I’ve read Uncanny
X-Men since the ‘80s. That means
I’ve experienced some high points and some (very) low points. It also means I’ve gotten to know the
characters.
My favorite X-Man has always been Nightcrawler. He was, in better times, the heart and soul
of the team. I’ve also enjoyed,
depending on who is writing the title and its storyline, Wolverine, Storm,
Kitty Pryde, Colossus, and Sunfire. I
have not ever really gotten into Cyclops, however, despite his status as the
team’s spine.
Cyclops has always been a one-note general to me. I was even cold to him when he first got
romantically involved with Emma Frost, no pun intended, despite the potential for
character development. He’s never been
all that interesting, and there were always better players in the
ensemble.
That has changed.
Brian Michael Bendis, a writer with whom I have had problems
with in the past, is the reason for this turnabout. While I loved Bendis’ work on Daredevil, I do think he tends to get a
little wordy and stuck on himself at times (and this has nothing to do with him
turning down my interview request for Film Threat over a decade ago). That said, Bendis’ work on Uncanny has taken the generic character
of Scott Summers and has filled him with more issues than Matt Murdock had back
in the day. Not only has Bendis made
Cyclops relatable, he’s made him interesting to a degree writers tend to
fantasize about. He’s become the
standout Marvel always wanted him to be.
The comic is now the Cyclops show, and it is worth reading again.
I’m sure that someday, when Bendis has moved on to some
other title, Cyclops will slowly fade into the background and become just
another body. Until then, however,
Bendis is doing for him what he did for Daredevil, and future writers of the
character should take note: this is how
you write him. Mark Waid was able to
keep Daredevil’s momentum going. Will
Bendis’ successor be able to do the same with Summers? Only time will tell, but if they don’t, the
title will, as it has in the past, suffer … and so will the readers.
