CYCLOPS: Page 6 of 20

Publication Date: 14th Nov 2019
Image Work: sixhoursoflucy and Gremlin.
Biography

BIOGRAPHY - Page 6

When the X-Men were transported to the world of the M’Kraan Crystal, they met Corsair, alias Christopher Summers, Cyclops’ father, who had become a space pirate and leader of the Starjammers. With a mindscan, Phoenix learned of the connection between Corsair and Scott, but the space pirate made her and Storm promise not to tell Scott about it. [X-Men (1st series) #108-109]

Back on Earth, the team battled Magneto in his base beneath Antarctica, but they became separated when hot lava poured into the base through its damaged hull. Phoenix and Beast made their way up to the snowy surface above, while Scott and the rest of the team escaped through tunnels to the Savage Land. Each group believed the other dead. Cyclops tried to grieve for his lover but, surprisingly, found he couldn’t; there weren’t any feelings at all.

Scott wondered if Jean’s change to Phoenix had somehow ended his love for her or whether he truly ever loved her, as her death didn’t affect him in any way. Also while in the Savage Land, Scott caught a glimpse of his unshaven reflection in a pond and noticed how much he resembled the space pirate Corsair. [X-Men (1st series) #113-114]

It took the X-Men weeks to return to civilization, as they first traveled aboard a freighter to Japan, where they ended up helping in a local crisis. There, Scott met Colleen Wing, who was visiting Japan with her partner, Misty Knight. An immediate attraction developed between Scott and Colleen and they spent a lot of time together. Colleen accompanied the X-Men when they returned home, and she and Scott went out on several dates; she even gave him the keys to her apartment. Unfortunately, this relationship also led to her being captured by Arcade and used as a hostage against the team. [X-Men (1st series) #118-119, 122-124]

As Xavier had departed to space with his love Lilandra, Beast occasionally checked in on the supposedly vacant mansion. There, he ran into the X-Men, at which point they all realized the others were alive and well. When Hank told them Jean had gone to Muir Island, the X-Men immediately rushed there. Upon arrival, they found the island under attack by a villain named Proteus and Jean lying unconscious in the hallway. As she woke up, she addressed Scott as Jason, a mysterious handsome man she met in Scotland. She had also seen his apparent ancestor in recurring visions she was having of life in the 18th century. [X-Men (1st series) #125-126]

Having defeated their opponent, Scott and Jean made up with each other during the flight back to New York. He explained that after her apparent death he did not allow himself to feel anything at all, fearing that he would go insane over his loss.

Cyclops also confessed to having gone on a few dates with Colleen Wing, but Phoenix answered that she already knew, as the images were so strong in the other X-Men's minds. Yet she had no ill feelings, as she would want him to be with someone else once she was gone. [X-Men (1st series) #129]

Although Jean also disclosed her 18th-century "time-slips" to Scott, neither of them realized their true danger until it was too late. The handsome man Jason Wyngarde she kept seeing turned out to be none other than their old foe Mastermind. Jean fully embraced the next "time-slip" when it happened, unaware it was just another one of Mastermind's illusions. Now completely under Mastermind's control, Phoenix became the Hellfire Club’s Black Queen. However, when the illusionist killed Cyclops on the astral plane, she snapped out of it. Still, the damage was done, and Phoenix no longer was able to resisther inner darkness. She transformed into Dark Phoenix and soared through the universe, where she devoured an entire star and the five billion inhabitants of one of its planets. When she returned to Earth, she threatened to kill everyone, but Cyclops still tried to reach out to her.

Battling with Professor X, the Jean aspect was able to keep Phoenix under control, and she willed herself back to being Marvel Girl. Scott, who'd been watching the entire scenario, realized how much he loved the woman and proposed to her; Jean happily accepted. But their happiness was not to last.

The Shi'ar had witnessed Dark Phoenix consuming the inhabited solar system, and the X-Men were forced to battle the Imperial Guard over Jean's fate. One by one, they were taken out of the fight. In the end, only Jean remained, and seeing Scott struck down triggered her transformation into Phoenix once more. After a short rampage, she understood that she would never be able to fully control the dark hunger inside and, for the sake of the universe, sacrificed herself on the lunar surface. [X-Men (1st series) #132-137]

The X-Men held a funeral in remembrance of their beloved teammate, not suspecting that, all this time, the real Jean was lying in a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. [X-Men (1st series) #138]