Cyclops (Scott Summers)

== History ==
: Listen to me... You can't kill an idea. It always comes back. Resurrected. Or reborn... into a different form. 
:: -- Cyclops 
=== Early Years ===
Scott Summers is the oldest son of Major Christopher Summers (AKA Corsair), a test pilot in the U.S. Air Force and his wife Katherine Ann. His younger brother is Alex, known today as the mutant Havok.[citation needed]
When Scott and Alex were boys flying home from a family vacation in their father's vintage private plane, a scout ship from the alien Shi'ar Empire suddenly materialized and set the plane ablaze. Katherine pushed Scott and Alex out the plane door with the only available parachute. The parachute caught fire, so Scott used his mutant optic blasts for the first time to slow their descent. Scott and Alex were unaware that their parents had been teleported from the plane by the Shi'ar a moment before it exploded.
Scott suffered a head injury on landing that damaged the part of Scott's brain that would have enabled him to control his optic blasts. The two boys were hospitalized and both suffered traumatic amnesia regarding the incident.[11] The geneticist, who happened to be Mr. Sinister, took an interest in the boys. He believed that Scott was the Summers brother with the most potential, so he had Alex adopted to separate them and render Scott emotionally vulnerable, something he became.[citation needed]
One night, Scott woke up and destroyed the roof of the hospital with his optic blast. When Scott woke up again, a year had passed. Upon recovering, Scott was placed in the State Home for Foundlings, an orphanage in Omaha, Nebraska. There he was subjected to batteries of tests and experiments by the orphanage's owner, Mr. Milbury, an alias for Mr. Sinister. Sinister placed mental blocks on Scott and took on the role of "Lefty," who was Scott's roommate and bullied him at the orphanage. Sinister intervened any time anyone came close to adopting Scott.[citation needed]
As a teenager Scott began to suffer from severe headaches and he was sent to a specialist (again Sinister in disguise), who provided him with lenses made of ruby-quartz. Soon after, Scott's mutant power erupted from his eyes as an uncontrollable blast of optic force. The blast demolished a crane, causing it to drop its payload toward a terrified crowd. Scott saved everyone by obliterating the object with another blast, but the bystanders believed that he had tried to kill them and rallied into an angry mob. Scott fled, escaping on a freight train.[citation needed]
Scott was drawn to a mutant criminal named Jack Winters, also known as the Jack O'Diamonds. Jack O'Diamonds sought to use Scott's new found talent in his crimes and physically abused the young boy when he initially refused. However, Scott's display of power had attracted the attention of the mutant telepath Professor Charles Xavier, who teamed up with FBI agent Fred Duncan to find Scott. Scott was rescued from Winters' clutches and was enlisted by Professor Xavier as the first member of the X-Men, a team of young mutants who trained to use their powers in Professor Xavier's dream for human/mutant equality.
=== X-Men ===
In the School for Gifted Youngsters the X-Men were tutored by Professor X and trained in the use of their powers in the Danger Room. Xavier provided Scott with a visor made of ruby quartz to help him control his powers in the field. As Cyclops, Scott became deputy leader of the X-Men. While he was a skilled tactician, Scott's social skills were lacking. Scott had fallen in love with his teammate Jean Grey, but his reserved demeanor prevented him from expressing his actual feelings for her.[citation needed]
For a long while, Scott refused to admit, even to himself, that he had feelings for Jean, afraid he would be hurt again or that his optic blasts would hurt her - or anyone else he cared about. Scott also felt he was no match for his wealthy teammate, Warren Worthington III, a.k.a. Angel who was also romantically interested in Jean. What Scott did not know was that Jean actually had a crush on him too, but was too shy to make a move. Eventually they revealed their passion for each other and began to date.[citation needed]
When Prof. Xavier was seemingly killed, the X-Men were ordered to disband by Fred Duncan. Upon reading Prof. Xavier's will, his fortune was to be used for a trust fund, with the mansion becoming the property of the X-Men and Scott to act as a trustee for both the fund and the school[12]. When dozens of latent mutants were summoned to San Francisco by Mesmero and what seemed to be Magneto (actually a robot duplicate), the X-Men reunited and were overpowered by the villains and their mutant army.[citation needed]
Scott created the cover identity of Erik the Red to infiltrate the villain organization and quickly rose to become Magneto's second in command. The X-Men were able to destroy the organization from both outside and within.
Scott was reunited with his brother Alex when the X-Men rescued Alex from the Living Pharaoh, though he refused the offer to return with Scott and the X-Men at that time. When the X-Men finally freed Alex from Larry Trask and his Sentinels, Alex accompanied his brother and joined the X-Men under the code-name Havok.[citation needed]
When most of his original students were captured by the sentient island-being Krakoa, Prof. Xavier sent another team comprised of Dr. Moira MacTaggert's students, one of whom was Cyclops' long-lost brother Gabriel, aka Kid Vulcan, to rescue them. After the team freed Cyclops, they were seemingly killed. Cyclops escaped, but Prof. Xavier wiped the traumatizing knowledge that his new-found brother had seemingly died saving him from Cyclops' memories.[citation needed]
Prof. Xavier assembled another new team of X-Men, including Sunfire, Banshee, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine, and Thunderbird. Scott led this new team, this time successfully rescuing the original X-Men from Krakoa[13].
When Jean Grey and the other original X-Men left the fold following the formation of the new X-Men, Cyclops stayed-on as deputy leader, feeling that he would never be able to lead a normal life because of the uncontrollable nature of his powers[14], though he continued to date Jean. The new team was made up of individuals and loners, such as Wolverine, who quickly developed feelings for Jean.[citation needed]
They weren’t initially working as tight a unit as the original team despite the hard training that Cyclops put them through. Thunderbird was killed in the new team’s first mission against Count Nefaria and his Ani-Men[15] and it haunted Cyclops[16].
=== The Phoenix ===
Shortly after Jean left the team, she, Prof. Xavier, Wolverine, and Banshee were kidnapped by Stephen Lang's Sentinels and taken aboard his space station.[17] After defeating Lang, the X-Men had to escape back to Earth aboard a space shuttle during a solar radiation storm. The cockpit lacked the shielding needed protect the pilot from the lethal radiation.[citation needed]
Jean absorbed Dr. Peter Corbeau's flight knowledge and volunteered to pilot. While guiding the shuttle to Earth with the other X-Men protected by the shielded part of the shuttle, the solar radiation finally proved to be too great[18] and she began to succumb to the radiation's lethal effects.
