look further removed from the classic blue & gold is fine in my book.
The X visor is very slick too, but practically speaking, that X shape might pose a bit of a problem – it looks like it would be partially blocking Scott’s vision, at least according to these drawings.
wanizame
/ December 21, 2012Cassidy had the best design until it was bastardized and given that awful shoulder-thing. Bachalo is the best artist in comics today (has been the best since his run on X-men with Mike Carey, though I loved his GenX work the most, Chamber is such an awesome design) and I love how he has given Cyclops a strong, decisive and slightly villanous design here. Suits the current iteration of the character perfectly.
Ben R
/ December 21, 2012Okay, I’m going to say what everyone has to be thinking: Tron, anyone?
Felix Vasquez Jr.
/ December 21, 2012Damn that is cool!
thumbsj
/ December 21, 2012gahhh I just can’t get past the X shaped visor. It’s new and edgy and probably not a bad decision design wise. But it just bugs me.
Great design otherwise though.
dizzyspins
/ December 21, 2012Im sorry, but I don’t care for this. When it comes to X-symbols on X-Men uniforms, less is more. The giant X across the face is just too obvious, and doesn’t make sense. (Where does he see out of?)
Ash
/ December 23, 2012Tron-Clops. Cy-Tron. Not a fan, really. The visor looks dopy and the lines are pretty much random. The Cassaday design was perfect, imo, but the 90s look was also nice.
Mel
/ December 23, 2012Yeah, he does look like his namesake, but how can see out of that? Unless he mutates into a real one-eyed cyclops then…
Neil Kapit
/ December 24, 2012Always good to see an MGS reference, Reid. But while Shinkawa’s Gray Fox is the best of the cyber-cyclopses, Cyclops’ demeanor is much more like another one-eyed Metal Gear character– Big Boss (what with the fallen hero/militant radical angle).
David Goodner
/ December 26, 2012Presumably, in a world with unstable molecules, armor you store in your bone marrow, and web fluid, a fabric that is transparent from one side isn’t too difficult.
I’d imagine that he can see normally, and has some sort of snazzy ruby quartz fiber-optic thingy to make it all work. Probably with carbon nanotubes, since those are cool now.
David G.
Dedpool
/ December 31, 2012I reallly like this look. It reminds me of the unused Alex Ross Cyclosps design. That said they need to add a black leather trench to this look and it’d be perfect, like his look in “Wolverine and the X-men” but cooler.
MW
/ January 16, 2013Eh, I think that the “General Cyclops” look that Scott had from Manifest Destiny to… now is the best look that Cyclops has ever had. I’m not really a fan of this new one.
David Ellis
/ January 21, 2013On one hand, I could see this point, in that fabric that can be seen through has actually been done. Spider-man 2099′s mask is one example, in that he seems to have no problem seeing through the unstable molecular fabric. Heck, I have a dark blue Morphsuit that I can see through, because the fabric stretches to around my face. Supposedly, one can drink through the morphsuit as well, but I’d rather not test that out. So there are characters who could get away with wearing a mask like this.
But on the other hand, this is Cyclops, whose eyes are constantly unleashing concussive energy whenever they’re open. He has to have a barrier of transparent ruby quartz between his eyes and the world (that’s still the case, right?), and I’m guessing that’s what the red X-shape in his mask is made of. Covering most of his eyes with fabric simply wouldn’t work. And the only parts of his face the X-shape is covering aren’t emitting energy.
Other than that, it’s an interesting design, though I think it’d be much stronger as bright red piping on a dark red (or black) background, with the seams much more simplified. Less is more with a design like this, and the excess ribbing just ruins it.
Jansen L. Valenzuela
/ February 11, 2013I am actually looking forward to this iteration of Cyclops. Although I believe he already crossed the line from being a hero into a “conflicted villain”. The character design by Bachalo reflects this feel. Cyclops looks sinister but not too sinister. Didn’t he redesigned Magneto too??