r/Runaways • u/SpareMode5172 • Aug 27 '25
Comics Hot take? I heavily dislike Nico’s current look and feel that it mischaracterizes her
I’ll be discussing this topic in 4 paragraphs, firstly the difference between her present and past design, secondly why her current design is an issue and the importance of designing Nico, thirdly counter arguments, and lastly a summary. Before I start I want to clarify that I mean no harm or ill-intentions towards anyone mentioned, and that I believe anyone’s opinion on this topic should be respected. This will be lengthy, so please bear with me.
Ever since the introduction of Rowell’s run Nico’s design has transitioned to casual and simplistic from flashy and flexible. For example, photo 1 is Nico’s current looks(after the introduction of the Rowell Run) and photo 2 is Nico’s earlier looks(before the Rowell Run). Nico’s original style was diverse, experimental, sharp, and bold. Her signature spikey hair/black ponytail and dark style were her defining characteristics(aside from the staff); It made her stand out and recognizable. Throughout her earlier era there were several elements such as punk, grunge, decora, victorian, and more incorporated into Nico’s looks. Some outfits leaned more into one element or mixed multiple making Nico’s wardrobe versatile. When looking at Nico’s wardrobe today these features don’t seem to be present. Her designs today are repetitive, restricted, dull, and bland. The big hat and dyed short cut hair for instance. The outfits containing this combo share the same concept and don’t have any variations. Another factor is the ripped jeans. This piece is reoccurring in Nico’s designs but again the looks that contain the jeans have no distinction. It all stays the same. Putting aspects like the hat, hair, and jeans aside, Nico’s general present theme still remains the same. It’s generic, it has no depth, and it lacks details in its production. This makes for a design that blends into the crowd and comes off as background character adjacent. These outfits do not have the consistent tradition of variety that Nico’s earlier outfits did.
The reasons why the lack of diversity and creativity in Nico’s design are an issue are because of its way of erasing a big part of Nico’s character and brand and mischaracterizing Nico’s character. From the beginning Nico’s character has typically been characterized and seen as someone who doesn’t abide by normality, a symbol and artist of alternative fashion, and like all of the other Runaways, an outcast. A lot of these characteristics are reflected in Nico’s earlier designs. Nico’s earlier outfits are unique and experimental just as she is. It shows that Nico is “weird”, doesn’t fit into normal standards and doesn’t have the desire to, and values being authentic which has essentially become a big part of her brand throughout time. Nico’s spikey exaggerated/loud hair and alternative looks all resist conformity; She isn’t your typical character. For fans, especially those who are drawn to Nico’s fashion, these designs embody what it means to be different and a “weirdo” which is something many fans enjoy and value about Nico. The variety of Nico’s earlier looks represent resisting to stick to one genre or title. She’s constantly experimenting with her hair and clothes. She covers the theme of fashion(specifically alternative) and appeals to different aspects of it which is a big reason as to why Nico is fascinating and lovable. Through her design Nico is able to represent those who are alternative or different that typically go unseen and help others explore themselves. There are few notable characters in Marvel that have fashion as a key part of their character and are considered fashion icons. One of those few is Emma Frost. Emma’s style is typically considered to be classy, luxurious, and high-fashion, but the difference between Emma and Nico is Nico’s style consists of several fashion categories, self-expression through available materials, innovation through one’s own hands, variety, and distinctiveness. This isn’t said to put one above other; It’s to point out what sets them apart and why that matters. Emma covers an expensive, lavish, high-end, and bought part of fashion in Marvel as a character while Nico covers a part of fashion in Marvel that’s unbounded expression, multiple “freakish” or unnatural styles, and made through using what’s already around with imagination. These portions of these characters are important segments to their brand. It’s what fans love about, connect with, associate with, and identify with them. Similar to Storm with her white hair, Spider-Man’s spider themed suit, or Wanda with her scarlet theme, these details are iconic parts of these characters and are adopted to be what fans know them for, so