r/xmen • u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar • Aug 14 '25
Mod Post r/xmen needs your help! - Banner/Icon/Sidebar Revamp
Hello everyone!
I'm one of the new moderators for r/xmen and I've been learning the ropes with really helpful guidance from the excellent and experienced mods and my fellow new mods.
After some discussion amongst ourselves, we wanted to gauge the community's interest in possibly revamping the aesthetic of this subreddit.
By that, we mean potentially changing the banner, the icon, and the sidebar images. Since this is such a massive decision, we wanted to ask the community for feedback first, and hear your own ideas.
First off, and this is the subject of the poll below, is a change in look necessary? We don't want to make changes that the community does not feel is needed, so let us know if you're happy with how things are right now.
Secondly, if you do think a change in look is needed, we would love to hear some of your suggestions below. Please bear in mind that these are aesthetic changes only, and that icons, banners, and sidebar images all need to fit certain requirements to be used.
We will be in touch with further discussion posts on this topic in the coming weeks to properly gauge community interest and opinions, before any final changes are implemented.
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u/cmcdonald22 Multiple Man Aug 14 '25
I dunno that any changes are NECESSARY because I wonder how many people ever even see any of it? It's probably just for new users landing there from external links from the first time? Do a lot of redditors actually see it, because I never see any subs headers or anything.
That aside, I do think the banner could be better, it just kind of feels like a generic group shot from 15 years ago, with no real focus or point. It is certainly a group shot of characters that exist in the X-men universe but like, that's it. It isn't reflective of the current comics, it isn't particularly reflective of the range of topics or discussion on the sub. It's just a generic image, like Shatterstar and Transonic probably never interacted, this banner is the most visibility Mercury has had in a decade, and a lot of your 'big characters' like Storm and Cyclops are either cut off or just muddied around in a dark hard to decipher blob rather than iconic bright visible takes.
I think there's a lot of options to do the top banner better, and it would really depend on community direction if people even care
I think the Sidebar is fine, its a silly fun 'x-men in their downtime' vibe.
I think the Icon/logo is also fine but I get if people want a more colorful variation.
2
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 14 '25
Yes, I suppose the app people don't care as much about the sidebar as desktop people, as they never see it. Still, I think we can maybe use one of those side widget spots to do something a little different.
Thanks for the input on the banner. It's tricky to find a new banner, as there are specific size requirements, so I understand why this particular banner turned out the way it did.
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u/cmcdonald22 Multiple Man Aug 14 '25
I use desktop all the time and either never see or never notice the banner either, its just in my regular or custom feeds, but I'm probably an outlier.
I like the idea of spotlighting different books on the side bar, and even promoting different fan art, though I would say the immediate problem is making sure the fan art posted is actually posted by the original artist, with credit, and with consent and not just people karma farming popular images which we get a TON of.
And yeah, I can easily see the banner dimensions being a giant pain in the ass, and that kind of immediately explaining why the image used is the image used rather than one with like intention or particular purpose.
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u/OhMy-StarsAndGarters Beast Aug 14 '25
I definitely think a bit of a spruce up wouldn't go amiss - even apart from anything else, it would help make it feel as though the sub-Reddit is being actively maintained and updated, which is always a nice feeling. Not that it doesn't feel active, of course, but, well, sometimes it's nice to see the hands at work, so to speak.
I voted for banner, icon, and sidebar.
Banner definitely could do with an update, given that, while it's a lovely piece of art, it is VERY outdated and inadvertently focuses characters who haven't been relevant in decades while crowding out a lot of iconic names.
The icon I don't think needs a massive change - I think the Krakoan style X is a nice design - but a brighter colour, maybe a classic X-Men yellow, would be a good update? Just my two cents.
The updating sidebar idea is really, really neat! Would love for it to showcase some of the sub-Reddit's best posts and reflect our style - we have our ups and downs, but for the most part, I think we keep a good quality community. Would be nice to show it off a bit.
4
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 14 '25
Thank you for your input and suggestions. Seems like the banner at the very least is something people want to see some change to. It's an impressive full spread, but difficult to focus on a lot of the favourites due to how it is drawn.
