Cyclops
Scott Summers
While all of us at the school have resented our powers at one time or another, none of us can say our lives have been controlled by our mutation. Our teacher Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops, is stricken with one of the most dangerous - and by far uncontrollable - powers imaginable. Cyclops' power is that of the optic blast - this means that his eyes project a very powerful and dangerous force beam. Note: the blasts are not laser beams! They simply hit objects, pushing them and/or causing damage. If a power like this could be controlled, it would be a great asset to any team. Unfortunately, Cyclops' power cannot be controlled - his eyes continually project his optic blasts. He can block the blasts by closing his eyes, or by using the special glasses or visor made of a special material - ruby quartz. These glasses disperse the blasts safely, so that he can look at things without destroying them. |
 |
 |
Although Cyclops may be unable to control his power, it does not mean he is not able to be one of the X-Men. On the contrary, he is their leader, and, if I may say so, one of the best ones I have ever seen. No one can take charge like he can, and make the tough decisions But he has made tough decisions. Recently, on their latest mission to rescue those of us students from the clutches of Colonel William Stryker, he lost the love of his life, Dr Jean Grey. Cyclops and Jean had been together for a long time, long before I arrived at the school, beginning when they were students at the school - two of Xavier's first, might I add. But something had started to come between them - a tall, dark, wild and uncontrollable thing, if you get my drift. (If you haven't figured it out yet, shame on you! It's Logan! Duh!) |
But there is a time for those things, and there just didn't seem to be any time to handle Logan , and what he was doing around the school. As Xavier's Second, and the Field Leader, Cyclops is the one in charge when the X-Men go into battle, and the others all follow his lead - most of the time. Logan (again, duh) is the exception to this rule, going against orders, and being, well, the lone wolf. But as much as the two of them hate to admit it, they do make a good team - when they put their minds to it. |
 |
 |
Cyclops was influential in rescuing Rogue, on more than one occasion. He blasted the seatbelt which held her trapped in a vehicle that was about to explode, and he also blasted Magneto when he attempted to keep Logan from rescuing her at the top of the Statue of Liberty. He also was part of the team that went to find Rogue at the train station, but he was waylaid by Toad, who ripped the visor from Cyclops' face, causing a huge optic blast to hit the station roof. . . and giving it a free skylight. Not wanting to cause any more damage, and endanger the lives of any more innocent people, Cyclops closed his eyes, rendering him helpless against any more attacks that could have been launched at him. Luckily, the hole in the roof allowed Storm to summon a bolt of lightning from the sky to strike Sabertooth. With all bad comes some good, it seems. |
But more often than not it is the bad that plagues Cyclops. He was the only one to notice the changes that had been happening to Dr Grey, the way her powers were developing rapidly, although she tried to convince him otherwise. He was then forced to put aside his concern for her, and focus instead on the task at hand. While Dr Grey and Storm went to find the mutant who had attacked the President (which, so it happened, turned out to be Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler), Cyclops accompanied Professor X when he went to talk to Magneto, to see whether he knew anything about what had happened. While Cyclops was standing guard, (and being glared at by the human prison guards assigned to Magneto) Professor X learned that Colonel William Stryker had drawn out of Magneto some of the most important secrets of Mutantkind - for example, the true nature of our school, and what was hidden in its innermost sanctum: Cerebro. Sensing something was wrong, Professor X called out to Cyclops for help, but Cyclops was busy dealing with the guards (who, as a matter of fact, were not to hard to dispatch). It was Stryker's mutant aide, Lady Deathstrike, who proved to be more than a match for the X-Man. |
 |
 |
Taken captive by Colonel Stryker, along with Professor X, Cyclops was forced to undergo the same 'brainwashing' (I guess that's what it is, as I don't really know how it works) that Nightcrawler and even Lady Deathstrike had been subjected to, making him the slave and weapon of Stryker and his ideas. Cyclops' first job under the control of Stryker was to take care of the mutants who were attempting to stop him from using his own Cerebro and Professor X to kill every single mutant in existence - these three were Magneto, Mystique, and Jean Grey. Fighting one on one in a battle that became known as 'The Lover's Quarrel', Jean eventually managed to free Cyclops from Stryker's control. |
| Unfortunately, this reunion did not result in a happy ending. During the escape from Stryker's base at Alkali Lake, the dam, which had been holding back an unimaginable amount of water, burst open, sending the water in a torrent towards the X-Jet, which was unable to fly. Cyclops was forced to watch helplessly as the woman he loved sacrificed her own life to save his and the lives of everyone else on board the jet. This was the final tragedy to strike Cyclops losing Jean Grey. Having lost his parents and brother in a plane crash, and then being afflicted with an uncontrollable and destructive power, Jean Grey had been the light of his life. And of everyone whose life she had touched in some way. I just hope that for Mr Summers there is a dawn after this darkness. |
 |