Hello everyone, I am Joe Schmidt from Collider and, given my long history covering comics, I am here to debate who the greatest comic book superhero of all time is. Fans have always debated which superhero stands out as the greatest over the last century, from Superman to Spider-Gwen, but there is no one better than the X-Men's leader Cyclops. You think I'm wrong? Take it to the comments and we'll settle it!
By definition, superheroes are held to expectations of greatness. This genre of storytelling is arguably the definitive mythology of the United States, and throughout the last century they've permeated into all aspects of popular culture across the globe.
The discourse accompanying superheroes is a vital part of the community, as fans have always argued who could beat who in a fight, what would it be like if they teamed up, and what was their best or worst storylines. Now that they are more mainstream than they've ever been, everyone has an opinion on which hero stands out among the best.
You can keep your Batmans, your Spider-Mans, and even your Wolverines — there is only one true leader of the X-Men and, perhaps, the entire mutant race; his name is Cyclops. And until any of the aforementioned heroes stop a magical genocide of a population and tirelessly protect a world that hates and fears them, none of them come close to the legend that is Scott Summers.
Cyclops Is the Hero We Need and Deserve
Cyclops is a proficient tactician at the level of Captain America, is dedicated to a greater good much like Batman, and also has the respect of his peers and the experience required to be considered a leader. He's no politician and doesn't angle himself for glory; he just simply wants what's best for his family, his friends, and his fellow mutants.
His origin story isn't exactly as iconic as Martha's pearls falling in an alleyway or a lone rocket ship escaping a doomed planet and crash landing on earth, but it's loaded with its own particular flavor of trauma. As a child, Scott Summers and his brother Alex were left with one parachute on a plane set to crash, and Scott made sure his brother would survive. The landing resulted in Scott injuring his head and thus being unable to mentally control his superpower of shooting concussive lasers out of his eyes, forcing him to wear his iconic visor.
Even Laserbeams Are Cool When It Comes to Cyclops
Now, a guy that just shoots lasers out of his head? I guess that's pretty cool — but the lasers don't even melt anything, they're "concussive beams," so really, they're just like getting punched very, very hard. Not the sexiest superpower among the Big 2, and yet it works for the character. Cyclops maximizes his abilities and improve his agility and strength, but his true talent lies in leadership.
Batman can barely raise his own son. Superman is new at the dad game. There are plenty of stories of Spider-Man being a great dad in his own right, but most of them are alternate realities and futures without any true canon stakes. And the less we talk about how Wolverine messed up his own children, the better.
The X-Men Wouldn't Be the Same Without Cyclops
Marvel made a choice when they published House of M, in which Wanda Maximoff infamously uttered the phrase "No More Mutants" and decimated a population of millions into less than 200 people. The X-Men were just getting over the genocide of their race in Genosha at the hands of Charles Xavier's zombie ghost sister who died in the womb (don't ask, just go read New X-Men's "E Is For Extinction" and thank me later) and suddenly they have to deal with this nonsense.
Cyclops took the reins on their survival and made hard choices to ensure everyone's safety. He gathered the stragglers and protected them, holding faith that their people would one day return to prominence. When Hope, the aptly nicknamed Mutant Messiah, was born, he took every measure to protect her and then entrusted his own son to raise the child. Cable returned with Hope and she was smart, strong, capable, and willing to make the hard choices just like her father and grandfather.
Scott Summers isn't just the best member of the X-Men, or just the best Marvel superhero. He is the greatest superhero of all time, and I challenge you to prove why anyone else is even in his league.