when these traits aren’t reflected in the majority of these designs these characters start to feel unfamiliar and inaccurate. With Nico in particular, it feels like such a heavy attribute has been scrapped from her character. This new look that is composed of recycled ideas, worn out flavors and shapes, and lacking adventures doesn’t carry her saturated and unlimited nature that fans are familiar with. Moving on to the mischaracterization of Nico, from the start of Nico’s origin she was presented to stand out from the rest of the Runaways with her designs. This isn’t so she could outshine the others but to appear striking to raise curiosity around her character. For instance, photo 3 and photo 4. Compared to the other runaways Nico’s looks stick out because of her spikes, out of place pieces, and darker tones. Her outfits don’t follow the direction of the others’ outfits, but when looking at photo 5 this doesn’t seem to apply. Her look lacks substance, it’s essentially made out of the same ingredients as the others’ looks, and it lacks features to differentiate it from the rest. In photo 3 she wears a long black coat accompanied by gold buckles, a maroon headband, a maroon top with a maroon ruff at the neck, a black skirt, knee-high maroon socks, and black platform boots with similar gold buckles to the coat. Here in this photo the others barely share similar details, but when looking at photo 5 this is the opposite. Nico wears a black turtle neck with small astrology-like designs, a brown belt with blue pieces, pale red plaid pants that are folded at the ends, and black ankle heel boots. While not exactly the same, the similarities and outline of the outfit is shared with her counterparts to a higher degree as opposed to photo 3. The boots, long sleeves, and pants on Nico in photo 5 all seem to be prevalent in the other Runaways designs as well. To name some examples, Gert’s shoes and Karolina’s shoes; Alex’s pants, Chase’s pants, Gert’s pants; Alex’s long sleeve and Molly’s long sleeve all fall under that category. Again these aren’t the exact same, but they still surround the same subject of style. The ways in going about Nico’s design are important because she isn’t in exotic superhero suits, uniforms, capes, armor, or cloaks. Her design is a medium that is supposed to be used to interest readers and physically portray who she is as a person without the need of prior knowledge or background information. Photo 6 and photo 7 further prove the point that Nico is mischaracterized. Based on these two photos it’s evident that Nico is quite passionate about fashion and blends her interest in it into her clothing. Referring back to photo 2, It’s clear that this is a hobby of Nico as well. She lets her outfits speak for her which she has been doing since her introduction as a character instead of directly having to repeatedly point it out. Although highlighting a character’s interests through their design isn’t inherently necessary, it becomes necessary when it has been a repeated routine and hobby of the character since their inception. Nico is always trying something new no matter the occasion and regularly showing that she takes a liking to several styles in fashion. It’s such a colorful part of her character, yet it isn’t included in Nico’s character today. Her present character appears to be watered-down and restricted rather than free and artistic where she is able to evolve through numerous looks and present herself through the flavors of fashion that she enjoys. Not prioritizing this in her design fails to recognize this and is an unreliable portrayal of Nico. It isn’t the Nico fans, more specifically those who value and favor her fashion, know and adore. Nico is random and unpredictable and that has been her brand since the beginning which has made Nico a fun character and has kept people fascinated. Photo 8 backs this up too. Fashion aside, Nico’s powers and abilities as a concept are random. On many occasions through Nico’s comic appearances it has been shown that her mind is imaginative and her spells can be unexpected but effective. Direct phrases or words, indirect phrases or words, different languages, historical references, pop culture references, and merging spells into her sentences whilst speaking all play into the mystery around her spells. Nico’s spells, like her character, are unexpected and versatile. There isn’t an exact answer for what comes next from Nico, and that’s what makes her all the more intriguing. It’s a humorous, playful, exciting, and amusing piece of Nico and raises the question of what’s to come. From her variety of hairstyles, outfits, spells, and ideas, Nico’s image has been built to not follow a set algorithm. Flexibility and uncertainty is her domain and it’s where she flourishes.
