Whether she’s known as Oya, Temper or Idie (or something new!), Idie Okonkwo stands as one of the most recognizable and successful of the new characters from the Utopia era of X-Men. From scared young kid to Wolverine sidekick to full-fledged member of the flagship X-Men, Idie has gone through a lot. Her unique and incredibly visually distinct temperature manipulation powers make her stand out on the page, which is what made our team decide to tackle her for this redesign round.
Everyone brought a different sensibility to the character this round, some taking her back to her youthful origins, others forward to her more mature present (and future).
(The fact that Idie is getting a new costume for “Age of Revelation” was a coincidence of timing.)
As always, check out the artists’ other work and see what other designs they’ve done!
Haydn
ThatsSoHaydn on Instagram
For this design I wanted to bring her back to her original age (around 14) to create a more youthful appearance. I knew I wanted to redesign the way her powers looked to be more visually distinctive, so I incorporated swirling tattoos when her powers activate to match the flowing patterns of her costume. I also included a callback to her Nigerian heritage, with coral beads throughout the design.
R.L. White
rlwhitesillustrations on Instagram and Tumblr, RLWhitesArt on X and Bluesky
My design for Oya offers a fresh take on her character, moving away from the traditional blend suits seen in the comics. My goal was to create a look that feels both effortless and creative, drawing inspiration from the aesthetic of Janelle Monáe.
The design features an all-black suit with a unique cracked texture. On one side, these cracks are filled with freezing ice effects, while the other side showcases molten lava effects.
Her hairstyle is a sleek, high-braided ponytail that is coiled into a sculptural and elaborate updo. This striking style is accented with sky-blue and dark-orange highlights to complement the suit.
I’ve also included a visual of the makeup and eye effects to complete the look.
Trae Middlebrooks
Trae.Drew.That on Instagram
This whole look is very much inspired by my love of fighting games. I imagine this version of Idie as a firefighter. Her hood is inspired by the Catholic nuns she grew up around (though she is not actually one; she’s still a teenager). Idie’s body is immune to temperature extremes, but not smoke, so I thought it would be cool if her hood turned into a smoke mask. I’ve named her Sister Fahrenheit.
Joshua Bruckner
joshington_bear on Instagram, joshingtonbear on Bluesky
My main goal when redesigning Oya (not Temper!) was to not make her look like a blue-and-orange Harley Quinn, as she often does. I went with red and icey blue as power signifiers instead, and a cool off-white as the base color, because she looks so clean and sharp in white. I liked the idea of the costume adapting visually to hotter or colder conditions, so she has a stylish cropped snowboarder jacket, with a sleeveless uniform underneath. As with most of my designs, I gave her some bright eye makeup.
Alex Buckland
Blueromanticss on Instagram, Bluesky and X
I wanted to give Idie a sleek design without going too overboard with the orange and blue!
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.
