Rachel's gala design

[Zelena]

Didn’t she wear something similar as her superhero costume for YEARS? Doing a throwback for one night isn’t going to kill anybody. Also why are we using mental illness as some sort of degrading term? If she WAS mentally ill she’d have all the reason to be considering the endless trauma and in my opinion she can choose to reframe that trauma however she wants to.

And she moved on… something the authors nowadays have hard time to do.

[Psigal]

Does anybody else think Rachel's gala costume makes her look mentally ill?

Not really! If that is the case, Betsy's one is showing her mental age at around 17 years old too!

[Dthirds3]

I mean she dose like spikes

[danielsan52]

Does anybody else think Rachel's gala costume makes her look mentally ill?

Didnt her first hound costume? I think that's the point.

[Kingdom X]

And she moved on… something the authors nowadays have hard time to do.

See I don't get this. Half the times it's "these characters look and act completely differently from the past and they're unrecognizable," and now a character chooses a costume that they'll wear for one month referencing the past and everyone is up in arms. Even her Marvel Now costume had spikes all over.

[Askani's Flame]

Y'all are really pressed about this outfit, huh?

I've said it in other threads so I'll say it hear so y'all in the back can hear:

This is Rachel wearing a haute couture version of her most iconic costumes of one of the most happiest times in her life: her time with Excalibur. This has nothing to do with her being in an interment camp (see below). This doesn't even have anything to do with her time as a hound (as this is not her literal hound costume, see below). It has to do with her taking a costume and making a statement with it (like she did in Excalibur and wore the shit out of that Dark Phoenix costume even though 'erybody was upset as it made them feel things). It also has everything to do with Amazing Baby being part of her outfit/her accessory since Warwolves were created and bred by Mojo to hunt and capture Rachel. She was her own person. She silenced the Phoenix. She had a cool home and best friends who were also her chosen family when her other family shunned her. But mostly: IT'S A COSTUME FOR A GALA. PETA was less angry about Gaga's meat dress than what we've seen.

Now, some thoughts:

Does anybody else think Rachel's gala costume makes her look mentally ill?

To answer your question: No. But let's also not use your opinion to make degrading determinations on whether or not someone is "mentally ill" because they are wearing a costume for a ball. A high-end couture ball.

It’s called couture aka high fashion boo lol. It’s no different than the crazy costumes people wear for the Met Gala.

For reals.

It's just a typical early Lady Gaga look.

I think Dauterman used a lot of pop stars for his inspiration. Emma Frost looks like Jennifer Lopez. Rachel is Gaga, etc.

100%. I mean we have seen some outrageous real-life outfits for the Met Gala, this is really no different.

Yes, I can hardly believe a sane victim of an extermination camp would ever wear a high couture version of their internment uniform

Again with the degrading comments here. People handle trauma differently. Also, let's not get it twisted this was never something Rachel wore in the Bronx interment camp. That was a olive green onesie with a big 'M' on the breast to signify she was a mutant. But even still, if she was looking to make a statement and was comfortable with it, let her. She's not hurting anyone, she's not appropriating, and she's not being insensitive.

I think there a very different ways how people engage with their trauma and reclaim their humanity. Not all of it has to make sense on first sight...Rachel has a long history using this uniform.

Yes totally on this.

I guess comics will be comics

Not only it is a symbol of her imprisonment and consequent brainwashing but also the uniform she was made to wear while hunting like a predator for the people she loved most but whatever....

1) Not her imprisonment garb, see above
2) Also not her real hound uniform, which was all black and had no heels. This red look with high heels was created by Mojo when Rachel was the star of his universe.
3) Does this mean that everyone who was transformed into a hound during Extermination can never wear those threads again because they were forced to do the same (although no one died)? Cuz that's what it sounds like.
4) She also killed people in that awful Prestige outfit yet Kitty is wearing part of her costume. No one is calling her out on appropriation or her insensitivity....

