Since his introduction in X-Men #1, way back in September 1963, Scott Summers aka Cyclops has dedicated his life to fighting for his fellow mutants. Cyclops led the team all through the Silver Age, was the only founding member to remain on the team after the Second Genesis team joined following Giant-Size X-Men #1 in 1975, and fought side by side with his love Jean Grey until her death during the “Dark Phoenix Saga”. Beset with grief, Scott briefly contemplated quitting the X-Men before choosing to remain for the good of the team. Scott would then go on to join the new team X-Factor after Jean’s was revealed to be alive in a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. In 1991, Scott became the leader of the Blue team following the launch of the title X-Men, affectionately nicknamed “Adjectiveless X-Men”. We have also seen Scott as a leader on Utopia and then Krakoa, and now, following the fall of Krakoa, Cyclops is leading his team of X-Men based out of Merle, Alaska.
All that is to say that the X-Men are the only life that Scott Summers has ever known. The X-Men are his comrades, his teammates, and his family, and he will be an X-Man until the day that he dies. This is a choice that he is fully committed to and will never waver from.
Jed MacKay relaunched the flagship title over a year ago with X-Men #1, a book in which Scott Summers finds himself in a familiar position: leading an X-Men team and fighting for a world that hates and fears mutants. Scott’s new team consists of Kwannon, aka Psylocke, Illyana Rasputina, aka Magik, Idie Okonkwo, aka Temper, Quentin Quire, aka Kid Omega, Cain Marko, aka Juggernaut, Hank McCoy, aka Beast, and Magneto. They are using a former Sentinel factory in Merle, Alaska, as their headquarters and base of operation. Throughout the run so far, the Alaska X-Men team has repeatedly faced off with 3K, an organization of radical mutants who intend to fully replace humanity with mutants by the year 3000. At this time, the leader of 3K has not been revealed, although some members of 3K, specifically Cassandra Nova, Astra, and the Magneto clone Joseph, have been revealed to be working with 3K. In addition to the conflict with 3K, Cyclops has also had repeated run-ins with Lundqvist, an Office of National Emergency (O*N*E) agent who distrusts mutants and Cyclops’ X-Men team and their presence in Merle, Alaska.
Cyclops has some explaining to do to Agent Lundqvist. (Marvel Comics)
The central conflict in X-Men #20 is between Scott Summers and Lundqvist, who have had tension between them since the beginning of this series. Following the events of X-Men #18, where Cyclops and his team fought the 3K’s X-Men team and 3K announced themselves to the world during the vigil in X-Men: The Hellfire Vigil #1, Lundqvist wants to know why Scott Summers didn’t tell him about the existence of 3K. Scott’s defense is that 3K is a “mutant problem” and one that he didn’t feel Lundqvist and O*N*E were equipped to handle. They argue while trading blows until they are arrested and thrown into a jail cell by Chief Robbins for destruction of property and for disturbing the peace.
These scenes with Lundqvist and Cyclops are monumental because the tension has been building and has now led to a breaking point where the two men are forced to confront each other over their mutual distrust for one another, while also airing out their grievances. Lundqvist is upset because he feels that Scott violated some level of trust and understanding they had established, whereas Scott wants to know why Lundqvist detests mutants so much. Perhaps this conflict between Lundqvist and Scott will lead the two combatants to bury the hatchet and create a path forward where they can work together instead of against one another, or maybe this will draw a line in the sand that neither can move past.
X-Men #20 also continues a plot thread from X-Men #18 in which Hank was offered membership to 3K. In the issue, we learn that Hank is contemplating the offer and has only revealed this information to Jen, a mutant woman with whom he has begun a relationship. This causes some tension between Hank and Jen, as Hank tells Jen that he is poor company and would rather not upset anyone. Feeling rejected, Jen takes this as a hint that Hank wants to be left alone, and leaves a pensive Hank alone with his thoughts. The issue ends with no indication whether Hank will reveal the offer to Scott, nor whether he is considering accepting or rejecting the offer. At the end of the issue, we also learn from Lundqvist that he has a new boss, one who is a mutant and, according to Lundqvist, has “a particular interest in the X-Men”. This reveal is sure to leave fans speculating who this mystery character could be, and the ramifications that their involvement with Lundqvist and O*N*E could have.
Overall, X-Men #20 is a character-driven issue in which a lot of the action and superhero plot takes a backseat to a deeply personal conflict between two characters who are opposed to one another’s ideological positions on mutant-human relations. It is an issue that is true to the mythos and core themes that have dominated X-Men comics since their inception, and is fully consistent with Scott Summers’ characterization in the comics, both as a mutant and a leader of the X-Men. While the focus is on Scott and Lundqvist, there are some good character beats with some of the other members of Scott’s team, mainly between Idie and Kwannon and Hank and Jen. These character beats highlight who these characters are beyond their standing as members of the X-Men and look at them as fully fleshed out human beings as well.
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