After 23 Years, Iconic Marvel Team Get the Costumes They've Always Deserved

Published Aug 22, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Shaun Corley has been with ScreenRant for over 5 years, and is currently the Coordinator for PR and Outreach for the Comics Team.

Warning: contains spoilers for *What If…? Runaways *#1!

After 23 years, an iconic Marvel team debuts the uniforms they have always deserved. While the Runaways may not be as big a name as the Avengers or the X-Men, they are still one of Marvel’s best teams. These underrated heroes are fan favorites and now the publisher is taking them down a dark path.

Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, Runaways was one of Marvel’s best books of the 2000s. Introduced in a publishing initiative aimed at younger readers, Runaways outlasted the imprint to become one of Marvel’s unsung franchises. Runaways plays on an emotion that nearly every teen has felt at some point: that your parents are bad people. However, *Runaways *carried this to its horrifying extreme, as a disparate group of teenagers learned their parents were a cabal of supervillains called “the Pride.” When they learned the truth, the kids went on the run.

The property floundered after Vaughan and Alphona left, but found its groove once again under writer Rainbow Rowell, who returns to guide the Runaways to their dark destiny in a new special that asks: what if the Runaways never ran away? The answer is terrifying.

What If…? Runaways #1 is written by Rowell and drawn by Zulema Scotto Lavina. In it, the Runaways do not flee when they discover the truth about their parents. Instead, they embrace their family’s evil ways, seemingly becoming the next generation of the Pride. The Pride, overjoyed that their children are following in their footsteps, nurture and encourage their children.

The action then moves two years into the future, with the Runaways each sporting a vastly different look. Alex Wilder, the team’s de facto leader, now dresses like a businessman, and has ditched his glasses. Nico Minoru’s outfit closely resembles that of a stage magician, while Gertrude wears a colorful pantsuit. Finally, Molly, aka “Princess Powerful,” wears a suit of armor with cat ears.

Fans learn that the Gibborim, the Pride’s masters, are demanding a massive sacrifice, and the Runaways are trying to get the Avengers off the planet so that this can be accomplished. After liberating Victor (who was a member on Earth 616) to help them, the Runaways come to a realization: that their parents are actually bad. Alex convinces Nico, Getrude, Chase and the rest to abandon the Pride and the Gibborim, and pursue a more heroic destiny.

window.arrayOfGalleries[“article-gallery-1-1782516244”] = ’“<div id=“main-carousel-1-1782516244” class=“w-gallery w-gallery-3-thumbnails” data-gallery-expanded-id=“main-expanable-carousel-1-1782516244” data-gallery-expanded-thumbnail-id=“expanded-gallery-thumbnails-1-1782516244”><div class=“w-gallery-left-thumbnails”><div class=“dc-img gallery__images__item gallery-1-images-395176778” data-img-unique-id=“1-322693666” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg” data-image-index=“0”><source media=“(max-width: 480px)” data-srcset=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=272&h=196&dpr=2” srcset=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=272&h=196&dpr=2” /><img width=“1056” height=“748” loading=“lazy” decoding=“async” alt=“Runaways Elena Casagrande featured image” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=528&h=374&dpr=2” src=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=528&h=374&dpr=2” style=“width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; object-position: center;” /></picture></div></div><div class=“w-gallery-right-thumbnails”><div class=“w-gallery-top-thumbnail”><div class=“dc-img gallery__images__item gallery-1-images-395176778” data-img-unique-id=“1-1850818684” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg” data-image-index=“1”><source media=“(max-width: 480px)” data-srcset=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=129&h=94&dpr=2” srcset=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=129&h=94&dpr=2” /><img width=“504” height=“366” loading=“lazy” decoding=“async” alt=“Runaways Marvel 2” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=252&h=183&dpr=2” src=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=252&h=183&dpr=2” style=“width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; object-position: center;” /></picture></div></div><div class=“w-gallery-bottom-thumbnail”><div class=“dc-img gallery__images__item gallery-1-images-395176778” data-img-unique-id=“1-693481115” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg” data-image-index=“2”><source media=“(max-width: 480px)” data-srcset=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=129&h=94&dpr=2” srcset=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=129&h=94&dpr=2” /><img width=“504” height=“366” loading=“lazy” decoding=“async” alt=“Runaways Terry Moore” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=252&h=183&dpr=2” src=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=252&h=183&dpr=2” style=“width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; object-position: center;” /></picture></div></div></div><button class=“expand icon i-expand” type=“button”></button></div><div class=“w-gallery-carousel-fullscreen”><section id=“main-expanable-carousel-1-1782516244” class=“splide splide-gallery”><button class=“lightbox__exit-btn icon i-close” type=“button”><span class=“txt”>Close</span></button><div class=“splide__track lightbox__swipper”><ul class=“splide__list swiper-wrapper”><li class=“splide__slide gallery-main-img image-landscape”><div class=“body-img responsive-img”>

<img width=“2390” height=“1195” loading=“lazy” decoding=“async” alt=“Runaways Elena Casagrande featured image” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg?q=49&fit=contain&w=2390&h=1195&dpr=2” src=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/runaways-elena-casagrande-featured-image.jpg?q=49&fit=contain&w=2390&h=1195&dpr=2” style=“width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: contain;” /><figcaption style=“display: none;“>Runaways Elena Casagrande featured image</figcaption></figure></div></li><li class=“splide__slide gallery-main-img image-landscape”><div class=“body-img responsive-img”>

<img width=“1400” height=“700” loading=“lazy” decoding=“async” alt=“Runaways Marvel 2” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg?q=49&fit=contain&w=1400&h=700&dpr=2” src=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-marvel-2.jpg?q=49&fit=contain&w=1400&h=700&dpr=2” style=“width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: contain;” /><figcaption style=“display: none;“>Runaways Marvel 2</figcaption></figure></div></li><li class=“splide__slide gallery-main-img image-portrait”><div class=“body-img responsive-img”>

<img width=“1400” height=“2094” loading=“lazy” decoding=“async” alt=“Runaways Terry Moore” data-img-url=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg?q=49&fit=contain&w=1400&h=2094&dpr=2” src=“https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/runaways-terry-moore.jpg?q=49&fit=contain&w=1400&h=2094&dpr=2” style=“width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: contain;” /><figcaption style=“display: none;“>Runaways Terry Moore</figcaption></figure></div></li></ul></div></section><section id=“expanded-gallery-thumbnails-1-1782516244” class=“splide gallery-thumbnails-expanded” aria-label=“The carousel with thumbnails. Selecting a thumbnail will change the Beautiful Gallery carousel.”><div class=“splide__track”><ul class=“splide__list”><li class=“splide__slide gallery-thumbnail-img-expanded”>