Colossus and Wolverine’s fastball special is the most famous of all X-Men teamup moves, and it’s now been immortalized in a terrific cosplay. In the modern age, the fastball special has come to mean more than just being a cool attack. Recent comics have redefined the fastball special as a mutant circuit, and helps to show that with enough creativity, heroes like the X-Men can do just about anything they put their minds (and powers) to.
Jo Jo Cruz (@jose_jc007) has posted an incredible cosplay of Wolverine and Colossus recreating their famous fastball special. The cosplay stars Cruz as Logan and @heroes_4_hire_costumes as Colossus, both clad in comics-accurate costumes.
Colossus is rocking a version of his classic Dave Cockrum design, while Wolverine dons Cockrum’s modified version of John Romita’s original yellow look for the character. What’s ingenious about the cosplay is how it seamlessly combines two different photos to make it look like Colussus is effortlessly lifting Logan. Cruz is sure to credit @graphics_by_jmd for this compositing.
A History of the X-Men’s Most Famous Move
The fastball special, first introduced in X-Men vol. 1 #100 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, is when Colossus throws Wolverine at a target like a baseball fastball. Logan can survive this thanks to his healing factor and nigh-indestructible skeleton, which also makes him an effective projectile even before his claws are factored into the equation. The fastball special has become the signature move for Colossus and Logan when they’re together. It’s also often performed with other X-Men, with different characters often substituted into one or both of Logan or Colossus’s roles as tributes to the original move.
In the recent Krakoan era, the fastball special has taken on new significance as the first proper “mutant circuit.” A mutant circuit is what it’s called when several different mutants combine their powers to new effect. The most famous of these is the Five, the circuit that enables Krakoan resurrection. Mutant circuits have helped put Krakoa on the map through other uses, such as terraforming Mars into the planet Arakko. The recent Fall of the House of X #1 explicitly names the fastball special as the first mutant circuit, which helps to demonstrate that mutant circuits are an expansion of the teamwork that’s defined the X-Men from the start.
Mutant Circuits have a deeper meaning than just teaming up
What’s brilliant about the concept of mutant circuits is how they also tie into the broader themes of the X-Men and the Krakoan era. Everything that Krakoa has built is a result of the application of mutant powers and of cooperation between different mutants. What Krakoa and mutant circuits like the fastball special say is that mutants, and by extension all organized groups, are always stronger together. Whether it’s called friendship, teamwork, collectivism or any other label, it’s undeniable that working together gets results, which is also a key theme of most superhero team books.
Mutant circuits also show how mutant powers can be transformed into different forms of power. The fastball special is hard power, literal blunt physical force used to attack. But mutant circuits can also be used to create soft power, political power. For example, the miracle metal mysterium is the bargaining chip that gives mutants a seat at the interstellar table. As seen inS.W.O.R.D. (2020) #1 by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti,Marte Gracia, VC’s Ariana Maher, mysterium is created thanks to a mutant circuit known as the Six. As this cosplay shows, Wolverine and Colossus’ fastball special might be powerful, but it’s only one example of the X-Men’s true potential.
Source: Jo Jo Cruz via Instagram
