As an X-Men fan I have never understood this. Half the time to me he comes off as either bland and uninteresting or as a jerk. In fact the only time I can say I REALLY enjoyed him as a character and actually liked him was in X-Men Evolution. So why DO people like him?

I'm just gonna repost from my top 10 favorites list:

OK first off, lower those pitchforks. Breathe. Give me a chance to explain. When I say that Cyclops is my fourth favorite comic-book character, I'm not talking about the present nutjob Cyclops. I'm not talking about the Scott Summers that runs around as a fugitive with a TRON visor. Or the power-deluded Phoenix Cyclops who killed Charles Xavier. Or even the annoying Cyclops that had that little breakup spat with Wolverine (Cyke would have totally owned, if not for the Sentinel, btw!). I'm talking about the Scott Summers who was a natural leader, who led the X-Men through their many victories and failures, the mutant who was the prize pupil of Xavier. The man who would one day lead an entire race of mutants on the verge of extinction, and win. That Cyclops. The Cyclops from the earlier issues of X-Men, from X-Men: First Class (the comic, not the movie), from Astonishing X-Men, from the Messiah Trilogy. That's the Scott Summers that I enjoy. Not the crazy fanatic currently running around with a giant X slapped on his face. But the born leader who couldn't even open his eyes, but whom commanded some of the most powerful men and women of the Marvel Universe.

When Cyclops speaks, people listen. That's the Cyclops that I remember reading and loving. And what made him so appealing was the fact that the people under his command didn't necessarily like or even respected him. Cyclops was a different leader than others of his sort (Captain America, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt); in the sense that while he did lead a team, he wasn't the untouchable icons that the other leaders were. He had more self-doubt than the rest, he felt out of control with his own mutation, and he was uncomfortable in the role of the top general at certain points. His marriage with Jean was messed up at times, he suffered through so many heartbreaks, and more often than not, Cyclops would break down and leave the X-Men. But that's what makes Scott Summers so fascinating to me, and so much more relatable. It's always good fun to read about leaders who are living legends in every sense of the term (Hi Cap!), but I also like reading about leaders who aren't perfect. Leaders who don't always make the right decisions, but when they do call the shots - sh!t happens. Here is a man who cannot control his one defining characteristic, his own mutation, and yet he controls a veritable army of mutants. A general who often stumbles, but who has proven time and time again that he deserves to lead all who wear the X. A fallible person, like all of us. Scott Summers may be a mutant, but if that isn't being human, I don't know what is

And I know there's a lot of hate for the character, and in some instances, I can even understand why. He can be an obnoxious, insufferable jerk who's made some poor choices. Some don't like the fact that he's a straight-laced strict sort of fellow. Many prefer the more expressive or cooler X-Men (Hi Logan!), but I for one don't. I like how his control freak, perfectionist, in-total-command streak reflects on his inability to command his own mutation. I love how he's always the man in charge, the X-Man that other mutants always follow into the field. He's an alpha male, b*tches! And he also has one of the most iconic powers in all of superhero comics. Red optic blasts and his visor are synonymous with Cyclops. Not to mention the plethora of awesome outfits he's rocked over the years (Thank you, Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, and John Cassaday), the different teams he's led, and the countless battles he's overcome. No matter the amount of manure that writers love to drag him through, no matter how many times he's been through the ringer, Scott Summers always comes back stronger than ever. And that's why Cyclops is my favorite X-Man.

Pretty much everything Veshark said are all the reasons I have a love-hate relationship with the character. However, I used to be rather indifferent to him, seeing him as rather uninteresting.

What Veshark said.

Jerks can be interesting

@jonny_anonymous said:

Fair point. Perhaps I should have said "unlikable jerk"

THIS!!!!

Nicely put, Veshark.

@smart_dork_dude: Except it wouldn't make sense to call Cyclops unlikable, since he still has plenty of likeable & respectable traits whether you want to see them or not. ; - )

@veshark: that's a pretty good assessment of the character.

My personal favorite version of Cyclops is probably from Whedon's Astonishing' run, but I liked him in the 80's as the semi-retired X-man who had his own adventures, and in the 90's as the strait-laced, settled down leader too. And I actually even like his current outlaw revolutionary role.

