X-Men fans can be forgiven for thinking Wolverine is their most dangerous member. Famed for his “berserker rages” and feral disposition, Logan can kill with a single swipe of his claws. He’s a skilled spy and former assassin, which means his enemies never see him coming. And yet, for all that’s the case, this week’s Cyclops #3 (by Alex Paknadel,ย Fernando Sifuentes, andย Roge Antonio) reveals why Wolverine really isn’t the most dangerous X-Man of all.
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Scott Summers’ old quinjet has been shot down over British Colombia, and he’s desperately trying to survive a hostile environment where he’s been hunted by Donald Pierce and a new generation of cyborg Reavers. Worse still, Cyclops’ visor has been shattered, essentially leaving him blind; Cyclops’ optic blasts would obliterate everything around him if he so much as cracked open his eyes. And yet, for all that’s the case, Cyclops still has the upper hand against enemies literally created and trained to hunt mutants.
Cyclops’ Optic Blasts Make Him a Powerhouse
Modern readers are rather more used to the idea Cyclops works with precision. He’s a deadshot and a skilled marksman, with a genius sense of spatial dimensions that means he can even do ricochet shots. Stripping Scott Summers of his visor (and even his glasses) means he can’t use his powers with finesse anymore. When he does choose to open his eyes, it’s to unleash the full power of those formidable optic blasts. Wolverine wasn’t kidding when he once quipped Cyclops had a nuclear bomb in his eyes, because Iron Man once measured his energy output as equivalent to a nuclear reactor.
Wolverine can stab you. Cyclops can obliterate you and the whole world around you. In this incredible scene, he blasts a Reaver apart and carves a hole in a cliff face. The truly remarkable thing, of course, is that this kind of power is available to Cyclops every second of the day, in every single one of his fights. “I tried to do this the right way,” he tells the Reaver threatening him. “The polite way. Just like I was taught. But you just wouldn’t let me.”
Cyclops’ Self-Confidence is the Result of His Own Training
Recent Marvel Comics have revealed a technique Professor X taught his closest X-Men, a way of resisting psychic interference. This gives Scott a defense against telepaths, but it also has another benefit – as he reveals in Cyclops #3, when he uses this “rudimentary defense protocol for psychic attacks” with a young mutant he’s trying to rescue from the Reavers. She’s shaken to learn she was under psychic attack, but Cyclops clarifies: “Sure, you were. From yourself.”
Cyclops is no stranger to doubt. But he has learnt to understand that doubt can be a form of psychic attack, a self-directed one that cripples you. No doubt Professor Xavier imagined this technique simply as a way for dealing with external threats, but Cyclops has turned it into a way of focusing himself, ensuring he can set aside panic and trauma to do the job in front of him. There’s a delightfully smug smile on his face as he explains it.
Cyclops Has Tactics, Not a Code
There’s one final reason Cyclops is the most dangerous X-Man; it’s because he’s the X-Men’s greatest leader, a skilled tactician who plans for almost every contingency. At one point, when leading the X-Men against an enhanced Juggernaut, he explained that he doesn’t even use the term “Plan B” – simply because that designation implies there a maximum of 26 plans. Cyclops’ tactical genius is demonstrated again in Cyclops #3, along with his sheer ruthlessness. He doesn’t waste resources, even viewing the half-destroyed body of a Reaver as a useful weapon he can turn to his advantage.
His words here are breathtaking. The defeated Reaver desperately attempts to argue Cyclops is supposed to have a code, but Scott isn’t interested in that; “You’re thinking of the one with the claws,” he observes. Cyclops will do what he needs to in order to win. He understands the stakes, he puts together the strategies, and there’s no line he won’t cross. This, most of all, is what makes Cyclops the most dangerous X-Man; Wolverine is predictable, simply killing his enemies, but Cyclops will weaponize them against their allies. This is one X-Man you really do not want to mess with.
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