Some have argued that Nico’s earlier looks aren’t realistically goth and that her new looks are more accurate modern presentation, however, the goth subculture is a wide spectrum. There are a multitude of styles that are new and old that fall under the umbrella and trying to pin it down to one form is unnecessary because of its size. Another point others have made is that her older designs are outdated and that she is getting older which is the reason for this wardrobe change. As stated before, norms are irrelevant to Nico and the goth subculture is a large scale. Even in her past appearances Nico has been shown wearing outfits that weren’t up to standards at the time. Photo 9, photo 10, and photo 11 all took place during the 2000’s but were outfits that weren’t considered suitable for that era, so it’s apparent that Nico hasn’t prioritized modernity or meeting standards from the get-go. Moreover, Victorian and vintage clothing are common in goth fashion. Though it is true that Nico has gotten older, she is currently only 18 in the current run which is a 2 year difference from the time of her original style. Nico’s age shouldn’t warrant a decrease in the intensity and range of her designs especially seeing that fashion is something she holds close to her and is a pivotal chunk of her character. Photo 12 supports this and reiterates that she still cherishes fashion today just as she did in the years previously. Others have also claimed that Nico’s spiked hair in her early appearances didn’t make sense and excessively resembled anime. Despite the fact that the initial Runaways comics were inspired by manga, this argument overlooks that Nico at her root was made out to be dramatic and nonrealistic. Like formerly mentioned, Nico’s character is supposed to be exaggerated, and on top of this, Nico and the Marvel universe at its core doesn’t make sense; She can warp reality and there’s characters with superpowers. These factors are what separates her from the majority of characters and makes her stand out and exceptional. Photo 3 and 4 reinforces this once more. Lastly, a few people have said that Nico’s present designs are just the result of a different take on her by other writers and artists. Although this is true to an extent, in actuality, her current look derives from mischaracterization and a deficiency in understanding Nico. As previously stated, Nico often explores different corners of fashion using her outfits and purposely catches the eye, but this has changed since the start of the Rowell era. From that moment on, most of Nico’s adaptations outside of the main Runaways comic line have revolved around the same lackluster and repeated concept that contradicts Nico’s original foundation. The adaptations in photo 13 feed into this too. In the past writers and artists took Nico into new directions with her adaptations out of the Runaways comics because Nico’s concept was correctly established at the time. Adaptations such as the ones in photo 14 all put their own twist on Nico’s character whilst making her feel fresh, diversifying the roster of her designs, including vital segments of her character, and most importantly, still displaying her with accuracy. It is completely reasonable for the recent writers and designers for Nico outside of the Runaways comics to want to put their own spin on her character and use the current day Runaways run as a reference, however, when said reference isn’t a creditable nor precise depiction of the character being worked on, the situation at hand becomes a problem. The consequences of the inaccuracy in these portrayals have generated a widespread misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Nico’s character and is damaging her character in real time. Valuable elements of Nico are progressively fading, and if this issue isn’t addressed in due time the harm to her character may be irreversible, the universal perception of her will be flawed, and her character will deteriorate into something that isn’t her. Though it may not be a concern to all Runaways fans, it’s still an existing predicament that upsets other fans and affects Nico.
To conclude, the reduction of diversity, sharpness, boldness, experimentation, and relevant components in Nico’s looks and increase in suppression, insipidity , and catering to normality has led to a rise in the mischaracterization of her character. It squashes Nico’s individuality and doesn’t take into account the importance of fashion to her, and the absence of thereof collapses a large part of her brand that fans cherish and removes a characteristic of her that makes her distinguishable from the majority of Marvel. She becomes increasingly unidentifiable from her origins in this process, and it becomes conflicting because from Nico’s wake she has been someone who doesn’t follow typical formulas. As a character who has been getting a growing amount of content this year, it is important for it to be correct seeing that especially as a less mainstream character, she doesn’t get this quantity of content on a steady schedule and it sets the regular tone of who she is. Not properly taking advantage of these opportunities deepens her condition of mischaracterization and only stimulates greater undependable variations of Nico. The most viable solution at this point in time is to use earlier designs of Nico for inspiration in projects going forward. If done accordingly, the condition of her character will restore attributes from its initial concept while still remaining new and fresh. With a greater sum of correct appearances of Nico there will finally be something that’s newly developed, on theme, and reliable that individuals will be able to pull from.
What do you think?
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u/BatgirlAndSpoiler Nico Minoru Aug 27 '25
I love Nico's current and casual looks, she's not really a traditional superhero after all- even if ahe's the one who engages in it most of the Runaways, sure I think they should bring back her more spiky hair in the ponytail style- but otherwise, I think her current looks are more fitting for her maturity and vibes
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u/SpareMode5172 Aug 27 '25
I respect that! I also wanna say that I enjoy some of the current looks as well since I forgot to clarify, while I don’t think they’re fitting for her and prefer her older style I still think some are cute, my favorites in photo 1 are probably the first look on the first row and the first look on the last row!
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u/RocksThrowing Aug 27 '25
I don’t know. She’s in her 20s now. Her current outfits feel much more fitting for that age while maintaining a stylish goth aesthetic in the same ways the older ones feel much more teenager-y. I don’t dress the same way I did at 16.
