It’s a big year for the X-Men’s team leader, with DLC appearances in 3 games in completely different genres, a return to the big screen in Avengers: Doomsday, and the second season of X-Men 97 continuing to give us some of the best X-Men on-screen stuff yet.
But it wasn’t so long ago that Cyclops was considered one of Marvel’s dullest heroes; despite appearing in 7 films, he had a perception as the boring boy scout. A romantic obstacle for Wolverine and Jean Grey, and certainly not the fierce leader, strategist and fighter audiences know now. But one animated series changed everything for the character.
So, what went wrong and why is everyone suddenly so in love with the founding member of the mutant super-team?
What Fox Got Wrong
I think everyone’s negative perception of the character comes back to this depiction, and this isn’t James Marsden’s fault; in fact, I think his return in Doomsday could be great. Making Wolverine the cinematic protagonist was done at Cyclops’ expense. Every quality that made Logan likeable came with a matching flaw for Scott to pit him against Logan.
A key part of their dynamic to me is that neither is entirely right when they butt heads; Cyclops shoulders the responsibility of a team fighting existential threats, and Wolverine’s maverick tactics then make him a thorn in Cyclops’ side. But on the flip side, Wolverine is “the best he is at what he does”; he knows he can quickly eliminate threats even if it doesn’t align with Scott’s morals.
Unfortunately, the films never endear us to Scott or his relationship with Jean; they try to make the audience root for Logan and Jean and, in doing so, give us no reason to like Scott. He isn’t shown to be the heavy hitter he is in the source material; he doesn’t make any successful tactical decisions; I don’t think we ever see him win a fight. Instead, he spends three movies obsessed over Jean, and constantly flaunting an unearned arrogance that makes Logan and the audience find him unlikeable. Unfortunately, this all culminated in an unceremonious demise that gets lost in deaths the film would rather dwell on.
Years after James Marsden’s depiction, we got Tye Sheridan in the role with X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, again an actor who I don’t think did a bad job. Sadly, Apocalypse is largely concerned with being an origin for classic team members, so it doesn’t give them a lot to play with in terms of what we like about these characters. Though the film doesn’t hesitate to remind us that he doesn’t like Wolverine, Jean does, and he’s immediately obsessed with her. Dark Phoenix, despite the last film’s promise of a comic-accurate team, again reserves Cyclops to be angry and upset about Jean with not much else for him.
Overall, his cinematic appearances have just not done him justice, but some recent adaptations seem to have turned the fans’ favour his way.
What Makes Cyclops Such a Great Character
If you aren’t familiar with the source material or the recent depictions, you might be thinking, but what’s so cool about Cyclops? What am I meant to like or, hell, even respect, about this annoying, whiny boy scout with laser eyes?
Scott Summers is one of the X-Men’s absolute best characters, hell maybe one of Marvel’s. Until recently, I was also in the dark, but I’ve spent the past few years reading a lot of X-Men and can confidently say, Cyclops is cool.
Disability
Firstly, I think Scott is one of the best depictions of the stories the X-Men are always trying to tell. The mutants have always been used as an analogy for many marginalised groups; this has been portrayed in a lot of different ways. But I think Scott is an excellent depiction of disability; now I know Professor X is the obvious choice for that sort of representation, and that certainly is there. But I’ve always felt Scott immerses a reader in a life with disability better than most characters.
Scott’s Powers, despite common belief, are not “laser eyes”. He unleashes a concussive force uncontrollably from his eyes, kept in check by Ruby Quartz visors or glasses. But what’s interesting is his powers aren’t inherently without control; he sustained a brain injury at a young age that meant his powers couldn’t be controlled.
Cyclops’ powers and brain injury mean he constantly sees the world in red; he can’t look at his loved ones with his own eyes; he constantly has to be on, always assuring his eyes are guarded, or everyone around him is at risk. Classic comics tend to have thought bubbles that reexplain characters’ powers every issue, the idea being that anyone could grab a new issue and get it. But something I also got out of this was that Scott is always thinking about everyone else’s safety. He cannot slip, he cannot falter, he can never just be himself.
My wife is disabled, and I know that having a disability means constant consideration for how to approach a day. I think anyone suffering from disability or long-term health problems can relate to the thought it requires, and that’s one of the main things that made me fall in love with the character.
Also, he’s cool.
