James Marsden’s Return as Cyclops Is a Big Boon for Glasses Wearers

Growing up with glasses was the goddamn worst. They would break all the time, and, before the days of Zenni Optical, I’d sometimes have to wait weeks before I got a new pair. I started fifth grade with an old, clunky pair, the arms of which had broken off, and I had to balance them on my nose. Kids would mock me relentlessly (being chubby and having eczema as well didn’t help). Plus, my allergies are terrible, so while I was forced to try contacts for years, I absolutely hated them.

When I returned to glasses in my twenties, I did so with a renewed appreciation and a social standing that was no longer negative. Glasses are cool now. Some people wear them for no reason, which would have blown my ten-year-old mind. If I lose my glasses, which actually happened on my honeymoon, I’m stuck trying to make sense of blurred globs of half-formed shapes. Still, I celebrate the new(ish) popularity that glasses have achieved. Now, I can find all manner of bespectacled “role models.” Back in the day, I had Drew Carey and Cyclops.

I’ve talked often about how much of a salve Drew Carey was to young, overweight, glasses-wearing me. But that was because he seemed achievable. Cyclops was the cool, confident leader of the X-Men who had six-pack abs, the love of a beautiful redhead, and he could stand up to Wolverine without flinching. Also, his powers and his need to wear glasses were the same. His strength came from needing big hunks of unflattering plastic on his face. The man was my hero, and seeing him come to life in live-action was huge for me.

When the X-Men were finally brought into live-action, Cyclops was played by James Marsden. I was not familiar with Marsden before seeing this film, as was the case for most of America, but it gave him a special place in my heart for the rest of my life. I know there are plenty of people who don’t think Cyclops is rad as hell (we call those people 20/20s), but he was the absolute coolest to me. His brief return in Days of Future Past made me gasp and tear up because I missed my four-eyed hero so damn much. So, I may not be able to contain myself when Avengers: Doomsday rolls around.

Marsden will be returning as Cyclops, along with many of his other X-Men co-stars. To say I am excited would be a massive understatement. To make it even better, Marsden seems pretty hyped as well. “I’m getting a little long in the tooth to put on the superhero costume,” Marsden recently joked to Vanity Fair. “I was excited because you’re a part of something gigantic, and I’ve spent 20 years listening to people say, ‘When are you coming back? When are you coming back? Are you coming back?’” It’s me. I’m one of the people he’s talking about.

The Jury Duty stand-out went on to explain how much fun it was to return to his old stomping grounds, and maybe offer a hint as to how. “I’m dead. Well, maybe not. I’m going to have a tough time struggling to get into costume if they waited a couple more years,” he noted. “So it’s been a blast. It really has. It’s been a nice little homecoming to a role that really put me on the map. It was the first real event project that I was ever a part of, and a very beloved character, this icon from the comics. And so to step back into that role was pretty special.” It’s special for us too, James.

I’m one of the folks who was immediately on board with a Robert Downey Jr. Doctor Doom. The storytelling possibilities are thrilling, though admittedly easy to botch. But Marsden’s addition sends my enthusiasm into overdrive. We are living in a time when not only are glasses more acceptable, but one of the hunkiest representations of goggled folks ever to exist is returning to the big screen. We are eating, my four-eyed friends! Now, storm the cap— wait… wait, sorry, that… I got too excited.