The original fiveX-Menhave come a long way since being Charles Xavier’s first class of mutant students, and not all of their friendships have survived - however, it turns out that Scott Summers’Cyclopssurprisinglystill considers one former teammate his brother. Cyclops has clashed with this former classmate again and again, and could be forgiven for having given up on them forever. Instead, it turns out he’ll face down literal gunfire to protect them.
In a preview of Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman, Marte Gracia, Clayton Cowls, J. P. Mayer and John Livesay’sX-Men #8, Beast is kidnapped, waking up inthe new Graymalkin Prison-a mutant gulag built on the site of Charles Xavier’s school. He’s now the prisoner of Doctor Corina Ellis - a new threat to mutants who is working with the nation of Terra Verde.
Thanks to Beast’s past actions, Terra Verde hasverygood reason to want him imprisoned. And yet as soon as Cyclops hears about Beast’s capture, he assembles a team to demolish the prison,stating that Beast is"like my brother"and that"I’m not losing him again."
Wolverine Names X-Men’s Best Hero, and It’s Not Cyclops: “The Best Of Us”
Wolverine names the best of X-Men’s heroes, naming the character he sees as the team’s true moral heart - and it’s not his best friend Nightcrawler!
Cyclops Still Considers Beast His Brother
But Hank McCoy’s Clone Must Pay for the Original’s Crimes
Surprising as it may be to fans who only recently rejoinedX-Mencomics, the Beast appearing in this issue is only a few months old. That’s becausehe’s a clone of the original Beast, who died in the recentX-Force #50from Benjamin Percy and Robert Gill. Having been put in charge of black-ops protection for the mutant nation of Krakoa, Beast was quickly corrupted by his power and lack of accountability. What began as unsanctioned attacks on potential threats escalated to dispatching kill squads, taking and experimenting on secret prisoners, and cloning brain-damaged copies of Wolverine to act as his assassins.
To stop Beast, X-Force used his own cloning tech to bring backan early copy of Hank McCoy - one whose memory is missing 40 years of Marvel history. It’s clear that Cyclops considers the clone the ‘true’ Beast, and is willing to overlook the crimes of his prior self. However, the nation of Terra Verde - whose nascent biotech the original Beast sabotaged, leading to a national disaster - clearly aren’t willing to give up on vengeance.
X-Men Confirms Rogue Is Now One of Marvel’s Strongest Heroes of All Time, After Permanently Absorbing a God-Tier Avenger
X-Men’s Rogue reveals that she secretly still has the powers of a god-tier Avenger, turning her into one of Marvel’s strongest heroes ever.
Beast Has Become Essential to the X-Men (Again)
A New Disease Gives Hank a Chance to Save Mutantkind
Cyclops and Beast’s relationship has been rocky for years. When Cyclops set up the mutant safe haven of Utopia in 2009, Beast broke ranks with his former friend and sided against him with the Inhumans. Beast even brought the original five teenage X-Men to the present via time travel in order to make Scott realize he was becoming more villain than hero. Ultimately, it was actually Beast who lost his moral compass, but Cyclops is seemingly willing to let their past disagreements be water under the bridge - if only because the new Beast doesn’t remember any of them.
Cyclops' forgiveness may have something to do witha mystery mutant diseasethat isturning every member of the team into a"ticking time bomb,“with Beast working on a cure. However, it’s also clear that Cyclops feels closer to Beast than he has in decades.Cyclopsisn’t about to let mutantkind’s enemies sever that bond once again, deploying theX-Mento save his brother and bring the hammer down on the people who kidnapped him… even if they do happen to be the original Hank McCoy’s victims.
X-Men #8is coming December 4 from Marvel Comics.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
Cyclops
Cyclops, a.k.a. Scott Summers, is the X-Men’s core team leader and one of the first characters to appear in the franchise. As a human/mutant hybrid, Cyclops has the power to launch massive bursts of energy from his eyes that are regulated through the use of a specially designed visor. Despite his calm and collected demeanor, he tends to lose it when in the presence of a fellow team member, Wolverine.
