That’s
right my favorite super hero is Cyclops, Marvel Comics original X-Man. See? My
technique works. Right now I’m sure some of you are thinking,” Oh, Lord. This
guy is some tasteless dick.”
We’re
not going to get into how true or not true that statement may be.
Instead
I want to clarify that while I love the idea of the character, I love his
powers and I love his personality…I hate how he is written. Compared to many of
the X-Men’s more vibrant cast members a lot of people see Cyclops as kind
of…bland. Some people loathe him, seeing him as the uptight, brown nosing hall
monitor of the Xavier Institute. To me the problem is that this view is so
pervasive that even the writers see the character this way. In their minds
Scott is “the boring member” of the X-Men and so he is written to be boring (or
uptight and douche).
The version of Cyclops I like isn’t
in the comic books, the movies or any of the tv adaptations. The cool,
confident, ass kicking version of Cyclops seems to only exist in my head. He’s
an image that I built from brief moments, inferences, at least one visit to the
Cyclops character history page on Wikipedia and a whole lot of personal
projection.
That’s
right, projection. I like the character because I see myself in him. Maybe it’s
more accurate to say that I force parts of myself onto him
Uhh…
in a…nonsexual kind of way. Naturally.
This
kind of projection isn’t unusual in escapist or entertainment fiction like
comics, novels, or movies. It’s pretty much a staple in any long running series
with children or young adults intended as part of the audience (example: Harry
Potter ). It exists to some extent in every action or romance movie you've seen and every
video game you’ve ever played.
I
was introduced to the character of Cyclops via the Saturday morning cartoon
show X-Men: The Animated Series when I was just a young lad growing up
in that totally awesome time period we call the 1990’s. Not only did Cyclops have
the coolest powers in the entire show (he’s got LASER! EYES!), his character
had an extra hook that resonated with me for some reason. Like many of the
X-Men Cyclops’ powers had an unfortunate side effect that he could angst about.
He couldn’t turn them off and had to wear a protective visor in order to
suppress his abilities. Without these he could not risk interacting with others
for fear of injuring them.
So let’s just acknowledge the
obvious and slightly embarrassing part here. Yes, as you can probably guess by
the fact that I’m writing a blog about comic books…I wasn’t the most popular
kid in high school. I could use the term Loner but I don’t like it because it
makes it sound like I was all intense and brooding instead of the awkward and
tightly wound nerd child that I really was.
He
was like me but his powers also gave him a free out. Cyclops was isolated but
it was because he wanted to protect people around him and not because he had
shitty interpersonal skills. Basically I felt like Cyclops was me…but cooler.
Of course, I’m not saying projection
is the only reason we like or relate to a character. Sometimes we read or watch
a character and there’s just something about them that we respect.
I don’t feel as if I have anything in common
with Indiana Jones but I like the character anyway. It probably has something
to do with his excellent taste in hats.
 |
| Yeah.It's the hat. |
Now it could just be because his powers
aren’t all that much of a hindrance-
(“Oh
No! I am doomed to wear a pair or really cool sunglasses forever. My life is
ruined!!”)
-but
there’s something I like about the fact that you almost never catch Cyclops
complaining about his abilities. He’s a busy guy with a lot of responsibilities
and he realizes that things could be worse. He’d rather spend time fixing the
Black Bird or making the world safe for Mutant/Human coexistence than complain
about something he can’t change. I respect that. It’s kind of a refreshing
contrast when you’ve got a team as steeped in angst as the X-Men.
Both of my brothers watched X-Men: TAS at around the same time I did. My little brother, over bearing, melodramatic loudmouth that he is, instantly loved Wolverine and ran about the house slashing people with his fingers. My older brother's favorite was Gambit the suave, good humored ex-thief.
I've always thought the way we identify and relate to fictional characters is interesting because I think it says a little about who we are. It’s a two way mirror that shows the things we like or respect in a person or what we wish we could be,
There is still a lot more I have to say but according to the Journalism and Media Communications introductory course I took my Freshman year: blog posts should be short and sweet. I don't want to scare any one off too soon. But rest assured I'll have another article up soon, this one describing what exactly it is I see in the character. Something I didn't get to yet.
So come back soon!
I got the images of Cyclops and Indiana Jones from:
http://www.empireonline.com/images/features/100greatestcharacters/photos/6.jpgand
http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/14000000/Cyclops-and-Jean-scott-summers-and-jean-grey-14074907-732-928.jpg
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