However, Jean did not die. The Phoenix Force responded to Jean's anguish and telepathic calls for help. It took on the form, memories, and personality of Jean by absorbing a portion of her consciousness. The shuttle crashed into Jamaica Bay and the X-Men were shocked when "Jean" came out of the wreckage unharmed, calling herself Phoenix.[citation needed]
Scott had no idea the woman he loved had been replaced by a cosmic being while the real Jean rested in a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. The Phoenix took Jean's place as a member of the X-Men and continued Jean's romance with Scott.[citation needed]
The X-Men journeyed to the M'Kraan Crystal's homeworld where they met Christopher Summers, Cyclops’ long lost father, who had become a space pirate called Corsair, and leader of the Starjammers. Scott still believed that his parents had died in a plane accident and was unaware that they had been captured and sold into slavery by the Shi'ar Empire. Phoenix and Storm learned of Corsair's identity, but he made them promise to keep the truth from Scott.[citation needed]
Cyclops privately questioned his relationship with Jean, feeling that this reborn Jean was not the same Jean he had loved. Yet, when he mistakenly believed her dead for an extended period of time Scott was not able to mourn Jean, and believed this meant he did not really love her anymore. Scott briefly dated Colleen Wing,[19] however, when Scott and Phoenix were reunited he rediscovered his love for her and they shared a passionate kiss on the way home. Phoenix blocked Scott's optic blast giving him the chance to see her clearly. Scott and Phoenix shared an intimate night together.[citation needed]
Attempting to infiltrate the evil Hellfire Club, the Phoenix fell under Mastermind and the Hellfire Club's control. She was transformed into the Black Queen of their Inner Circle.[citation needed]
After shaking Mastermind's control Phoenix underwent another transformation into the Dark Phoenix and soared through the universe, where she devoured an entire star and the five billion inhabitants of one of its planets. When she returned to Earth Phoenix threatened to kill everyone, but Cyclops still tried to reach out to her. Professor Xavier was able to keep Phoenix under control and helped her will herself back to normal. Scott finally proposed to the Phoenix as they were teleported away by the Shi'ar.[citation needed]
The Shi'ar Empire had witnessed Dark Phoenix consuming the star and the X-Men were forced to battle with the Imperial Guard over Phoenix's fate. The battle triggered Phoenix's transformation into Dark Phoenix once more. Phoenix understood that she would never be able to fully control the dark hunger inside and sacrificed herself on the moon. When the Phoenix committed suicide, Scott believed the love of his life had died and he left the X-Men.[citation needed]
Unsure of what to do anymore, Scott signed on as crew of a fishing boat captained by Lee Forrester, who helped him work through his grief. After an adventure in which Lee's father was possessed by D'Spayre, Cyclops and the Man-Thing fought D'Spayre. Scott and Lee found themselves shipwrecked in the Bermuda Triangle where they stumbled upon Magneto's new base of operations and Lee aided the X-Men in defeating Magneto. Scott rejoined the team.[citation needed]
When Corsair came to Earth for help with the Sidri, Scott recognized a certain medallion that Corsair was wearing, containing pictures of the Summers family. At first, Scott was very angry at Corsair and Storm for keeping the truth from him, but Scott came to understand and forgave his father. Scott introduced Corsair to his other son, Alex. Corsair introduced Scott to his grandparents.
=== Madelyne Pryor ===
Scott's grandparents owned North Star Airways, a shipping company in Alaska. At the Summers family reunion Scott was shocked to meet Madelyne Pryor, a pilot for his grandparents who was identical in appearance to Jean Grey. Scott became obsessed with Madelyne's similarity to Jean, unaware that Madelyne was a clone of Jean created and programmed by Sinister to fall in love with Scott to make use of their potentially powerful offspring for his own purposes. He learned that she was the sole survivor of a plane crash that happened on the exact same day that Phoenix died on the moon, another fabrication by Sinister.[citation needed]
Scott began to suspect that Madelyne was a reincarnation of Phoenix. He fell in love with her and proposed. Mastermind was stalking them and tricked Scott into believing Madelyne had turned into the Dark Phoenix. Mastermind used his illusions to make the X-Men believe Scott was the Dark Phoenix and set them against him. Following Mastermind's defeat, Scott and Madelyne were married.[20] On the way to their honeymoon, their plane crashed and they were attacked by a shark and a giant squid. This experience prompted Scott to decide not to accompany his father to the stars or remain an X-Man, but to give Madelyne a normal life. The happy couple settled in Anchorage.[citation needed]
Scott met Rachel Summers, his daughter with Jean from an alternate future. Rachel called herself Phoenix and wore a similar outfit as the original, a fact that Scott protested. Rachel was shocked to discover that, unlike her own timeline, Jean Grey had died and Scott Summers was married to another woman instead. Not wanting to disturb Cyclops’ marriage to Madelyne, Rachel kept her true relation to him secret. A short time later Madelyne revealed she was pregnant. Rachel, after discovering that Scott would soon be the father of a child other than her, began to tap into the Phoenix Force and vowed to restore honor to her mother's name.[citation needed]
Madelyne bore Scott a son named Nathan Christopher Charles Summers - Nathan, from a Mister Sinister implanted suggestion in Madelyne, Christopher from Scott's father, and Charles from his father-figure Xavier. Scott was away helping the X-Men when the child was born. Rachel established a psi-bond with Nathan, she adored and loved her brother, swearing to protect her little brother as long as she lived.[citation needed]
After Xavier was forced to leave Earth because of his health, Scott battled Storm for undisputed leadership of the X-Men and New Mutants. After being defeated, Scott retired from the X-Men with his wife and son in Alaska.[21] Scott later learned that Madelyne had used her powers to influence the outcome of the battle.[citation needed]
=== X-Factor ===
Scott and Madelyne's marriage became strained because of Scott's priorities as a member of the X-men. Madelyne resented the fact that Scott was rarely home and that he continued to miss Jean. Scott became very distant, even leaving Madelyne in the middle of the night, Madelyne grew bitter feelings during that time. Finally, the news came that Jean had been discovered alive at the bottom of the Jamaica Bay and Phoenix had been an impostor. Scott was hit hard and hid this news from Madelyne and began packing. He left Madelyne and baby Christopher despite Madelyne's warning that if he left her again, he would not be welcome back.[citation needed]
