The Good

The relationship to father to son can be a complicated thing. Throw in some extenuating circumstances like supposed death, spacefaring and time travel and things get downright labyrinthine. There’s no self-help book for “So You’re a Space Pirate and Your Son Travelled to the Future” leaving Cyclops (past flavored) and Corsair to fend for themselves in terms of normal father/son bonding, but Greg Rucka seems more than able to accommodate. I truly do love that young Scott is so willing to just pick up and head out with his father, and it comes off as completely psychologically realistic, and how awkward Christopher Summers is at dealing with his own son, but desperately trying to make the best of his second chance. This is a very road trippy issue, but we get one major development dealing with Papa Summers, one that looks to have some major consequences for the very near future. Rucka does a fantastic job of writing these two, really emphasizing the father/son dynamic, but in a very interesting and different way. Christopher barely knows how to be a father (his sons were lost to him at a relatively young age) and Scott is equal parts hero-worshipping and skeptical, especially when it comes to wielding a sword. He was also old enough to have formed a real bond with real expectations when they were separated. It creates some very genuine, and some very funny moments.

Russell Dauterman’s linework does a great deal of heavy lifting in the emotional attachment department, as well as the casual interest one giving us alien worlds and denizens that look as bizarre as one might expect truly alien beings to look. His action scenes are also worth pointing out, the movements fluid and realistic pacing of the action scenes. The dialog tends to lessen, also a credit to Rucka, and the action takes over when necessary. Chris Sotomayor’s colors bring the strange, wonderful worlds to life as well. His palette is diverse and wondefully strange, striking a tone of incredible brightness and wild colors. The worlds and beings inhabiting them actually look alien, in other words. He gets a lot of small details as well, but the one that stood out the most was, for some reason, Corsair's facial hair and how subtly consistent it was across the many panels he appeared in. It's a small thing to call out, and there are tons of other details, but that one really caught my attention.

The Bad

I miss the Starjammers. I really do. They’d been relegated to backseat status for much of the last few years, only to return ONLY to now be sidelined after a single issue. We jump ahead in time as this issue begins, and while it isn’t made clear how much time has passed, I feel like we miss out on not only the adventures they had, but the earliest parts of their bonding. The issue doesn’t indicate how much time has passed, and I’m sure there are more great moments to come, but it still feels like an odd choice.

The Verdict

Lost time aside, seeing such an interesting story that previously only would’ve been possible in the pages of “What if…?” is, so far, a ton of fun. Corsair’s written with the perfect balance of roguish charm and Scott’s doing his best to look knowledgeable, but is still incredibly inquisitive and in awe of all the strange, new sights and sounds. There’s certainly a dark undercurrent to the whole thing, but this is overall a very bright and happy issue in a very witty, happy title.

I really enjoyed the issue. Do you think the entirety of the series will take place in space or will Scott return to Earth to join the X-Men?

@lee_everett: I think it would take place mostly but they could go back to earth for some reason.

@shadowswordmaster: Alright. I could see that.

I never, in a million years, thought that A) Cyclops would actually get his own series, B) it'd be a Marvel Cosmic book, and C) It'd be this much of a blast to read!

I got what I paid for in this, Young Scott learning to be his own man by spending time with his dad, and slowly learning what he's capable of. His one optic blast for three baddies was badass.

Great review Corey

That ricochet shot brought a smile to my face.

Corey, the title name is CYCLOPS and not Starjammers. It makes perfectly sense that they aren't gonna be in it. This book is about Cyclops and his father Corsair.

This book is a gem. I didn't even know I needed a Cyclops ongoing (he's the main character in X-Men so I kinda consider those his books) but the angle here, young Scott with his dad in space, is a lot of fun.

This has been fun so far. Honestly Scott doesn't seem to act like Scott at all, whether the young Scott from the original X-Men or any of the stages of grown-up Scott. He's just too carefree and entirely missing the intensity and rigor he normally has. This was largely true in All-New X-Men as well. But for whatever reason, I find that I can mostly just ignore that, and pretend it's some other character, more like an alternate-earth Cyke who was never brooding. Kind of a "What If Scott Summers Liked to Have Fun" series.

Seems weird that Young Cyclops would know who Jack Sparrow is and reference him. Anyway, great issue though

I am really enjoying the flow, story-wise and a big part of why is getting to see the young Scott being with his dad. I love the whole premise of this book and while it would be fun to get some more Starjammer goodness, Corsair and Scott are more than enough.

Ominous ending to the issue.

Loved the Star Wars poster in the "diner."

Is it just me, or does it seem like when it comes to Cyclops it's love or hate. I don't know anyone who's ever said "Yeah, I kind of like him." It's always been "He rules" or "He sucks." Anyway, that's neither here nor there, but I'm really liking what I'm reading/seeing so far. I honestly believe this has a done of potential. The art is awesome, too. I was hesitant to even buy issue 1, but I'm glad I did. Keep reading, I will…

@owie: well... i think it depends on the different responsability that this young version of Scott carry on his shoulder.

As young, Scott was the older brother of Havok, without partens, so I must endure all the responsabilities of being "Brother/Father/Mother" for him.

After that, he join the Xavier School, and he became the leader of the class and the pupil of the President = More and More Responsabilities...

In his whole life.. no, in nearly two life, Scott had always be the "conscientious type" for is brother and between friends.

Now, for the first time, he is FREE from responsabilities. Nearly ALL of them. He is the youngest aboard the ship, the less experienced, and none of the Starjammers, neither is father, demand that he will be serious, responsible, the best on the field etc...

So I think that this is a "Free" version of Scott, a 16 years old boy that for the first time may be... 16th!!! And he's relaxig, really :) even is cloth and how is drawned, he seem younger... or "Less Aged" :)

I hear you...I just think the transition has been a little quick, and perhaps without attention to that transition. In other words, if the comic itself explicitly said anything like what you just said, that would be fine. Scott could just say, "boy, it's so nice to finally be free of my responsibilities and have someone else to care for me!" But he hasn't, he just kind of went off and had a wacky fun time from the start.