Marvel commemorates 40 years of Spider-Man’s iconic “Black Costume” with the release of black costume variant covers featuring various characters, including X-Men’s Rogue and Jean Grey. Below, fans can find the variant covers for both heroines, which paint these two beloved characters in a new and inarguably badass light.
Fans can discover Phil Noto’s black costume variant cover for Rogue in X-Men #34 by Gerry Duggan and Joshua Cassara. This variant cover is truly remarkable, offering a unique and utterly badass twist on Rogue’s classic skintight X-Men outfit.
With the iconic yellow and green swapped out, Rogue now sports a sleek black bodysuit with striking white accents. These color changes give Rogue a distinctive villainous appearance, hinting at a fashionable villain era should she ever choose to embrace the path of villainy. Fans can get their hands on this comic on May 1, 2024.
However, Rogue isn’t the sole X-Men heroine to receive a bold new look. In InHyuk Lee’s variant cover for Kieron Gillen and Luca Maresca’s X-Men: Forever #3, Jean can also be seen sporting a black costume with white accents. She dons a sleek black bodysuit adorned with two white Phoenix insignias, one on her chest and the other serving as a belt clasp. What truly sets this cover apart is the flames that envelop Jean in the shape of her fiery Phoenix form. Fans can get their hands on a copy of this variant cover come May 8, 2024.
As previously mentioned, these variant covers are part of Marvel’s 40-year celebration of Spider-Man’s iconic black costume. In 1984, Spider-Man discovered and donned a mysterious black costume during the original Secret Wars event. This suit quickly became one of the web-slinger’s signature looks and is considered one of the most significant superhero costume changes in comic history, leaving a lasting impact on Spider-Man’s mythos. In honor of this character-redefining moment, Marvel is now bestowing various characters with their own black costumes in variant covers.
Marvel’s best ongoing series will showcase 23 black costume variant covers, ensuring that fans will likely see at least one of their favorite characters sporting a brand new black-on-white look. Among the confirmed releases are Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #4, set to hit shelves on May 20, 2024, and Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #2, scheduled for release on June 26, 2024, both featuring these black costume variant covers.
Though the designs have yet to be revealed, it’s highly probable Scarlet Witch and Ghost-Spider will soon join X-MenRogue and Jean Grey in the Spider-Man black costume club.
X-Men #34 is available May 1, 2024, from Marvel.
X-Men: Forever #3 is available May 8, 2024, from Marvel!
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #4 is available May 29, 2024, from Marvel!
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #2 is available June 26, 2024, from Marvel!