If you know anything about X-Men that doesn't come from the movies, chances are that you don't think they have done a very good job at portraying one of the most prominent X-Men of all time, Cyclops aka Scott Summers.
Which isn't surprising at all. Cyclops' characterization in X-Men movies is unquestionably bad. So many people have already said that. But I think there is more to it. I haven't called it 'Bizarrely Bad' for nothing.
In this post, I would like to talk about just how badly they screwed Cyclops in X-Men movies. It is so bad, he might just be the worst comic book adapted character ever.
One of the things that make Cyclops' portrayal different from other characters' bad portrayal is the intention. What I mean by that is what the people behind the scenes intended for Cyclops to be. And here we come at the bizarre things.
Let's just compare another X-Men character that the movies badly screwed up. Deadpool(from X-Men Origins: Wolverine). It's terrible. They gave him literally half a dozen extra powers, gave him implanted Swords that were longer than his forearms. And sewed his mouth shut(for people that don't know: He's called 'The merc with a mouth' in comics).
BUT, let's think about the intentions of the guys behind the scenes. It's clear that they thought this version of Deadpool was badass. They were horribly wrong. But that's not the point. Think about every change they made to the character, you can easily deduce why they did that. You don't have to agree with them, but you can easily understand them. Why more powers? Because overpowered villains are cool. Why no fourth wall breaking? Because it's too out there. Why sew his mouth shut? Because a villain you can't talk or reason with and who is silent can look terrifying. Why Swords implanted in hands? Hey, how about we give Deadpool retractable swords like Wolverine has retractable claws! Wouldn't that be cool?
Every decision made here has a logic behind it. Bad logic, but logic none-the-less. And also, all decisions made here are to make Deadpool better(remember, we're not talking about how the final product turned out, we're talking about how it was intended to be).
What my point is, that no one on the set wanted to screw up Deadpool. They wanted him to be a cool character, they wanted him to be terrifying villain.
Now, let's look at Cyclops. What exactly was he intended to be? See, this is where the problem starts. I cannot for certain say that he was ever meant to be a cool or good or even a likable character. This may sound like a bad conspiracy theory, but bare with me.
Let's look at the very first X-Men movie. What arc does Cyclops go through? None. Which is... actually ok. Not every character needs to go through an arc to be a good character. So I won't fault the movie too much for that. But what is his personality? You may have answered either (a) he doesn't have one, or (b) he's a dick.
If you answered (a), then congratulations. That is the correct answer. If you answered (b), then that is also the correct answer... kind of.
See, it's not that Cyclops in the first movie is a dick, he is presented as such. But these being X-Men movies, they don't really put any effort into it. So actually, Cyclops is just a cardboard cut-out. A blank slate. His personality is what the movie tells you, not what it shows you.
Wolverine tells him that he is a dick. So he is.
Don't believe me? Ok. Give me one single moment or scene where Cyclops was a dick. I'll wait.
Done? Found it? I'm pretty sure the answer is no. Because as I said, Cyclops in the original trilogy is not a jerk, he is just presented as such.
Cyclops in the first movie is nothing but an obstacle for Wolverine to overcome. We(well not me) cheer him when he insults and threatens Cyclops for no reason, blatantly flirts with his girlfriend in front of him, undermines his authority, steals his bike, calls him a dick and steals his bike again.
Cyclops is mostly presented from Wolverine's perspective, and hence the audience is on Wolverine's side. Even though, if you look at objectively, there is every reason for Cyclops to not trust Wolverine and dislike him. But the movie never give us Cyclops' perspective.
I want to specifically discuss a few scenes in particular:
First is Wolverine meeting everyone the first time in the mansion.
Now, this scene is all about Wolverine(the whole movie is about Wolverine, but I digress), so I don't fault it for not focusing on Cyclops. Here, Logan isn't really fond of anyone and is insulting everyone, and hey it suits his character(though I do think "What do they call you, Wheels?" is a tad too much even for Logan). But there is a difference the way he insulted everyone else and Scott. While he verbally insults Storm(and Scott too) for their names(by the way, he's called 'Wolverine', self awareness was on vacation that day, I presume), he physically manhandles Scott and actually threatens him... and all Scott did to him was... politely try to shake his hand...?