The old Rachel would never have done this.

Wait, she was all Excalibur doing it.

For reals, like she wore this costume for 50 issues of Excalibur. This costume is impowering to her as it represents a time of self-determination, power, family, and ownership. And with having a warwolf as a pet, which were designed and bred to track and hint her, this costume for the Gala makes even more sense and shows how she has turned the page.

If a telepath accidentally hurts someone with the clothes she is wearing, she is not a very good telepath.

If any hero accidentally hurts someone with the superhero costume they are wearing I would say they aren't the best hero and need to make better choices. But given that Rachel has the ability to rearrange subatomic elements with the blink of an eye, and this is for a gala event where no heroics are required I think she's fine. I think she can fix her costume if she needs to, ya know.

Didn’t she wear something similar as her superhero costume for YEARS? Doing a throwback for one night isn’t going to kill anybody. Also why are we using mental illness as some sort of degrading term? If she WAS mentally ill she’d have all the reason to be considering the endless trauma and in my opinion she can choose to reframe that trauma however she wants to.

Waiter, I'd like a plate of ALL OF THIS please.

And she moved on… something the authors nowadays have hard time to do.

I don't necessarily disagree with you on the call to writers for falling back on familiar tropes for certain characters. But this isn't Rachel becoming a hound again for the 80th time. This also isn't Rachel becoming the victim of some mind control scheme. It's a personal choice and fashion statement.

We're not seeing an arc devoted to why she's wearing a costume to a ball because that makes no sense. We're not seeing how she's being mistreated or abused by the writers or villains in a story. Instead we're seeing her use something that has been the representation of a happy and cherished period of time in her life: Excalibur. Rachel was the happiest then. She had a chosen family who cared for her, who were also her best friends. As I said above, it's a nod to where she's been and the ownership she is taking in her life and past, plus it fits nicely with her pet and accessory: Amazing Baby

But here's my question to everyone screaming foul on this topic: why do women always bear the brunt of these discussions when it comes to what they put on their bodies? Like seriously. It is 2021 and we are having a conversation about calling a fictional character in a comic book mentally ill because they are wearing a piece of garment to a fashion ball. Who are we to make determinations on what someone else can or can't wear? And whether or not a choice implies or correlates to mental illness? Like really? Why don't we think they have any agency to make choices for themselves, even if they are fictional characters? Why do we think/assume that someone like Leah Williams doesn't have a plan on the choice or that she doesn't get the character who she has made stronger in her run? Jean has been rehashing that outdated 60's Marvel Girl dress, and I know there have been lots of conversations about ditching that but she apparently likes to wear it. Storm went back to her mohawk, which was also a highly emotional and bad time for her in some respects, and people complained then (but less). But if some male goes back to wearing a twist on an iconic costume it's praised and called nostalgic.

If you feel that you really think this was a poor choice, let Leah and Russell know. As they are the writer and designer that came up with this particular lewk as part of an event where everyone is wearing crazy things.

But seriously it's a fictional costume, inspired by real haute couture, for a fictional character who probably wouldn't care what you thought about it anyways, and would likely relish your disgust.

[Journey]

I think she needs to get laid asap.

[Kurisu]

I think she needs to get laid asap.

Oh she will.

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[Daedra]

Again with the degrading comments here. People handle trauma differently. Also, let's not get it twisted this was never something Rachel wore in the Bronx interment camp. That was a olive green onesie with a big 'M' on the breast to signify she was a mutant. But even still, if she was looking to make a statement and was comfortable with it, let her. She's not hurting anyone, she's not appropriating, and she's not being insensitive.

Am I not allowed to answer the question of the post like everybody else? stop this talk about "degrading" please, I'm not degrading anyone here but discussing a comic book, THIS IS a dress Rachel was forced to wear during imprisonment, I think I am allowed to think that this dress or variation of it is not a sane choice for Rachel to wear again.

