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The X-Men have had some amazing artists across the decades, and looking at Jean’s costumes, they all must have loved her. She’s been gifted with so many flawless looks over the years it’s not funny. These are Jean Grey’s ten best costumes, amazing examples of sartorial brilliance.
10) Post-“Hellfire Gala” Krakoa Costume
The Krakoa Era changed the X-Men, but Jean was given an old school costume when it started (we were told there would be a reason that she went back to this costume by Jonathan Hickman, then he left the books before ever explaining why). However, during the first Hellfire Gala, she got a new costume that soon became her main look for the rest of the era. This costume was basically a color-swapped version of the classic ’90s costume, which is why it worked so well. It’s a cool costume, even if the colors aren’t the best.
9) X-Men Red Costume
Jean Grey was killed again in 2004, and wouldn’t come back until 2017. She became the star of X-Men Red and was given a new costume. Looking at it reveals that it’s mostly a palette swap of the ’90s classic, like the Krakoa Era one, playing off the endless nostalgia for the ’90s era Jim Lee costumes. However, this is the superior costume of the two knock-offs. The colors are better and there’s an armored look to it that makes it more unique than the later one. It’s a great costume, and it would be cool to see it more.
8) The Original X-Men Uniform
Jean Grey started her superhero career wearing a costume that doesn’t really get any credit for how great it is. The blue and yellow original X-Men uniforms have always been cool, which makes sense since they were designed by Jack Kirby. It’s a nice and simple costume, the colors contrasting nicely, and the best part is the mask. Later costumes would go a different way with the headpiece and this one shouldn’t work at all, and yet it does. Fans got to see how great it looked in modern art styles in All-New X-Men, proving its bona fides.
7) The Marvel Girl Miniskirt
The X-Men wore the blue and yellow school uniforms for a while, but eventually they got their own unique costumes. Jean got an amazing new outfit, one that fit the go-go 1960s to a tee. Jean had a green miniskirt, the gold mask, and yellow gloves and boots. It’s a classic costume that was definitely modern at the time, and it has always looked fantastic. She stopped wearing it when she became the Phoenix, but took it back up in the early days of Krakoa, showing that classics never go out of style.
6) New X-Men Leathers
New X-Men is the pinnacle of 21st century X-Men, and it changed the look of the team completely. Instead of wearing their usual superhero costumes, they switched to utilitarian black leathers, with big yellow Xs for contrast. Jean started wearing a leather trench coat, a ribbed back top, and leather pants, a look that worked for the school, for fights, or a night club if she was so inclined. These costumes get made fun of by certain fans, but they are fantastic, and Jean’s the best of them. She looked perfect in this fit, and it would be great to see her in it again.
