Scott Summers/Cyclops was one of the first X-Men and has long been one of the team’s leaders. The Marvel Comics hero was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and debuted in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). He is a mutant born with superhuman abilities, with the power to emit powerful beams of energy from his eyes. Because he cannot control the beams he must use special eyewear at all times.

Various revisions have changed Cyclops’ history throughout the years, though the central fixed part of his origin is that while he was a boy, Scott saw his parents die in a plane crash. He was growing up in Anchorage, Alaska when his father, an Air Force Major, took the family for a ride in a combat aircraft. Tragically, it was attacked by an alien spaceship. The couple placed Scott and his brother Alex in the only available parachutes and forced them off of the plane. After being sent to an orphanage, they were separated and Scott’s powers started manifesting.

In a flashback in The Uncanny X-Men #156 (April 1982) Summers’ parachute caught fire and he struck his head when he landed. The violent strike caused brain damage, which resulted in his poor ability to control the optic blasts. Most origin stories do not include the head injury and it was retconned in Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 as a self-imposed mental block to process the traumatic death of his parents. Later, Emma Frost helped him to bypass that mental block and control his powers, but it proved temporary.

Scott dealt with prolonged amnesia, blocking his childhood, but after being attacked by the demon D’Spayre, parts of his memory returned. He recalled spending his childhood at the State Home for the Foundlings in Omaha, Nebraska. While there he was subject to tests and experiments by the orphanage’s owner Mr. Milbury, an alias used by Mister Sinister. After the testing Sinister placed the blocks on Scott’s mind himself.

While on a trip with the orphanage to New York when he was 16, Scott unintentionally emitted an optic beam. The blast hit a metal crane which fell toward a crowd. Reacting quickly, he shot a precise blast to destroy the crane and save the people. Unfortunately, the crowd misinterpreted his actions and believed that he tried to kill them. Scott escaped onto a train and was then found by Charles Xavier. Professor X asked Scott to join the X-Men and he became the first official member of the team.