10 Facts About Cyclops That Only Comic Book Fans Know Of
Cyclops has been usually the leader of the X-Men in the movies. But his role is more complicated in the comics. The character has been through many ups and downs since his debut and most of them are yet to be shown on screen. Cyclops has been the witness of the major events of the X-Men since the beginning. He is connected to the Marvel Universe in a complex and intriguing manner. And now I’m going to present some facts about Cyclops that only ardent comic book readers are aware of.
1. He killed Professor X
Scott Summers’ behavior in his marriage with Madelyne was not good. He was not behaving properly while he killed Professor X at the end of the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event. The murder of Cyclops’ mentor is one of the shocking deaths in Marvel Comics. He was bonded with a fragment of the Phoenix Force and lashed out against the Avengers. Professor X attempted to interfere but Cyclops killed him and became the Dark Phoenix at the same time.
2. Mr. Sinister is obsessed with his family
Most of the X-Men villains are legends and the others are lame. Mr. Sinister is somewhere between depending on fans’ taste but his fixation on the Summers family has kept him at the comics’ forefront for a long time. He has been looking for Summers DNA for decades and trying to create the ultimate mutant. In some way, his ambitions have proven to be fruitful because of his contribution to the Resurrection Protocols on Krakoa in the current X-Men comics.
3. He formed X-Factor
Cyclops was in and out of the X-Men comics several times in the 80s. One of the most significant departures resulted in the formation of the X-Factor. It was a team comprised of the original five X-Men. The team returned together in 1986 while Jean Grey was found to be still alive. It was unveiled that she never died but the Phoenix Force has just impersonated her during the Dark Phoenix Saga. The team worked once as a government unit before they were eventually folded back into the X-Men during the 90s.
4. He married a clone of Jean Grey
A Marvel Comics couple that actually existed in the comics is Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor. When Jean Grey died at the end of The Dark Phoenix Saga, Cyclops surprised the X-men by meeting and marrying Madelyne who looked exactly like Jean. This turned out to be more than a coincidence since she was later revealed as a clone of Jean Grey created by Mr. Sinister. Their marriage could end in disaster with Madelyne becoming the Goblin Queen and dying in the Inferno crossover event in the late 80s.
5. Both his children are from the future
The complexity of the Summers family is generational. Cyclops’ children hail from the future but are from different timelines. The first one is Rachel Summers who comes from the dystopian future of the Days Of Futures Past storyline and later one of the most successful X-Men movies. The other one, Nathan Summers could be infected by a techno-organic virus and sent to the future to be cured. He would return as an older man, known as Cable. Rachel and Cable are the most powerful members of the Summers family.
6. He has a secret fourth brother
The family tree of Cyclops is complicated than others. Apart from Alex Summers or the mutant Havok, they have another brother Vulcan. It was unveiled recently that there is a fourth Summers brother, Adam-X, a product of the extreme era of the 1990s. Adam-X was teased as a potential Summers at that time but never shown to be before he fell out of favor. The recent X-Men Legends comic series brought the story to life and revealed the connection to the Summers within the mainstream Marvel community.
7. His father is a space pirate
Initially, it was said that Cyclops’ parents passed away in a plane crash while he was young. It was later retconned when it was unveiled in Uncanny X-Men #154 that Corsair, a space pirate and member of the Starjammers, is Scott’s real father. The Starjammers instantly became a major part of the X-Men lore, connecting them to the cosmic portion of the Marvel Universe and the Shi’ar Empire specifically. The Starjammers are a part of the comics today where Corsair shares a habitat on the moon with Scott and his larger family.
8. He was in love with Emma Frost
The most unexpected romance in X-Men comics is of Cyclops and Emma Frost the White Queen. The relationship started in the pages of the New X-Men in the early 2000s while the two started a psychic affair when Cyclops was still in a relationship with Jean Grey. Emma Frost’s actions are mostly considered manipulative and she was not acting as she cares for Scott, she actually did. The two remained together for a long time till Jean Grey returned to the comics.
9. He fought Storm for the leadership of X-Men
Traditionally, Cyclops is the leader of the X-Men in the field. But he is not the only one. He had fought Storm for getting the leadership of the group in one of the most dynamic battles between X-Men. He stayed away from the team for some time and returned and challenged Storm to duel in the Danger Room in Uncanny X-Men #201. Her powers were recently stripped from her and even without that, Storm won and secured her place in the hierarchy of the X-Men forever.
10. He became an anti-hero
After he killed Professor X, Cyclops changed to a darker and violent figure. His actions led him into the realm of being an anti-hero with his preemptive and merciless tactics alerting his friends and allies. It brings a deep divide between the X-Men to the point where the Beast considers the only solution as to go back in time and bring back the original five X-Men that includes Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Iceman, and Angel into the present to start over.
Were you aware of these facts about Cyclops? Let us know in the comments.
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