After meeting with Scott in New York, Jean decided that they should do something to help mutants, as she believed the X-Men had strayed from Professor Xavier's dream. Scoot couldn't control his remorseful feelings. The five original X-Men founded X-Factor, an organization that intended to seek out and aid mutants under the pretense of hunting down mutants as menaces to society. The public assumed they were humans hunting mutants when in fact they were training young mutants in the use of their powers at the X-Factor Complex.[22] They also worked as mutants in a team the media referred to as X-Terminators.[citation needed]
Unsure what to do about Maddie, the baby, and Jean, Scott only felt useful when commanding his team. Scott attempted to contact Maddie, but the number was disconnected. At first, Scott tried to keep his marriage from Jean, but eventually the truth came out. Jean noticed that Madelyne looked exactly liked her and she became very distruaght.[23]
The team battled Apocalypse and his Alliance of Evil. Apocalypse would became one of Jean and the X-Factor's most persistent foes. He would soon be responsible for turning their teammate and friend Angel against them as the Horseman of Death.[citation needed]
After beginning to fear for Madelyne's safety and feeling bad about abandoning his family, Scott went back to Alaska to look for them. Scott was unaware of Sinister's influence on his life. Sinister sent the Marauders to kill her and collect Nathan for him. She was shot multiple times and fell into a coma. She was taken to the hospital as a Jane Doe. Sinister erased every record of Madelyne and the baby.[24] After finding the corpse of a young red-head in a river, Scott believed his wife was dead and buried her by himself.[25]
Scott began to hallucinate and believe Jean, Madelyne, and the Phoenix Force had been the same woman all along. Scott's visions nearly led him to kill Jean before it was discovered they were actually holograms created by Cameron Hodge, the public relations manager of X-Factor trying to destroy them.[citation needed]
Scott and Jean began to grow close again as friends. Scott and Jean returned to the site on the moon where Phoenix had committed suicide and Jean acknowledged that Scott loved Phoenix and she had loved him and it really hurt her even more. Meanwhile, Madelyne Pryor awoke from her coma and contacted the X-Men who agreed to protect her.[citation needed]
X-Factor brought Angel out of his brainwashing. After their defeat of Apocalypse, his sentient Ship crash-landed on their Complex, and X-Factor began living in it. X-Factor finally revealed the truth of their mutant origins and shed their disguise of mutant hunters. After saving the city from a series of fires from their battle with Apocalypse, X-Factor was given a ticker-tape parade.[citation needed]
=== Inferno ===
Scott saw Madelyne and the X-Men sacrificing themselves in Dallas on TV.[26] Her last words were asking him to find their son. Scott had not only lost his wife but also his younger brother Alex. Using cryptic clues provided by Destiny, Scott and Jean returned to the orphanage Scott grew up in and found an entire laboratory in the basement with many children, including baby Christopher, in incubation pods. Scott and Jean battled Nanny and Orphan-Maker for Scott's son, only to fail to prevent demons from snatching him. They had a happy moment as a family, Jean's feelings for the baby grew fonder.[27]
After returning to New York, Scott and Jean were reunited with X-Factor and fought countless demons. X-Factor's search for Christopher led them to the demon responsible, N’Astirh, and Madelyne appeared with him calling herself the Goblin Queen. Scott was shocked to find out that his wife was alive. Madelyne started a fight, blaming Scott and Jean for the misery in her life. She had seduced Alex and made him her Goblin Prince[28][29]. After N'Astirh attacked, X-Factor and the X-Men combined efforts to defeat him.[citation needed]
The Goblin Queen attempted to sacrifice baby Nathan atop the Empire State Building to permanently open a gateway between Earth and Limbo to spite Scott. The Goblin Queen locked herself, Nathan, and Jean inside a psionic barrier. The invasion was thwarted after Madelyne committed suicide in combat with Jean.[30] Jean learned Sinister had cloned Madelyne from Jean. Madelyne had been given life and awareness by a portion of the Phoenix Force Jean had rejected, that had copied Jean’s personality and memories. Sinister had then programmed Madelyne to fall in love with Scott, planning to make use of their potentially powerful offspring for his own evil purposes.[citation needed]
Jean was forced to reintegrate the portion of herself that Phoenix had given to Madelyne. In the process Jean also got Madelyne's and Phoenix’s memories and personalities too. Scott finally learned that Mister Sinister had run the orphanage in which he was raised, provided the ruby-quartz lenses, and his role in Madelyne's creation. Scott appeared to kill Sinister with an optic blast. Scott, Jean and Christopher grew closer as a family [citation needed]
Scott decided to take Nathan Christopher with him on missions. Nathan's other mutant powers began to manifest as a protective force bubble whenever he was in danger. Scott and Jean both taught Christopher to use his powers. Later, Scott proposed to Jean only to be turned down. Jean now carried the memories of Scott‘s earlier proposals to both Phoenix and Madelyne, she was distraught to gain those memories and needed time to be sure their relationship was their own decision, not pre-ordained.[31] Scott and Jean finally learned that Rachel was actually their adult daughter from an alternate timeline. They introduced Christopher to his sister.[citation needed]
The Riders of the Storm kidnapped Nathan and took him to Apocalypse's base on the Blue Area of the Moon. Apocalypse infected the child with the Techno-Organic Virus, that was rapidly spreading through his body and, if not stopped, would kill him. A woman from the late 37th-early 39th century appeared calling herself Sister Askani. She claimed to be a member of the Clan Askani that had technology in her future that might be able to save Nathan. However, she could only risk one time jump without destroying herself. Distraught, Cyclops chose to send his son into the future rather than watch him die in the present, Scott and Jean both were very hurt seeing their son go. For some time, Scott had no way of knowing if Askani's cure had been successful.[32]
=== Returning to the X-Men ===
The Shadow King returned and together the X-Men and X-Factor defeated him.[33] X-Factor disbanded and all five original X-Men rejoined Prof. X and returned to his school. Scott became leader of a newly created "Blue Team"[34] while Jean served on the "Gold Team". Beast began calling Scott "Fearless Leader". Fellow Blue Team member and telepath Psylocke tried to lure Cyclops into infidelity, influencing his mind behind Jean's back.
