Marvel Just Gave Cyclops a Brand-New Codename

Scott Summers has been known as Cyclops for more than 60 years. Since his first appearance in 1963, the X-Men leader has almost always kept the same codename, even when Marvel has briefly given him other identities.

That is about to change in a very strange way. Marvel is putting Cyclops into a much darker world with its upcoming Midnight: X-Men series. The new horror-focused story will feature vampires, undead mutants and a version of the X-Men that looks very different from the one fans know. And in this world, Scott Summers has a new title: Cyclops: Vampire Hunter.

The new name will be used in Midnight: X-Men, a series from writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Matteo Della Fonte. The story takes place in a new continuity where supernatural threats are much more powerful than usual.

The main conflict centers on vampires and mutants. But things are not as simple as mutants fighting vampires. Marvel has introduced three major groups for the story. There are humans and regular mutants, vampires, and a group known as the Empyres. The Empyres are mutants who have become undead but do not necessarily serve the regular vampires.

Some familiar X-Men appear to have joined the Empyres. Artwork released for the series suggests that Storm, Iceman and Gambit are among them. That leaves Cyclops in a very difficult position.

Rather than simply fighting to protect mutantkind from humans, Scott will now be hunting vampires while also dealing with powerful undead mutants. Nightcrawler has been confirmed as one of his allies so far.

Marvel’s description for the story gives fans an idea of just how dangerous things have become: “THE X-MAN COMETH! The peace between the unturned mutants and the empyres is a fragile one. No group dares to move against the other in fear of sparking an all-out war. Only one man is brave enough to openly stand against the empyres and put down as many of them as he can. This is the story of Cyclops: Vampire Hunter.”

The new version of Scott will also have a very different look. Artwork shows him with a shaved head and a beard, making him look more like a hardened survivor than the traditional clean-cut X-Men leader.

There is also an interesting question about how Cyclops’ powers will work against vampires.

In regular Marvel continuity, Scott’s optic blasts come from energy he absorbs from his surroundings. He can take in different forms of energy, including solar energy and radiation. That could potentially give him an advantage against vampires if his powers work differently in the Midnight universe.

One possibility is that his optic blasts could take on properties similar to sunlight, which would make them especially dangerous to vampires. That has not been confirmed by Marvel, however.

For now, the biggest change is clear. Cyclops is no longer just the X-Men’s famous field leader. In this new horror universe, Scott Summers is stepping into the role of a vampire hunter.

Midnight: X-Men #2 is scheduled to arrive on November 18 from Marvel Comics.

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