Cyclops’ New Use for His Powers Shows Why He’s Marvel’s Biggest Tactical Genius

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Warning: Contains SPOILERS for X-Manhunt Omega #1 (2025) and the X-Manhunt event

As the ashes of Krakoa continue to settle, Cyclops and his X-Men
have retained one of the mutant nation’s most powerful discoveries. As Professor Charles Xavier attempts to flee his imprisonment underneath the Graymalkin Prison, Cyclops enacts a special move that tactically utilizes his team’s diverse powers to accomplish a single, all-ending, attack. Surpassing both his predecessors, Cyclops has proven to be the X-Men’s masterfully cunning and battle-tested hero.

In X-Manhunt: Omega #1– writtenby Murewa Ayodele and Gail Simone, with art by Gleb Melnikov, Federica Manciń and Enid Balám – Charles Xavier nears his escape from imprisonment and Earth while
the X-Men remain divided
on whether to help their old leader or turn him in.

As Xavier and his newly-resurrected wife, Lilandra Neramani, attempt to escape the planet, Cyclops and Magik give it one last shot to take the Professor out or risk losing him forever. As a Shi’ar Dreadnaught passes overhead, Cyclops orders a powerful new tag-team ability that utilizes his and Magik’s greatest strengths: The Red Surfer.

Cyclops & Magik Pull Off A New Tag-Team Move That X-Men Fans Will Love

X-Manhunt: Omega #1–Written By Murewa Ayodele & Gail Simone; Art By Gleb Melnikov, Federica Manciń, & Enid Balám; Color By Brian Reber; Lettering By VC’s Travis Lanham

Compared to the X-Men’s many Omega-level mutants, Cyclops hardly compares in power. Even at Alpha-level, his optic blasts are mere punches when placed against the god-like abilities of
Jean Grey or Charles Xavier
. However, Scott Summers was raised to become a strategic leader and a dedicated soldier above all else. Regardless of his comparative limitations, Scott will always find a way to outmaneuver his opponents through the sheer might of his tactical genius. While Cyclops is aware of his limitations, he is also aware of the feats mutants can accomplish when they combine their powers.

As the Shi’ar Dreadnaught passes Cyclops and Magik, there is little either could do alone to match the vessel’s speed. When all seems lost, Cyclops calls upon a tag-team maneuver that he calls the “Red Surfer.” In rapid succession, Magik mounts her Soulsword like a board as Cyclops unleashes an explosively powerful optic blast, hurtling Magik forward at top speed. Magik’s sword glows a deep crimson red as the hero is propelled through the air like
the Silver Surfer
is through space. After passing through multiple portals, Magik finally reaches the spaceship before unleashing a devastating attack with another sword.

Cyclops Understands The Power Of Mutant Teamwork Better Than Anyone

Scott Preserves The Use Of “Mutant Circuits”

While the X-Men’s Krakoa era may be gone to the past, Cyclops hasn’t let one of the mutant nation’s most important resources die with it: mutant circuits. Long before
Professor X and Magneto
gave the concept a name in House of X, the X-Men had been combining their mutant abilities to create powerful new effects for years. Cyclops and Jean Grey have previously pulled off psychically guided, pinpoint, optic blasts, and Storm has bolstered her weather-controling abilities with mutants like Iceman. But it wasn’t Krakoa and the formation of the Five that “mutant circuits” were fully explored.

Now, well after Krakoa’s collapse, Cyclops has remembered the awe-inspiring powers that mutant circuits can create. He realizes that against a threat like Charles Xavier, no single power can stop the Professor alone. Cyclops knows what his team is capable of and trusts them wholeheartedly. Maneuvers like the Red Surfer depend on Scott knowing his team better than he often knows himself. Surpassing both
Magneto and Xavier
, Cyclops has learned to harness the X-Men’s powers as tools while supporting their talents as teammates. Scott knows that, together, his X-Men can shatter any constraint that he or they could alone.

Cyclops Has Gone Farther As A Mutant Leader Than Professor X Or Magneto Ever Did

Scott Summers, The X-Men’s Greatest Leader

This is far from the only time Cyclops has proven his tactical abilities. During the
Avengers vs. X-Men event
, Scott knew he was facing an uphill battle against literal gods and cosmic juggernauts. Despite the disadvantage, Cyclops strategically used hit-and-run tactics to chip away at the Avengers’ defense while relying on Magik once again to teleport his forces around at random. One by one, Cyclops targeted key threats from the Avengers and had them neutralized first. Even in the aftermath of the battle, Scott leveraged the Avengers’ greatest failures to paint the Phoenix Five as Earth’s true saviors.

Scott Summers has a mind for war
; it was what he was raised to be. That said, he also loves his people and the X-Men more than anything. Unlike Magneto, Scott’s methodical mind is reinforced with compassion for his allies. Unlike Charles Xavier, Scott has trained his X-Men to harness their full powers without fear of the public’s opinion. Together, these qualities have reshaped Cyclops into a tactical mastermind who can overcome almost any challenge by leaning into the diverse talents of his X-Men team.

X-Manhunt: Omega #1is available now from Marvel Comics

“}]] Cyclops reasserts why he’s the X-Men’s leader.  Read More