26 years later, James Marsden opens up about his infamous X-Men line

X-Men is full of iconic dialogue, but there’s one line that defines the 2000 superhero movie above all others: “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?” Spoken by Cyclops (James Marsden) just before Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) suits up in black leather as a member of the X-Men for the first time, those six words signaled a broader cultural shift towards more serious, grounded superhero movies — even if some hardcore comic book fans didn’t appreciate the change.