Warning: Spoilers for Uncanny Avengers #3!
The X-Men’s latest, greatest adversaries are ready to make Cyclops into something he’s all-too-familiar with being: a martyr. As unveiled earlier this year at New York Comic-Con, in solicit summaries for Marvel’s upcoming slate of X-Men comics stretching into next year, Cyclops is set to go into the worst mutant trial since Magneto’s.
Uncanny Avengers #3 – by Gerry Duggan, Emilio Laiso, Morry Hollowell, VC’s Travis Lanham, Tom Muller, and Jay Bowen – has already begun to set in motion the “Trial of Cyclops,” which promises to be a foundational element of the Fall of the House of X storyline, which is set to bring an end to mutantkind’s illustrious Krakoan era.
In the latest Uncanny Avengers, upon watching the tide for mutant rights shift out of their favor, Orchis leaders’ Feilong and Dr. Stasis declare that they’ll need a trial to swing things back in their favor – and with Cyclops in their custody, it is clear what is in store for him.
Uncanny Avengers Is A Pivotal “Fall Of X” Title
Orchis, an anti-mutant organization, has emerged as the most startling threat to mutantkind the X-Men have ever faced. Orchis has collectively wiped out a large margin of the mutant population in one swoop at the Hellfire Gala, while simultaneously turning the majority of humankind against mutants. However, their plans hit a snag in Uncanny Avengers #3, following an inspiring pro-mutant speech from Captain America. The issue depicts two of Orchis’ leaders, the industrialist Feilong and the Mr. Sinister clone Dr. Stasis, deciding that perhaps what they need to get the trajectory of their scheme back on track is a public trial.
These moments in Uncanny Avengers #3 represent critical steps forward in the current overarching X-narrative. Based on previously released solicits, readers already know Orchis will settle on Cyclops, or Prisoner 10 as he is currently known, as their martyr, once more marking Scott Summers as the man who will die for mutantkind. During the “Inhumans vs. X-Men” arc, Cyclops destroyed a Terrigen cloud that had claimed the lives of mutants. This was considered an act of war by the Inhumans, and effectively got Cyclops killed. Cyclops would return from the dead eventually, but now he once more faces his demise at the hands of his peoples’ enemies.
Cyclops’ Martyrdom Could Signal The End Of The Krakoan Era
Cyclops’ rebranding as Prisoner 10 – or Prisoner X – has foreshadowed a greater reinvention of the Cyclops character for a post-Krakoan era. Him being put on trial could serve as a further means to who Cyclops is – while also truly defining the end of X-Men’s Krakoan era. As the leader of the X-Men, and therefore the face of mutantkind, Cyclops being judged on a public platform, and potentially put to death, will only do harm to how humans view mutants. If Orchis can convince the viewing public that the face of mutantkind in Cyclops in a monster, they can get people to think the same of mutants as a whole.
Uncanny Avengers #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