Prof. Xavier and Scott asked Alex to lead the new government sponsored X-Factor. Meanwhile, a mysterious soldier called Cable had reorganized New Mutants, Xavier's junior mutant team, into an outlaw team called X-Force.[citation needed]
Mister Sinister returned, this time posing as Apocalypse and commanding his Horsemen. Sinister sent the Horsemen of Apocalypse to capture Cyclops and Jean and then turned the couple over to Stryfe[35] in exchange for a canister containing a genetic matrix he was led to believe contained Summers' family genetic material.[36] Stryfe was a madman and rival of Cable. Torturing Scott and Jean, Stryfe claimed that he was Scott's son Nathan returned from the future and seeking revenge for being abandoned Scoot and jean were both upset and they tried to convince him that they did it for his own good. Stryfe claimed that Cable, who shared the same face as Stryfe, was a clone of Nathan. On the lunar surface of the moon, Cable and Stryfe both vanished into the time-stream after a temporal device exploded. Scott thought he had lost his son a second time.[37]
After Psylocke passionately kissed Scott he took a leave from the X-Men to meet with his grandparents in Alaska.[38]Mister Sinister returned, this time in the guise of a neighbor of Scott's grandparents, Mr. Mulbury. Sinister informed Scott that instead of the genetic matrix he had desired, Stryfe had betrayed him and given him the deadly mutant killing Legacy Virus which Sinister had accidentally released. Sinister let slip that there was another Summers brother but did not name Gabriel.[citation needed]
Suddenly, Apocalypse's Dark Riders appeared to test Scott's worthiness. Sinister aided Scott against the Dark for a brief time before teleporting away.[39] By the time Scott returned home to the X-Men, Colossus' little sister Illyana had already succumbed to the Legacy Virus, and more deaths were to come.[citation needed]
Cable found his way back to the present. Mr. Sinister appeared and informed Cable that Stryfe had been wrong about their origins. Stryfe was the clone. Cable was Nathan Summers. Sinister also informed Cable that Tolliver, an arms dealer who Cable and X-Force had had run-ins with, was none other than Cable's adopted son Tyler Dayspring. Cable believed Stryfe had been killed, however, Stryfe had actually survived as a consciousness in the back of Cable's mind. Sinister allowed Stryfe to gain control of Cable's body. Tyler and Stryfe both learned their true origins, but the knowledge was too much for Stryfe to handle and he refused to believe it. Cyclops, Jean, Xavier, and Domino convinced Stryfe to expel himself from Cable's mind. Tyler escaped in the confusion. When Cable was himself again he asked Scott about his mother before leaving. Scott finally had most of his answers at last, but was left with unresolved issues. Scott and Jean both wanted a relationship with their son[40]
Jean proposed to Scott and he happily agreed.[41] During the night of his bachelor party Scott was alerted that there was an intruder in the Danger Room. Scott found Cable there viewing a hologram of when he was given to the Askani by his father. Originally put-off by Scott's eagerness to relinquish his son forever, Cable came to respect his father after seeing a hologram of Scott's agonizing response after his decision.[42]
Scott and his long-time love were finally married.[43] Afterwards, on the other side of the world and away from Scott's notice, Rachel Summers sacrificed herself to exile in the timestream to save her Excalibur teammate Captain Britain.[44] Rachel surfaced two thousand years in the future where Apocalypse ruled by his survival of the fittest world view.
=== Slym Dayspring ===
While on their honeymoon in the beaches of Saint Barts, the consciousnesses of Scott and Jean were taken 2000 years into the future by an elderly Rachel, who had become the Clan Askani's matriarch Mother Askani after the Phoenix Force had abandoned her years earlier. As their own bodies could not have survived time travel Scott and Jean inhabited new bodies cloned from their descendants[citation needed]
Rachel had taken them to the moment right after Scott's young son Nathan, the boy who would one day become Cable, had first arrived in the future infected with a techno-organic virus after Scott had sent there to find a possible cure. The techno-organic virus was spreading and could only be held in check with telekinesis.[citation needed]
Under the aliases of Redd and Slym Dayspring, Jean and Scott raised the boy together while Rachel was lying in a coma, held alive by machines. Slym and Redd never told Nathan of their true origins or his. They joined the Askani-inspired Clan Rebellion to undermine Apocalypse's empire. Meanwhile, a virus-free clone of Rachel was grown from Nathan's healthy cells in case the virus killed him. The clone had been captured by Apocalypse who named him Stryfe and raised him to be his new host vessel the for next time Apocalypse needed to switch bodies.[citation needed]
After twelve years Nate, Slym, and Redd stopped Apocalypse from killing Stryfe and destroyed him once and for all. On that day, Rachel finally died of old age. Scott and Jean were sent back to their rightful bodies in the present, leaving Nate alone and Stryfe under the care of Apocalypse's former servant Ch'vayre, who promised to try to raise Stryfe properly.
Back in the present, Cyclops and Jean revealed to Cable that they had raised him in the future as Slym and Redd Dayspring. Cable had known for some time and was waiting for them to be ready to tell him. They were pleased to be reunited as a family. Back at the school, Scott and Jean moved into the former boathouse.[45] Scott offered Cable and X-Force a home at the mansion.[46] Jean began calling herself Phoenix to honor Rachel's final request.
Accompanying Scott to Alaska to check on his grandfather in the hospital, Jean happened upon Adam-X and sensed that there was a connection between Adam and the Summers family. Adam allowed Jean to transfer memories of his days as a Shi'ar combat pilot to Phillip. Afterward, Adam disappeared and Jean decided not to reveal her encounter to Scott.[47]
=== Onslaught ===
Scott and Jean were teleported to Magneto's space station Avalon by Amelia Voght. They were unable to prevent the destruction of the base and it crash-landed in the Australian Outback. Scott helped Magneto's Acolytes reach X-Men's abandoned base.[48]
The X-Men were forced to battle their mentor and Scott's father figure when Professor Xavier was transformed into the evil Onslaught as a result of his attempt to mind-wipe Magneto.[49] Although the X-Men defeated the evil entity and freed Prof. Xavier, most of Earth's heroes were lost for a time. Prof. Xavier was left powerless after Onslaught's defeat and was arrested for his role in the events. Scott and Jean were left as the leaders of the X-Men and co-headmasters of the school.[50]
Cyclops and Jean were sent back in time to London in the year 1759 by Madame Sanctity. They believed that they were there to prevent Nathaniel Essex from becoming Mr. Sinister. However, Sinister was necessary for the birth of Nathan Dayspring, the Askani'son, who Madame Sanctity worshiped. She had sent them to the past to stop Apocalypse from conquering England.
Scott's brother Alex was brainwashed by the Dark Beast and betrayed X-Factor. Havok founded a team of mutant terrorists called the Brotherhood. However, Havok did not truly become a terrorist. He joined the Brotherhood in order to stop the Dark Beast's sinister plans. Havok tried to kill J.J. Jameson and nearly killed Scott in a free-for-all battle. Storm saved Scott but Havok teleported and escaped.[51] Later, Scott believed Havok was killed when his body was destroyed in an accident, but his mind was actually transported to another reality.
The government sponsored mutant-hunting operation known as "Operation: Zero Tolerance" took effect and the villainous Bastion captured the X-Men Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Cannonball, and Jean.[52] SHIELD shut the operation down, but not before Bastion could place a nanotech bomb inside Scott's chest.[53] The X-Men's newest member, mutant doctor named Cecilia Reyes, saved Scott's life.[54]
Afterwards Scott and Jean took a leave of absence from the X-Men for him to recuperate.[55] On the plane ride to Alaska, Scott and Jean briefly battled a battalion of A.I.M. soldiers.[3] While on leave, Scott called the original X-Men together to reassess Professor Xavier's dream of peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans.
Scott then began to grow weary as Jean began to wear the same costume her Phoenix double had worn. She manifested the Phoenix flamebird while training.[56] Scott began to worry that the Phoenix had returned before Jean lost her psi-powers as a result of the Psi-War. With neither of them at their strongest, the couple stayed in retirement together and the matter of the Phoenix Force's return was dropped for a time. Professor X returned to the X-Men in their absence.
Scott and Jean were visited by the time-tossed powerful mutant teenager known as Nate Grey. Nate was Scott and Jean's son from an alternate reality. Essentially, Nate was a younger version of Cable. With the bonds between Nate and his parents strengthened, Scott presented Nate with one of his old X-Factor uniforms.
