First off, we have Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw looking like Chris Walken in “The Continental,” and January Jones‘ Emma Frost looking like a woman with a delicious rack. Notice the wet bar in the back left. “Omit no detail,” say the producers!

Then we have a picture that some would construe as a “metaphor.” We’ve got young Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) engaged in a battle of wits over a chess board. While many might say that this 60′s throwback is a case of notalgia fever run amok, the fact remains that these stills demonstrate a warmth we haven’t seen in this franchise before. So even if it takes some ascots and a wood-and-leather study, it’s well worth it.

Finally, we’ve got the money shot. The group looking like the cast of a British detective series. Reaction to the earlier “official” photo was hostile, and with good reason. If the producers are going to jump along the timeline of the story to give us a fresh look at the characters, a generic, shadowy picture that graces the poster of every superhero movie is probably not called for. These stills convey a very different atmosphere that will probably be the source of more than a few laughs in the film knowing Matthew Vaughn. Ascots for everyone!!!