Warning: contains spoilers for X-Men #25!The X-Men’s leader Cyclops has been given a dark new codename, but while the name predicts a significant period of suffering for Scott Summers, it also points to a similar rebirth as his longtime ally and rival Wolverine. As the X-Men suffer immense losses in the Fall of X era, it may be that’s exactly what they need.
In Gerry Duggan and Stefano Caselli’s X-Men #25, Cyclops is revealed to be a prisoner of Doctor Stasis – one of the villains behind the anti-mutant group Orchis. Having been brutalized by the new Captain Krakoa, Scott is badly injured, and has even had his eyes sewed shut in order to neutralize his powerful optic blasts. Adding indignity to injury, he’s been codename ‘Prisoner Ten’ by Orchis – a dehumanizing name intended to lessen his power and identity as a heroic figurehead. The current era of X-Men has gotten a lot of use out of the multiple meanings of the ‘X’ symbol, from Powers of X using it to mean ’10,’ to X of Swords indicating the word ‘Cross.’ Here, it’s clear that Marvel hasn’t given Scott a random number, but rather has subtly retitled him ‘Prisoner X.’
Cyclops Is the New Prisoner X
The Prisoner X codename has history in X-Men lore, but here it’s particularly meaningful. Beaten and captured by mutant-hating villains who want to weaponize him against his own kind, Cyclops is undergoing a version of Wolverine’s origin with the Weapon Plus program. During that time, Wolverine was codenamed Weapon X – a name that has dogged him ever since. Like Scott, Wolverine’s codename was intended to dehumanize and denigrate him, turning him into a living weapon for someone else to use. However, that plan eventually backfired when Wolverine broke free, and his captors had their ‘weapon’ turned against them. Cyclops has the potential to enact the same kind of reversal, rendering his new codename uniquely ironic.
Prisoner 10 Echoes Wolverine’s Weapon X Codename
As a mutant leader, Cyclops is a genius tactician, and his ‘Prisoner 10′ codename implies that there are nine other high-value prisoners also languishing in Orchis’ cells. It would be totally in-keeping with Cyclops’ personality to bring them together, forging a team to fight back against Orchis. Scott undergoing horrific torture only to turn the assets his captors accidentally gave him against them would result in a Wolverine-like rebirth, leaving Scott with a dark new perspective he’d need to work through.
However, there are other possibilities to the name, especially as Stasis reveals that Scott’s spinal damage means he’ll need a wheelchair going forward. Two other major figures in Scott’s life also use the ‘X’ in their codenames – Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, and his son Cable, aka Soldier X. While Cable hasn’t used that name since the early ’00s, Charles is the man who raised Cyclops and taught him everything he knows. Scott becoming the new ‘Professor X’ with a group of prisoners would bring dark symmetry to his life, and also give the ‘Prisoner 10’ name unique meaning. However, much of X-Men‘s Krakoan Era has been about exposing the flaws in Xavier’s philosophy and his failings as a leader and teacher. Orchis is only in a position of power because they manipulated him into betraying mutantkind, and Xavier is currently a broken man. He’d be a poor blueprint for any kind of triumphant return, whereas Cyclops becoming a new Wolverine would give a fresh meaning to their longtime rivalry.
Cyclops has entered a new period of his life as Prisoner Ten, even as the X-Men need him now more than ever. However, Scott Summers is a tactician and leader of the highest order. While his imprisonment by Orchis is a horrifying development, Cyclops will find a way to re-enter the fight, potentially even taking on Wolverine‘s traditional role of the dark mutant hero bringing pain and defeat to the people who wronged him.
X-Men #25 is available now from Marvel Comics.
