Cyclops

Real Name

Portrayed By	James Marsden
Gender	Male
Place of Birth	Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Birth	1982
Age	29
Aliases	Slim, Eric the Red
Origin	Mutant
Current Location	Xavier Institute
Occupation	Team Leader
Team	X-Men, Blue Team
Alignment	Hero
Known Relatives	Christopher Summers (father), Katherine Summers (mother, deceased), Alex Summers (brother), Madelyne Pryor (wife, deceased), Nathaniel Summers (son, whereabouts unknown), Rachel Summers (future daughter, maybe)
Significant Other	Jean Grey
Identity	Secret
Known Abilities	Optic Energy Beams, Piloting, Leadership and Logistics
First Appearance	X-Men #1

Character Details

An orphan, Scott Summers was recruited by Professor Xavier to be the first X-Man. Cyclops has been involved with the group with only a few absences since its inception. He is currently the leader of the Blue Team, which tends to handle the most violent X missions.

Cautious: Scott is just as impulsive as the next guy, but he has gotten good at keeping his impulses in check in order to make rational, well thought-out decisions. It is an extremely rare occurence for him to fly off the handle or to charge into battle without a plan. That's not to say that his decisions are fool-proof, he makes mistakes pretty frequently. But he does the best he can with the information that is available, rather than having a knee-jerk reaction. Risks occasionally need to be taken, but they're always educated risks. He doesn't gamble with lives. Or with anything else, usually.

Bossy: Scott has come a long way from the scrawny kid who was terrified by the thought of being in charge. He carries himself like a leader now, and speaks with the conviction that everyone will fall in line at the sound of his voice. Even though someone is usually arguing with him, he rarely feels the need to explain himself to his subordinates. Years of taking flak from everyone have made him all but immune to criticism, and his self-confidence is extremely contagious.

Loyal: Scott's loyalty to Professor Xavier might seem borderline sycophantic, until one looks at just how crappy Scott's life was before he met Xavier. Not only did Xavier give him a method of controlling his powers, but he also gave him an education, a tight group of friends, and a purpose in life. Ever since the Krakoa aftermath, Scott has realized that there is really only one place where he fits in. Living away from the X-Men has made Scott even more dedicated to his team and his job. Any reservations he might have had about spending his life in the service of mutantkind have been erased. Cyclops has become the X-Men's Mick Jagger, and he'll keep doing his thing long after he's far too old to do it.

Disciplined: Nobody calls Scott 'Slim' anymore, and with good reason. He has transformed himself over the years into a much more imposing physical specimen. Anyone who would ask why a guy whose power is to shoot things with his eyes would waste so much time in the gym clearly doesn't understand the Cyclops Method. He puts himself under constant pressure to perform at his peak in every single area of his life. If he isn't working out, he's in the Danger Room rehearsing combat scenarios. If he isn't in the Danger Room he's in the hangar making sure the Blackbird is ready to go at a moment's notice. If he isn't in the hangar he's checking his equipment. Scott literally has to be coerced into having fun, and even when he's having fun, he'd probably rather be prepping for the next mission. Cyclops enjoys discipline for the sake of discipline. He can't spend a day doing nothing without feeling guilty.

Strict: Cyclops is well known as a disciplinarian. He expects team members to be ready on time and in the proper uniform. He also expects them to spend large chunks of their time training in the Danger Room and improving their physical fitness. It's not unlike him to ruin a person's weekend because he thinks that person's reaction time could be just a touch quicker. His role as the X-Men's taskmaster does little to improve his popularity, but someone has to do it.

Reserved: It's hard to pinpoint exactly what caused Scott to be so boring. His shyness as a teenager was mostly caused by the bullying he endured as a child. But even when he found himself among friends he still tended to keep to himself. Scott's personality is usually so subdued that it takes a mind reader to find out what he's really feeling. More than one person has speculated that he's made of wood, or some similarly unexpressive material. This reserve makes him a very stable presence, and occasionally gives him a very calming effect on others. But it's also responsible for most of his problems with interpersonal relationships, especially where women are concerned.

Dry: Most people don't pick up on it, but Scott actually has a sense of humor. He's not boisterous or loud, and he doesn't often make anyone laugh. Rather, he expresses himself in an extremely dry, sarcastic manner that occasionally borders on nihilistic. He's very aware of how he is perceived by others, and has made peace with the fact that he's kind of boring. But he's not a complete robot, and his active mind is always simmering beneath his deadpan delivery.

