Cyclops (comics)
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Cyclops (Scott Summers, occasionally nicknamed "Slim") is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #1 (1963).
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Character history
When Scott was a boy growing up in Alaska, his father, USAF Major Christopher Summers, took the family for a flight in their airplane. It came under attack by an alien Shi'ar spaceship. As the plane went down in flames, Scott's parents fastened him and his younger brother Alex into a parachute and pushed them off the plane, in hopes that they would survive. Unfortunately, the parachute caught fire, and Scott struck his head upon landing. This caused brain damage to Scott, which is responsible for his inability to control his optic blasts, as well as prolonged amnesia about his childhood.
Cyclops had long believed that his parents had died in the plane accident. In fact, they had been captured and sold into slavery by the Shi'ar. As a adult member of the X-Men, Cyclops met his father, now known as Corsair, leader of the Starjammers, a group of aliens opposing what they saw as the tyranny of the Shi'ar empire. Several more years passed before the two learned of each other's true identities.
Cyclops had an on-again/off-again relationship with Marvel Girl during their time in the X-Men, culminating in her tragic death as she tried to pilot a space shuttle through a solar flare, her rebirth as Phoenix, and her suicide on the Moon. Cyclops left the X-Men for a while after this, drifting for several months until reunited with the team against Magneto. Not long after, Cyclops met Madelyne Pryor, an uncanny double of Marvel Girl, and they married. Cyclops and Madelyne had a son, Nathan Christopher Summers, who was later sent into a future timeline to become the cyborg called Cable.
However, the original Marvel Girl was not dead; her Phoenix identity turned out to be a cosmic entity who had supplanted her, placing her in a coma in a healing pod at the bottom of the ocean, to be eventually revived by The Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Cyclops left his wife and child and returned to Jean. She joined with Cyclops and the other original X-Men as X-Factor.
Goblins corruputed Madelyne's feelings of self-despair, transforming her into the Goblin Queen. Madelyne sought revenge on Cyclops for leaving her. When it was revealed that she was a clone created by Mr. Sinister, essentially for the purpose of becoming a broodmare, Madelyne couldnt take it anymore and killed herself. Scott then went on to pursue a romance with Jean.
Several years later, Cyclops and Jean Grey married. During their honeymoon, they were brought into the future where they raised Cable for the first 12 years of his life. After their return, she assumed the Phoenix identity. If this is the same cosmic force or just a further manefestation of her powers is unknown. Sometime afterwards, Cyclops was unwillingly merged with the villain Apocalypse, but Jean and Cable tracked him down and separated them, apparently killing Apocalypse in the process.
As a combination of the latent influences of Apocalypse's mind and Jean's emergent Phoenix persona, Scott and Jean gradually became more distant. Emma Frost, once known as the White Queen, a former villain who had reformed and joined the X-Men, took advantage of this situation to get close to Scott; the two had an affair and fell in love, to the detriment of all parties.
When Phoenix discovered the affair, she psychically assaulted Emma, who would refuse to tell Jean what was going on; Scott subsequently left the X-Men to mull over what was happening in his life. As he returned, someone in the guise of Magneto attacked the X-Men, killing Jean in the process.
Due to the actions of the Jean of an alternate future, in an attempt to prevent said future from coming to pass, Cyclops and Emma Frost are currently romantically involved, a fact that several of their teammates are none too happy with. They serve as co-headmasters of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
Powers and abilities
Cyclops is a mutant, possessing the power to project beams of concussive force from his eyes. Contrary to common assumption, no heat is involved. Due to an injury suffered in his early years, these beams are always "on", and can only be blocked by either closing his eyes or by a barrier of ruby quartz, which is what his sunglasses and visor are made of.
The visor is designed to open the quartz shield to varying widths to allow his optic blasts to fire freely when Cyclops desires it. He originally had to manipulate controls on the visor itself for firings, but his costume was later equipped with controls in his gloves for convenience. In addition, the visor has a backup spring loaded shutter mechanism to shut the visor should the regular powered system fail.
He is immune to the effects of his own powers, and those of his brother Alex (Havok); Alex shares a similar immunity.
Cyclops as a metaphor
Like many of the X-Men, Cyclops serves as a metaphor for an outcast. The early X-Men paralelled DC Comics' Doom Patrol in many ways; Doom Patrol was the story of a group of outsiders, cursed with their powers. In many early issues, Cyclops bemoans his curse of being unable to control his powers, making him an outsider and (he supposes) unnattractive to Marvel Girl. Cyclops later lost this personality trait when X-Men such as Nightcrawler, who has the physical appearance of a classical demon, and Rogue, who cannot touch another person without harming them, appeared in the comics.
Appearances in other media
In the X-Men film and its sequel, Cyclops was portrayed by James Marsden.
In the TV animated series X-Men: Evolution, Cyclops was voiced by Kirby Morrow.
External links
Categories: X-Factor members | X-Men members