The blind precognitive mutant Irene Adler, or Destiny, created in 1981 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, has long held an invisible sway over the future of mutantdom, even long after her death. Her prophetic diaries, her decades long plans with her wife Mystique, and her consistent presence as an antagonist to the X-Men, have proven Destiny to be one of the X-Books most fascinating characters.
In the modern age of Krakoa, Mystique’s quest to resurrect her long dead wife quickly became a turning point for the fledgling island nation, threatening to dismantle the hard earned peace, and expose the dangerous lies that peace was built upon. Destiny has returned, and with her comes an air of excitement, uncertainty, and danger. What lies in wait for the Destiny of X?
In the Redesigning X-Men series, we task fan-artists in the X-Twitter community with redesigning a mutant character as voted upon by the artists in the group. The prospect of the upcoming Krakoan era, Destiny of X, had our artists crackling with excitement, and Destiny quickly became the favorite to win. Follow these wonderful artists to see more of their incredible work!
Adam Reck
“Kept things simple here with a Cobra Commander shield mask, hood, and a sparkly bodysuit adorned with gold plates. I really like the idea of Destiny carrying her diary with her at all times, so a satchel allows her to jot down visions whenever she wants. A flowing cape attached to the wrists adds some drama.”
Léa Dupic
“My take on Destiny puts her right in the 1890s, so her satin dress, hat and hairdo are very inspired by this period. I picture her as an influential woman who throws a lot of parties, and gets back all of the gossip to her crime lord wife. She uses a cane both for balance and as a blind mobility tool, but can pull out the sword concealed in it to defend herself in a pinch. Her golden mask is inspired by the Venetian moretta mask, which women held in their teeth. Therefore, Irene can’t talk when wearing it, and becomes a mysterious shadow hiding in plain sight, listening in to her guest’s conversations. Finally, she wears thigh high boots, a staple of camp superheroes fashion in my opinion, because I think it’s nice to let old women be sexy.”
Terry Blas
“I love the idea that she can see the future and that nobody else really can. That made me want to conceal her body and not have you see it’s shape. To have Destiny remain a mystery, just like the future.
I love her weird mask, but I thought, what if even under the robe she’s wearing an entire body suit made from the same material as her mask so then you REALLY don’t know what she looks like.
I wanted to add the circular designs and dots as a nod to the eye or eyes.
It’s simple, but I like how it turned out.”
Valentine M. Smith
“Irene is BACK with a vengeance, so I love that we got to give her an updated look. Highlights include her favorite feature on herself (her legs) as well as a general lift to her look. New mask, new layered cloak, all giving her the look of a fate or a prophet. Are those new diaries she keeps under each arm as she writes? Maybe. But try and take one, and you just might meet the blade of her wife.”
Christian Tomas
“What I love about Destiny’s original costume is that, despite wearing a mask, she has her cleavage and thighs out. That sort of otherwordly allure is the direction I leaned into with this design. Tried to incorporate more gold elements with these Mugler-inspired pieces and went more for sex appeal than practicality.”
Josh Cornillon
“For my take on Destiny, I was inspired by her rebirth on Krakoa, and wanted to throw away the need for the mask. Sticking her in a silhouette inspired by vintage Dior, I wanted Destiny to have a look that felt just as dynamic and iconic when she was sitting for a council meeting, or in motion as she plotted with her wife. Finally, I wanted to show the effects of her fabric sort of oozing off the cloth itself, almost representing the spiraling, emerging, and ever changing futures that Destiny sees.”
Bradley Clayon
“For my design I wanted to take the things that I’ve always found appealing about Destiny (general dramatic shapes of costume, menacing GILF energy, slightly otherworldly feel) and reinvent it a bit. I had this idea of the lines of her bodice going straight to represent the past and how everything that has happened already is set and the lines down the bottom that get more and more chaotic until they are literally jumping off the boots represent branching timelines. I also wanted the look of the costume to kind of mix what is old and new. Since Destiny is not a character who does much fighting in the physical sense I really pushed this costume more toward fashion than superheroics.”
Alex Buckland
“I wanted to convey the vibe that Destiny is mysterious and above it all so I ended up going in a high fashion direction (with an added bonus of a cooch eye). I feel like it’s perfect for sitting at her seat on the quiet council and serving dramatics.”
Joshua Bruckner
“At long last, Destiny is back! I was thrilled by her story in Inferno and wanted to give her a grand look befitting her new status as a member of the Quiet Council, something that would make heads turn and jaws drop when she walked into the council chamber for the first time. I wanted her face obscured still, but went with a billowing veil instead of a mask. For that I drew inspiration from the Bene Gesserit of Dune, who look otherworldly and almost inhuman but very powerful, and mixed it with the stately look of Edwardian fashion. This is a costume that declares the most powerful oracle ever is back and running the show.”
Calvin Lin
“I recently did a Hellfire Gala look for Destiny for FlameCon so I decided to upcycle that outfit for this redesign. I wanted to go for a slightly spooky Oracle/Court Seer look with a lot of fantasy elements involved (and a LOT of patterns)!”
Max Carleton
“I wanted to make Destiny a costume that was both a companion piece to Mystique’s and a visual representation of her powers, so I used a darker version of Mystique’s classic costume as a base and then layered on a flowing gold pattern to incorporate her iconic mask and her ability to perceive branching timestreams.”
Héctor Barros
“Given that she now has the body of a younger woman, I tried imagining what a fortune teller would dress like in the early 20th century, about the time Irene and Raven met. I added some details hinting at her wife, and her daughter”
Karen Charm
“This one really came together one piece at a time. At first I wanted a dramatic mask that was featureless (I was thinking of the Yukes from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles) and pushing forward, almost 
Luis Ramos-Rosas
“For this redesign, my main goal was to keep her iconic gold mask, but change her main color up. I wanted her to have a sense of authority, she has been gone for so long, and has a lot to say.”
Juan Wences
My inspiration for Destiny’s design is a new age fortune teller who’s also a boss ass CEO of her own fortune company. She’s the phone psychic of the future.
Johnny Bugge
“I really wanted Destiny to be decked out in elegance and luxury. I wanted her to look like she was about to head out to a masquerade ball. In my opinion, she doesn’t need a battle ready suit. She isn’t a fighter, she doesn’t need to be. She already knows the battle is won, and she’s known it for a while.”
Andrew Drilon
“Seeing all the gorgeous and inventive redesigns my fellow artists came up with, I decided to run in the opposite direction towards a more “back to basics” approach, taking inspiration from her first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #141-142. I updated the classic Byrne design conservatively, emphasizing the angles and downplaying curves, making her more like a wicked arrow. I wanted her to feel like a ruthless political assassin, targeting candidates to shape her desired future (which sounds like someone Mystique would totally be into.)”