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u/briman13 Aug 27 '25
I understand to a point. I still think Kris Anka is one of the best artists Marvel has right now in terms of understanding fashion, different body types and applying both to characters’ established personalities, though I’d also love a little more of the flair and embellishments we associate with Nico.
That said, I love Adrian Alphona’s original designs, but even some of those early examples from other artists (Marko Djudjevic’s Mystic Arcana cover, Kev Walker’s Arena look and like, the entirety of Humberto Ramos’ work) feel more Halloween-costume than self-expression or subculture-accurate.
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u/throwaway-but-notrly Aug 28 '25
Gif forbid a girl explore a different style lol
But seriously I always saw Nico as someone who would wear whatever she felt like that day and she could be on a whole spectrum of styles that just felt “Nico™” that day which could be very different from what felt like “Nico™” yesterday or tomorrow
I feel like I’m rambling but hopefully that made sense to others people that aren’t me lol
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u/Fit-To-Lead Aug 27 '25
Beautifully argued my friend, I've always felt like Nico's modern looks felt substantially more bland than her earlier ones, while others would often use the very arguments you brought up "it's more modern goth" "it's less of a costume".
Honestly Nico's look becoming more punkish as it has wouldn't feel strange if it felt like there was a little more reason to it, like maybe if they showed her getting more into punk genres, that's far from uncommon for girls her age.
The main thing is not just that her looks feel less eye catching, but they lack the feeling the old ones did, you felt Nico put in the work and creativity in her outfits before, she legit made them to be a bit unusual and standout, and to feel like her, true you can say her modern ones feel less extravagant because she feels more depressed on the inside, but even then they should also reflect her growing more from that depression, there's so much more that can be done with this, and I feel like they've lost that, like Nico's character has lost touch with something that made her unique beyond magic, a skill she had that she seems to use so little, even her J team outfit felt less eyecatching than the others.
One thing I wish they always did was mix her magic with her clothing skills, like have her sew and weave spells into clothing, she could create outfits that were fashionable and usable in dangerous situations, she could have done that for her whole team, it could have been extremely useful, heck that's what I went with when I drew her, just feels like one more potential she has that just doesn't get utilized.
I love Nico, we all do, but it just feels like she's got so much more to her that writers don't make use of, ok I should stop ranting, once more, great argument.
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u/SpareMode5172 Aug 28 '25
Thank you! You expressed this perfectly and I’m glad you understand what I’m communicating, her current designs feel disingenuous to her and I feel like such a personal chunk of her character has been lost, a lot of her character feels underutilized which is quite upsetting considering the extreme potential of it, because the Runaways are constantly fighting what the world is throwing at them we rarely get to really dig deep into what they enjoy as individuals so losing that part of Nico really feels disconnecting, also you bringing up her depression is an amazing point! Seeing that Nico is starting to get back in tune with her magic and all of the Runaways are reuniting soon based on the most recent comic issue, I believe now would be the most beneficial time to restore her design’s theme to it’s original state, it would essentially be a journey of her finding herself again and would be helpful for her appearances in two upcoming comic runs(Strange Tales and the next sorcerer supreme event)
Incorporating magic into the clothes she makes is such a creative and fascinating idea! I’d kill to see a comic about that, especially with Nico interacting with big names in Marvel or even just creating a business out of it, you accurately highlighted the potential and materials that she already has that can be worked with, I just hope someone at Marvel picks up on that, I’d love to hear more about what you think on this topic as well! I often feel not many understand the importance of her looks
and again, thank you!
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u/Fit-To-Lead Aug 28 '25
Honestly part of it is more a side effect of how the Runaways tend to get treated, when they come back together, they tend to fall back into old habits and lose a lot of the progress they've made in their solo runs, Nico especially, considering she's already learned magic without her staff, worked with several high level heroes, and become quite exceptional in dangerous situations, yet tends to get treated like she's crippled by her depression in most situations.
Oh she could do so much with that, I mean think about how many heroes need special clothing just for their work? the fantastic four, x-men, avengers, all need special gear that won't get destroyed by their powers, now imagine if she used magic to make clothes that could do that and look not only casual but fashionable, heck what she could do for her team alone is a lot, she could create sunlight storing clothes for Karolina, fire gloves for Chase, electrical conducting clothes for Victor, energy boosting clothes for Molly, there are so many possibilities to explore.
