The X-Men are one of the greatest superhero teams of all time. Their role as protectors of a world that hates and fears them is a unique concept that has lent itself to thought-provoking storylines tackling serious themes like prejudice and identity. And this team of mutant heroes is led by the best leader Marvel Comics has ever created: Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. A founding member of the X-Men and the team’s field leader, Cyclops is an incredible tactician who knows how to best utilize his teammates’ abilities to achieve victory against overwhelming odds. However, while Cyclops is an exceptional strategist, what truly sets him apart from other leaders like Captain America or Mr. Fantastic is his unshakeable quest to ensure the survival of mutantkind.
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After years of being put on the sidelines in films that constantly prioritize Wolverine, Cyclops may finally be getting the recognition he deserves in Avengers: Doomsday. The third teaser trailer already shows him unleashing his full destructive might with his optic blasts. Hopefully, the movie will showcase his incredible leadership skills as well.
Cyclops is Mutantkind’s Ultimate Savior
One of Cyclops’ best qualities is also one of his most contentious. The X-Men are more than just another superhero team: they are the protectors and representatives of all mutantkind who most of humanity would gladly see wiped off the face of the Earth. Professor X created the X-Men to teach mutants how to use their powers to advocate for his dream of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans. Sadly, between evil mutants like Apocalypse and bigoted humans like the Purifiers, that dream may never become a reality. Cyclops recognizes the problems with Professor X’s idealism and tries to take the best parts of his mentor’s philosophy while also mixing it with his own grim pragmatism for the sake of mutant survival and liberation.
Whenever mutantkind is on the verge of extinction, Cyclops is always there to pick up the pieces and make the hard choices others are unwilling to make. When Scarlet Witch wiped out over 90% of mutants after the events of House of M, Cyclops turned the X-Mansion into a sanctuary for the last of mutantkind. With so few mutants left, everyone from hate groups to world governments saw it as their chance to exterminate the last mutants on Earth. To counteract this, Cyclops reassembled the task force known as X-Force to kill anyone who threatened mutantkind, a significant departure from Professor X’s peaceful rhetoric. This strategy proved effective, and Cyclops was able to establish a new sanctuary on the island of Utopia, where mutants prospered.
Other storylines that show Cyclops saving mutantkind include Avengers vs X-Men, Death of X, and From the Ashes. In Avengers vs. X-Men, Cyclops’ actions, driven by his fierce dedication to saving mutantkind, resulted in many deaths, but ultimately led to Hope Summers using the Phoenix Force to restore the powers of countless mutants, allowing Cyclops to achieve his intended goal. In Death of X, Cyclops sacrificed his life to destroy one of the Inhumans’ Terrigen Mist clouds that were killing mutants across the world. This action made Cyclops a martyr and inspired other mutants to fight the Inhumans. And after the mutant nation of Krakoa was destroyed and mutants were left vulnerable, it was Cyclops in From the Ashes who assembled a new team of X-Men to protect mutantkind.
Additionally, although Cyclops is morally gray, there are lines that he’s unwilling to cross. When the Skrulls attack the X-Men during Secret Invasion, Cyclops orders Beast to create a virus to wipe them out. However, in part due to Beasts’ counsel Cyclops recognizes that committing genocide would be against everything he stands for, so he didn’t release the virus. This event shows how Cyclops’ ideology and practice fall squarely in the middle of Professor X and Magneto’s teachings. Professor X believes in unwavering pacifism, while Magneto preaches violent revolution. Cyclops recognizes that while violence is sometimes necessary to preserve mutantkind, it should only be used as a last resort, and that true freedom for the mutants cannot be built on the annihilation or subjugation of another species.
Cyclops Excels at Being Every Type of Leader Imaginable
In Marvel Comics, there are plenty of superhero team leaders who cross ethical lines and save countless people. What stands out most about Cyclops as a leader is that he excels at every type of leadership. Where other heroes like Captain America are better suited to the role of a soldier and field leader, Cyclops is all of that, as well as a teacher, a political figure, and an activist. Moreover, Cyclops is more than just a commander of the X-Men: he is the face of mutantkind’s indomitable willpower and ability to survive.
Cyclops’ skill as a field leader cannot be overstated. Trained for this role since he was just a teenager, Cyclops has been fighting on the front lines for almost his entire life. This experience allows him to formulate complex plans that leverage his teammates’ strengths and weaknesses and how they can work together. He can accurately assess both allies and enemies, allowing him to create countermeasures for virtually every possible scenario. This same ability also enables him to use the environment to his advantage, precisely angling his optic beams to ricochet and take out dozens of opponents at once. Even stubborn X-Men like Wolverine will sometimes admit that Cyclops deserves his role as the X-Men’s commander.
Cyclops’s ability to read people benefits him not only as a soldier but also as a teacher. Throughout X-Men’s history, Cyclops has often taken on the role of educator and even co-headmaster of Xavier’s School of Gifted Youngsters. Cyclops can be strict, but he’s also patient and empathetic, carefully working with his students so they can learn to control their gifts. Not only is he one of the foremost superhero leaders, but he’s also molding the next generation of mutants, teaching them how to use their powers and become heroes themselves. And while some have criticized him for effectively creating child soldiers, Cyclops knows better than anyone that mutant children must learn as early as possible how to defend themselves against a world that wants to kill them.
Cyclops is more than a leader of heroes or of a school; he is the guiding force of the entire mutant race. Across the planet, and with populations at times millions-strong, mutants often look to Cyclops as their savior who will always fight for their rights and their future. During the establishment of Utopia, Cyclops led the island nation with fairness. Additionally, he was at the forefront of international relations and politics, serving as the face of mutant unification and sovereignty. And even when he’s not governing mutantkind, he’s taking on the role of a political activist who won’t stand for mutant oppression. His willpower and strategic thinking also inspire other mutants to follow in his footsteps.
No other leader in Marvel Comics history has the wealth of experience, tactical skills, success rate, and versatility that Cyclops displays time and again. Although Cyclops can sometimes come off as cold and too serious, it’s because he has the unrivalled burden of fighting for a future where mutantkind can live freely and prosper.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
