Cyclops Writer Teases a Scott Summers They’ll Be Glad is On Their Side in New Series First Look (Exclusive)

Marvel is giving comics fans a bit of a belated holiday gift of sorts with the arrival of a new Cyclops limited series arriving in February. The series is the first solo for the iconic hero in about a decade and fans have been eager for one since, however, this isn’t going to be the Scott most fans expect. The series comes as part of the new Shadows of Tomorrow initiative and will see Cyclops in a struggle for survival as he’s alone in the mountains, hunted by Donald Pierce and the Reavers, and just to make things even more challenging, he won’t have his signature visor. The stakes and challenges may never have been higher for the hero.

ComicBook had the chance to chat with Cyclops writer Alex Paknadel about the exciting new series and if the general premise wasn’t enough to get you hooked, the type of Scott Summers we’re set to meet in this new adventure will. According to Paknadel, the scale of this story is big and a departure from the overall X-Men line, but more than that, the Scott Summers fans will meet on this adventure is one that might just be a little frightening — and we’ll all be glad he’s on our side.

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ComicBook: You are certainly no stranger to the X-Men, but this upcoming Cyclops series feels like such a big deal for fans since it’s his first solo series in a decade — not to mention that we’re going to be seeing this iconic character very much out of his well-controlled element. What sets this series apart, for you, from anything else you’ve ever done with the X-Men?

Alex Paknadel: The scale is obviously much bigger. I’ve written Scott before in a story called ‘Eversong’ (illustrated by Diogenes Neves) in the From the Ashes Infinity Comic series, which was a blast to work on; however, it was still very much laying track for what Jed and Steph were doing over in adjectiveless X-Men and Phoenix. This is my story, which is to say I’m not facilitating anyone else’s vision. It’s self-contained, it’s new reader-friendly, and it gives the best X-Man the showcase he deserves.

Tonally, I think this book is a bit of a departure from the line as it stands. I pitched this to Darren Shan and Tom Brevoort as a survival horror in the mode of The Grey or The Descent, and that’s exactly what it is. Scott Summers is pitched into the wilderness without access to the thing that defines him. Accordingly, it’s going to get bloody. I think readers will be surprised by how much latitude Rogê Antonio and I were given to mangle and maim in this book. All of which is to say, it’s a rollicking good time.

Others’ mileage may vary, but I’m lucky enough to be good pals with quite a few people who’ve written the guy before and I’m confident that this isn’t a different Scott; rather, it’s the Scott he usually has to hide behind the visor. My working hypothesis going in was that the reason Scott and Logan had friction early on is not because they’re too different; it’s because they’re too similar. We’re used to seeing Wolverine cutting loose and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. That struggle with his own bestial nature – the Apollonian and the Dionysian – is arguably the key to Wolverine’s popularity. Scott, I believe, endures the same constant struggle, but he simply cannot cut loose no matter what. If he does, he’ll level a city. The stakes are simply too high. This reputation he has for being buttoned-down and stuffy is a little unfair because he knows he can’t miss a step or everyone dies.

In terms of what surprised me, I’d say it’s how much he reminds me of my dad. My old man is the archetypal good guy that everyone – myself included – comes to when they have a problem, and he patiently bears it all. He picks up a screwdriver and gets on with whatever it is without a murmur of complaint. I love the man to death, but I almost never know what he’s thinking. Like Scott Summers, he quietly shoulders the burdens of his tribe and locks his own wants and needs away somewhere. I wasn’t ready for that realization, but it hit me like a truck.

Without spoilers, what is something you think readers will be surprised by with this book?

I think they’re going to find they’re a little bit frightened by Scott Summers and thank their stars he’s on our side.

Cyclops #1, written by Alex Paknadel with art by Roge Antonio, goes on sale February 11, 2026.

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