Is there a main cast member of theX-Menfranchise more underutilized thanJames Marsden’s Cyclops? Seriously, the iconic leader of Marvel Comics' most notable mutant team of superheroes is often overshadowed by the hulking presence ofHugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and after movies likeLoganandDeadpool & Wolverine, it’s not hard to see why. But Scott Summers deserved better, and while theX-Menprequels tried to thrust a young Cyclops (played byTye Sheridan) front and center, James Marsden’s version of the character has been all-but-forgotten. Despite the Marvel Cinematic Universe bringing back so many old characters for their Multiverse Saga, Marsden’s Cyclops is one that always seems to slip through the cracks, including in his own franchise.
The X-Men Movies Never Treated Cyclops Right
The sad truth is thatthe X-Men moviesnever quite knew what to do with Cyclops. Because of his essential nature to the X-Men story, you have to include the character. Most consider Cyclops (especially at the time) to bea boring, straightman with a singular power. He isn’t as violent as Wolverine,nor does he have a mysterious or complicated past. He’s generally pretty heroic, with a personality that could be easily comparable to the likes of Captain America, complete with a (generally) unwavering sense of morality. While the past 15–20 years of Marvel Comics history haven’t always been kind to the character, he was, for the longest time,the X-Men’s resident “boy scout,” and served as the foundation for many of the mutant group’s finest adventures. For some reason or another, that same character couldn’t be translated to the screen, at least not without lessening Wolverine’s role.
Contrary to popular belief, Cyclops is often the face of the X-Men, not Wolverine. Logan isn’t so much a leader, nor was that ever the purpose of the character, but Scott Summers, well, that was his essential design. We see some of this inBryan Singer’s firstX-Menfilm as Scott takes on an active role as the group’s field leader, with Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) managing the team from afar. Together, Scott and Charles are the heart and soul of the X-Men. While the 2000 film references this dynamic, it doesn’t spend much time trying to explore it. To be clear, the fault isn’t with James Marsden here. Given the material the actor had to work with, he does his job as well as anyone else in the impressive cast. If anything,it’s Marsden’s contributions that make us wish we had gotten to explore more of Cyclops’s personality and backstory.
By the time the third film came around,X-Men: The Last Stand, Marsden had taken on a smaller role. It’s unfortunate, since Scott only appears in a handful of scenes, still mourning Jean Grey’s (Famke Janssen) supposed death after the end ofX2: X-Men United. But instead of getting to see Scott really wrestle with the loss of his true love, or even with her more demonic turn following her dark resurrection (ala the famedThe Dark Phoenix Saga),The Last Standkills the character off-screen, with his floating glasses the only remains left for Logan to find. Talk about a buzz kill. No, theX-Menmovies (and especially that original trilogy) never knew what to do with Scott Summers.
The X-Men Movies Favor Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine
Of all the problems with the original X-Men movies, James Marsden wasn’t one of them.Marsden could easily have been as strong a leading man in the franchise as Hugh Jackman, had those in charge let him. But rather than giving the actor any exceptional or compelling material to work with, they opted to make him “the other guy” in the X-Men’s most infamous (and overplayed) love triangle, without any of the real benefits of such a role. Yes, Scott and Logan learn to work together inX-Men. They did so again to a different extent inX2. But inThe Last Stand, when it really counts, when we could have had a phenomenal story centered around two men’s love for the same woman as they’re forced to accept her turn to villainy, directorBrett Ratneropted to kill off the X-Men’s most prolific leader and turn the final act into another episode of the Wolverine show.
The fact thatHugh Jackman leads not only the X-Menfilms but also a full trilogy of his own (plus co-starred in the most recentDeadpoolsequel) is ridiculous given that Cyclops never got the same treatment. Sure, Wolverine is generally considered the bigger character, but given Cyclops’s own role as the leading member of the X-Men, you’d think he would be given more to do. Even in the last twoX-Menprequel films, which introduce a young Scott Summers, his role on the team is ultimately handed over to Professor X (James McAvoy) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). ThoughMarsden is often known for playing “the other guy"in romantic pictures, such asThe NotebookorEnchanted(or even other superhero films likeSuperman Returns), relegating Cyclops to just that role is both tragic and downright disrespectful. Scott could have been the one to show Wolverine the full potential of committing to the X-Men. Likewise, he should have been the one to inspire the younger generation of mutants to greatness. But instead, he was turned into just another third wheel.
