Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, was never my favorite member of the X-Men. He felt like a flat, uninteresting do-gooder whining in the shadow of Wolverine’s more exciting and controversial tactics. Two major forces have restricted Scott’s personal development throughout his life: the dream of his father/mentor Professor Charles Xavier to achieve human and mutant coexistence, and the destructive love of his soul mate, Jean Grey. By desperately trying to be the man reflected in Xavier and Jean’s eyes, Scott lost any sense of defining identity. Now, 50 years since the character’s creation, readers have finally met the “true” Cyclops––a man who may be the most important mutant in Marvel history.
Leading Another Man’s Mission
First appearing in X-Men #1 (1963) by Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, Scott was branded as the team leader and ideological poster child to Xavier’s teachings. His mutant power manifested in uncontrollable optic blasts that shoot from his eyes with immense force unless tempered by ruby quartz glasses or goggles. From his teenage years, that lack of control over a vital part of his being caused Scott to live in fear of his own power. Fear created a reserved, cautious persona that latched onto Xavier’s dogma.
Scott became the classic, vanilla hero. Hand-picked by Xavier to embody his legacy, and with little knowledge of his own biological family, Scott could not question his role. He cherished the approval of his surrogate father. Amidst this constant pressure, Scott found his true––and most destructive––love of his life: fellow X-Man, Jean Grey.
A Cycle of Love and Loss
The love of Jean Grey became everything to Scott, even more than Xavier’s mission. It made him feel like a man, made him feel normal, but it was a star-crossed relationship that shredded his psyche time and time again. After the epic insanity of the Phoenix Saga, Scott believed Jean was dead. This set off a period of mourning where he left the X-Men, all he had ever known. He married Madelyn Pryor, who looked far too much like Jean, and even had a child only to ditch them when Jean resurfaced, very much alive. It was a real shitty move, but rational decision-making always fell off the table when Jean was involved.
With Jean back, Scott once again found himself leading a team of X-Men…only to have Xavier get arrested and jailed after the Onslaught crisis. The greatest man Scott had ever known was now a terrorist in the public eye. Scott would continue Xavier’s mission of peace between humanity and mutants, but the goal seemed more impossible than ever.
Scott and Jean got married, but it wasn’t long before uber-villain Apocalypse bonded with Scott and, in effect, unlocked his mind to the identity problems that had plagued him. To make matters worse, Xavier was rarely a constant presence in his life anymore for a variety of outlandish reasons. Without Xavier’s influence, the changes in Scott’s personality and morals put a wedge between himself and Jean. Scott turned to the telepath/sometimes villain, Emma Frost, for psychic therapy sessions to sort out the muck that was his psyche. When Jean died yet again, Scott latched onto Emma for mental and physical solace. They led the X-Men as co-headmasters, causing Scott’s teammates and friends to seriously begin questioning his state of mind.
No More Mutants
The island of Genosha, once a place of mutant slavery, had become a nation for mutants…until a sentinel killed untold millions. Soon after, Scarlet Witch accidentally depowered nearly ever mutant on the planet. Following the tragedy of M-Day, Scott made even more controversial decisions that were less and less like a carbon copy of Xavier’s dream. He even went so far as to use biological warfare against an invading alien force. Humans hated mutants more than ever with Scott at the forefront of their fear, no matter how many times he and the X-Men saved the world. They were never accepted, not like The Avengers or the Fantastic Four.
What more could Scott do to pursue Xavier’s dream? He was failing as a leader and a moral compass for mutantkind.
A Schism in Utopia
Scott finally had enough and relocated the X-Men to an autonomous island/nation called Utopia. Threat after threat bombarded Utopia, pushing Scott further towards extreme measures. Many of his fellow X-Men abandoned him, most notably Wolverine.
Their ideologies had always been at odds and definitively clashed in the Schism storyline––the culmination of a 40-year-long grudge. The X-Men were split in two: those loyal to Scott stayed at Utopia while Wolverine and the others formed The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. With the mutant race nearly extinct and most of his closest friends no longer believing in him, Scott was on the verge of a psychological explosion.
Avengers vs. X-Men
When the Phoenix Force was discovered heading to Earth, likely to destroy the planet, the X-Men and Avengers were pitted against each other. Hope, the first mutant born after M-Day, was considered the mutant messiah. She was targeted as the new host for the Phoenix, and the Avengers wanted to take her into custody “for her own protection.” Scott would not allow one of his mutants to be removed from their home like a criminal because of the Avengers’ fears. He believed Hope and the Phoenix Force were the key to mutant rebirth––not destruction. Neither side would budge. Scott called out Captain America on his hypocrisy: despite all of Cap’s moral grandstanding, he never stood up for mutants.
The Phoenix Force ended up possessing five key X-Men, Scott included, who literally remade the world into a place of peace and prosperity. But the Avengers only saw power without control. One by one, the Phoenix X-Men were taken out until only Scott remained, wielding the full power of the Phoenix. When Xavier confronted him, Scott killed his mentor and father. The Phoenix crisis passed, and mutant rebirth did occur, but Scott would never be the same. He was jailed then broken out by archenemy Magneto, now the new face of both mutant terrorism and mutant freedom.
Xavier’s dream was dead, and Scott had become the most wanted mutant on the planet.
Fugitive or Revolutionary?
Scott went on the run and was no longer welcome among the X-Men. They hated him for killing Xavier. To make matters worse, the Phoenix force had caused his powers to become more out of control than ever. It was the most alone and uncertain he had been since a teenager.
Scott became a violent revolutionary, willing to use whatever force necessary to defend and free mutants. Despite being labeled a criminal, he found niche support among both the mutant and human communities as a sort of Ché-esque counterculture revolutionary.
Scott began to actively recruit young mutants to his “New Xavier School” before SHIELD or others could find––and detain––them.
Scott and his students were constantly hunted…then the reading of Charles Xavier’s will changed everything.
A revelation about a dangerous mutant destroyed what Scott thought he knew about his father…and himself. Once again adrift, Scott closed down his school and sent his students to the Jean Grey School.
To this day, Scott Summers is still trying to find himself. Is he Professor X’s golden child and legacy in the flesh? Is he a dangerous revolutionary? There’s no easy answer. The simple happiness of a loving wife and a rock-solid ideal never seems to be in the cards for Scott. Without Jean or Xavier, all he has are his own, questionable actions to measure his moral quality.
All I know is that Scott Summers is more interesting than he has ever been. He is conflicted. He is dangerous. He is his own man.
He is Cyclops.
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Great refresher, Jeff, on a character who’s been largely overshadowed in the past decade’s cinematic superhero renaissance (despite his inclusion in five X-MEN films). I used to read X-FACTOR back in the late eighties, and Cyclops was always a character I defined by his particular physical ability, which I found fascinating, but I never had much of a sense of him beyond his optic blasts and upstanding leadership qualities; Batman and Wolverine, in contrast, had distinct, identifiable personalities supporting their superheroic skills/idiosyncrasies that resonated with my preteen sensibilities. I haven’t kept up with Cyclops’ comic-book exploits since those bygone X-FACTOR days, so it’s interesting to learn how he’s evolved psychologically for a more sophisticated, 21st-century style of storytelling. Marvel has clearly taken the character, based on your overview, to some interesting places in recent years; perhaps it’s time Scott and I got reacquainted!