The X-Men‘s Cyclops is actually a better tracker than Wolverine. Wolverine has always claimed to be the best there is at what he does – even if what he does isn’t especially nice. He’s often been treated as more of a weapon than a human being, and in truth a part of Logan believes that about himself as well. Wolverine is well aware of the sheer number of lives he’s taken over the past century.
The secret to Wolverine’s success as a killer lies in his tracking abilities. Wolverine possesses hyper-active senses, allowing him to track a target’s scent wherever they go; that means when Logan has decided someone has to die, nothing can stop him from finding out where they are. What’s more, Wolverine’s ninja training means his enemies won’t see him coming. He’ll slip in from the shadows, pop his claws, and they’ll only know he’s about to strike if he wants them to be afraid.
But surprisingly, Wolverine isn’t actually the X-Men’s best tracker. In Uncanny X-Men #523 by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson—part of he first act in 2010’s “Second Coming” arc—Cyclops impresses Wolverine when Scott successfully tracks his son Cable across North America – in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Cyclops is a tactical genius with tremendous strategic skills, able to figure out patterns of behavior with ease. The better he knows a target, the easier it is for him to deduce their actions. Wolverine is staggered at the ease with which Cyclops tracks Cable; “Remind me never try an’ hide from you, Slim,” Wolverine quips.
What makes this particularly interesting, though, is that only a few years later the tables are turned – with Cyclops forced to go into hiding, and Wolverine numbering among his potential hunters. Again, Cyclops demonstrates his tactical prowess, choosing a bolt-hole he knows Wolverine would never think of. He hides himself in the old Weapon X lab, knowing Logan would never go there if he had any choice in the matter. The Weapon X facility likely even has anti-Cerebro defenses ensuring psychics can’t discover him, because it is successfully hidden from mutants for so long. Not only is Cyclops the better tracker – he’s also better at hiding.
Of course, Cyclops’ biggest advantage in all this is that he doesn’t work independently. Cyclops’ real strategic skill lies in his ability to coordinate his resources, and in the case of “Second Coming” he has a lot of mutants in play – allowing him to integrate data with his own deductions. It doesn’t take the X-Men long to find Cable at all – thanks to Cyclops, rather than Wolverine.
