Young Scott Summers is blasting off in a new series by Greg Rucka.
It was revealed in All-New X-Men #23 that Christopher Summers (aka the space pirate known as Corsair) is alive. Summers was believed to be killed by his own son- Gabriel (aka Vulcan) in the X-Men: The Rise and Fall of the Shiar Empire. Scott left the All-New X-Men to join his father’s adventures in space with the Starjammers.
Cyclops #1 this week marks Rucka’s return to Marvel. The acclaimed writer with huge independent, creator-owned successes (Lazarus, Stumptown, Veil) explains the challenge and appeal of writing Scott Summers with Comic Book Resources:
“When I started reading “Uncanny” way back in the day — and I mean way back in the day — there were characters I loved, and there were characters that I was kind of “meh” about. I was “meh” about Scott at the start. I had been collecting for about a year and a half, and I came to a realization — “Why is it that I feel like I haven’t connected with this guy?” Then the penny dropped for me, which was, “Oh, because he and I are an awful lot alike.” [Laughs] We’re very serious people; we take our responsibilities very seriously, we expect others to do the same, and we’re often frustrated by their lack of doing so. And we internalize a lot. If I were an X-Man, I’d probably end up being Scott — but I’d be the Scott who never, ever, ever managed to make anything work with Jean. [Laughs] There’s something Gary Cooper about him that I really like. There’s something about this kid — and I’m looking at him very much as a kid; for our purposes he’s 16 — he’s really trying to figure out how to be a stand-up man. Right now, he’s got an example that he’s not in love with. The stand-up man version of himself is problematic! I really like the character. I’m not sure Scott will ever be “cool.” Logan’s always going to be cool. Scott’s the guy who gets stuff done,”
“One of the duties of the X-Men — we’ve talked about this for years and years — is the metaphor of being the outsider group. One of the things that Marvel has always done so well is talk about teenage trauma, and the difficulties of that. In so many ways, Scott is perfectly that. He is a young man trying to be a good man, and trying to stand for what he believes in, and trying to figure out how to love, and how to make new things work, and how to be responsible for other people — which is a huge thing. Scott’s always been a little too mature for his own good; certainly, young Scott. I find that incredibly appealing.”
Rucka told Marvel.com how he’ll explore with the Summers tragic past while propelling Cyclops into the future.
“I guess one of the things that I get the biggest kick out of and certainly, with regards to the book itself, is Cyclops,” said Rucka of the time travel twist introduced by Brian Michael Bendis. “The continuity still stands. So, 16-year old Scott is interacting in a world where the older version has already been marching along. I think that the chance to take a look at the characters, not only at different stages of their development but then to see how those stages influence and change and how that may reflect, especially how they deal with the legacy of their future selves. That’s a gold mine. I love that.”
“It comes down entirely to their life experiences and that’s the end-all, be-all of it,” he says of the gulf between young Scott and his battle-scarred counterpart of the present. “That’s the only thing that can be a factor there. One has experiences that have brought him to the place he is now and the other is looking and can’t imagine the experiences that took him to that place. I find it real powerful and problematic. I think young Scott and our [adult] Scott would hate to admit that they both absolutely come from the same place and maybe are still pretty much the same person. You know, we are the aggregate of our experiences. That’s where our personality comes from. That’s what influences us; that’s what drives our decisions.
“When we’re 16, we have lots of heavy thoughts. And these are the heavy thoughts where when we’re in our 30’s we look at 16-year olds and sort of scorn it. They’re legitimate. It’s legit. Scott’s got real baggage but he’s also got this blessing of an opportunity. Which is for him, okay, his mom is gone. She’s not coming back. But holy mackerel, here’s my dad! And for Chris, for Corsair, who has reconciled with Scott and with Alex, this is an opportunity to be there for his 16-year old son.”
Cyclops#1 by Rucka and Russell Dautermann arrives Wednesday.
By Editor