Scott Summers

The Beginnings
Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops, is the boy scout-ish field leader of the X-Men. Born in Massachusetts to Chris and Katherine Summers, Scott'

s otherwise ordinary life changed after he was involved in a plane crash together with his parents, and younger brother Alex. The accident ripped away two years of his life, putting him in a coma and obliterating a large cluster of brain cells somewhere in the occipital lobe. Miraculously, the boy survived. Sadly however, the rest of his family were not so lucky. Upon suddenly awakening several days after the second anniversary of the crash, Scott destroyed his hospital room with a violent and uncontrollable blast of heat and energy, before immediately losing consciousness once more and succumbing to the shock. One doctor lost their life, while others were injured.

Weeks later, after the commotion and the news reports finally died down, Professor Xavier approached Scott's room, using his telepathy powers to contact the boy through his deep sleep. The two talked, and began scheduling more sessions over the next few months. Eventually, one day Xavier came with a gift. A custom made pair of protective glasses that promised to help Scott with his disability. During that session, Charles told Scott that when he was ready for help, he could come and ask for it.

Three years later, that's what he did. He didn't even have a choice, really. Besides the insufferable cluster headaches he'd occasionally get, dizzy spells and also wanting nothing else but be by himself, Scott ran away from the orphanage after nearly losing control and killing a couple of bullies. He made his way to the address Charles gave to him, and went there, immediately being taken in by Xavier's Institute.

Life Throughout The Years
There were other 'mutants' there, as they were called apparently, but Scott never really seemed to get along with any of them. They were friendly, or at least as friendly as any teenager could be in their condition, and so was he. But their personalities never really seemed to mesh well. Despite this, Xavier appointed Scott as the headmaster of his class anyway, something that made Scott feel very overwhelmed and nervous.

Out of all of his classmates, only one of them seemed to really connect with him. The oldest of the bunch, Jean Grey - was a powerful telepath and Scott's only real true friend. Sometimes, at night, the two would meet up in the gardens and talk about themselves, feeling like the only ones who could really understand each other. Growing up was hard for Scott, but with her, it was just a little bit easier. And together, with the rest of the Original X-Men, Scott finally felt like he had a home again. Like he had a family. At some point, Scott also reconciled with his estranged and long lost brother Alex, who was also a mutant. But, because of the two growing up so far apart, they had almost nothing in common. Still though, having Alex back made Scott's life immediately better, and the two worked really hard at becoming friends. It didn't really work, but, they tried.

It was Jean's idea to begin operating as superheroes. Professor Xavier protested initially, but once the team agreed to Jean's ideology, Charles couldn't fight it. They all came together as one team for the first time during a bank robbery just a couple of miles out of the Institute. And for the first time in years, Scott felt like he belonged somewhere. From there, the years passed. Him and Jean got married, and their lives together helped keep both of them sane and hopeful even in the darkest of times.

However, sometimes that wasn't enough either. After Angel's assassination, a massive wedge was torn between the original team. They all seemed to spread themselves apart, further and further away from each other. And Scott had nowhere else to go but stay where he was. He kept helping the Professor run the Institute, and secretly began having an emotional affair with another member of the X-Men, Emma Frost. Despite their connection though, Scott kept their relationship completely platonic, having her only as a trusted friend and someone to talk to.

It all fell apart when one of the other members, Wolverine - began taunting Scott about his inability to know what Jean needs. The two fought, and their short battle ended with Scott blasting Logan through the backyard barn. Finally separated by Storm and Professor Xavier, Scott threatened Logan to stay away from him.

But the darkest point in their lives was still to come. Emma died during an attack on the X-Mansion, after Angel's assassins tried to wipe out more members during the night. Despite being gravely injured, Emma used her telepathy to ward off other incoming attacks on the students, and then fell unconscious, passing away some days later. This left Scott completely heartbroken, abandoning the X-Men and driving away on his own for the first time in his life since he was fifteen. After the Mutant Massacre of Genosha, however, he returned - spending days on straight helping the X-Men fight off as many Brotherhood cells as possible, until Professor Xavier was finally able to end the disaster. During the fights, Scott was nearly killed by a mutant bomber, barely managing to save the family of a kidnapped politician in Kansas.

While he spent some weeks recuperating, his relationship with Jean rekindled. But even now, there was no time for happiness. Xavier's world-saving feat broke him, and all of the X-Men knew that their time with him was cut short. Despite their contempt for each other, Scott was surprised to see how much Logan cared for the Professor, and the two started building an uneasy alliance for Charles's sake.

A Whole New World
Eventually, Charles passed away peacefully. Scott felt like he lost his father. A man that shaped him into who he is, and gave him something that nobody else could give. A dream. A dream of a better world. Of a world where hate and anger don't shape ideologies and opinions. A world where mutants can be accepted and seen as people too. After Xavier's funeral, Jean was appointed the new Headmistress of the academy. Her and Scott agreed to keep themselves separated, deciding that there's more pressing matters to attend to than their relationship. Meanwhile, Wolverine left the Academy altogether, claiming that it wasn't a place for him with Charles not there.

Now, years later, Scott is focused on leading the X-Men and helping Jean Grey run the Institute for The Gifted, knowing that whatever happens, whatever people might think of them, the world will always need the X-Men. And that the dream will never go away.