What DID Cyclops do? Theories and Spculation

[Beorg]

I think people are overlooking into this and will end up disappointed for not living up to their expectations. The way I see it, Cyke did something bad to the Inhumans and this was blown out of proportion. Like a game of telephone where the players end up saying worse and worse things about him. It happens in real life too. Look at Putin and what he did in Ukraine. Some consider him as bad as Hitler, others cheer him for his deeds.

[Xoxx]

The way I see it, Cyke did something bad to the Inhumans and this was blown out of proportion.

Inhumans still have their city, nobody important is dead and Inhumans can go out to fresh air. Whatever he did, consequences are abysmal.

[MarvelMaster616]

Inhumans still have their city, nobody important is dead and Inhumans can go out to fresh air. Whatever he did, consequences are abysmal.

That's another interesting observation I haven't really contemplated. If Cyclops' crimes were so horrific in the mutant/Inhuman war that happened off-panel, then why are the Inhumans thriving while mutants are back to M-Day level strife? That more than just odd. It's a glaring inconsistency.

It's still hard to make any observations because the X-books don't get specific. But it was at least confirmed in EXM #3 that Cyclops' atrocity involved a war against the Inhumans. Jean said it outright when she confronted Old Man Logan. But if this war was so horrible, then why aren't both sides reeling? How can Cyclops' crimes be that terrible when the Inhumans seem to be thriving?

It leads me to believe that what Cyclops did was likely a plan that backfired. I doubt he's the one who created M-pox. But if he found out it exists, he would naturally try to stop it. This clearly didn't work because the Terrigen Mists did get unleashed and they are creating new Inhumans. But how could his failure to stop the mists and M-pox create an atrocity? Did his plan somehow cause huge collateral damage against humans? I think that's the most likely scenario. Because if he did something that hurt the Inhumans, then it must not have been much, given their current state. It's more likely that his efforts caused something akin to the Stamford incident with Nitro before Civil War. That would certainly turn people against him.

That still has some inconsistencies though. If something did backfire, then that means it wasn't intentional. So why condemn him for a mistake he made? If they're going to do that to Cyclops, then why does Old Man Logan get a pass when he unintentionally slaughtered everyone in the X-men in his world? Why does Tony Stark get a pass for his actions in Civil War?

Whatever happened in this human/Inhuman war, it has to be so bad that the entire mutant race and the human race hates his guts. But it also can't be bad enough that it would prevent the Inhumans from thriving like they are now. It also can't be something that he can blame on a mistake. Can anyone come up with a theory for how that would work? I certainly can't, except for some kind of mass psychic manipulation. The 4chan rumor did imply that the Void somehow drove Cyclops into a rage. But there's been no hint of that and if that were the case, then they would have to blame the Void and not Cyclops.

So I'm at a loss here. What, aside from mass psychic manipulation, could account for Cyclops' alleged crimes? I'll try to come up with another theory, but I'm pretty sure it'll be wrong.

[Xoxx]

This is worse than M-Day, I think. When Decimation hit, you could be on Earth without using gas-mask like Cable, or on who knows what medicines like Rogue. And I doubt Cyclops created M-Pox, since he's not geneticist and aside Sinister, I don't know who would help him.
As for Tony, he mindwiped himself so he forgot Civil War and stuff around that.
That being said, whatever he did, it'll be revealed in dumbest and bluntest way possible that will make me roll eyes and say "this is bad comic".

[RCX]

I guess the real question is: WHY would Marvel do this to a beloved character?

I mean, this is unprecedented. MarvelMaster gave two examples (Old Man Logan and Tony Stark), but this is nothing compared to that (apparently). I understand when they kill characters or change the status quo a bit so they could later bring the character with a fresh perspective. In this case what we see is that they are killing off and turning him into a monster. First killing Xavier and then turning him into a terrorist, but it didn't work! he became more and more popular. What's wrong?

If the idea was to get rid of a character with such a troubled history, why not just let Secret Wars be his last scene. Doom killed him, that's it, good bye. I don't think it was fair to a character that has so many fans. It was cheap and wrong.

[VilotorioFabiano]

I doubt he's the one who created M-pox.

Why? That's actually one of my theories. Maybe he found out about the terrigen mists, tried to stop them and accidently created the MPox in the process? That would explain why humans hate mutants yet the Inhumans got off scott-free hehe. Maybe from the point of view of others they think he deliberately created the MPox whereas he was tricked or took the fall for someone else?

the entire mutant race and the human race hates his guts

That's a bit dramatic. He still has followers hence the Ghosts of Cyclops. Only the XMEN seem to hate him right now. Or is he also being hated in the Avengers/Inhuman books?