If I wanted to be generous, I would say that that is just who Wolverine is. But I don't think so. Again, Wolverine never shows the level of animosity he showed Scott to anyone else. I suppose they were trying to set up their [stupid] rivalry, but what are they even rivaling about at this point? They don't even know each other.
And again, because this is from Wolverine's perspective, the audience too grow an animosity towards Scott, even though they haven't given any reason for that, other than the fact that Wolverine dislikes him, even though he doesn't have any reason for that either.
Next is Logan and Scott's talk after Jean probes Logan's mind and he blatantly hits on her and she's kind of into it(god these movies, talk for another day)
This is an ok exchange. This little part is especially good:
Logan: Are you going to tell me to stay away from your girl?
Scott: Wouldn't be my girl if I had to do that.
Nice. It shows Scott is a confident man. He's not insecu...
Arrgh! See, this! This is what I'm talking about! Who says that right after showing that he doesn't feel insecure?! It undermines not just the previous line, but the whole exchange. It went from kind of equal kind of(not really) ok rivalry to this one-sided nonsense. The only less subtle way to do that I believe is to just write in big capital text on screen: WOLVERINE COOL. CYCLOPS WIMP.
Then there is the scene where Logan asks if Jean has ever used Cerebro.
This whole scene is framed in such a manner that we automatically like Logan more and Scott less. It's subtle, but it's there. It's framed like Scott doesn't have any confidence in his girlfriend's capabilities, and Logan does. Rather than what the scene actually is. Logan talking about things he didn't have a clue about few minutes ago, and Scott understandably being worried about Jean getting hurt(and he was right!).
And then Logan steals Scott's bike. Just so you don't forget who the "alpha male" is supposed to be.
(why does Scott have his keys just lying around anyway?)
After the Rogue fiasco, it's time to get ready for the third act. Xavier tells to include Logan in the team and Scott is the only one who objects("He'll endanger the mission."). And again, the audience dislikes him not because of any of his bad traits, but because he's the only one opposing the resident cool guy. He's the only one who's trying to look at things objectively.(how much objective that is, is a different matter) He's the only one who is not enamoured with Logan's charms. He's the only one who does not confuse real-world popularity with in-universe importance. And Charles response is to "settle this between you two." Like Scott had anything to do with their animosity. Not only that, his authority as leader of the team gets undermined.
I would've also included fucking Toad beating Cyclops. But Toad beats Jean and Storm, too. So I don't think it was to show Scott as incompetent. Maybe there was just a massive Toad fanboy in action crew.
I will however include this scene. It's a scene where Scott and Jean are not sure if it's Mysitque or Logan and Scott tells him to prove it. And then this wonderful exchange happens.
WOLVERINE COOL. CYCLOPS WIMP. Double points for insulting Scott in front of his girlfriend.
You have a goddamm telepath right beside you! Ask her to go through Logan's mind!
And again we have the problem of just telling that Scott is a dick without actually showing him do anything to warrant that. What has Scott done to you Logan up till this point, huh? Not let you bang his girlfriend?
The last battle happens. Nothing much to say there. And oh, Logan steals Scott's bike, again.
And that is how the very first X-Men movie portrays the leader of the fucking team that is the title of the fucking movie.
Now, let's look at the second movie. The badly titled X2: X-Men United.
In this movie, they up the ante and made Logan steal Scott's car, had him be kidnapped and off-screen for most of the movie and rest of his teammates not really giving a crap that he's kidnapped. That's pretty much it.
Did I tell you that Cyclops is one of the most prominent X-Men and arguably the most important X-Man? Well, clearly nobody told the moviemakers.
I want to talk about a very early scene in the movie. It's where Jean, Charles and Scott discuss the attack on the White House[by Nightcrawler]. Scott's immediate conclusion is that Magneto is behind this.
It's such a minor thing but it still irritates the hell out of me. It shows that there is no depth or perception skills to Scott. What Scott said is something you'd expect from a twelve year old. And just like a twelve year old, his opinion is also easily dismissed.
The next scene I'd like to talk about is when Wolverine comes back and meets Jean Grey.