X-Men 97
Comics enlightened me to the deeper nuances of a character I now adore. But first, X-Men 97 showed me that Cyclops is cool; he’s a badass, and Wolverine got the spotlight for far too long.
X-Men 97 gives us a character who is a fantastic leader, charismatic, firm, and completely trusts in his team. He knows what they can do, and he knows who can do it best. He trusts his team, but he’s also fully willing to put himself on the front line for them, because guess what? He’s one of the heavy hitters!
In the first episode of X-Men 97, we see Cyclops almost immediately in an incredible action sequence, using his kinetic blasts to both take out enemies and manoeuvre around the room in the most creative and fun uses of a power that most probably thought boring. Then, when a Sentinel mid-flight attacks the team, Scott quickly dispatches the mechanical menace, the team secure themselves (knowing he’s fine), and he proceeds to slow his descent with a full unleash of his optic blasts! The imagery mirrors a nuclear explosion, and as the dust clears, we see the visor’s red glow and a classic superhero landing.
The show gives us a version of Scott that knows how to use his powers; he’s had these all his life, trained to fight, and grown up with Professor X teaching him. So, when the show gave us all these incredible action scenes, with such creative use of his abilities, it showed us that Scott isn’t just competent; he’s exceptional. It showed us that he’s more imaginative than us; his first thought isn’t to just stand and blast; he knows more of what he can do than just “pew pew”.
That first episode made everyone go, “Wait, is Cyclops cool?” Yes, yes, he is.
Now there’s a whole season of television after that with some incredible storytelling. The complicated relationship with Jean and Madelyne, his fatherhood of Nathan/Cable, and a dynamic with Wolverine which is FUN to watch. If you haven’t watched it, you need to, because this show is the precursor to an era of Cyclops adoration.
Marvel Trusts Cyclops Now
With all the goodwill X-Men 97 brought back to not just Cyclops, but the X-Men in general, we’re now seeing the character return everywhere, with James Marsden’s return in Doomsday and voice actor Ray Chase continuing to play the character in subsequent VO appearances.
Marvel Rivals
The immensely popular hero shooter introduced the character as one of its latest heroes on June 12th as part of its Season 8.5 update. He plays as a high-damage-dealing sharpshooter, with ricocheting blasts and multiple moves that give him extra manoeuvrability, clearly inspired by X-Men 97’s opening action sequence.
In fact, Cyclops is currently the top-played hero, leading with a 22.32% pick rate. The next most picked character is at 17%
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
This nostalgic beat-em-up from the developers of TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge has been a recent highlight of gaming for me, a classic couch co-op experience with a ton of Marvel characters perfectly realised. Cyclops was the first and latest DLC add-on with the promise of more to come.
Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls
The highly anticipated tag team fighting game just announced its first DLC character at SDCC as none other than the leader of the X-Men. Though this time in his Phoenix form from the Avengers vs X-Men comic event, fingers crossed for a classic skin like we’re seeing for Cap and Iron Man.
Avengers: Doomsday
Finally, James Marsden returns, this time in costume inspired by his 90’s depiction, a classic fan favourite look that has still maintained some of the detailing of his black leather from the original films, a fun connection. Avengers: Doomsday might not have the same build-up as Infinity War or Endgame, but as an albeit recent but massive X-Men fan, I’m hopeful for some solid X-Men stuff. Hopefully lessons are learnt, and Scott’s less desirable traits from the old movies have been ditched with the black leather.
The Future of X-Men
We now know that Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier is directing an MCU reboot of the X-Men, likely part of a larger Marvel reboot post Avengers: Secret Wars. We don’t know much about the film, but rumours suggest a return to the classic team, and names like The Long Walk‘s Cooper Hoffman have circulated for Cyclops.
Thunderbolts* was certainly one of Marvel’s stronger entries in recent years, tackling themes of depression, isolation, and found family. So, my confidence in Schreier’s ability to adapt the X-Men is high.
I only hope that Marvel can start to show some focus on core characters in this next era; these last few years have felt more like 20 solo instalments without active development on a core cast. Frankly, the future of Marvel being X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man could be an incredible full circle moment.
Twenty years ago, Cyclops was the boring one. Today he’s starring in fighting games, beat-’em-ups, hero shooters and leading Marvel’s biggest animated series. That’s not because Scott Summers changed. It’s because audiences are finally getting the version comic readers have loved for decades, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