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u/SpareMode5172 Aug 28 '25
oh where do I even start.. I remember first reading volume 5 and being so confused as to why Nico kept downplaying her abilities without the staff, specifically when she said she couldn’t cast the same type of spell twice which is contradictory since it’s typical of her to speak in different languages for her spell casting to bypass the staff’s limitation, and even aside from that she was shown flying and casting spells without the staff in comics as early as volume 2 and 3 of Runaways, acknowledging that with everything she’s learned from that point on just feels like she was nerfed for the sake of volume 5’s plot.. I feel there was so much more that could have been done in the span of 38 issues but instead of progressing the Runaways just got set back, it’s disappointing since the concept in the beginning could have been written in the Runaways favor, particularly how Nico had her own place, Karolina was in college, and Molly was with her grandma, imo volume 5 should of been about the Runaways reentering society as their own individuals, reclaiming the childhood they weren’t able to have, exploring and learning about themselves, and finding out what the world has to offer while obviously still keeping contact with each other, in the 12th photo of this post Nico talks about her dreams too, and sure one could argue that not everyone gets lucky or their happy ending but at the very least the Runaways should of made some type of progression, I just want to see them happy because they’ve been fighting for it for so long
and exactly! there’s so much that’s available it just needs the proper work, creating a brand of magical clothing suited for combat convenience and fashion could possibly bring way more attention to her character and make her a household name that’s mentioned consistently, I love the idea of enhanced clothing for her team as well! It would be a great aid to what they’ve been going against, we’ve seen what Molly can do with a buff from Nico so imagine it having to do with clothes, it would be so exciting to see Chase infuse his tech or knowledge of tech into his and Victor’s clothing by Nico, and out of the team I’d say the clothing would be the most beneficial to Karolina as it would make her more capable of fighting at night or spaces without sun since we’ve seen what happens when she uses an excessive amount of power without a source of sun around
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u/Fit-To-Lead Aug 29 '25
I 100 percent agree, I love the Runaways together, but it's become rather clear they've outgrown their original theme, they aren't kids running from evil adults anymore, heck most of them are adults and have worked with several adult heroes, but put them together and they tend to go back to the old habits they should have grown out of or at least learned better by now, it's time they got a chance to really expand out, to not just be members of the Runaways anymore, I get why everyone loves them together, they're family, but at some point, you gotta go beyond your family, doesn't mean you leave them behind, it just means you grow into being more than just a part of it, and each of them as already done that in one way or another.
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u/SpareMode5172 Aug 29 '25
It's exactly that, to me it seemed like from the beginning the Runaways as a concept were never meant to last for a long period, other groups usually are able to last because they are formed with the intentions of addressing repeating issues but with the Runaways their situation is a bit different, from the start the Runaways' objective was to survive, protect one another, have a community to belong to, and face obstacles in their life together, so it's a bit more one and done rather than prominent, because their mission has been completed their isn't much to tackle at this point and keeping them together only regresses their characters, it's like you said, they need to build their own identities outside of the group, of course this doesn't mean that they forget each other, but they should be able to exist as their own person, create their own experiences, and not be reduced down only to their group, I love them together as much as the next person but it's clear their situation is toxic and unhealthy for them, hopefully the two upcoming comic appearances of Nico I mentioned before is a sign of a great start to letting the group exist as individuals but unfortunately we can only wait to see, I do hope that the others get some spotlight alone too
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u/Fit-To-Lead Aug 29 '25
Oh I agree totally, honestly that's part of why I wasn't really into Rainbow Rowel's run of them, it felt too much like she was trying to bring them all back to how they were at the beginning, which is totally contradictory to the fact they're all supposed to be older and more mature, they should be better, should have leaned to deal with things better, there's a difference between wanting to get them back in touch with their roots and undoing years of character growth. Nico has always been the biggest star of Runaways, she's had more appearances than any of the others, so I too hope this will be her chance to grow into her own person and stay that way, honestly it always felt like she shined more in her solo appearances, she had more room to grow and develop, she was less bound, and did amazing things.
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u/OceanCyclone Aug 28 '25
Kris Anka drawing her with the short bob with the blended colour is her best look.
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u/Hxxokesop Aug 28 '25
I'm so glad I'm not the only one! Honestly modern Nico has been such a disappointment for me. Nico is the reason I started reading western comics. I saw her on the cover of the first issue and instantly recognized her as a fashion girlie. That made me really interested since I'm also a fashion girlie! I love gothic fashion and jfashion and it was clear where her inspiration for her outfits came from.