Like you say, one of the great things about Cyclops is that he's far more versatile than most classic superheroes, so I'm always interested to see the places they take him as a character that they couldn't (or wouldn't) with some of the more "iconic" members of the cannon.

I don't like any of the X Men, cept for Kitty.

I hope we get back to the no so crazy nut job Cyclops. Maybe they will retcon this one and the X on the face is killing me

Everything @veshark said and...

...he has first dibs on all the female telepaths.

isn't he related to half of them? gross.

My reasoning is quite different, he's sexy and I feel like he'd be amazing in bed.

even them

Opinions, why does anyone like Storm she rarely uses her powers and is in pretty mediocre books most of the time, why would you like Wolverine, he killed many is a jackass to anyone, and a horrible "professor X", Kitty Pryde left Collussus in a heartbeat for Iceman and is a less effiecent Emma Frost, I can go on, but people like what they like end of story.

I personally like Cyclops in a many in carnations other than the X-men movies and the anime. He is the only (succesful) leader in comics that will do what it takes to succeed, the way he acts to other x-men is justified, some are douchebags that need to stay focussed others need a leader that isn't gonna baby them and actually train them to survive in a world that hates and fears them.

yeeeeeeeeeeeep

This and Cyclops in Joss Whedon Astonishing X-Men:

Because. It's the quiet ones.

idk i think he is easier to relate too then some of the other main characters, he was a young kind who believed everyone could live happy ever after and when your younger you relate to that, and now he is older and so much stuff he has learned proved all that wrong (most people figure that out too, OH IMA BE A MOVIE STAR, then end up a waitress at Cheesecake factory) and you can understand that so much. So yea thats me

Who likes him!?

A matter of opinion, maybe? For me, he's gone from a very bland, somewhat introverted teen, that had a great fear of his already powerful blasts that would erupt just by opening his eyes if no ruby quartz were on them. And he has grown into a mostly often stoic leader with fantastic tactical abilities and the occasional funny quips when not focusing on the mission. All the while having his powers grow even stronger and the ridiculous amount of baggage he has gone through ie things like getting possessed by Apocalypse, having his son taken away from him, having his teenage sweetheart die on him X amount of times, sacrificing much of his humanity in order to make sure his race survives after a genocidal witch uttered a simple sentence, getting possessed by a cosmic star eating entity that made kill him kill his father figure in life and now finally deciding to take the fight to the people threatening his race once again after finally having his initial goals come to fruition and among other things I didn't mention.

So, yeah. Just from a general point of view I think he has plenty of depth to him when you actually know the specifics of the character for most people to like him. If they don't, *shrugs*.

I've never really cared for him. I liked him in Astonishing but other than that he's never really done anything for me. You can see his journey through the years, while interesting, it doesn't grab me. Though I can see why others might like him.

Was a nice character before Fraction and onwards, began to respect him a lot during AvX, but he comes off as an attention-seeking zealot atm.

Me :D

♥

Geek please...

Because @fadetoblackbolt.

I dont know if I like him after AVX cause he got kinda douchey.

I like him too! :D

@veshark:

He should have died long ago... :P

(oh jeez... I just opened a can of worms!!)

Cyclops isn't a jerk or a nut job. Jerks do crappy things to people for no particular good reason. He comes off as a master tactician. Everything he does is well thought out and planned usually to a T. He gets a bad rep for some reason. But he is a reliable leader in my opinion and has saved many of the X-men a hundred times over. If anything Wolverine was the jerk. He is prepared to Kill Scarlet Witch (which is more understandable), Wiccian (for no other reason just to be on the safe side) and Hope who is an impulsive teenager that seems to rarely think before she acts. When the Phoenix 5 made earth a Utopia with no crime it's funny how the main ones saying they were so dangerous couldn't stand it! They kept at it and poked a pitbull with a stick over and over until eventually it bared teeth. In my opinion, any devastation caused by the P5 were also the fault of the Avengers.

If he had died any time after Whedon's run, I can't say there would be a lot I'd miss. But I am starting to be interested in him again lately.

