Cyclops #1
As a child of the nineties who’s first love very well may have been Scott Summers, Cyclops’ Marvel Now! solo debut hits home in a lot of ways.
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Russell Dauterman & Chris Sotomayor
Cover: Alexander Lozano
Publisher: Marvel
Scott’s been the subject for a lot of controversy as of late, and his life could naturally only get more complicated as his past sixteen year old self is sent to the present with the hopes of trying to fix things. This is the story of that sixteen year old Scott going against what everyone expects of him for once in his life.
Maybe I’m a little biased, but Cyclops #1 made me a little emotional. In both excitement and maybe a little bit of heartache. Firstly, we’re talking some Starjammers action here. When you say nineties, I say, ‘Starjammers’. Which has a positive connotation to it, truly. Who doesn’t like space pirates, and it looks like young Scott Summers agrees with me. Because we’re dealing with the Starjammers for this issue, it’s a pretty thrilling ride that readers get to take part of, though we experience it through Scott’s voice, which is kind of dorky but adds a sweet touch of humour to the storytelling to keep it from being cheesy and keeps in tone with the story telling voice of our current generation.
The thing about being a teenager is that no matter what decade you’re in, some things just don’t change, and I applaud Rucka for his strong voice for Scott, perfectly capturing the awkward and insecure teenage boy that we’re all so familiar with already. True to typical Scott Summers’ character, a lot of his inner monologue is driven by Jean, whether he’s just musing about her in general, his feelings about her, or trying to write her a letter, she’s still a major player in the kind of man he might just turn out to be, and it’s nice to see that some things never truly change. But just because he’s devoted to Jean, doesn’t mean he’s not your average sixteen year old boy who’s oddly confused by finding his psudeo step-mom sexy, which is delightfully endearing, and adds a layer of humanity back into Scott that we haven’t seen in such a long time, which serves as a reminder that Scott isn’t just a stick in the mud, or a terrorist villain, or just plain lame (wherever you are on the Scott Summers is a jerk spectrum, none of it is positive).
I love Scott, I love the Starjammers, and it was everything that I loved. To top it all off, Dauterman’s art is stunning to look at, and I didn’t realize at first that this was his first Marvel book ever, because he’s already such a notable artist, and it’s a real treat to have him on a book like Cyclops, in which he makes literally every character look fantastic. If you’re not looking at Corsair’s abs and ruggedly handsome facial hair, then Hepzibah is a real stunner for an alien cat-skunk-person-thing. Though the most impressive of Dauterman’s skill is his ability to make Scott actually look like an awkward teen, and not overbuffed or sexy to appease fans eyes. Sure the adults look good, but what’s even better is the gangly kid actually looking gangly.
I’m looking forward to seeing the journey that Scott takes, going further in the series, and it’s bound to be fun and full of great adventures (space pirates, duh) and as much as I’ll enjoy the undeniably warm moments that’ll come from Scott interacting with his dad, here’s hoping we’ll see more of the Starjammers in the future because nostalgia plays well for easily emotional fans like myself.
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Russell Dauterman & Chris Sotomayor
Cover: Alexander Lozano
Publisher: Marvel
Scott’s been the subject for a lot of controversy as of late, and his life could naturally only get more complicated as his past sixteen year old self is sent to the present with the hopes of trying to fix things. This is the story of that sixteen year old Scott going against what everyone expects of him for once in his life.
Maybe I’m a little biased, but Cyclops #1 made me a little emotional. In both excitement and maybe a little bit of heartache. Firstly, we’re talking some Starjammers action here. When you say nineties, I say, ‘Starjammers’. Which has a positive connotation to it, truly. Who doesn’t like space pirates, and it looks like young Scott Summers agrees with me. Because we’re dealing with the Starjammers for this issue, it’s a pretty thrilling ride that readers get to take part of, though we experience it through Scott’s voice, which is kind of dorky but adds a sweet touch of humour to the storytelling to keep it from being cheesy and keeps in tone with the story telling voice of our current generation.
The thing about being a teenager is that no matter what decade you’re in, some things just don’t change, and I applaud Rucka for his strong voice for Scott, perfectly capturing the awkward and insecure teenage boy that we’re all so familiar with already. True to typical Scott Summers’ character, a lot of his inner monologue is driven by Jean, whether he’s just musing about her in general, his feelings about her, or trying to write her a letter, she’s still a major player in the kind of man he might just turn out to be, and it’s nice to see that some things never truly change. But just because he’s devoted to Jean, doesn’t mean he’s not your average sixteen year old boy who’s oddly confused by finding his psudeo step-mom sexy, which is delightfully endearing, and adds a layer of humanity back into Scott that we haven’t seen in such a long time, which serves as a reminder that Scott isn’t just a stick in the mud, or a terrorist villain, or just plain lame (wherever you are on the Scott Summers is a jerk spectrum, none of it is positive).
I love Scott, I love the Starjammers, and it was everything that I loved. To top it all off, Dauterman’s art is stunning to look at, and I didn’t realize at first that this was his first Marvel book ever, because he’s already such a notable artist, and it’s a real treat to have him on a book like Cyclops, in which he makes literally every character look fantastic. If you’re not looking at Corsair’s abs and ruggedly handsome facial hair, then Hepzibah is a real stunner for an alien cat-skunk-person-thing. Though the most impressive of Dauterman’s skill is his ability to make Scott actually look like an awkward teen, and not overbuffed or sexy to appease fans eyes. Sure the adults look good, but what’s even better is the gangly kid actually looking gangly.
I’m looking forward to seeing the journey that Scott takes, going further in the series, and it’s bound to be fun and full of great adventures (space pirates, duh) and as much as I’ll enjoy the undeniably warm moments that’ll come from Scott interacting with his dad, here’s hoping we’ll see more of the Starjammers in the future because nostalgia plays well for easily emotional fans like myself.
A Look Inside