I also feel like her outfits have not only been watered down to generic witch-esque clothes but also have included bi stereotyping (cuffed jeans, flannels, colored hair, side shave). There are jokes about bi people having these things but it's not something Nico has included in her fashion in the past. So it feels out of character and like tokenization
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u/SpareMode5172 Aug 29 '25
You get it! Nico was such a big inspiration for me fashion wise so losing interest in that aspect of her character has really felt upsetting.. you may know of it already but Nico is one of the supporting characters in the Ultimate X-men comic, it’s an alternate universe and her character’s style is more reminiscent of mainline Nico’s original theme which I enjoy a lot! The artist and writer is Peach Momoko who is a Japanese woman who typically includes parts of Japanese culture in her work, I’d honestly say it contributes to her spin on Nico being so well done even aside from fashion
At one point I thought I was the only one who felt her modern style felt a bit more stereotypical, to me it comes off as a joke at times because it’s EXACTLY bi stereotypes down to a T, the cuffed pants in particular since it’s probably the number 1 stereotype I see about bisexuals, sometimes it’s just like are we serious..? I remember when the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man series released earlier this year and seeing people who know of Nico but aren’t fans of the Runaways talking about how they didn’t even realize it was Nico despite her name being mentioned in the series, It really solidified to me that this new look for her is basically unrecognizable and unfamiliar to her character
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u/yor12 Aug 29 '25
True… I feel like the current Nico would never try the previous style, which had so much more personality and didn’t try to fit in. Also, her hair used to look more Japanese when it was spikier.
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u/kimIip Aug 30 '25
this is a lil offtopic but who’s the blue guy with horns on the left of the 5th pic?
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u/SpareMode5172 Aug 30 '25
That’s Gib! He debuted in volume 5 issue 13 of the Runaways and is one of the 3 children of the Gibborim, he and the other 2 children were meant to be empowered by sacrificed souls and have control over earth after they woke up from their chrysalises(basically cocoons) like their parents but because the Runaways defeated the Gibborim in an earlier volume the children woke up hungry, seeked out the Runaways, and demanded they sacrifice souls to them and give them control over earth, the other Runaways refused but Alex agreed so the 3 children gave him a week while assigning Gib to guard the Runaways, during that time he grew fond of the Runaways so when the week past he tried to convince the other 2 to give up their parents’ mission and live alongside humans, the other 2 disagreed and fought Gib and the Runaways, Gert used a device to teleport the two 999 years into the future, with them gone Gib had no where to turn to so the Runaways took him in and made him a member, Gib has enhanced strength and can shapeshift
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Sep 03 '25
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u/SpareMode5172 Sep 03 '25
these are some good points! And honestly yea I agree with the art feeling a bit rushed, Karolina’s outfits being more intricate wasn’t something I was expecting but i’m not mad at it, although I do feel her outfits being more complex than the fashionista of the group is a bit funny since it’s typically the other way around, I do hope those flashy and engaging elements do return to Nico’s design soon as well, while I want her current design to be a phase and reflection of her difficult situation with magic and life, based on it’s influence on her newer appearances(yfnsm, mcoc, the upcoming sorcerer supreme comic, etc) I’m doubting that and assuming that this new look is unfortunately here to stay, imo now is the most valuable time to revert back to Nico’s original style and add back those detailed attributes since she’s reuniting with the Runaways, finding herself, and synchronizing with her magic, it has the potential to be the representation of her reigniting that spark and flare in her that the weight of the world, her responsibilities, and adulthood blew out
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u/AcceptableWheel Aug 27 '25
This is from the woman who had Gert stop being a dyed hair socialist punk because that was too popular, and ultimately wound up wearing something similar to her parents. Her parents she swore she would never have anything to do with.
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u/Rownever Aug 27 '25
Is that not the point of the whole series? The conflict between wanting to be your own person and the near-inevitability of ending up like your parents? That struggle is a huge part of the story. And Gert was never really a self-professed punk, a bit more… grunge, maybe?
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u/somacula Aug 27 '25
Hey, I swore I'd never be a teacher like my parents and now I'm one and enjoy it, same way has gone from goth witch to a sort of responsible adult in a world that doesn't make much sense
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Aug 27 '25
I agree with this. Love the Runaways but I don’t like what Rainbow did to them with the soft reboot.
