Contains spoilers for X-Men #3!Cyclops has always been the X-Men’s steadfast leader, but a new series is showing him struggling in ways that readers have never seen before. Scott Summers has been through a lot recently, so its no wonder he’s not doing so well, but if he continues to push himself, who knows what might happen next.
In X-Men #3 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, readers see Cyclops struggle with anxiety, having a panic attack in a bathroom as he tries to pull himself together and be the one thing he’s never struggled with before: being an unflappable leader.
Scott has relocated a new team of X-Men to Alaska, where they’re operating from a new base: a decommissioned Sentinel factory. He’s playing at being the revolutionary leader that he’s been in the past, but Cyclops’ demeanor behind closed doors shows that he’s struggling with leading, which is something new for him.
Cyclops’ Leadership Style Gets a Major Update
Including a Lot of Anxiety
The issue itself perfectly explains why Cyclops might not be in such a great mental state. As he reminds Agent Lundqvist of the Office of National Emergency (O.N.E.), the end of the preceding Krakoan era saw Cyclops tortured and given a death sentence by the anti-mutant coalition Orchis. Now, he’s putting on a brave face as one of the most prominent public mutants, but he’s just suffered a huge amount of trauma and, like usual, has seemingly internalized it rather than getting any help.
O.N.E. are, under Lundqvist’s leadership, harassing Cyclops and his team, making it difficult for them to establish a relationship with the locals of Merle, Alaska, the closest town to their factory. With Lundqvist breathing down his neck and threatening to expose the mysterious new manifestation of adult mutants introduced in the series, Cyclops has his back to the wall with few people to turn to. His wife, Jean Grey, is off in space, and even his own brother, Havok, is working as part of a government-sponsored team in the new X-Factor series.
X-Factor
by Mark Russell, illustrated by Robert Quinn, colored by Jesus Aburtov and lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna is another key book in Marvel’s “From the Ashes” 2024 X-Men relaunch initiative.
Cyclops Is No Stranger to Stressful Situations
Panels from New X-Men by Grant Morrison and Chris Bachalo
This characterization of Cyclops is reminiscent of Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men. Morrison had Scott go through a slow-motion emotional breakdown, cheating on Jean Grey psychically with Emma Frost and admitting that he found it hard to relate to Jean. Scott had been possessed by Apocalypse directly preceding Morrison’s run, which, much like his treatment by Orchis recently, contributed to that specific breakdown. Cyclops never seems to be free of trauma, but hopefully, he can find some support in his newest X-Men team before the stresses of leadership cause something to go really wrong.
X-Men #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
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X-MEN #3 (2024) |
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