Again, this is not the fault of James Marsden. Cyclops deserves better, and so does Marsden. The character and the actor both have plenty of potential, and Marsden’s impressive filmography has shown us that he can take interesting, complicated, and even unlikable characters and make them a bit more digestible for audiences. If Cyclops was a bit too stuck-up, Marsden (not unlikehowChris Evanshumanized Captain America) could easily have made him a bit more well-rounded. The problem was, it always seemed like the X-Men films liked the idea of Scott Summers without actually caring too much about the original character, which is why the final results speak for themselves.
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Rewrote Cyclops’ Story
TheX-Menmovies don’t care about Cyclops, but what’s strange is that they know many of us fans do. It’s no secret that most fans weren’t thrilled withX-Men: The Last Stand, especially considering what it did to many of the main characters. It’s no wonder then that, after changing the past,Wolverine revises the timelineinX-Men: Days of Future Past, which results in a new world where both Scott and Jean are alive and well (and back together). This gave us hope that, in the end, all would be well with these live-action mutant heroes, withDays of Future Pastproving itself a better send-offthanThe Last Standever could. But even when Scott was resurrected and brought back into the fold, it was far too late to make a difference.
‘Loki’ Did the Void Better Than ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Among all of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s creative decisions, this one might be the strangest.
Sure, Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops was introduced in the very next film, the prequelX-Men: Apocalypse, but this wasn’t the Marsden version of the character that so many hoped would be redeemed in future installments. More than that, those films still focused so heavily on Professor X, Mystique, and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) that there was no real room left for major developments with our younger cast aside from a few fun moments. The last prequel film, and the last traditional X-Men picture to date,Dark Phoenix, didn’t do Scott any favors either. Though Sheridan had slightly better material to work with than Marsden did in his final outing, we were left wishing that Marsden had been able to properly adaptone of the best X-Men stories ever told.
‘X-Men ‘97’ Finally Puts Wolverine in the Backseat
Of course, if you feel like you’ve been burned by the X-Men franchise’s portrayal of Cyclops, know that not every adaptation of the character is lackluster. The Disney+ seriesX-Men ‘97, for instance, continues the tradition ofX-Men: The Animated Series, with Cyclops back front-and-center leading the mutant heroes. Voiced byRay Chase, (taking over the role fromNorm Spencer),Scott is a well-rounded, complicated, and consistent character here. His story pushes the show forward, and many of the plotlines are centered around his arc specifically. We also see him struggle with the tensions between humanity and mutants, play the role of the hero with a superior smile on his face, and wrestle withthe complicated family dynamics at play within the Summers household. By pushing Wolverine to the backseat (where the character arguably belongs in strict X-Men stories),X-Men ‘97leaves room for Cyclops, Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), and some of the other X-Men to take the spotlight for a change.
We might never get a live-action Cyclops who properly leads the X-Men on the big screen, but this animated continuation proves that the character can be done well with the proper material. (Heck, we need to seemore team-ups between Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Cable, something we have yet to see in any live-action format.) Contrary to many modern comics,Cyclops is a classic superhero, one who puts the needs of others before himself. Yes, he has some messy family history, but he’s ultimately an honorable character who wants to see the world at peace, fighting for a day when the X-Men are no longer needed.X-Men ‘97does a fantastic job painting this picture of Scott Summers. Maybe Marvel Studios ought to hire back James Marsden to do the same.
In a world where mutants (evolved super-powered humans) exist and are discriminated against, two groups form for an inevitable clash: the supremacist Brotherhood, and the pacifist X-Men.
The original X-Men trilogy is available to watch on Disney+ in the U.S.
