It’s finally summer! Soaring temperatures and vacation means it’s pool time. Our team decided to beat the heat by going back to that most storied Marvel classic, the swimsuit special. Just in time for Marvel’s official relaunch of the special in July, we’re dipping our toes into the pool of mutant fashion and sizzling summer sexiness. Everyone took on one (or more) of their favorite characters and designed some fabulous custom swimwear for them.
As is tradition with the Marvel Swimsuit Special, the designs are not only made to fit the personality of each character, but they’re cheeky and flirty as well. These pieces are as sultry as a hot summer night. Phew, anyone need to cool off?
For more summertime treats, check out the rest of the work from our amazing artists!
R.L. White
rlwhitesillustrations on Instagram and Tumblr
Spiral is one of those Marvel villains who rarely gets a chance for some quiet relaxation. Much like her living experience in Mojoworld, I wanted her to look like a retro pinup girl with retro sunglasses. I wanted the design on her blouse to look like weird eyeballs that follow your every move. Lastly, her beach towel has TV static, which was a fun idea to create.
Rita is sunbathing and so very relaxed, she doesn’t notice Mojo, creeping next to her as a beach ball, and about to interrupt her relaxed state.
Beefcake Boss
BeefcakeBoss on Instagram
The beach has never been hotter! Rictor is sporting his signature green-and-white striped Speedo, inspired by his early New Mutants uniform. Shatterstar is showing off all the pouches on his matching gray-and-white striped star Speedo.
Joshua Bruckner
Joshington_bear on Instagram
Joshingtonbear on Bluesky
For this round, I wanted to challenge myself artistically, so I picked the golden boy Elixir. I thought it would be fun to render his golden skin in the sunlight, and think about what sort of swimwear someone who’s been both a perfectionist showoff and a hippie would wear.
I had to include Elixir’s opposite number Wither as well, both because their beach styles would be totally different and because I always felt like those two characters belonged together! Wallflower who?
Haydn
ThatsSoHaydn on Instagram
For this swimsuit, I was inspired by Colossus’ classic red-and-yellow color scheme and his black mesh Hellfire Gala look.
Paisley Zook
Blink is definitely one of my favorite characters in Marvel, if not my favorite, due mostly to the original run of Exiles. I figured she deserved some love as she doesn’t always get it. I also thought it’d be cool to have the Age of Apocalypse collars as both a choker and bracelets, to keep things familiar. It’s a very simple piece, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that. 🙂
Trae Middlebrooks
Traedrewthat on Instagram
It’s a scorching summer day on Arakko’s most popular beach. In the foreground is Death the First Horseman of Apocalypse, wearing a specialized death-sight proof helmet that shows off that gorgeous face.
In the background are Lactuca the Knower, Wiz-Kid and Khora of the Burning Heart. I wanted them all to look sexy, fun and sci-fi. I feel like I accomplished that.
Steven West
contextualthor on Instagram
I chose Pyro for my entry. I wanted to give him that beachy Australian vibe. I think the surfboard really sells it all.
Rake
pastelrake on Instagram
pastelrake on Bluesky
… and on most other platforms
Recent years have given us a renaissance of attractive portrayals of the X-Men’s premier inventor not seen since his ’80s heyday.
So I pose the question: What if Forge was aware of this and gave us something to truly look at?
Naturally he’d wear a one-of-a-kind Krakoan speedo — he did perfect Krakoan tactical wear after all.
I also wanted to make his artificial leg sleeker and more streamlined so that the eye can follow alllll the way along.
Michael
yourwario on Instagram, X and Bluesky
I wanted to make something a little more fun and cute for this, and what better character than the gentle giant Glob Herman. I was also thinking of how he would logistically be in a pool setting since he’s made of wax, so I decided to have him by the poolside with lots of shade and a big sun hat, just to be on the safe side.
Joshua Bruckner
Joshua Bruckner is a lifelong artist, X-Men fan and scientist, in that order. He lives in Massachusetts and spends his free time reading comics, redesigning X-Men, drawing comics and arguing about X-Men. Follow him at @joshington_bear on most social media.
