There has been, and always will be, a divide between Marvel fans who’ve only consumed movie and TV content and Marvel fans who also read comic books. Not unlike when a book is adapted as a movie or TV show, there may be differences made in the adaptation that go completely unnoticed by anyone who hasn’t read the book and are jarring to fans of the source material.
This is doubly true for Fox’s X-Men movies and the comics-inspired characters they chose to emphasize. Countless characters from these X-Men movies were debatably underdeveloped, but Cyclops could easily crest that list. Thankfully, Avengers: Doomsday could finally gift James Marsden’s Cyclops with the metamorphosis that he needed.
Fox’s X-Men Movies Make a Mockery of Cyclops
Fox’s X-Men movies can be charming and fun. Still, while the extensive franchise’s quality arguably dwindled with each new entry after X2: X-Men United (2003), there is one foundational problem that mars the series: a singular focal point on Wolverine, which ultimately pared down how much development, let alone screen time, other characters had.
That’s not to say Hugh Jackman’s performance wasn’t worthy of the attention the character received. But, in a series with most movies titled X-Men, it’s clear that few other X-Men characters were able to share a sliver of that same limelight.
In fact, if the first Fox X-Men movie was the only introduction to Xavier’s band of mutants that someone had, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they thought of Cyclops as an overprotective, third-wheeling boyfriend whose whole job was to hound Wolverine and give him dirty looks from behind ruby-quartz glasses. The character’s role was even worse in the following two movies, where he isn’t involved in the larger conflict or relevant in the story in X2: X-Men United, and is killed at the beginning of X-Men: The Last Stand.
That same viewer would then be alarmed to learn that the impression these movies give of Cyclops, or rather the insignificance they ascribe to him, is quite unfaithful to his reputation and stature in the comics. If nothing else, Cyclops wasn’t around for long enough to be fleshed out into a character who could feasibly lead the X-Men.
Cyclops Has Always Been Cool, But Fox’s X-Men Disagreed
The issue here is that, while X-Men ’97 and Avengers: Doomsday are two of the most recent X-Men outings beyond comics where Cyclops was depicted in an awesome way, Cyclops has almost always been a captivating character. This suggests that the way Fox’s X-Men movies portrayed Cyclops had a much greater effect on general audiences’ perceptions of the character than presumed, resulting in the response to Cyclops in X-Men ’97 and Avengers: Doomsday being drastic.
Only a tiny glimpse of Avengers: Doomsday’s Cyclops has been shown, yet it’s already the most impressive and faithful that James Marsden’s Cyclops has ever looked.
As Twitter user Parker states, “Yeah I’m sorry but they truly got me. X-Men has been a part of my childhood and to see Cyclops in a comic accurate suit and getting some respect after the damage Fox has done fills me with so much joy.” Similarly, many Marvel Comics fans have recently been directing others to comic book panels and pages where Cyclops truly is as cool and endearing as he is, like in Twitter user PK’s post.
Avengers: Doomsday Gives Cyclops a Long-Awaited Makeover
X-Men characters from Fox’s X-Men, in particular, were revealed to be a part of Avengers: Doomsday’s cast since the movie’s promotional livestream of star-studded chairs determined that at least the following X-Men characters would be reprised:
Kelsey Grammer’s Beast
Patrick Stewart’s Professor X
Ian McKellen’s Magneto
Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler
Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique
James Marsden’s Cyclops
So, while it isn’t news that James Marsden’s Scott Summers is returning, it is still fairly spectacular to see him in Avengers: Doomsday’s latest leaked teaser, especially with how faithfully he’s been depicted. Notably, Cyclops is wearing his iconic blue-and-yellow costume, sans trunks.
Funny enough, faithful superhero costume designs in live-action have taken an excruciatingly long time to be embraced the way they are today. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine may have worn a faithful-looking blue-and-yellow costume in Deadpool & Wolverine, but he hadn’t for the other nine X-Men or Wolverine-centric movies he’s been featured in.
Realism and groundedness be damned—theatrical adaptations being supposedly ashamed or hesitant to depict superheroes in their iconic costumes has long been a blight on movies and TV shows that are supposed to actually be inspired by the source material they adapt. Therefore, it’s unfortunately perceived as a big deal nowadays when a live-action superhero is dressed in a costume they’d wear in the comics, and seeing James Marsden’s Cyclops no longer wearing black leather exclusively as a costume is a sight for sore eyes.
This Cyclops may finally be wielding the character’s full potential, as well as the potential of James Marsden’s portrayal of him. All it took was a massive era shift between Fox’s X-Men and the MCU’s course correction post-Endgame, as well as a much-needed and highly anticipated wardrobe change.