It’s murder at the Hellfire Gala, but you better not kill the groove.
This year’s X-Men Hellfire Gala one-shot, out Wednesday, is called The Hellfire Murder, a masquerade-themed mystery in which a mutant power player is killed and it’s up to James “Knives Out” Howlett (aka Wolverine) and Jubilation “Veronica Mars” Lee to figure out whodunnit. When everyone is hiding behind a mask — albeit a different mask from the one they normally wear — whom can you trust?
Artist Luciano Vecchio sets the tone with these stunning costumes that don’t necessarily make it obvious which X-Men are which.
Our talented Redesigning team then carried the ball forward with their own looks for some of your favorite mutants. Check those out below, and make sure you’re following all of them on socials.
And for a look at their Hellfire Gala designs from last year, click here.
Dia Falconer
@diatoonz on Instagram, @unteletoonz.bsky.social on Bluesky
When approaching a Hellfire Gala look for Surge, I took some loose inspiration from a Mugler ’97 dress that featured an intricate back piece that mimicked bird feathers. While I knew I wanted the look to glow, it was important to me that there was balance, which is why I kept the rest of the outfit fairly simple. The reflective black material of the pantsuit enhances the glow of the back piece, and would become even more illuminated if she were to use her electric abilities while wearing it. Her masquerade mask is made of white mesh with glowing feathers to match the back piece of her outfit.
Haydn
@ThatsSoHaydn on Instagram
For this design I took inspiration from Magma’s different appearances across media, primarily X-Men Evolution. With wet-look hair, dripping molten lava and drapes inspired by the Roman toga, she has taken the mantle of “The Vesta” for this year’s gala.
Isaiah Cox
@isacoart on Instagram and Bluesky
For this year, I wanted to stay in theme with the official book, so I gave our Darkforce diva a gorgeous masquerade lewk! Following Luciano Vecchio’s inspiration for the official designs, I tried to incorporate some 17th century garments with leather fabrics. A jewel-encrusted patent leather corset, satin mermaid gown with tulle lining and a fishnet bodysuit are a bit of a stretch for the 17th century, but whatever; maybe drag queens were turning it this hard back then! I gave her a HUGE Marcel and curl wig that sits under her lacey, see-through mask that curls up and away in the style of shadows and smoke. I also thought it’d be fun to give her a title like all of the other designs, so I give you Darkveil, The Shroud!
Rake
@pastelrake on all socials
How would everyone’s favourite uninvited guest dress for a masquerade in the current era of X-comics? She would show off, of course! This is a Karima who is 100% definitely in control of her faculties this time, right?
Either way, Karima’s Sentinel body not being subject to the standard limitations of human physicality is always a fruitful design element for me, and given that the character is so rarely given the opportunity to be elegant, I wanted to afford her a moment of poise as she effortlessly stands en pointe. I also made the decision to obscure her arms, usually her most detailed feature, to allow the outfit to shine; think of her as Sentinel Venus De Milo. Finally, I introduced a warmer color palette to complement her *human skin tone and give her some vitality.
Shaun L. White
@rlwhitesillustrations on Instagram and Tumblr; @RLWhitesArt on Twitter and Bluesky
My choice for this Hellfire round is Monet St. Croix, aka Penance. Her name, “The Martyr” (a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce their religion), is a great fit for Monet as a character and for her mutant power. The design was an easy search. Her body horror-style dress and mask are based on the design of Robert Wun and an inspirational nod to Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. The mask’s eyes are blackest like the devil itself. Clearly, this is a bloody fashion from hell.
Trae Middlebrooks
@Trae.Drew.That on Instagram
For this Hellfire Gala round, I chose Manifold and the blue-skinned Zulu titan of destruction, Maggott! Both were supporting characters in the Storm (2024) series, so I wanted their looks to reference their journeys in that book. Manifold’s look is inspired by artist Lily Karadada’s paintings of the Wandjina, rainmaker spirits of the Kimberley region in Northwestern Australia. Maggott is wearing a harness based on the demon Eēgūn, a main antagonist of the Storm run. To connect the looks, I gave them ruby jewelry around where they were grievously injured in the book. Their names for the masquerade are The Wayfarer and The Demon.
Idie Okonkwo and Ransom are both featured in the Hellfire Murder special, so I wanted to do something different with these characters. Inspired by the 2026 Met Gala theme “Costume Art: Fashion is Art,” I recreated Gustav Klimt’s painting “The Kiss.” I changed the color palette to cooler tones, that way I could depict the duality of Idie’s ice and fire powers in a way that complement each other. I’m particularly proud of Idie’s Ichafu engulfed in blue fire.
Buy X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Dan Grote is the editor and publisher of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Paul Winston Wisdom. Follow him @danielpgrote.bsky.social.
