Cyclops #4

Issue Date: 
December 2001
Story Title: 
Odyssey - chapter 4 : Point of View
Staff: 

Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Mark Texeira (penciler), Jimmy Palmiotti (inker), Transparency Digital (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Mike Raicht (assistant editor), Mike Marts (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president)

Brief Description: 

Cyclops arrives in Paraguay after going through the portal from the Savage Land. He finds Ulysses’ base and decides that he needs to stop him before he goes after Cyclops’ friends. He crashes into the building and starts to fight but three commandos who used to work for him are helping Ulysses. They are all wearing ruby quartz armor, so cyclops can’t use his powers on them. Cyclops gets thrown out of the building and runs down the street as he is being fired upon. A stray bullet hits a house painter. The commandos advance and cyclops takes two of them out by making them crash into each other. The third, Yuri, realises that Ulysses has gone over the edge and stops attacking. Ulysses turns invisible and surprises Cyclops. After hitting him several times he starts strangling him. The house painter throws a paint can which Cyclops fires at covering Ulysses in paint. Yuri hits Ulysses, cracking his riby quartz armor open, leaving him vulnerable to Cyclops‘ optic blast. Yuri tells Cyclops he will take Ulysses to the authorities and Cyclops returns to the X-Mansion.

Full Summary: 

Cyclops has left the Savage Land via a dimensional portal, which brings him into eastern Paraguay. As he docks his boat, Cyclops is met by a group of bandits. The bandits let Scott pass in exchange for him handing over his expensive Shi’Ar built watch,
An hour later, Cyclops is waking through Ciudad Del Este, he wonders what the bandits reaction will be when the watch selfdestructs. When Ulysses betrayed Juggernaut and Black Tom, they gave Cyclops the location of Ulysses’ hideout, which happens to be in this city. Cyclops finds the hideout and stakes out. Scott climbs onto a roof of a building and looking through a window finds that Ulysses has gathered former members of his squad to help him in his plans to terminate the X-Men. One of the men is unsure about this course of action however Ulysses tells them they will be getting justice for their fallen comrades. He tells them that after he was enhanced he was provided with plenty of equipment to take the X-Men on. Cyclops decides that this is going to far and needs to end now. He uses his optic blasts and crashes in through the roof, surprising the enemy. He strikes Ulysses, knocking him to the ground. Ulysses drops Cyclops’ visor, which he was keeping as a trophy. Cyclops picks it up and puts it on. He is now able to control the intensity of his optic blasts again. Ulysses quickly turns invisible and lets his cohorts, who are now wearing special armor, deal with Scott.
Unfortunately for Scott, Ulysses has outfitted his men in ruby quartz armour, a substance that the X-Man’s optic blasts cannot penetrate. Ulysses himself rejoins the battle, knocking Cyclops outside into the street. Cyclops tells the civilians to get away so that they don’t get caught in the crossfire, however Ulysses thinks he is trying to retreat. The villain opens fire upon Cyclops, but unfortunately one of the bullets strikes an innocent kid who was house painting. Cyclops tells them that an innocent has been hurt but Ulysses denies that this happened. The three commandos then charge towards Cyclops.
Scott aims his optic blast to ricochet off of Hernandez and strike Shepard, whom was flying above him. The blast destroys his mechanical wings. Shepard falls to the earth and lands on Hernandez, and both men are knocked out. Yuri is about to attack Cyclops, but stops as he realises that Ulysses really did wound a civilian. Yuri and Cyclops start talking, Yuri understands that Cyclops didn’t kill their comrades. Suddenly an invisible Ulysses returns and begins to pummel Cyclops. He smashes him into a car and then picks him up by his neck strangling him. Cyclops tells the painter to throw the paint can, which he then fires at with his optic blasts, spraying Ulysses with a white paint, making him visible once more. Ulysses grabs Scott, but Yuri, realising Ulysses has gone too far, strikes him in the chest with a sharp, mace-like weapon, which shatters his armor. As Ulysses prepares to escape and turn invisible again, Scott nails him with a powerful optic blast to the chest. Yuri tells Cyclops that he will take him to the proper authorities.
Cyclops returns to the X-Mansion to rejoin the team. Professor Xavier asks him if he found what he was looking for. Cyclops realises that he is capable of a lot without his team or powers and will never look at himself the same way.

Characters Involved: 

Cyclops, Wolverine, Professor Charles Xavier (all X-Men)

Ulysses

Hernandez, Shepard, Yuri (Ulysses‘ troops)

Story Notes: 

Juggernaut and Black Tom were betrayed in #2, however Cyclops must have got the location of Ulysses’ base by overhearing an off panel conversation as there was no time for him to be told before they jumped out of the plane.

Issue Information: 

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