This scene is framed like Logan is meeting his long lost lover after a long time or something. Except that if you had paid attention to the previous movie, you'd know that these two have spent less than a week in the same house, and their interaction with each other were far less than the movies try to portray here. But in classic X-Men movie fashion, Jean is like "Oh, I so wanna cheat on my boyfriend!".
Scott of course interrupts them, and we have a problem here. Scott is clearly put in a lose-lose situation. Either he is insecure and doesn't really trust Jean(actually justifiable in movies), or he doesn't have a back bone to confront the guy who's hitting on his girlfriend. He chooses the first option.
The scene ends with Logan giving Scott his motorcycle keys back and telling him that it needs gas. And again Scott is put in a lose-lose situation. Either he just takes it back without saying anything, essentially letting Logan walk all over him, or he retaliates in some way, and just look petty as hell because it's too long a time. Scott does kind of both. He tells Logan to fill it up himself, but then he has to give his bike back. He looks both petty and letting Logan walk all over himself. So in conclusion, Logan can steal his stuff and can get off pretty much scot free(no pun intended). (by the way, the real problem here is making Logan's rule-breaking attitude too cool and without any consequences.)
WOLVERINE COOL. CYCLOPS WIMP. Strike Three!!!
Now, let's take a look at the scene where Logan steals Scott's car.
I give them credit for at least making it look like he was in the need rather than being a jerk he was in the last film. I also give them credit for remembering that people don't have their vehicle keys just lying around for anyone to find. I take away both these credits for making Logan use his adamantium claws as substitute for car keys. God that was stupid.
But I'm getting off-track. Why I really bring this scene up is what happens immediately afterwards. The car starts and N-Sync starts playing, and everybody reacts like they've just heard Banshee screaming.
What exactly is this scene trying to convey? That Scott has bad taste in music? Because I can't for the life of me figure anything else. This moment right here is what gave me the motivation to write this whole thing. Scott has been a figurative punching bag, an obstacle for Wolverine to overcome, a "jerk", an insecure boyfriend, and just all-in-all terribly treated by the narrative in the span of roughly one and a half movies. And now, when he isn't even in the scene, he's kidnapped and his fate is uncertain, the movie feels the need to tell us that the guy has bad taste in music? Why?
Cyclops is absent for most of the movie. Bad enough, but what makes it really sting is other people's reactions. Or lack there of. His two oldest teammates(Storm and Jean) barely give a crap that he's kidnapped and might be in grave danger. Actually, I don't remember Storm mentioning him at all. Jean does though, in front of Logan, and he hits on her, and forcibly kisses her.(if anyone needed to know just how much of an asshole Logan really is, look no further than this scene. A girl is worried about her boyfriend being kidnapped and he thinks this is the best chance to steal her away. Jeez.) But the problem is Jean kind of flirts back, she kind of gives a positive response. Sigh. That's a talk for another day.(and there are movie Wolverine fans that still think Cyclops is a jerk)
The rest of the movie at least treats Scott neutrally.
Let's go on to the third movie. X-Men: The Last Stand.
Please for the love of god don't even think about mentioning that it was because James Marsden took on Superman Returns that Cyclops had to be killed off. You've read this thing till now, do you really believe they would've treated him any better? I highly doubt it.
Not to mention, that if they thought his role was really important, they would've worked around the scheduling conflict somehow, or even recast him. But they didn't.
Anyway, good excuses or not(I say not), this is the single most insulting portrayal of Cyclops in probably any media. And that is really saying something for these movies.
But what if I told you, this movie also boasts the best line from Scott in the entire franchise? It does, really.
Don't worry. It's all downhill from here. Scott is understandably in quite a sad state after Jean's death. And instead of trying to help him, Charles takes away the last remaining thing from him character. He makes Storm his heir removing Scott. Saying that Jean's death changed him. It's like the movie is telling us that it has given up on Scott. He's nothing anymore, if he ever was anything to begin with.
After that, Jean kills him off-screen. He's barely mentioned afterwards. His death has no effect whatsoever on anyone. Not Xavier, who was like a father to him. Not Storm, who was his oldest teammate and one of the closest friends. Instead she's too busy reminding Logan that he loves Jean. Wow, even the characters tell us to support this crappy ship.
