Cyclops Was the leader of the X-Men for many years, going up against the likes of Magneto and the sentinels. But now, Cyclops has basically become the new Professor X, with no one to turn to but himself – and he’s struggling. So much so, in fact, that Cyclops may be on his way to becoming a leader his past self wouldn’t recognize, which means his best insult to Magneto just took on a terrifying new meaning.
in X-Men #3 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman The X-Men are still getting used to their new base of operations in Alaska, having traded their island paradise of Krakoa for the cold ‘factory’ they now call home. Given the global spectacle of the previous X-Men Storyline, the mutants are under intense government scrutiny, even after losing everything during their fall from the X era, and Cyclops has to deal with all of this himself – and it’s overwhelming.
Cyclops is basically the representative of all mutants after the fall of Krakoa, and humans want nothing more than to keep the mutants under their thumb, especially now that the mutants are at their weakest. Cyclops is aware of this, making him much more of a cynical and hate-filled leader. Cyclops is no longer interested in convincing humans to accept mutants, but rather keeping humans at an arm’s distance to ensure the survival of mutantkind. Unfortunately, as is becoming increasingly obvious, Cyclops is failing.
Cyclops is slowly becoming Magneto, & Scott confirms it with 1 past insult
Invisible X-Men #18 by Kieron Gillen and Ron Garney
While Cyclops hasn’t yet taken the plunge into full-on villainy like Magneto did during his early years, he is starting to see the world the way Magneto always did in terms of human/mutant coexistence. Right now, Cyclops is purely focused on keeping mutants apart from humans, even if that means doing so through intimidation and fear. Soon, however, Cyclops may decide that Magneto was right all along, and become a mutant extremist just like the man he’s been fighting for years.
In truth, Cyclops has always been like Magneto, proven true by his actions throughout Avengers vs. X-Men. in the AvX Tie-in comic Invisible X-Men #18, Magneto even brings their similarities to Scott’s attention, to which Cyclops insultingly retorts, “I am nothing like you. I win“. It’s true that Magneto has never really pulled off any of his schemes, making the fact that he’s always losing a notable (and embarrassing) aspect of his character. However, this insult also has an interesting implication. If ‘winning’ is The only thing that separates Cyclops and Magneto, how are they different when Cyclops is losing?
Marvel Comics is laying the groundwork to make Cyclops a Magneto-level villain
Cyclops and Magneto are alike, especially in times of stress and uncertainty for mutantkind, and the only difference between them is that Cyclops wins where Magneto loses. But now, Cyclops is definitely not winning, meaning he’s on the precipice of becoming Magneto – which is actually pretty cool. Their ‘factory’ already looks like a super-villain lair, and the X-Men are willing to overstep the law for their own purposes. They’re acting brave for now, but pretty soon, the X-Men might just act in MutantKind’s best interest, regardless of humanity’s laws. In other words, they would be villains, and Cyclops their Magneto-esque leader.
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Cyclops meant to insult Magneto in Invisible X-Men #18 But what he really did was expose the truth that he and Magneto are actually not that different, and under the right circumstances, they are exactly the same. The idea that someone as good as Cyclops Can become a cruel villain like Magneto was during his early years is truly terrifying, and X-Men Canon has made it clear that this is a very real possibility.
X-Men #3 by Marvel Comics is now available.