=== Apocalypse ===
Scott and Jean returned to the X-Men some time after at the request of Storm. Storm was concerned about the mental well-being of Professor X.[57] Xavier had been pretending to lose control in order to uncover a traitor he had sensed in the ranks of the X-Men. The traitor turned out to be a Skrull who had replaced Wolverine. A plot hatched by Apocalypse and the Skrulls was uncovered.
Apocalypse made a bid for cosmic power by assembling "The Twelve" - a group of mutants who would determine the fate of their kind that included Scott, Phoenix, Iceman, Professor X, Storm, Magneto, the Living Monolith, Bishop, Polaris, Sunfire, Mikhail Rasputin, Nate Grey, and Cable. To secure a new host body, Apocalypse sought to collect the mutants he required to carry out his plan and siphon the awesome energies of "The Twelve". They were wired to a machine that would channel the Twelve's awesome energies into Apocalypse, allowing him to absorb the body Nate Grey.[58]
As his teammates fell around him, a powerless Scott saved Nate and merged with the would-be conqueror to create a new evil entity.[7] Jean detected Scott's psyche inside Apocalypse and prevented the X-Men from destroying him, however, he was presumed dead by most of his teammates.[59] Only Jean and Cable refused to believe Scott had perished, at which time Cable joined the X-Men to honor his father.[60]
In Scott's absence, Cable found Rachel alive and young at the end of time. The Phoenix Force had abandoned her. Cable brought Rachel back to the present with him. Rachel asked Cable to keep her return secret while she tried to get her life back together.[61]
Investigating rumors he was alive, Jean and Cable found Scott in the birthplace of Apocalypse in Akkaba, Egypt, struggling to reassert his mind over the villain's psyche. Jean exorcised the warlord from Cyclops and Cable shattered his essence. Thanks to the support of his wife and adopted family, Scott was able to shake off the devastating effects of his merger with Apocalypse and rejoin the X-Men.[62][63]
Himself again, Scott left for a small period of recuperation, during which he reconciled with his father.
=== Emma Frost ===
Afterwards, Scott returned to the X-Men, but his association with Apocalypse had given him a grimmer, more serious personality than ever before. As a result, many of his relationships became strained, including his marriage to Jean. Apocalypse made him question not only their relationship, but his life as a whole.
Following the outing of Professor X as a mutant to the world while secretly under the influence of Cassandra Nova, his school opened its doors to the mutant population at large. Xavier/Nova left Earth and Jean was left as Headmistress of the school.[64] When Jean began to show signs of manifesting the Phoenix Force, Scott only further distanced himself from her. Jean, confused by the change in their relationship, confided in Logan and the two kissed in the woods outside the school, but Logan walked away, telling her that she should remain with Scott.[64] Jean's new responsibilities, along with her growing powers, forced her to put her attention elsewhere, leaving Scott feeling ignored and his trauma from being possessed trivialized.
Scott was instrumental in preventing the mutant Kuan-Yin Xorn's suicide and in recruiting the powerful mutant to the X-Men.[66] Scott abstained from having sex with Jean for five months, and even after Jean attempted several times to confront Cyclops, he continued to push her away That made Jean feel that Scott doesn't want her anymore. Scott sought the help of qualified therapist, Emma Frost,[67] once known as the White Queen and a former villain who had reformed and joined the X-Men.[45] Their relationship ostensibly began as a series of psychic therapy sessions, but Emma took advantage of this situation to get close to Scott and, under the guise of counseling him, she was able to instigate a telepathic affair.
When Jean discovered the affair,[69] Her hurtful feelings grew and she forced Emma to admit her true feelings. Furious at both himself and Jean, Scott confronted Jean and demanded she read his mind and she finally complied. Jean discovered that Scott and Emma never engaged in any physical contact, even though Emma had offered it. Scott, who felt he could not get through to his angry and hurt wife, subsequently left the X-Men to mull over what was happening in his life, Jean was thinking of having a seperation.[70]
Scott soon found himself at the Hellfire Club, which had been turned into a sleazy strip club, and tried to get drunk, attempting to escape the responsibilities, expectations, and demands he felt were unjustly placed on him by the X-Men. Scott accompanied Wolverine and Fantomex to the government-created, time-pocket, called The World, and then Asteroid M. During his time with Wolverine, Scott revealed that he felt his relationship with Jean was stagnant and that the two of them had not progressed romantically since their initial teenage romance.[71] Repeated missions with Wolverine resulted in the growth of a tentative friendship between the two veteran X-Men.
When Scott returned, the sentient DNA, known as John Sublime, had taken control of the Xorn, who was also wearing the guise of Magneto, and attacked the X-Men and killed Jean in the process. As she was dying, Scott apologized for hurting her, but Jean instead told him that she understood and had never seen him more alive and urged him to live on.[72] Scott was devastated by Jean's death. He considered leaving the X-Men once more,[73] but the Jean of an alternate future telepathically intervened in an attempt to prevent her dark future from coming to pass. She urged Scott to live, and to allow himself to be happy with Emma.
Cyclops and Emma formalized their relationship[74] and together the pair rebuilt the Xavier Institute as co-headmasters, as Prof. Xavier had decided to relocate to Genosha.[75] Cyclops also tutored a squad at the institute called the Corsairs, named after his father. The team consisted of Dryad, Quill, Specter, and the three remaining Stepford Cuckoos.
