Skullbuster doesn't need a subtle costume. The skull face, armored body and built-in weaponry make the intended effect pretty obvious before he starts doing anything.

Skullbuster doesn't need a subtle costume. The skull face, armored body and built-in weaponry make the intended effect pretty obvious before he starts doing anything. He is one of the three named Reavers introduced in Uncanny X-Men #229, alongside Bonebreaker and Pretty Boy. The story doesn't stop to explain how he acquired every piece of that machinery. At this point, the story gives us the cyborg criminal in front of the X-Men rather than a detailed account of the man he used to be. The debut puts him inside an operation that has been working very well for the gang. They can reach a distant target through Gateway, steal what they want and return to an isolated town. Plenty of equipment, plenty of stolen property and very few ordinary people capable of following them home. When the X-Men take that advantage away, Skullbuster's most important move is a bargain. He tells Gateway that helping the escaping trio this last time will release him from his obligations to the Reavers. Gateway opens the route, and Skullbuster, Bonebreaker and Pretty Boy get away. That exchange says more about the gang than another burst of gunfire would. The person enabling their raids isn't being treated as an equal. His freedom becomes something Skullbuster is willing to offer when his own survival depends on it. The skull design makes him easy to pick out of a crowd of armed cyborgs. The escape is what gives his first appearance a little more weight. When the gang loses its home and its advantage, he knows exactly which obligation to give up so that he can keep his life.