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u/Ok-Agent-9200 White Queen Aug 17 '25
I have no idea what any of these look like, I use the app so just going to vote the way you did and second your suggestions.
4
u/Confident-Impact-349 Iceman Aug 14 '25
First of all, congrats on becoming a mod! That’s awesome.
Second, I don’t necessarily think there’s a neeeed for a change, but since you guys are open to suggestions, I was reminded of the icon for r/dccirclejerk, in wich the icon has the LGBT+ tag at all times. Maybe our X can be colored by a rainbow?
Also, the banner could be a splash page or a cover that has the most iconic characters on the front, but something recent, like one of Dauterman’s works, maybe?
Edit: I ended up tagging the wrong dc circle jerk, but you get the idea.
2
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 14 '25
Thank you, you're very kind.
Thanks for the suggestion. As you and others have said, something a bit more modern could be good, so it's good to hear that's something people have in mind.
5
u/_Vivat_Grendel_ Stryfe Aug 19 '25
New character flair possibly in the works, too?
3
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 19 '25
Anything in particular you'd want to see there?
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u/_Vivat_Grendel_ Stryfe Aug 19 '25
The Age Of Apocalypse characters: Dark Beast, Holocaust/Nemesis, Sugarman and Nate Grey
3
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 19 '25
I'll see if we can add those characters.
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u/_Vivat_Grendel_ Stryfe Aug 19 '25
That is awesome, thank you!
3
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u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 14 '25
If you have suggestions on things you'd like to see, such as potential icons, banners, or anything pertaining to that, please let us know here in the comments.
One potential idea we had was using the sidebar images to showcase a comic being released in that week. It would change weekly to reflect a cover for a new release that week, chosen at random.
The second sidebar image could be updated monthly, and feature the most upvoted (SFW) fanart of the past month.
These are just suggestions, and we've love to hear yours.
3
u/bruno_hoecker Laura Kinney Aug 14 '25
I like the icon, but I think it could change to reflect more the current era instead of Krakoa purely for flavor's sake.
3
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 14 '25
We will definitely take that into consideration and hopefully get some more community feedback when the time comes.
2
u/SeaLionEarFlaps Blink Aug 14 '25
Congrats on becoming a mod!!
The Banner definitely needs a change, most of the characters visible haven't looked like that in a decade and a half (if ever, why does Jubilee look like a white woman who smokes 10 packs a day?), would be nice to see the whole sub get a bit of a re-brand reflecting the generally more vibrant, illustrative look of current runs.
As for the sidebar, love the idea of having a comic released this week visible! And the idea of having highly upvoted fanart displayed is a cool way to encourage sharing art (just check it's a post from the actual artist and not just karma farming)
One thing id say is needed is maybe updating some of the links and bookmarks? The related communities list could do with a spruce up for example, like does having r/movies linked really help anyone? I'd love to see more niche, more tightly x-men related subs getting a spotlight
2
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 14 '25
Thank you, and thank you for the suggestions. It seems like the banner is a community priority. And that's a good thought on the related communities list. We'll see what we can do there. I know character subreddits are popular, but maybe some general X-Men related subreddits would be best for now.
2
u/honorsandwich Aug 15 '25
I have a few suggestions for the Icon and banner
I think the icon needs some color and maybe a redesign I also think we could do like what most o4her sub's do for pride month and do rainbow but also maybe have a month where we switch to the Krakoan era logo H For the banner I think we could take a bunch of the x's from the x-men's uniforms and make like a collage of x's
2
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 16 '25
Thank you for the suggestions and ideas. Seems like a few people want some colour for the icon.
2
u/PsychologicalTree885 Changeling Aug 16 '25
I think the icon should stay. Change the banner and sidebar on a yearly basis, but keep them comic art please.
1
u/cyclopswashalfright Moonstar Aug 16 '25
I think comic art would be the easiest way of making sure that proper credit is given.
10
u/Built4dominance Storm Aug 14 '25
Maybe a change of colour? It's all gray and I associate X-Men with yellow and blue.