Initially, several of their teammates were none too happy with their relationship because they felt that Cyclops and Emma were insulting the memory of Jean and the öpve she and Scott once shared. As a result, Wolverine flatly insulted and fought Scott,[75] Beast stated that he no longer liked him,[73] and Rachel Summers, in particular, felt hurt and angry by her father's lack of remorse for the psychic affair that Jean discovered before her death, and Emma's part in it. Rachel then changed her last name to Grey for her mother's memory.[76] The other X-Men, eventually, came to accept the relationship and both Scott and Emma managed to reconcile with Rachel in their own ways, such as introducing Rachel to Jean's other family members, family that she did not get a chance to meet in her own timeline.[77]
Deciding that the X-Men needed to play a more proactive role in emergency rescue and aid, and thus garner attention for mutants in a more positive light by showing that mutant powers could be used for the good of the world, Cyclops handpicked a team in order to get out into the world more. Scott chose Beast for his intelligence, Emma for her telepathy in the field, Wolverine because of his fighting experience, and Shadowcat as the public face of mutants.[75] The remaining teams, Scott left in the charge of Havok and Storm. The teams' first mission was an alien, named Ord of the Breakworld, during which the team rescued the recently resurrected Colossus and destroyed a cure for mutants.[78]
Not long after, the X-Men's Danger Room became sentient, attacking the X-Men and seeking to kill Prof. Xavier.[79]Calling itself "Danger", "she" revealed that Prof. Xavier knew she had been self-aware, since the Shi'ar technology was installed in the Danger Room years ago, but chose to ignore her, effectively, inhumanely using her only to train his teams of X-Men. After her defeat on the island of Genosha, the X-Men abandoned Prof. Xavier on the island in disgust, and Cyclops stated that he no longer needed Prof. Xavier's input at the school or with the team.[80]
=== M-Day ===
After the events of House of M, nearly all mutants were left de-powered with no more mutant births, and Prof. Xavier was missing. Mutants became an endangered species. Against the wishes of co-headmasters Scott and Emma, the government assigned Sentinel Squad O*N*E to protect the mansion and its inhabitants. With few mutants left after M-Day, Cyclops opened the Xavier Institute’s estate as a refuge camp, set up for any mutant who needed protection or a place to stay.[81]
The energy previously possessed by the de-powered mutants was orbiting Earth after the events of M-Day. While passing some orbiting rocks, the energy awakened Vulcan (Gabriel Summers). Vulcan, shocked that Scott did not recognise him, attacked and easily defeated several members of the X-Men and kidnapped Cyclops and Rachel[82] and revealed himself to be Cyclops' younger brother. When Scott asked why he did not remember any of the events, Professor Xavier confirmed that the memories were not in Scott's mind anymore because he had erased them. Vulcan escaped, stating that he despised what the X-Men had become and did not consider Scott or Alex his brothers anymore. This further damaged Cyclops' already strained relationship with his mentor and he demanded that Prof. Xavier leave the school, as it was no longer "his".[83]
During an impromptu telepathic "therapy session", while Emma was being influenced by Cassandra Nova, Emma presented Cyclops with the possibility that his lack of control over his optic blasts actually stemmed from a sort of mental block that the young Scott imposed upon himself, after the combined traumas of the loss of his parents, separation from his brother, and the shocking manifestation of his powers. This was seen as a coping mechanism, giving Scott something to focus on and try to maintain some sort of control over, at a time when events completely out of his control had effectively shattered the life he had led. Using this information to weaken his resolve, surprisingly, Scott seemed to admit that this theory was the truth of the matter, further admitting that he had even blocked making this decision out of his memory, to preserve the fallacy in his own mind and prevent others from discovering his "secret".[84] Even though stronger telepaths like Jean Grey and Prof. Xavier shared a longer common history with Scott, Emma Frost was able to root this out of his mind. It can safely be speculated that Emma was able to do so, in part, due to her highly refined telepathic skills and, in part, due to the fact that she was able to bring Cyclops to a point of shamelessly opening up his true self to her, something Jean and the Professor never accomplished. For a short time, Scott had full control over his optical blasts, although it was only temporary. Scott was also temporarily killed and resurrected on a mission to Ord's Breakworld.[85]
When the first new mutant baby (later called Hope) since M-Day was born, the Marauders and the Purifiers tried to claim her.[86] Upon discovering that Cable had kidnapped the new born mutant, Cyclops ordered the reforming of X-Force, with Wolverine leading the team, to hunt down Cable and retrieve the baby. Bishop feared the child would become an evil monster responsible for his dark future. He infected the O*N*E Sentinels that guarded the mansion with nanites and in the fight that ensued, the X-Mansion was destroyed.[87]
The search for the mutant messiah ended when Prof. Xavier convinced Cyclops to allow Cable to escape to the future with the baby.[88] Cable teleported to the future, just as Bishop fired a round at the child. The shot missed her and hit Prof. Xavier in the head. Cyclops struck Bishop with an optic blast and declared the X-Men disbanded.
=== San Francisco ===
Cyclops and Emma were successful in rescuing San Francisco from the mutant known as Goddess. As a result, the Mayor of the city, Sadie Sinclair, offered to help the X-Men reestablish themselves in the city. After building a new headquarters, Graymalkin Industries Cyclops sent word to all the world's mutants that San Francisco was now a safe haven for mutantkind and that all were welcomed to join them. San Francisco's population openly welcomed the X-Men, even though a resurrected Graydon Creed and assorted other previously dead foes began pushing to outlaw mutant reproduction. The new anti-mutant propaganda caused an explosion of hate crimes on mutants and former mutants.
Scott and Storm went to the Morlock Tunnels of New York to bring them to San Francisco.[89] There, he was possessed by the Shadow King and tried to kill the X-Men in an attempt to force Storm to choose between being an X-Man or the ruler of Wakanda. After being shot by a bolt of lighting, the Shadow King left Scott and Storm revived him with C.P.R.[90]
Cyclops' attitude became more "kill or be killed", during this time, as he reformed X-Force as a black ops hit squad, while keeping their existence secret.[91] First, Scott ordered Wolverine to eliminate Mystique for her part in the nearly killing the Messiah Baby,[92] then the Purifiers,[91] and Bishop (which he opted over saving the lives of Boom-Boom, Hellion, and Surge)[93] from the Leper Queen. Scott ordered the use of a variation of the mutant Legacy Virus as biological warfare against the Skrulls, during their invasion of San Francisco.[94]
Scott encountered his ex-wife Madelyne again when she inexplicably returned as a psychic ghost. Calling herself the Red Queen she attacked the X-Men with a newly assembled all-female team of mutants, the Sisterhood.[95] Madelyne stole a lock of Jean's hair from Wolverine with the goal of using it to locate and inhabit Jean's body, allowing Madelyne to be reborn.[96] Scott employed Domino to exhume Jean's grave and swap her body with another. Unaware of the switch and spurning Scott's attempt to reach out to her, Madelyne attempted to possess the body, but seemingly disintegrated into nothingness as no other body than Jean's could house an entity of Madelyne's level of power.
=== Utopia ===
Footage of Cooperstown, Alaska from Hope's birth was eventually released to the media by Simon Trask, designed to deceive the public into believing that the destruction was caused by the newborn mutant messiah rather than the Purifiers. The footage, coupled with Trask's newly formed Humanity Now!, led to violent rioting from mutants against the anti-mutant coalition in San Francisco. Though supported by the mayor, Cyclops was largely viewed as the leader of the remaining mutant population by the media and he took the brunt of negative media and public opinion, implicated as endorsing and sending the X-Men to lead the rioting. Trask capitalized on the hysteria, portraying Humanity Now! as victims of oppression, in order to push Proposition X.[97]
Norman Osborn, leader of H.A.M.M.E.R., called in the Dark Avengers to stop the riots and ordered the arrest Cyclops and his team of X-Men, calling in Emma to lead a new team of Dark X-Men. Emma agreed to lead the team, secretly working as a double-agent against Osborn. Emma discovered that Dark Beast had created a machine to torture apprehended mutants and channel their powers into Weapon Omega. Scott had Magik teleport X-Force into H.A.M.M.E.R.'s Alcatraz Island, where they took on the Dark X-Men and Dark Avengers, while Magik teleported all the captured mutants to safety.