I think it's that he comes off as smug, or overly self satisfied. It makes him seem a bit cheeky, but you make a good point that he always seems to do whatever it takes to do what he thinks as the right thing; he's not just a shallow windbag.

Cyclops is the leader but unlike Cap, he isn't well respected by his team. He's infallible and human. He's far more real than an icon like Captain America.

I like cyclops, but for how he works in stories. I like that his friends think he's a bit of a dick. It makes for good interaction.

Something I have always liked about Cyclops is that his character actually changes over time; some people say this is writing him out of character (and sometimes it is), but overall it adds up to far more character growth than would be allowed for a lot of the original marvel characters. It just makes him feel more like an actual person.

yeah, I dunno where this idea that you have to agree with a character to appreciate them comes from.

I get the 2nd part, but what book have you been reading for the first half?

I like him cause he gets to smang (smash +bang) the hottest mutants.

@LopsSaviorofMutantRace

Well I like him because I am a white male young adult aged 14 to 30, I live in America and I went to school and although I had friends, and was semi popular I was otherwise average, but I feel destined for so much more? I mean I am a bit above average in intelligence and I have a great body physically, coach even said if I dedicated myself I could be an olympic athlete, but I was too busy and I have this minor ankle injury and the internet. Cyclops use to be boring to me, a goody two shoes, a dork, I was more into cool characters and Cyclops wasn't one of them. Then Grant Morrison made Cyclops a lot more interesting, but then Brubaker, Fraction, really lifted the lid off the shizz, yo feel me my Lopse's?

Under editorial direction writers like Fraction took the X-Franchise to new heights by getting rid of most of dead baggage mutants like the female mutants and colored mutants and have them occupy the background then after my main brony the one pony Cyclops became the SAVIOR and UNIFIED LEADER of the mutant race because of his FAITH in Jean Grey lite HOPE Fraction had comics Malcolm X get on his knees while weezing in front of comics version of Dane Cook to bow and worship MUTANTS SAVIOR. Comics version of Martin Luthor King got his azz evicted by the GREAT WHITE HOPE CyCy. I mean after 40 years of sociopolitical racial themes, tension, moral and ethical grays with occasional highlights and shadows what better way to reach out to readers than me, but having Cyclops act and behave more like Wolverine by losing the straight goody too shoes doesn't care about popularity or acting cool and doing the right thing act and becoming a BADASSSSSSS - I can and will kill when I see fit to kill MOFO with an attitude Cyclops embrace my new popularity shady Cyclops who is also still always right because he saved the entire mutant race ahem ahem. I mean thats so emotionally and psychologically validating for me, how CAN'T I like Cyclops is a bigger question. Its like he was designed to tickle my target demographics pleasure bone. The icing on the cake is that Emma loves me, Pixie loves me, the Cuckoos love me, Madelyne Pryor loves me, Jean's Dead Ghost loves me, Psylocke loves me, Storm loves me, Gambit loves me (but I rejected him) Magneto and Namor respect me. Oh also I got that whole anti authority, voice of the people thing going on on top of my SAVING THE ENTIRE MUTANT RACE thing as well. I mean uh Cyclops... not me.. I don't think I am Cyclops in any way at all >_>

I also doubt the sexuality of anyone who disagrees with me, plus trolls and sad whiners who can't get over 1990 and 1980's X-Men those foolish suckers! Suck it.

Oh my - thats quite the... tell us how you really feel.

I like Cyclops because he was boring, which is another way of saying nice, considerate, tactical, methodical, caring and sincere. He has this power that literally changes his view of the world, its like being color blind but even more surreal, and everything you see reminds you of what you can destroy should your specially made glasses happen to slip, or break or malfunction. You have two magnums where your eyes should be and you have infinite ammo. Probably hard to forget. At least you have a kind and supporting mother and father to help you... oh wait no you don't. They were killed in a plane crash. Then you were taking in by an eclectic rich guy who has telepathy and you are surrounded by a funny ice guy, a rich dude who looks like an angel, a intelligent athletic beast and a redhead who faints all the time and needs to be carried out of battle. I mean, sure Beast might find it hard to find shoes and Angel might get people pointing at his wings but your vision hurts people. Still clash of personalities and all that.