If the idea was to get rid of a character with such a troubled history, why not just let Secret Wars be his last scene. Doom killed him, that's it, good bye.

Exactly, if he was as hated by Marvel as so many claim, why not get rid of him silently? If I hated a character I wouldn't have stories revolve around him even when he's gone. I think Marvel is aware of the rise in his popularity and are deliberately trolling Cyclops fans since it creates so much buzz in a way.

[MarvelMaster616]

I guess the real question is: WHY would Marvel do this to a beloved character?

I mean, this is unprecedented. MarvelMaster gave two examples (Old Man Logan and Tony Stark), but this is nothing compared to that (apparently). I understand when they kill characters or change the status quo a bit so they could later bring the character with a fresh perspective. In this case what we see is that they are killing off and turning him into a monster. First killing Xavier and then turning him into a terrorist, but it didn't work! he became more and more popular. What's wrong?

If the idea was to get rid of a character with such a troubled history, why not just let Secret Wars be his last scene. Doom killed him, that's it, good bye. I don't think it was fair to a character that has so many fans. It was cheap and wrong.

I don't think the why matters as much as the way it was handled. What happened with Old Man Logan and Tony Stark was dramatic because an event had been built around it. What happened with Cyclops happened entirely off-panel. There is absolutely no indication that mutants were at odds with the Inhumans prior to Secret Wars or even during. And even after AvX, many eventually stopped holding Xavier's death against him. They did accept that he was not in control of himself. Emma Frost even pointed this out in Uncanny X-men #3 under Bendis. So if Cyclops was under the influence of the Void or a telepath, why hold him responsible? Especially when other characters are guilty of so much worse?

The handling of this is what leads me to believe that there's some sort of creative chaos going on behind the scenes. Maybe it happened with Mike Marts left. They don't seem to know what to do with Cyclops, especially now that there's an O5 version of him running around. They can't get around that he's still popular. That's why he's in All-New X-men. And that popularity might grow thanks to the upcoming movie. So I don't think Marvel wants to get rid of him. I think they're mishandling him and trying to sideline him in the worst possible way. There are ways to do it that don't involve destroying his character off-panel, but that might require more work than they're willing to do. Go figure.

Why? That's actually one of my theories. Maybe he found out about the terrigen mists, tried to stop them and accidently created the MPox in the process? That would explain why humans hate mutants yet the Inhumans got off scott-free hehe. Maybe from the point of view of others they think he deliberately created the MPox whereas he was tricked or took the fall for someone else?

Well if he created M-Pox by accident, then that still leaves the same problem. It was an accident. He didn't do it intentionally. And it obviously didn't hurt the Inhumans so why would it get tied up in the Inhumans/Mutants war that Jean mentioned? Accidents have happened. Just look at all the damage Ultron has done. Hank Pym didn't create that on purpose. So why wouldn't he be as hated at Cyclops? It means there might be some psychic manipulation at work. But that might be too elaborate for Marvel's tastes.

[Xoxx]

Why? That's actually one of my theories..

Cyclops is many things, but smart enough to create plague is not one of them. Sure, maybe Sinister/Apocalypse/Kavita Rao created it, but eh.

[VilotorioFabiano]

Well if he created M-Pox by accident, then that still leaves the same problem. It was an accident. He didn't do it intentionally. And it obviously didn't hurt the Inhumans so why would it get tied up in the Inhumans/Mutants war that Jean mentioned? Accidents have happened. Just look at all the damage Ultron has done. Hank Pym didn't create that on purpose. So why wouldn't he be as hated at Cyclops? It means there might be some psychic manipulation at work. But that might be too elaborate for Marvel's tastes.

Because they don't know it was an accident? Maybe they think he did it on purpose? With OML they forgave him because they know it wasn't on purpose but if they believed it was on purpose, I'm sure he'd be hated.

Cyclops is many things, but smart enough to create plague is not one of them. Sure, maybe Sinister/Apocalypse/Kavita Rao created it, but eh.

I didn't mean to imply that he created it but that in the process of stopping the mists he teamed up and was manipulated by the person who did create them?

At worst, he did do it on purpose which would most likely result in him being Xorned later on...

[MarvelMaster616]

Because they don't know it was an accident? Maybe they think he did it on purpose? With OML they forgave him because they know it wasn't on purpose but if they believed it was on purpose, I'm sure he'd be hated.

Still think that's really a stretch. They know Cyclops pretty well. Do you really think they would accept that he would willingly release a plague that killed mutants and infected humans? When Cyclops confronted Wolverine in All-New X-men when he recruited O5 Angel, he dared him to kill him where he stood if he thought he willingly killed Xavier. But he didn't. Because even Wolverine knows on some levels that Cyclops wouldn't do something like that willingly.

