Warning! Contains spoilers for X-Men #5!
Cyclops Original nickname, dating back to the earliest days of the X-Men franchise, has just been reintroduced into Marvel canon; Even as Scott Summers looks to forge a new path forward for Mutantkind in the wake of the Krakoan era, some classic elements of his story have returned, including his "Slim" nickname.
X-Men #5 - Written by Jed MacKay, with art by Ryan Stegman - features a moment in which The team's telepath, Quentin Quire, nonchalantly calls Cyclops "slim," Which quickly earns an irritated response from Cyclops. Although this may just seem like playful butterflies, it actually goes a little further than that.
Cyclops' negative reaction to being called Slender is likely because it was his original nickname, a very long time ago. Almost everyone has a nickname they can't be proud of by now, and it seems that's the case for Cyclops.
In Marvel's Early X-Men Comics, Cyclops was originally known as "Slim Summers"
The Return of "Slim": X-Men #5 - Written by Jed MacKay; Art by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Livesay, Marte Gracia, & Clayton Cowles
The revival of the "Slim" nickname, even if only a one-off, is a reminder to readers of how much Cyclops has changed in his six decades as a top-tier Marvel hero - and at the same time, just how much about the The character basically remained the same. It also speaks more generally to the evolution of comics over the decades. Things like Superman's ability to "jump over tall buildings in a single bound" are holdovers from an earlier era that may not necessarily fit into the character's contemporary performance, but they provide a bridge to the genre's past.
The revival of the "Slim" nickname, even if just a one-off, is a reminder to readers of how much Cyclops has changed in his six decades as a top-tier Marvel hero.
What some XFans may not realize that it is Cyclops was known as "Slim" Summers, going back to the earliest X-Men comics, going back to their 1963 debut. Most readers will recognize this as Wolverine's nickname for Scott, but rather than his own teasing invention, it's actually a callback to Cyclops' origins. What makes it even more exciting for readers—though perhaps irritating for Cyclops himself—is that the nickname is making a comeback in X-Men #5, courtesy of Kid Omega.
No matter how much Cyclops evolves, he will never escape his origins as "slim"
X-Men #5 - Now available from Marvel Comics
Cyclops has been called a lot of things over the years, but sLim seems to be the one nickname that will never really go away. While Wolverine has been keeping it alive for decades, now that characters like Quentin have picked it up again, there's a chance it could stick. Over the decades, Scott has taken on many roles and different names; Still, it seems the one identity he'll never really be able to shed is that of Slim Summers, no matter how much Cyclops is irritated by his fellow man X-Men Use the nickname.
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X-Men #5 is now available from Marvel Comics!