Summers, Scott

Scott Summers is a mutant with the ability to fire destructive optic beams from his eyes. As the first X-Man Cyclops, he has ascended from superhero field leader to a mutant revolutionary icon. The firstborn son of Major Chris Summers, Scott and his brother Alex witnessed the apparent murder of their parents by the Shi'ar Emperor D'ken. As an introspective orphan and in the clutches of the nefarious Mister Sinister, his mutant abilities first manifested. After escaping Sinister's orphanage, Summers was rescued by Professor Xavier, a fellow mutant who ran a school aimed at helping mutants to control their uncanny abilities.
== History ==
=== Early Years ===
Scott Summers is the oldest son of Major Christopher Summers (a.k.a. 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.
==== Lost ====
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. 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.
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.
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.
=== Meeting Xavier ===
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 newfound 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.
===== Further Down The Line =====
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 others. Scott also believed that he could not compete with his wealthy teammate, 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.
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. When dozens of latent mutants were summoned to San Francisco by Mesmero and what seemed to be Magneto (actually an android duplicate), the X-Men reunited and were overpowered by the villains and their mutant army.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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, and his death haunted Cyclops.
=== Rise of 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. 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 to protect the pilot from the lethal radiation.
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 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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
==== Lee Forrester ====
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.
=== Family ===
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 forgive his father. Scott introduced Corsair to his other son, Alex. Corsair introduced Scott to his grandparents.
==== Madyline Prior ====
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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. Scott later learned that Madelyne had used her powers to influence the outcome of the battle
=== 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.
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. Scott 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. They also worked as mutants in a team the media referred to as X-Terminators.
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 distraught.
The team battled Apocalypse and his Alliance of Evil. Apocalypse would become 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.
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. After finding the corpse of a young red-head in a river, Scott believed his wife was dead and buried her by himself.
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.
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.
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.
==== Inferno ====
Scott saw Madelyne and the X-Men sacrificing themselves in Dallas on TV. 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 growing fonder.
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. After N'astirh attacked, X-Factor and the X-Men combined efforts to defeat him.
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. 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.
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.
=== Gaining a Family ===
Scott decided to take Nathan 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 preordained. Scott and Jean finally learned that Rachel was actually their adult daughter from an alternate timeline. They introduced Christopher to his sister.
==== Losing a Son ====
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.
=== Return To X-Men ===
The Shadow King returned and together the X-Men and X-Factor defeated him. 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" 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 the New Mutants, Xavier's junior mutant team, into an outlaw team called X-Force.
==== X-cutioner's Song ====
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 in exchange for a canister containing a genetic matrix he was led to believe contained Summers' family genetic material. 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. Scott 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.
=== Legacy Plague ===
After Psylocke passionately kissed Scott he took a leave from the X-Men to meet with his grandparents in Alaska. 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 Riders for a brief time before teleporting away. 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.