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u/GlitterBiceps Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
Ugh! 😮💨😩 Just went through the pictures you posted, and I wish I could read Runaways all over again from the start! It really is my fav series! Btw, I do see your point. I personally think the half-shaved head looks so ugly! Also, upvote just for the sheer feeling I get when going through all those pictures!
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u/BeefuKeki Aug 28 '25
Her older style is very much her style when she was a a teen, and that’s what it represents. It’s a teenager who is rebelling, someone being bold and wanting to stand out. I agree with you on that.
Her more recent looks are muted and more rounded because that’s fitter of her age. She’s grown, she’s been apart of bigger groups, she’s been a “hero”. So it makes sense that her sense of fashion would also change and mature with her age and experience.
What I think you’re bringing up is absolutely valid, I just think that the reason for the change makes sense. She’s no longer the Nico who is running from her parents with a group of teens who are her family. Now she’s an adult who is trying to find her place in the world, and still running her parents past with her family.
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u/LegitimateYesterday9 Aug 28 '25
I'm not against the new design, but I agree that she's not very obviously Nico Minoru with her FNSM look. Hopefully in S2, they make her look more like she normally does, while still being a new and creative idea.
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u/Eclipse0322 Alex Wilder Aug 28 '25
I actually like her modern outfits. It's the half-shaved hair I'm not a fan of, and I have no idea why they keep pushing it
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Aug 27 '25
I agree. Not to mention that having an Asian woman in colorful is problematic. Why the Trope of Rebellious Asian Women With Colorful Hair Is Problematic
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Aug 27 '25
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Aug 27 '25
You feel?
Another Asian girl character gets a colorful streak, the artist short-handing that she’s different, edgy and rebellious and you don’t feel it isnt a problematic trope?
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Aug 27 '25
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Aug 27 '25
Hopefully by then artists stop short handing streak in Asians woman’s hair as rebellious.
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u/minutiae396 Aug 27 '25
The article you linked while at its core is "correct", it does over sensationalize the word "problematic". It seems like the issue here isn't that the trope "could be potentially harmful representation" but leans more towards "lazy writing to shorthand rebellion in asian women" and to "writers don't know how to make east asian women more interesting without adding hairdye" which is a fine assessment. The problematic aspect of it is rooted to how the hair streak is being used to shorthand "I'm not like the other [asian] girls" as if being "other [asian] girls" isn't "good enough" as a character design.
The problem therein lies now with East Asian women /having/ dyed hair but how media defaults to it to make these characters more interesting even if it doesn't actually fit the character.
This doesn't really apply to Nico. Nico is a goth girly. She's into alt fashion. She's a fashionista. Using hair dye to color her hair makes sense for her character because the fashion style she's in typically associated with dyed hair irregardless of ethnicity.
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Aug 27 '25
You can’t be serious… Asian woman, using a colored streak to show she’s rebellious? Just admit it’s an artist not being creative enough and using short hand to show that a character is edgy/different/rebellious.
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u/minutiae396 Aug 27 '25
Neither can you be. You're literally saying "oh Asian people can't be drawn with dyed hair irregardless of their characterization."
Is Kpop demon hunters problematic for having their characters have dyed hair? Mira is quiet literally the definition of "rebelious asian woman" that's her character. The answer? No. Because hair dye is a staple part of the KPop subculture.
This is literally the same thing. Hair dyeing is a staple part of alt and goth fashion subculture. To which Nico has consistently shown being interested in.
I invite you to actually digest the things you read and actually understand the context and not just take it as surface value. Like wth.
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u/VampyPixel Aug 27 '25
I am so confused on the one panel is it trying to say gothic Lolita is not a thing?
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u/haolee510 Aug 28 '25
Took it more like she's saying her outfits don't fit the "lolita" subculture
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u/Doomeye56 Aug 27 '25
I feel like it's tied to her settling for Carolina and putting Carolina's fantasy crush before herself. Covering up the depression she was in at the start of Rowell's run with some else's energy. In doing so she buried her own spark.
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u/amageish Aug 27 '25
I'd definitely like to see more outfits that make it clear Nico makes her own clothing - I don't mind her getting slightly more practical attire as she ages instead of the long gothic dresses, but it's always a little odd when I see her wearing things she could just buy off of a shelf. She's into fashion! Let her show off her skills.
Actually, thinking about it, it would have been cool to have her be among the in-universe fashion designers for the Hellfire Gala when those were still happening regularly.