[Askani's Flame]

Am I not allowed to answer the question of the post like everybody else? stop this talk about "degrading" please, I'm not degrading anyone here but discussing a comic book, THIS IS a dress Rachel was forced to wear during imprisonment, I think I am allowed to think that this dress or variation of it is not a sane choice for Rachel to wear again.

The initial post is problematic in that they are linking mental illness to wearing a costume to a gala event. So yes you can say you don't like her costume or you think it's in poor taste because of her past. Fair point. But commenting or questioning is someone's sanity due to their history because of something they are wearing is also problematic. There is a difference.

And in this issue of Excalibur (#75) the coloring is incorrect as in nearly every other instance of showing her hound garb she is in black, both before and after. So it was not in fact what she wore. I mean you think she was going to effectively hunt and kill her kind on those heels?

[Havok83]

This needed its own thread? LOL...why not give her appreciation thread some love. All are welcomed

[Daedra]

The initial post is problematic in that they are linking mental illness to wearing a costume to a gala event. So yes you can say you don't like her costume or you think it's in poor taste because of her past. Fair point. But commenting or questioning is someone's sanity due to their history because of something they are wearing is also problematic. There is a difference.

And in this issue of Excalibur (#75) the coloring is incorrect as in nearly every other instance of showing her hound garb she is in black, both before and after. So it was not in fact what she wore. I mean you think she was going to effectively hunt and kill her kind on those heels?

I know these are comics so stuff sometimes is supposed to be over the top and even a bit tasteless , my problem here is mostly about disappointment, by now Rachel should have been Phoenix, a starchild, it was her rebirth, her climb back from the pits of hell all the way up to the cosmos, I expected them to celebrate that aspect of her history ....yes she did use the costume during excalibur but she was also Phoenix, it felt different.

[Dante Milton]

The entire cast of X-Factor, with the exception of Eye Boy, are all deeply traumatized, their character arcs in that book deal heavily with acknowledging and processing that trauma. It isn't surprising that Rachel is wearing a variant of her hound costume. It is also the character's best and most iconic costume. My only problem with the Gala look is that the spike elements are poorly considered and don't really add up to an interesting or pleasing structure. Also the muzzle could be better designed, the metallic bits should be gold, and her hair should be slicked back.

[Askani's Flame]

I know these are comics so stuff sometimes is supposed to be over the top and even a bit tasteless , my problem here is mostly about disappointment, by now Rachel should have been Phoenix, a starchild, it was her rebirth, her climb back from the pits of hell all the way up to the cosmos, I expected them to celebrate that aspect of her history ....yes she did use the costume during excalibur but she was also Phoenix, it felt different.

Fair points! I think what I see is that this was what she wore during her ascension. She used the grief and guilt she felt from her past in this red Mojo-hound costume as Phoenix to fuel her process to reclaim both her name and the name of the Phoenix. And she did. She sacrificed EVERYTHING to save the multiverse (to which most people don't give her creds for) and emerged more powerful. I think it if we had seen a visceral negative reaction from Rachel when she was most recently in the Mojoverse to the fake dancing Rachel's prominently parading around in this look, this would be in poor taste. But she was annoyed and slightly amused. And now that she has a warwolf as her beloved pet, it brings back good memories and feelings as her time as Phoenix and as a member of Excalibur.

We all see different things in this look and that is what we are allowed to do. I just don't think we should be asserting language on sanity or mental illness when it comes to these discussions as it just isn't helpful.

[ColossusFan]

The real problem here is the writers/artists..they just can't move past the hound shit..they always come back to it in one way or another...almost always because they're trying to recapture a time or a look they're nostalgic for..they (writers) can try to justify it with whatever they want in story but it's really just one of two things..a lack of creativity or they just want to scratch a nostalgia itch...

This is not limited to Rachel in any way of course...it happens to X-men characters all the time..and it's bad for all of them...but in Rachel's case she always gets brought back to a place that's a little more disturbing than most.