It’s a nerd argument that’s been stuck in stalemate for over 15 years – when X-Men first hit screens in 2000, many fans were disappointed that the team’s traditional colorful costumes had been replaced with drab black leather, but the film’s director Bryan Singer argued those costumes would look ridiculous on screen. Tough guys don’t wear yellow spandex! The fight hasn’t progressed an inch since then. Fans still want to see colorful, comic book-inspired costumes, and Singer has stuck to his guns, with X-Men: Apocalypse being as black and grey as ever.
Well, if you’re on the “pro-spandex” side of the argument, YouTuber KaptainKristian has a gift for you. He’s made a fantastic video, which thoroughly tears down the argument that colorful, comic book-inspired costumes are silly or “wouldn’t work on screen.” He rightfully points out that color is key to differentiating the X-Men’s many, many members in the comics, and that their unique costumes often reflect fundamental aspects of their personalities. Beyond that, the colorful costumes are a statement of individuality and free expression from people who are feared and marginalized by the rest of society. Having the team skulk around in identical black ninja suits really misses the whole point of the X-Men.
All that aside, the argument that comic book-style outfits don’t work on screen has also been pretty thoroughly demolished by Deadpool. The media has been fixated on Deadpool‘s R-rated raunch, but another key to its success was the fact that the movie was unapologetically comic booky. Deadpool looks like he does in the comics, complete with blank white eyes that contort in ways no real person’s eye sockets could. Colossus also looks like himself, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead is actually more colorful than she usually is in the comics. Hopefully one of the notes people are taking from Deadpool is “black leather isn’t the only option.”
What are your thoughts on the age-old argument? Hope to one day see Wolverine in yellow spandex on screen? Or do you actually prefer the black leather?