Immediately after, Scott had the X-Club resurface Asteroid M, which had crashed into the Pacific Coast a few years prior. Cyclops moved every X-Man and allied mutant to the asteroid, which he now called Utopia. During a press conference, Cyclops informed the world that they had left the United States and that they rejected Norman Osborn and his methods. Magneto soon joined the ranks of the X-Men, humbly stating that Scott had succeeded in uniting the mutant race where he and Xavier had failed.[98]
Cable and a teenage Hope returned from the future. Cyclops made their safe passage to Utopia the X-Men's top priority while Bastion made Hope's demise his.[99] Nightcrawler sacrificed himself to get Hope back to Utopia.[100] Bastion opened a time portal to his own time to send an endless wave of Nimrods Sentinels.[101] Cyclops ordered X-Force thought the portal to halt the horde of Nimrods pouring through.[102] They were successful, but Cable had to sacrifice himself so X-Force could return to their own time. Angered at the loss of her father figure, Hope destroyed Bastion and blamed Scott for Cable's death.[103] Scott buried the remains of his son.
Scott took full responsibility for X-Force's actions and the deaths of every X-Man since the birth of Hope and ordered X-Force to disband,[104] Scott was forgiven by most. Beast left, blaming Cyclops for Nightcrawler's death and his increasingly militant attitude towards protecting the mutant species at all costs. Commander Steve Rogers stated that after saving all of the human and mutant lives from Bastion, it was time for the X-Men to step into the light.[105] Scott was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President.
Five new mutant births were detected by Cerebra[104] and they were recruited to Hope's new team known as "The Lights".
=== Schism ===
After Kilgore and the New Hellfire Club sent a massive Sentinel towards Utopia, Cyclops and Wolverine had a falling out regarding whether or not to have the children defend the island or evacuate. The disagreement led to a bloody fight between them, and despite the fact that the children defeated the Sentinel, Wolverine decided to leave Utopia, resettle in Westchester and reformed the school.
Cyclops formed his Extinction Team, composed of the strongest members of the X-Men, to perform super heroics and send a message to the world that the mutants would be victims no longer.[106] Their first challenge was to defend San Francisco against a newly resurrected Mister Sinister who, using the Dreaming Celestial, managed to convert every human into a copy of him. He was eventually defeated and the X-Men received the Dreaming Celestial's blessing as Earth's protectors.
=== Avengers vs. X-Men ===
When Nova crashed in New York, he gave the Avengers a cryptic warning: "It's Coming". Thanks to this, the Avengers discovered that the Phoenix Force was burning a path through the universe on its way to Earth. Meanwhile, Cyclops sparred with Hope repeatedly, training her harshly. When she asked why and he refused to give a straight answer Hope flared up with the power of the Phoenix, which the Avengers detected Captain America consulting Wolverine, who told him of Hope Summers.
Cyclops became convinced that the coming of the Phoenix Force would herald the rebirth of mutantkind as a species. Captain America saw it as the herald of Earth's destruction, and so arrived on Utopia with the intent of taking Hope into protective custody. After arguing Cyclops refused Captain America, blasting him into the ocean.
n response, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier uncloaked itself and the Avengers began an invasion of Utopia.[108] After a pitched battle, the X-Men surrendered and the Avengers begin to make plans for capturing Hope. This was all a ploy however and Cyclops and the X-Men teleport away, giving them a head start in capturing Hope. Cyclops also contacts his daughter Rachel and convinces her to feed the Avengers false information which sends them on wild goose chases. He proceeds to travel to the Jean Grey Institute in order to offer Wolverine one last chance to change sides as well as recruit anyone willing to fight alongside their fellow mutants.
After finding out that Hope was heading to the Moon together with Wolverine, Cyclops gathered Emma Frost, Magik, Namor and Colossus and teleported to the Moon in order to confront the Avengers. Before a fight broke out, Thor fell from the skies, closely followed by the Phoenix. A fight broke out between the X-Men and the Avengers while Iron Man built a weapon to fight the Phoenix. Iron Man attacked the Phoenix but instead of destroying it, the Phoenix turned the five X-Men into its avatars. Cyclops and the rest of the avatars then took Hope back to Earth in order to prepare her.
Scott and his fellow hosts began reshaping the world into a better place to live, outlawing wars and providing food, water and energy to the entire world. The Avengers continued to oppose them however and after they convince Hope to leave with them, Cyclops feared that they plan to use her as a weapon against them and declares "No more Avengers".
Despite fighting the Avengers, Cyclops insisted that none of them be harmed to the ire of his fellow Phoenix, Namor. After finding out that the Avengers were hiding out in Wakanda, Emma told Namor but neglected to tell anyone else. Namor stormed Wakanda and was narrowly defeated by the Avengers. After being knocked out, Namor's portion of the Phoenix left him and went to the four remaining hosts.
With her increased powers Emma was able to sense where the Avengers had taken Hope. She told Cyclops who left immediately but also begged him to stop her before she lost control which he did not hear. After Colossus and Magik began fighting each other due to an argument and knocked each other out, their portions of the Phoenix went to Scott and Emma. With his vast power he was able to penetrate the dimensional walls and enter K'un-Lun where Hope was being hidden.
Cyclops made short work of all the Avengers that opposed him and even defeated Shou-Lao the mythical dragon that granted K'un-Lun its power. Hope managed to copy both the dragons powers as well as the Scarlet Witch's magic and managed to defeat Cyclops, sending him to the Moon and incapacitating him. Realizing that he needed more power, Cyclops traveled to Utopia to find Emma. He could not bring himself to attack Emma, however, and they were interrupted by Professor X, who arrived and attempted to shut down their brains. A battle ensued, with the combined might of the Avengers and X-Men uniting to defeat Cyclops and Emma.
When the battle turned in the Avengers' and X-Men's favor, Cyclops took the final piece of the Phoenix from Emma, making him the sole host of the Phoenix. This proved too much for Cyclops and he lost control, became Dark Phoenix and killed Xavier. Hope and the Scarlet Witch managed to exorcise the Phoenix Force from him and dissipate it, using it to re-spark mutantkind.
=== Consequences ===
After losing the Phoenix, Cyclops was placed under arrest, and kept in a ruby quartz cube to prevent him from breaking out. While in prison, Mister Sinister visited him, taunting him by revealing his survival and goading him into breaking out, telling Cyclops that he was the only one capable of stopping him. Cyclops was placed in a general population prison and outfitted with a power dampener. In prison, he befriended a new mutant and small-time crook named Jake. Even though Cyclops had decided to stay imprisoned for political reasons, he asked Magneto to break him out after Jake was killed by mutant-haters, realizing that while he remained passive, mutants were dying. Magneto, Danger and Magik destroyed the prison and freed Cyclops, avenging Jake by having Magik send his killers to Limbo and disfiguring the warden who had facilitated Jake's murder and whose organisation wanted to make profit from mutant misery. After Danger declared she would be walking her own path Scott, Magik and Magneto resolved to continue protecting mutants and save the world that still hates and fears them.
