Professional wrestling and superheroes fit like a hand in a glove. Unsurprisingly, fans are giving a thumbs-up to the idea of a WWE superstar donning the famous ruby quartz visor and becoming the X-Men‘s Cyclops. Marvel Studios, are you listening?
With the Halloween season in full swing, everyone is busy putting the final touches on their outfits for the big night. Some are already miles ahead of the pack, such as Johnny Gargano. Posting on X, the WWE superstar – who is one half of the tag team DIY alongside Tommaso Ciampa – shared photos of him, his wife Candice LeRae, son Quill, and friends dressed up as the mutants from X-Men ’97 at Disneyland.
Gargano donned the classic Jim Lee-inspired costume and looked the part as Cyclops. LeRae, who is also a WWE superstar, kitted up as a convincing Jean Grey. Quill dressed in yellow and black Wolverine threads and their other pals suited up as Gambit, Rogue, Morph, and Jubilee.
Of course, fans simply had to have their say here. One commentator wrote, “The resemblance is…uncanny,” and referred to their outfits as “amazing.” Another eagle-eyed user noticed how the person dressed as Morph in the first pic changed into different characters for the remaining photos – something which Gargano also confirmed. Humorously, another fan suggested that Ciampa needs to join them as Professor Charles Xavier, since they’re both bald.
Uncharacteristically for the internet’s standards, the thread boasts an overwhelming amount of positive comments about the costumes, and how good everyone looks as the characters. One user noted how Gargano and LeRae missed out on a comics-accurate opportunity by not dressing up their son as Cable, though. Replying to the person, Gargano said: “It was discussed…but he likes, recognizes and is excited about Wolverine. So we went with that.”
Anyone who has followed “Johnny Wrestling” knows he’s a major Marvel superfan, and his ring attire has been influenced by a number of comic book characters in the past. Also, he isn’t shy of discussing all things Marvel and the MCU when asked. In 2020, Gargano admitted to ComicBook.com how over the moon he was to see the X-Men join the MCU. He said:
“I’ve just learned to trust the MCU. So I look forward to everything. The inner ’90s geek in me and the overall geek in me is just super excited for the potential of the X-Men.”
So, what are the chances of ever seeing Gargano as the live-action version of Cyclops in the MCU? Well, anything is possible and it wouldn’t be the first time a WWE superstar portrayed a comic book character on the big screen. After all, Dave Bautista played Drax in the MCU, “Macho Man” Randy Savage appeared as Bonesaw McGraw in Spider-Man, John Cena still brings the attitude adjustment as Peacemaker at DC, and Dwayne Johnson famously said that his Black Adam would change the hierarchy of power (hint: he didn’t).
Gargano doesn’t have a history in acting, but it isn’t too late to start. Especially since the MCU’s X-Men reboot doesn’t have an official date of release yet and is likely a few years away from materializing. In the meantime, everyone – including Gargano and friends – can look forward to the next season of X-Men ’97, which is already in active production and should hit Disney Plus in the not-too-distant future.
