Who is Cyclops? X-Men leader’s powers & origins explained

Before the return of the X-Men to television, theaters, and a rebooted comics presence, here’s everything you need to know about their leader, Cyclops. 

The upcoming release of X-Men ’97 and the looming arrival of the X-Men in the MCU has fans looking back to classic X-Men characters yet again. 

Currently, the X-Men in the comics are preparing for another reboot. Though details about the next era of X-Men have not been revealed yet, fans expect something more traditional that lines up with their depiction in future projects. 

Appropriately, perhaps no one is more front-and-center in the X-Men than Cyclops, the character who has been the face of the team since they debuted.

Who is the X-Men’s Cyclops?

Traditionally, Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is the leader of the X-Men. He debuted alongside the other original X-Men – Marvel Girl, Angel, The Beast, and Iceman – in 1963’s The Uncanny X-Men #1. 

Cyclops was orphaned as a child when he was thrown out of a crashing plane by his parents, along with his brother, Alex. The two are separated after Alex is adopted out of the orphanage, which is secretly run by genetic terrorist Mister Sinister, who takes an interest in Scott’s potential. 

Eventually, Scott’s mutant gift—powerful optic blasts emitted from his eyes—would manifest. However, head trauma sustained in the plane accident left him unable to control his powers without special glasses made of ruby quartz. After an accident with his powers nearly killed a crowd, Scott fled the orphanage. Eventually, he would find himself in the care of Professor Charles Xavier, who took him in as his first student. 

Even after the other members of the original team departed Xavier’s following Giant Size X-Men #1, Cyclops remained a mainstay. His tenure as an X-Man is marked by some remarkable feats, including shepherding the mutant race in the wake of M-Day back to survivable numbers and his tenure at Xavier’s, where he’s led young mutants to prosperous lives both in and out of the X-Men.  

While most humans fear him because he’s a mutant, plenty of other heroes show him respect, though it’s often begrudgingly. Many of his actions to defend mutants–like fighting the Avengers to keep them from capturing the Phoenix Force or attacking government officials who incarcerated young mutants–leave him branded a terrorist. 

However, he’s also had some truly staggering trauma inflicted on him, including the revelation that his second wife, Madeline Pryor, was a clone made by Sinister to manipulate him and the decision to leave his newborn son, Nathan, to be raised in the future so he could survive a techno-organic virus.

In the Krakoa era, Cyclops serves as something of a figurehead for the mutant race, leading by example as an elected member of the X-Men. 

Cyclops’ powers & weaknesses in Marvel Comics explained

Cyclops’ mutant power consists of powerful concussive beams generated through his eyes. The beams are fueled by ambient cosmic radiation, which his body processes into energy. 

Though they fire from his eyes, Cyclops has minimal natural control over them as a result of head trauma. He can only stop them unaided by shutting his eyes or covering them with his hands; otherwise, they fire wildly in a wide burst when his eyes are open. The beams can be stopped by ruby quartz, which he has numerous accessories–including sunglasses, visors, and contact lenses–forged from to control and direct them. 

With his ruby quartz visor, Cyclops has precise control over the beams. He’s able to fire a wide burst that can level fields or fire a narrow beam with such accuracy that he can punch a hole in an object–or a person. Extensive combat training has given him sniper-like accuracy with his beams. 

It is a common misconception, but the beams do not produce heat. Instead, they’re a purely concussive force. 

While Cyclops himself has no telepathic abilities, his training with Professor X, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost has given him extensive psychic training and conditioning, making him incredibly resistant to telepathic attacks. 

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