Optimistic/Fatalistic: When the X-Men were formed, they had a pretty lofty mission statement. Charles Xavier's dream of humans and mutants coexisting peacefully was especially inspirational to young Cyclops. But as he has matured, the dream seems less and less realistic all the time. Cyclops still believes in Xavier's dream, but he doesn't believe that he will be alive to see it become a reality. If he works hard and does his best, maybe his children or grandchildren will live in a better world. Still, he puts on an optimistic face when dealing with his teammates. The young mutants he mentors might be tempted to think that Utopia is just around the corner. Friends who have known him long enough realize that his optimism is partly for show, and that Scott is really a pretty depressing guy.

JEEEEEANNN!!!: 'Nuff said.

TACTICS: Scott has a prodigious capacity for multi-layered abstract thought. His ability to think outside the box makes him a very creative tactician. This is fortunate, because when one has a rotating cast of mutants under one's command, one has to be able to think up some pretty crazy strategies in order to use all of one's assets fully. One week Cyclops might be working with a bunch of uber-powerful heavy hitters. The next week it might be him and Jubilee against an army of Sentinels. But regardless of the circumstances in which he finds himself, or the assets at his disposal, Cyclops seems to always come out on top. He has even fought the entire X-Men roster and managed to exploit their weaknesses to evade capture while avoiding causing any of them serious harm.

PILOTING: If he weren't an X-Man, Cyclops would probably be a Blue Angel. He has logged thousands of hours in one of the most sophisticated aircraft ever constructed. The other X-Men are all certified to fly the Blackbird, but when the mission requires an especially skillful touch it's almost always Cyclops behind the controls.

MARTIAL ARTS: Cyclops is a black belt in both judo and aikido. Both of these martial arts forms focus on redirecting an opponents energy in order to defend oneself while causing minimal harm to the attacker. He knows a lot of different techniques for throwing an enemy, which he often uses in close quarters to create the space he needs to fire his optic blasts. But when the occasion presents itself, Cyclops can also throw a decent punch.

MENTAL RESISTANCE: Like most of the X-Men, Cyclops has received a great deal of mental training from Professor X. He is able to close off his mind to telepathic attacks much more effectively than an untrained person. Any sufficiently skilled telepath would still be able to read Cyclops like a pop-up book, but he knows enough to give young telepaths a struggle. He can also keep surface thoughts from being too obvious under most conditions, so his stray thoughts and fantasies rarely cause him any embarassment.

MENTAL COMMUNICATION: The flipside of his mental training, Cyclops knows how to amplify his thoughts to ensure that telepaths will hear them. This is most effective with Professor X and Jean Grey, both of whom he has strong mental bonds with. Those two are pretty frequent visitors to Scott's mind. He's also been manipulated by people like Mastermind and Psylocke. Because of the frequent telepathic guests, he is also pretty familiar with the shifting landscapes that occur when he's inside another person's mind. His mind has been linked with others on several occasions, and although he'll probably never be used to it, and he's out of his element, at least he is able to keep his calm and function when forced into the more astral side of adventuring. Scott has gotten pretty quick to recognize when he's living out a fantasy or nightmare.

INSTRUCTION: Scott doesn't have the ability to hold the attention of a classroom as well as some of the more scintillating members of the X-Men senior staff, but he's a competent instructor in his own right. When teaching a class, he keeps things as concise as possible and doesn't waste anyone's time. This does not, however, keep students from becoming bored. He's much better at guiding people through missions in the Danger Room. The physical activity keeps students from falling asleep, and his calm manner and careful planning keeps the exercises from getting out of control.

LOGISTICS: There's a lot more to planning a mission that just picking who is going to use which power when. Cyclops also has to determine which gear to take, coordinate with local authorities, plan travel routes, ensure that his team is well-rested, ensure that his team is present, brief the team on the mission parameters, ensure that his team is paying attention to the briefing, check the expiration dates on the emergency rations, check the local weather conditions, and deal with the hundreds of other problems that always come up right before a mission. For the most part, he always keeps the logistical side of things running so smoothly that no one even notices. There has never been a time when a mission had to be cancelled because Cyclops forgot to put gas in the Blackbird.

AIRCRAFT: Ever since he was a little boy, Scott has been around aircraft. He knows his way around virtually anything that flies, and can do basic repairs on an aircraft provided he has the proper tools.

SPEECHES: Cyclops isn't an inspirational figure like Captain America. But when circumstances call for it, his understated speeches can be relatively eloquent and stir people to action. He has a clear, easily-heard speaking voice and doesn't trip over his words.

VEHICLES: Cyclops can operate most automobiles (including motorcycles) with better than average proficiency.

XAVIER: The most powerful telepath on Earth is Cyclops' personal mentor and friend. Xavier's brilliant mind and experience make him a source of sage advice. Additionally, he often serves as a communications hub, connecting the X-Men's thoughts to maximize their efficiency in combat. He can locate virtually anyone virtually anywhere in the world when he's plugged into Cerebro, and can find mutants before they are even aware that they are X-Factor positive.

