"Misunderstood Characters Pt. 1 - Cyclops"
by David (Rhyme)

This is part one of a three part article concerning some characters hated or liked by fans-for the wrong reasons! I start off this week with the most misunderstood character of all-Cyclops.

It's no secret that Cyclops is one of my favorite X-Men. Then again, it's also no secret that many people despise the man, and write him off as "boring," "one dimensional," "and so on.

Let's take a look at the first problem. Boring? I think not. Cyclops has a rich and interesting history. Sure, you all know the basic layout of it. That he was in a plane with his family at a young age when it was shot at. He was given the only parachute, and he held his brother, as the plane blew up and rained shrapnel on them. And then he suffered brain damage from the fall, so that he can't control his optic blasts. Yeah, you people know that. But have you ever looked at the interesting details? Corsair is Scott's father, a man in space. They aren't close, and there is a little resentment and tension between them. Cyclops father-a Starjammer! A man in a small group opposed to a huge empire. This makes for some good storylines. What about Cyclops and Havok's past with Mr. Sinister? There are some details there that have yet to be revealed-including the elusive Third Summer's Brother. What about Scott's past at the orphanage? It has been strongly implied that he was not happy there, and maybe even a depressed. The other kids eventually got taken away. Not Cyclops. It was obvious that Cyclops was different, because of his brain damage. This feeling of predjudice has been an underlying theme in his whole life! Tell me that's not interesting!

One Dimensional. This is the one that really gets me going. How anyone could possibly call Scott Summers one-dimensional is beyond me. Sure, some aspects of his character stand out more then others, but that goes for people too. For me, the brunt of his character is a feeling of helplessness and loss. As he explains to himself after Jean Grey dies, whenever he gets close to something, it is taken away. This is the reason that he was scared of his love for Jean Grey for so long! It all began when he lost his parents. That is certainly a traumatic experience for such a young boy. Think of living not with your parents, but instead some administators at an orphange. No real time for just you and them, because they had many other kids to deal with. Then, think how his brother Alex was adopted, and he was left alone, with hardly a friend. The friends he did make were soon taken away, and he was left alone. And then Jean. That was the final thing. Jean. A part of Cyclops is joking and likes to have fun. Unfortunately, in his life as a mutant, we don't get to see that side much. And that's another side-the way he deals with his hard life as a mutant. There is another side. Scott's deep love for his teamates and Jean. I remember in UXM #99 the anger that Scott showed toward Lang, because he had captured a helpless Jean Grey. He almost killed Lang, because of his love.

As I hope you now see, there is a very emotional center of Scott Summers. At his center he is not a mutant-but a human.