X-Men: Marvels Snapshot #1: "And the Rest Will Follow"

[alliterator]

I really enjoy how far Scott Summers is from the popular concept of a Super Hero, and especially a Super Hero who's also a leader. He's not a people person, or at all charismatic. He's a compulsive contingency planner and heavily coded as neurodivergent. In general, he's off-model in ways that make him unappealing to some readers, but also intensely relatable to a lot of people who don't find many Super Heroes to relate to.
-- Jay Edidin






Cut to years later, with Scott as the leader of the X-Men leading a team to rescue members of the Fantastic Four.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I really liked this - it's great Scott voice with the tremendous over-thinking of everything.

[icon_uk]

A genuinely excellent Cyclops story, focussing on, as the author quote points out, what makes Scott different from your standard superhero.

Contrasting the Fantastic Four, and Iron and being born a mutant without making any of them seem "lesser".

[dragontail]

I'm definitely going to have to check this out. I love Scott - he's always been my favourite X-character. To hear this writer talk about viewing him through both a neurodivergent and (if you read the full interview) trans lens is utterly fascinating to me. The moment I read it, it clicked - just like "yep, of course that makes sense". Just goes to show no matter how much you know a character, there's always a new take that can teach you more and improve your understanding of people and the world :)

[scelestus]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who likes Scott best. My butt is still chapped that Storm beat him for leadership of the X-Men back in #201... and she didn't even have her powers then!

Granted, Scott was all messed up because Maddy had just had his kid, but still. I relate most to Scott and how he feels the need to prepare for *anything*!

[dragontail]

Same! Characters like Scott, Leonardo from the TMNT, Ultra Magnus (as portrayed in the UK TF comics in particular)... planners and responsible-types have always drawn me in.

(Scott also kinda wanted to lose that fight, too. That said, I honestly doubt anyone in comics could beat Ororo when she sets a goal and heads toward it... powers or no, she's a force of nature.)

[icon_uk]

Jay's love for Cyclops is one of the things that got him started doing "X-Plain the X-Men" in the first place, so I knew it was going to be a powerful and heartfelt story, but I was impressed by how GOOD it was.

[dragontail]

Thank you, that's really cool to know! I'll need to check out their podcast, and (based on your latter post) this seems like the perfect time to do so!

[icon_uk]

Oh, and for those interested, next weeks' Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is basically going to be Miles interviewing Jay about the comic and Cyclops.

[gnarll]

I find Scott as neurodivergent a very interesting perspective on the character. Of course he has often been stated or implied to have had brain damage as a child.

Although for some reason he seems to be exceptionally attractive to telepaths.

[bruinsfan]

Sexy brain damage?

[dragontail]

There was a line in the X-Men Animated Series where Jean told Scott something to the effect of "you don't express yourself much, but your thoughts are beautiful". That's always stuck with me as my head-canon reason for why the telepaths love him - hidden, inner depths only they get to see/hear/experience.

[scorntx]

That's pretty much the reason Emma gave Shanna way back during Brubaker's run as one of the reasons she liked him - Scott's mind is always thinking about the best way to handle a situation, even when that situation is something ridiculous like fighting two triceratops.

[dragontail]

Yes! Man, I have a deep, endless adoration for that issue. Not simply because it's damn good, but on a personal level. It came out not long after my now-wife and I started dating, and our relationship was hugely controversial among my then-circle of friends. We felt a lot like Emma and Scott did amongst the X-Men in that post-Morrison/Jean's death period, and really identified with them both and that issue in particular.

[scorntx]

Scott not charismatic? Y'wot?

Okay, so he's never going to win prizes for social skillz, but this is a guy who at any time manages to usually keep the X-Men following his orders in the field.
He's gotten folk like Magik, Namor and Magneto to go along with or work under him.

What is that ability to get people following you if not charisma?

[thezmage]

It can just be intelligence or wisdom. Scott tends to keep people in line with the force of his reason, not because they like him

[bravest_spinja]

Scott possesses something that's often known as "anti-charisma"--that is having such an utter commitment to being charmless that others find you compelling. It's a quality found in many tech bros or other fictional characters coded as ND like Stannis Baratheon. Basically they become their own odd cults of personality because

1) When you march to your own drum, people are going to start forming a line.

2) A dry sense of humor.

3) Being aloof sometimes makes people kind of want to impress you more.

4) The general lack of bullshit.

[scorntx]

Don't know if Scott really has a commitment to being charmless.
He just... is.


(As opposed to Charisn'tma, which is where a person is completely vile and unappealing, yet people still find them fascinating.
Like Wolverine.)

[starwolf_oakley]

Cyclops was guilty of the worst crime: not being Wolverine.

[scorntx]

Forty-five years of the Cyclops vs. Wolverine debate summed up in one sentence.