He's also loaded, has contacts up the wazoo, and has an awesome mansion filled with alien equipment.

X-MEN: Although they're considered menaces by the majority of the world's population, the X-Men are gradually becoming recognized as a force for good. Being an X-Man might get you attacked by random picketers, but it also gets you some respect from the rest of the superhero community. Aside from the name recognition, the various X Teams have arguably the most impressive collective roster ever assembled. Telepaths, weather witches, geniuses, ninjas, big metal men who smash things, they're all hanging out at Xavier's pool waiting for something bad to happen somewhere.

VISOR: Cyclops' original visor was a simple piece of curved ruby quartz that lifted up and down when Cyclops pressed a switch on the side. Three versions later, the visor is a much more complicated piece of equipment. The fourth visor is constructed from multiple angled pieces of ruby quartz, high impact plastics, and microcircuitry. Using controls on the sides, Cyclops can adjust the width and the intensity of his beams. There are also backup controls in his gloves for those all too frequent occasions when his arms are pinned.

STARJAMMERS: Cyclops' long lost father is the leader of a band of space pirates. The X-Men have teamed up with the Starjammers on several occasions, and Cyclops considers the entire wacky crew part of his extended family. The Starjammers are occasionally hard to reach, being space pirates and all. But if they're anywhere in communications range, they'll probably come running if Cyclops ever calls them.

SHADES: For those occasions when a big yellow visor wouldn't be subtle enough, Scott has a variety of sunglasses constructed from ruby quartz. The shades aren't quite as functional as the visor, but they do enable him to fit in a bit more easily in social situations. He still looks a bit like a poser when he wears red sunglasses inside.

SINISTER: It's impossible to tell exactly how much of Scott's life has been engineered by Mister Sinister. Throughout Scott's childhood Sinister played a variety of roles in order to guide him down a specific path. The intervention of Charles Xavier seems to have done little to derail Sinister's long term plans. His fascination with the Summers bloodline has caused him to do all kinds of things to make the lives of Scott and Alex pretty crappy. However, it seems that his main interest was not in Scott at all, but only in his genetic material. Still, there's no guarantee that he won't continue to mess with Scott and those closest to him.

WOODEN: To the untrained observer, Cyclops can sometimes seem like he has no personality at all. This is especially apparent when he is contrasted with some of the more flamboyant members the X-Men have accumulated over the years. Because of his wooden mannerisms, he often has difficulty relating to other members of the team and isn't considered 'good with people'. This, combined with his goal-oriented outlook often causes people to feel as if he views his teammates as pawns. It also keeps him from getting invited out for a night of drinking with the boys.

BRAIN INJURY: As a child, Scott bumped his head pretty hard. Xavier believes that this is the reason he is unable to control his optic blasts fully. He can restrict the force a bit, but never truly shut the power off while his eyes are open. This means that he is effectively blind if his visor or glasses are knocked off of his head, which happens more often than he would prefer. Scott can almost never really relax, because the slightest accident could cause widespread destruction.

ENERGY NEEDS: Cyclops' optic blasts are not limitless. If he overuses the optic blasts they will gradually become weaker until there is almost no force behind them at all. In this state, he also experiences physical weariness which can lead to sluggish movement or cause him to pass out. This weakened state lasts until he has absorbed enough ambient energy from the environemt. In some cases, a blast of energy (usually from someone like Havok) can cause him to instantly become reinvigorated, and repowered.

On the flip side, if Cyclops goes too long without discharging his optic blasts, he experiences severe headaches which can only be relieved when he finally cuts loose. These headaches can become extremely debilitating.

BOY SCOUT: Because he attempts to hold himself to such high moral standards, Scott often finds himself in the unenviable position of being the X-Men's morality police. His holier than thou attitude can bring him into conflict with other members of the team, particularly those with shady backgrounds. People are sometimes dismissive of his opinions as being 'unrealistic', especially when they look at some of the moral failures in Scott's recent history.

DELIBERATE: Because he prefers to spend as much time as possible analyzing a situation before acting, Cyclops can sometimes be overly cautious. Sometimes it's better to react immediately with no plan than to waste time formulating a strategy. It's fortunate that Cyclops is usually teamed up with an overly impulsive personality, whether Angel from the original team or Wolverine from most of the others.

Scott's deliberate methodology becomes even more problematic where his personal life is concerned. It took him a ridiculously long time just to sort of halfway admit that he kind of sort of liked Jean, even though he was obviously pining for her since the day he met her. He has also passed over relationships with completely acceptable women, just because he didn't want to risk hurting them. There's no way to tell just how much happier he might be today if he would only take a few more chances in life.