Thats why I like Cyclops - how he interacts with all the other X-Men, he had a very distinctive voice and went to be an excellent and brilliant field leader, who also loosened up a little but, found out his father was still alive, but he grew and expanded and maintained a pretty tight set off ethics and never compromised who he was to appease superficial notions of what cool and badass were. Until writers made him.

I use to like Cyclops until AvX and I don't see him ever returning to what he was. Honestly I don't see how they could do it even if they wanted to.

U better believe that, son....

What I find interesting are fans of Cyclops who feel compelled to hate on other characters when expressing the reasons why they like Scott. Can it be there are fans who like the character simply because of their distaste for others? To spite them? Maybe. It sure comes across that way.

I am a fan of Cyclops. He is an integral part of the X-Men, I couldn't imagine the books without him. Do I like him? I really don't know. The things that people find great I find annoying -- the stoicism especially. Others on this thread have expressed what makes the character a good one and I agree to an extent but I never saw Scott as an oppressed character who has finally "broke free" of his shell -- who is doing what he has to do. It undermines everything I came to know about him -- I never saw him as unemotional, in fact, I find him to be very emotional but it was the struggle of controlling those emotions and putting on the shackles of X-Men leader that I found compelling. His shoulders have borne the weight of an extra-ordinary responsibility of leading the X-Men and staying true to the core intent of the existence of the X-Men which was to protect not only mutants and give them sanctuary but to also protect those who hate them.

I appreciate how he has become this shadow of the person he once was, I understand how a person can "snap" and become unable to keep a growing anger tempered, but not when it comes to Cyclops. What others see as him finally coming into his own, I see as a discarding of values.

I'm not interested in debating with those who might disagree with me, I'm not interested in explaining why I feel Cyclops is the one mostly in the wrong with this whole AvX stupidity. It's been flayed enough by proponents on both sides of the argument. I am just waiting for Scott to come to his senses, which he will, and it will happen in the most tragic of ways and it will be at the expense of someone's life who is dear to him -- which is pretty much what happens to the character ad nauseam.

I am a fan of Cyclops, I am a fan of Wolverine. Furthermore, I am a fan of Emma and also Jean. For reasons independent of each other. It's disappointing reading a thread to do with these characters and finding comments pitching one against the other. Each have been in the X-Men world long enough and have contributed to the Marvel Universe to be treated more than just "rivals" to the other.

So yeah, blah blah, two cents and all that.

yeah, I've never understood that phenomena myself.

It's true that some characters, like Wolverine and Cyclops, have had their characters developed in relation to each other; but that's the nature of an ensemble cast. It helps develop both of their characters that they've had that relationship, including the elements of it that made them rivals. But, for me, that's never made me feel like I should appreciate one character more than the other. In fact, I'd argue that the rivalries and personality clashes between the characters is a large part of what makes any or all of them so great.

Those subtle ideological differences in perspective speak far more than those of whatever villain or threat they may face, simply because they aren't so black and white; because (when done well) we really are meant to see both sides of it.

An example I use sometimes is that of Emma and Kitty; both of these characters were among my favorites long before they were ever on the same team, but as soon as they were, it was only natural that they wouldn't get along. And honestly, the way that they didn't get along just made me love both of them even more, because it made both of them feel that much more distinct.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I like just about every main character who's ever been in X-men, and a large part of that is how distinct and unique most of them are; if they all just agreed on everything all the time, none of them would have the amount of character and personality that makes me like them all -individually or as a group.

See those are my sentiments...

NEVER....

Cyclops takes a lot of the brunt for being one of the main characters through some of, in my opinion, the worst X-men stories. So, in that light, his character seems to have been more mangled and mishandled in recent years than many of the other characters who were given less attention. But virtually every X-men character has been in some bad stories, and all of them have been poorly written at some point. If I focused on those stories, I probably wouldn't like any of the X-men; but, as it turns out, I like almost all of them.

Pew Pew eye beams , fachooo !