=== Mutant Revolution ===
Together with Magneto and Magik, Cyclops went about liberating unjustly imprisoned mutants and offering them help with their powers and a place on his team. Acting on an old idea, he made the former headquarters of Weapon X his team's new home. While attempting to liberate Emma Frost, Cyclops and Magneto both began to lose control of their powers. Emma revealed that she had also been going through this and told them that the Phoenix Force had broken their powers. Cyclops vowed to find a way to fix Magneto, Emma and himself. While attempting to recruit another young mutant, he was confronted by his younger self accompanied by younger versions of the five original X-Men. The younger version of Jean Grey lost control of her powers, flinging Cyclops away and causing him to lose his visor. The ensuing optic barrage gave the original five the impression that Cyclops was trying to kill them and they attacked him. Magneto stopped them and told Magik to evacuate them.
Cyclops became both conflicted and tormented by his actions as the original five X-Men, including his younger self, witnessed what he knew they would see, even if it wasn't the truth, him as a monster. Nevertheless, his mission was set and he would begin to re-train, in secret, to somehow regain control of his abilities, as well as train his own students in an abandoned Weapon X facility in Western Canada that he named the "New Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted."
As Cyclops began to rescue more and more mutants, the people on the street began to call him a "revolutionary" holding signs and t-shirts stating "Cyclops was right". He also began to sport a new costume with a giant X emblazoned proudly on his head, indicative of both his mentor and his Mutant Revolution.
During this time, he and Emma reconciled, having had a falling out while possessed by the Phoenix. Both admitted their feelings for each other, but that it would be tough on both of them if they tried to pursue a relationship again. Nevertheless, Scott asked if she would stay for the students, praising her as a great teacher.
Scott would also lead his team back to Australia for Tempus to see her family again, but unbeknownst to him, Magneto had seemingly sold the team out to S.H.I.E.L.D., leading to the Avengers intercepting them.
Cyclops verbally reprimands the Avengers, pointing out that despite their attempts to make mutants more integrated into society and making his brother the poster boy for mutant-Avenger co-operation, Mutants were still hunted and discriminated against by local law enforcement, that they were always "guilty until proven innocent" and that the Avengers never step in to defend these Mutants from such bigotry. His words prompted Hawkeye to aim an arrow to his skull and forced Captain America to to attempt to place him under arrest. Before the fight could breakout however, they were saved by Tempus creating a Time Bubble and trapping the Avengers inside. They return home to find that Magneto has outed them to S.H.I.E.L.D. as a method to infiltrate their ranks. Scott is livid and ready to blast Erik to pieces, but Emma calms him down and in fact agrees with Erik's methods. Scott is reluctant at first, but agrees before telling the new students to settle in as the faculty was going on a field trip to the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning.[109]
The X-Men there all think Scott is insane, but listen to what he has to say. Scott explained that they were on the edge of a push back and that while he would defend the Jean Grey School with his dying breath, he felt they were doing little to help against the growing anti-mutant hysteria, and offered people to join his new school, where they would learn to train and prepare to defend themselves for the oncoming battle. He departs, but returns at sunset, having a disagreement with his past self over methodology, before being joined by the Stepford Cuckoos and Angel of the Original X-Men, despite the protests of Wolverine and the others.[110][111]
=== Time Runs Out ===
Months later, close to the final Incursion, Cyclops became the leader of Nation X, a mutant sanctuary protected by Sentinels programmed to defend mutants. Cyclops offered sanctuary to Beast, despite their differences, as he was wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers for being part of the Illuminati. Cyclops welcomed Sunspot when he came to visit Beast, and also had a little talk with him about the Incursions, admitting that he was in possession of a Phoenix Egg and was willing to use it.
=== Secret Wars ===
Unfortunately, the Phoenix Egg was not ready to hatch until the final incursion had already began. Cyclops travelled to the incursion point in Manhattan, where the heroes of Earth-616 were fighting the assembled forces of Earth-1610. The egg finally hatched, and Cyclops once again bonded with the Phoenix Force, now completely in control of its immense power, and used it to destroy the Children of Tomorrow and the rest of Earth-1610's forces. Cyclops was transported onto the Illuminati's life raft by Manifold, allowing him and the Phoenix to survive the end of the multiverse.[113]
Cyclops and the other heroes transported onto the life raft were awakened by Doctor Strange eight years after the end of the multiverse and the creation of Battleworld, a planet cobbled together by segments of destroyed realities created and ruled by Doctor Doom.[114]
Cyclops and the other heroes were transported by Strange to confront the Cabal, when Doom himself appeared to quell the fighting. Cyclops, using the vast power of the Phoenix, attempted to defeat Doom. Despite seemingly hurting Doom, even the Phoenix Force proved insufficient to rival the power Doom wielded, and he proceeded to snap Cyclops' neck, killing him.[115]
=== Death ===
Cyclops was resurrected when the Multiverse was restored by Reed Richards and rejoined the X-Men. One day, he and his team of X-Men responded to a distress call from Muir Island. Once they arrived, they discovered all of its staff dead and Multiple Man agonizing. With his dying breath, Madrox informed Scott that the island had been swept by a cloud of Terrigen Mists, one of the two unleashed by Inhuman king Black Bolt many months earlier, which now was proving fatal to mutants,[116]
As Cyclops and Emma Frost delved into Muir Island, traces of the mists still present on the island affected Scott, and had a quick effect on him, killing him almost immediately. As he lay suffocating, a dying and confused Cyclops pleaded with Emma not to let it end like this.[117] Struck by grief, Emma kept Cyclops' death a secret and created a telepathic projection of him. Using Cyclops' guise, and having him act as she believed he would, Emma allowed him one last act of heroism, projecting an image of him facing down the Inhumans after having masterminded a plot that resulted in the transfiguration of one of the Terrigen clouds, rendering it harmless to mutants, humans, and Inhumans. In a final confrontation, "Cyclops" was killed by Black Bolt. He was given a hero's funeral by the X-Men, with only Emma and later Havok knowing the truth about Cyclops' death.[118]
=== Legacy ===
The actions of Emma Frost radically changed the public's perception of Cyclops, with both mutants and humans considering him a terrorist.[119] This, along with the new M-Pox disease kicked off a new era of worldwide anti-mutant hysteria.[120] Scott's time displaced younger self would come to loathe his older self.[121]
A group of young mutant extremists idolized Cyclops and named themselves the Ghosts of Cyclops, wearing masks modeled afer his visor and carying out terrorist acts to misguidedly honor Scott's memory.