So I have a hard time believing that any friend who knows him in any capacity would believe he would willingly do something like this. Even at his worst, he values mutant and human life. That never changed, even during AvX.

I didn't mean to imply that he created it but that in the process of stopping the mists he teamed up and was manipulated by the person who did create them?

At worst, he did do it on purpose which would most likely result in him being Xorned later on...

Even if that were the case, it still wouldn't be his fault. He'd still have been manipulated by someone. The list of characters who have committed crimes while under the manipulation of others is pretty vast in the Marvel universe and the heroes who deal with that aren't often condemned. Look at all the crimes done during AXIS. Nobody faced any consequences whatsoever. So why would they hate him if he was being manipulated?

[VilotorioFabiano]

Still think that's really a stretch. They know Cyclops pretty well. Do you really think they would accept that he would willingly release a plague that killed mutants and infected humans? When Cyclops confronted Wolverine in All-New X-men when he recruited O5 Angel, he dared him to kill him where he stood if he thought he willingly killed Xavier. But he didn't. Because even Wolverine knows on some levels that Cyclops wouldn't do something like that willingly.

So I have a hard time believing that any friend who knows him in any capacity would believe he would willingly do something like this. Even at his worst, he values mutant and human life. That never changed, even during AvX.

Guess they could say he thought it was only way to save mutantkind, but yeah it's a stretch...

Even if that were the case, it still wouldn't be his fault. He'd still have been manipulated by someone. The list of characters who have committed crimes while under the manipulation of others is pretty vast in the Marvel universe and the heroes who deal with that aren't often condemned. Look at all the crimes done during AXIS. Nobody faced any consequences whatsoever. So why would they hate him if he was being manipulated?

I already explained this! They don't know he was manipulated. Those other characters weren't condemned because they knew they were being manipulated/controlled. In this case, they wouldn't know yet.

[Beorg]

Well if he created M-Pox by accident, then that still leaves the same problem. It was an accident. He didn't do it intentionally. And it obviously didn't hurt the Inhumans so why would it get tied up in the Inhumans/Mutants war that Jean mentioned? Accidents have happened. Just look at all the damage Ultron has done. Hank Pym didn't create that on purpose. So why wouldn't he be as hated at Cyclops? It means there might be some psychic manipulation at work. But that might be too elaborate for Marvel's tastes.

Even if he did it by accident doesn't mean every character will automatically know so. For all we know he could have been totally hostile when it happened and the Inhumans had no choice but to eliminate him.

I guess the real question is: WHY would Marvel do this to a beloved character?

I mean, this is unprecedented. MarvelMaster gave two examples (Old Man Logan and Tony Stark), but this is nothing compared to that (apparently). I understand when they kill characters or change the status quo a bit so they could later bring the character with a fresh perspective. In this case what we see is that they are killing off and turning him into a monster. First killing Xavier and then turning him into a terrorist, but it didn't work! he became more and more popular. What's wrong?

If the idea was to get rid of a character with such a troubled history, why not just let Secret Wars be his last scene. Doom killed him, that's it, good bye. I don't think it was fair to a character that has so many fans. It was cheap and wrong.

See I think it's purely subjective. I didn't like Cyclops prior to AvX. But that event made me a fan and loved his character ever since.

[Gray Lensman]

What did he do? He managed to retain fandom despite earlier smear attempts. It's a hanging offense.

[MarvelMaster616]

I already explained this! They don't know he was manipulated. Those other characters weren't condemned because they knew they were being manipulated/controlled. In this case, they wouldn't know yet.

It's certainly possible that Cyclops' friends wouldn't know he was being manipulated. Even so, wouldn't they suspect as such if he were acting out of character? He had to be possessed by the Phoenix Force in order to kill Charles Xavier. Given how many X-men have been manipulated before, I would think his closest friends would at least consider the possibility. The way EXM and All-New X-men are written give the impression that they haven't even contemplated that he was manipulated. They just accept he did something terrible and did it intentionally. Considering how little the Inhumans were affected, that means he purposefully failed the mutant race he fought so hard to save. And I think that's more than a bit illogical.

Even if he did it by accident doesn't mean every character will automatically know so. For all we know he could have been totally hostile when it happened and the Inhumans had no choice but to eliminate him.

Cyclops being hostile is understandable. But that hostility didn't seem to do much to the Inhumans. They survived and are thriving. So why would that hostility in turn lead to M-pox and sterilization? Why is everyone condemning Cyclops and not the Inhumans? Absent psychic manipulation, I can't say there's a good reason.

[Beorg]

Why is everyone condemning Cyclops and not the Inhumans?

Because the Inhumans are among Marvel's favorite children right now. And, well, we just have to wait for Marvel to say something.