That concludes the original X-Men trilogy. By the way, have you noticed that I had not compared movie Cyclops to comic Cyclops once, or even to any other version. That's right folks, Cyclops is such a bad character in the movies that I don't have to compare him to anything. He's just plain bad.
The next we see Cyclops is in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. They also try to portray him as kind of a dick(he gets detention and it seemed like it happened often). Seriously, what is up with trying to make Scott a jerk for no reason? Anyway, he doesn't play a big role in the movie. So let's move on.
A new younger version was introduced in X-Men: Apocalypse. And they again try to make him kind of a jerk. The best thing I can say is that this time they put a tiny, liiiiitle bit effort into it. They still don't really succeed. But you know, D for effort(they don't deserve any A when it comes to Scott, okay?)
I won't discuss the new Scott's scenes in too much detail. Because there aren't much that seem like intentionally wanting to make him look bad. Though there are still some. Like the first time he meets Jean.
They collide. Jean tells him to look where he's going(or something along the lines). But at this point, Scott is blind for all intent and purposes. Jean doesn't even apologize and actually snoops in his mind(granted, it's possible it was unintentional). Scott is understandably upset and tells her to not snoop in his mind. And Jean goes away insulting him. I really didn't get what Scott did wrong here. Sure, his tone wasn't the most polite, but neither was Jean's. At least Scott had good reasons(recently got blinded). But the scene still takes Jean's side a little.
This isn't the worst of Scott's characterization. The scene is just crap. Though it does show just how unaware are the moviemakers with Scott's character. I won't go too deep, but comic book Scott in that situation would most likely be subdued and quite.
This Scott in general, sounds like the exact opposite of what he is supposed to be. He's kind of cocky, kind of disrespects authority, wants to break rules. That's not Scott Summers. Comic book Cyclops is nearly always in a position of authority, he in general likes to follow rules, and has had countless moments of self-doubt.
I mean, it would've been ok if they actually pulled it off what they were trying. But they can't even do that. This Scott does not have any skills or smarts to back up his cocky attitude.(just to be clear, he's not that cocky. It's just the closest thing to a consistent personality he has in the movie)
There is one scene that really want to throttle the moviemakers. It's where Nightcrawler says that he's never been to a mall and Scott's response is:
"This is a matter of national pride."
My god, talk about completely and utterly misunderstanding the character. Scott would never say that. This is something Jubilee would say(and she was right there!) Scott is the guy that talked like a forty year old middle-aged man when he was 16. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you get my point.
I mean, you'd think when introducing a new version they'd try to remedy the mistakes of the past. But no, they just made him the antithesis of Scott Summers.
Do I have to talk about Dark Phoenix? Do I? Really? Argh. Fine.
He doesn't seem like the complete antithesis, so that's that. But otherwise, he is the same as before. He hasn't really grown or matured or changed in anyway(neither has anyone else for that matter).
He's still under the command of motherfucking Mystique even after ten years(I will never forgive Fox for giving us this Mystique. Never). And he's in a stable relationship with Jean. There isn't much to discuss here. That's pretty much it. He's kind of gone into the personality-less character of the original X-Men movies.
Oh, he gets to have the obligatory F-bomb in the movie. Some would say that it's out of character for Scott. Is it though? Well, yes and no.
(Just to be clear, we're talking about out of character from comic book and mostly accepted characterization of Scott. Not the movie version, who doesn't really have much of a personality so being out of character is out of question.)
Yes, because Scott generally doesn't swear. But this isn't a usual situation. Jean is on the line. And this is where the movie fundamentally fails at storytelling.
See, when the usually polite guy starts swearing, you know the shit is serious. But to have that effect, first you need to establish that the guy is generally polite. And X-Men movies have hard time establishing or setting up anything since... well the beginning.
The movies never establish Scott's kind of shy and reserved demeanor. So when he drops the F-bomb. It has no effect. The terrible direction and delivery does not help either.
So that was Cyclops in X-Men movies. The leader of the team, arguably the most important X-Man, reduced to... that.
