The iconic X-Men leader, Cyclops, is one of the most famous Marvel superheroes of all time, and Scott Summers’ ruby quartz visor is one of the most recognizable pieces of superhero technology in history. Forced to wear his specialized visor to control his epic optic blasts, one version of Scott – from the reality of the 100th Anniversary Special: X-Men one-shot – saw the hero with a never-before-seen level of control over his mutant ability, using adaptive technology that Earth-616’s Cyclops could only dream of and I could never imagine him with.
Since Scott Summers’ debut 60 years ago in X-Men #1, the powerful hero has canonically been unable to control the kinetic blasts that shoot out of his eyes due to brain trauma he suffered in an early childhood plane crash. While Cyclops’ mutant disability is a source of constant frustration for the iconic hero, it is also a point of pride and identity, a piece of Scott that is essential to his being.
The 100th Anniversary Special: X-Men #1, from writer Robin Furth and artist Jason Masters, saw Scott Summers become the President of the United States in the year 2061, sporting fancy new implanted technology that allowed Cyclops to open his eyes without glasses or a visor and gave him incredible finesse over his iconic optic blasts.
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Marvel’s Multiverse Has Seen Many Variations To Cyclops’ Visor
From a monocle to a mask, Scott always depends on ruby quartz
During President Summers’ inauguration, it can be seen that Scott has ruby quartz implanted – either in his skull or behind his eye sockets – that allows him to exist without the need for ruby glasses or a visor. This alone is a major inversion of Cyclops’ identity, who is seen permanently wearing a visor or glasses in nearly every reality he appears in. However, this version of Cyclops is even more impressive, since Scott is seen donning quartz-shaped glasses that manifest several kinetic red orbs around his face. Impressively, it appears that Scott can use these balls of energy to direct and aim his optic blasts wherever he wants, giving him a degree of control and finesse never seen before.
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Sadly, Scott’s blasts still get out of control after an anti-mutant bigot shoots him. Still, his attack accidentally takes down many, many people, inadvertently proving once again how advanced his new ruby quartz eyewear really is. The reality of the 100th Anniversary Special: X-Men #1 is certainly not the only variant of Scott’s visor to be seen in the Multiverse. One of the most unique visor variants happened in Age of X, which saw Scott imprisoned as a teenager after accidentally killing several people with his eyes.
This version of Cyclops went by Basilisk and wore a terrifying golden mask, becoming one of Scott’s most fierce looks in history. In the Age of Apocalypse, the warped reality saw Scott using a monocle visor after losing one eye, one What If…? variant of Cyclops saw his visor physically implanted in his face, and Corporal Scott Summers from X-Treme X-Men donned some very cool-looking goggles.
The Ruby Quartz Visor Is A Quintessential Part Of Scott’s Identity
Even when given the chance to cure his disability, he chose to keep it
While President Summers has some impressive optic blasts, it is interesting that he received some type of procedure that allows him to open his eyes without glasses or a visor. While Cyclops grew up as a young X-Man with immense frustration over his visual disability, over the years he has grown to view it as an essential part of his mutation and identity.
This can be seen throughout the Krakoan Era, where Scott repeatedly had the Five resurrect him with his disability remaining when he could have easily had it “fixed,” allowing him to utilize his optic blasts as they were intended. Thankfully, President Summers still has a unique visor that he uses to use his optic blasts, retaining that crucial part of his identity visually.
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Scott Summers has a vastly powerful, and often uncontrollable, mutant ability, which forces him to wear a unique ruby quartz visor while awake. Yet, in one universe, the X-Men leader and President of the United States found a way to retain his mutant identity while giving his optic blasts a major upgrade, something I never thought I would witness for Cyclops in any reality.
100th Anniversary Special: X-Men #1 from Marvel Comics is available now.
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