WARNING: Spoilers for X-Men #5 ahead!
Krakoa’s world-changing Resurrection Protocols, which effectively makes all of mutant-kind immortal, is still a secret from the rest of the world, but an investigation by Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich plans to reveal the mutants best-kept technology unless Cyclops decides to stop him. Cyclops’ potential betrayal has been brewing for a while, with Urich first telling him about his investigation in X-Men #1, but in X-Men #5 Ben gives Scott Summers 24 hours to give him a statement before publishing his article… But will Cyclops stop him, or does he have his own agenda?
Cyclops is in a particularly precarious position because while he is, of course, a major representative for Krakoa, he is also the leader of the newly formed X-Men team, who have settled in New York City so that they will be seen as superheroes not just for mutants, but for all of humanity as well. In this way, Scott Summers is needing to balance his Krakoan priorities and his X-Men responsibilities, and Scott has a very intense and rigid set of ethical principles, making his decision to manipulate Urich or betray Krakoa’s trust incredibly difficult for him. Cyclops also has a very strong, emotional connection to Professor X, who has always been a complex father figure for him, and who he would hate to betray (except for that time he killed him…).
The world already views Krakoa as a threat to humanity’s future, especially with the recent terraforming of Mars, so for them to find out that the mutants have beaten death could lead to more aggressive action from the government’s of Earth. The intrepid, relentless Ben Urich has been investigating mutant resurrection for weeks at this point, having found that Nathan Summers grave in Westchester is now empty, and realizing when he was a guest at the Hellfire Gala that some mutants who were known to be dead, like Jumbo Carnation, are now mysteriously alive again. Urich’s insightfulness is what makes him a world-renowned investigative journalist, but his snooping around might be bringing him into serious conflict with the Quiet Council, unless Cyclops intervenes.
Other Krakoan citizens, especially the more unsavory ones like Mr. Sinister or Dr. Nemesis, would have absolutely no issue in finding a way to shut down Urich’s investigation and publication. Cyclops, however, is often portrayed as morally righteous and very proud of his current status as a hero, so it would be much harder for Scott to force Ben to stop his publication because he knows it would be unethical and abusive to mind wipe Urich just to stop him from revealing the mutant’s secret. It seems like Cyclops might even have his own agenda… he has not told the Quiet Council about Urich’s investigation, implying that he either wants Urich to publish the story, or he knows the Council would forcibly stop Ben, and Cyclops doesn’t agree with that.
With the upcoming introduction of the new Captain Krakoa, which is shown to be the cover of X-Men #6, Cyclops’ potential betrayal of the Quiet Council’s trust might be why he is replaced by Captain Krakoa as the leader of the X-Men. Cyclops has had a contentious history as the leader of the X-Men, and even though he has seemingly turned a new leaf, there is a huge chance that him deciding to keep Urich’s secret could lead to the Quiet Council disavowing him. Make sure to check out X-Men #6 to see whether Cyclops decides to keep Ben Urich’s discovery a secret, and how it may impact the future of Krakoa.
