5 Reasons We Love Cyclops

The X-Men is one of Marvel’s preeminent teams, and as such, there are multiple names that come to mind when they’re mentioned. Heroes like Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, and Kitty Pryde are all noteworthy names, but it would be hard to argue that Cylcops hovers near the top of that list.

In recent years the character has undergone several transformations — some great, some not so great — but all of them have been interesting. Whether you sided with him during the Schism, empathized with him during Dark Reign, or hated him after he killed Xavier, the character has been one of the most compelling characters in the X-verse for quite some time.

With Death of X marching towards completion, finally revealing what kickstarts the Inhuman vs X-Men war, we thought it was appropriate timing to take a look at one of the X-Men’s most controversial figures (outside of Magneto), and why we love him so much.

His Ability To Lead

Scott Summers wasn’t always the most personable X-Man on the team, but the teammates under his command always knew he had their best interest at heart, and anything he asked of them he was willing to do himself.

This knack for being a capable leader has come in handy throughout the X-Men’s history, as no two X-teams are alike. From the original 5 students where Beast wasn’t blue and Iceman lacked any distinguishing facial features to the new era of X-Men that included the varied personalities of Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, and of course the always hot tempered Wolverine, the makeup is always in flux, and regardless he’s stepped up to the task.

Even when the teams themselves are somewhat stable, the reality in which they live is rather volatile, with humanity either in love with them, afraid of them, trying to kill them, or a mix of all three. The circumstances they find themselves in are always changing, and there are few things that they can count on. Cylcops just happens to be one of those things.

His Fearlessness

In the early days, Scott would gladly give his life for someone in need (including Jean an absurd amount of times), but eventually, Cyclops grew into a different type of fearless.

This version of Cyclops wasn’t afraid to bet on himself and take chances, not limiting himself to the small confines of what Xavier did before him. He saw that mutant kind needed a representative, one that could work with government (like in San Francisco) and show a side to mutants that had gotten lost along the way.

When that started to go south, he again forged a new direction and saw that mutants needed a place to call their own. He brought Magneto’s old headquarters to the surface, and named it Utopia, calling all mutants to feel as if they finally had a home that the governments couldn’t meddle with.

When situations called for it, he wasn’t afraid to create a new X-Force team, one that could tackle the threats that required a more permanent solution. Scott stopped placating Xavier and embraced change when it was needed. Not all his risks panned out of course, but he wasn’t afraid to take chances for the good of mutant kind, and that is a genuinely worthy trait.

The Emma Frost Years

Jean Grey is look at by many as the love of Scott’s life, and rightfully so. Their history’s are intricincisally linked, and theere will always be feelings between the two. That said, for several years, there was another woman who occupied Scott’s heart, and it was one of the best relatinships in comics.

Scott had already matured into a proven leader when he and Emma got together, but Emma brought an edge to Cyclops that he was missing before. In a short time, they seemed closer in some ways than Jean and Cyclops ever were. Emma embraced his cunning qualities and helped them to expand, and there was a trust between them that was hard to desribe, but was evidnet anytime they were on panel together.

She was intrumental in pushing him to new limits, and encouraged him to thin outside of the box. Even when she was on the Dark X-Men team, he still knew he could count on her when it counted, and that relatioship became the foundation for mutlipel X-teams over the years. Many thought it was forced in premise, but regardless of the reasons for it’s introduction, it quickly became the highlights of the X-books.

His Refusal To Back Down

If it’s for the benefit of mutant kind, Scott will take on just about anyone, including his longtime mentor Charles Xavier. That’s earned him many enemies over the years, but Scott doesn’t seem to care that much.

Scott dealt with the machinations and manipulation from Nathaniel Essex for most of his childhood and far into his adult life. Time and time again, Essex would attempt to manipulate Scott and push him down, but he always fought back. That same attitude has extended to the Hellfire Club, the Purifiers, and the Sentinel program. He’s never afraid of a challenge, and always believes in his skills as a tactician and his team’s abilities to come out on top.

That confidence has served him well outside of the X-community too, where he’s been started down by Norman Osborn, who was believed to be America’s ultimate good guy for a while there. Not only did Scott not back down from Osborn, he asked him to surrender and threw his demands in his face while wearing a jet pack. As you all know, jetpacks are fantastic, but it’s hard to look threatening while wearing one, yet Scott still made it work.

Scott isn’t afraid to stand against his fellow heroes either, whether it’s to do with a clash of ideals (Schism) or in regards to the treatment of one of their own (Avengers Vs X-Men), he’ll step to anyone in his way, including icons like Captain America.

What He’s Overcome

They say a person’s tribulations are what shape them into what they are destined to be. For Scott Summers, that couldn’t be truer.

For years Scott was isolated from his only surviving family by Mister Sinister, who experimented on the young mutant both mentally and physically. It wasn’t until he ran into Professor Xavier that he would start to form some semblance of a life, becoming one of the first X-Men and ultimately meeting the love of his life Jean Grey (though this writer is team Emma Frost all the way).

Jean was a constant source of heartbreak and struggle for Summers, as her interaction with the insanely powerful Phoenix force led to her dying on multiple occasions, and often with Summers somehow involved.

While he might be criticized for being a boy scout, especially in his earlier years, the man has had to make brutal decisions that might break anyone else. Scott had a child with Madeline Pryor named Nathan, but fate would mess with that as well. Apocalypse would infect their child with the techno virus, and forced him to make a choice. Either keep his son and see him die or hand him over to a guardian from the future who could help him survive and teach him how to live with his disease. He chose to give him up to see him live, and there is no way to argue just how immense that decision was.

If that wasn’t enough, Scott’s foundation was always crumbling underneath him. His mentor telepathically steered him and the other X-Men for years, and it was revealed that his younger brother Vulcan had been stowed away in space for safe keeping. His father and mother were actually taken captive by the Shiar emperor D’Ken. After D’Ken killed his mother, Corsair formed a group of space pirates known as the Starjammers to fight his rule. None of this was known to Scott, who believed he was alone save for his brother Alex.

Well, that’s our list, but make sure to let us know why you love Cyclops in the comments.