I had to think about that for a moment. Cyclops--Scott Summers--goodie goodie...
Why is he perceived that way?
1) He's the leader. He's the one that takes all our favorite bad boys and bad girls and gets them pointed in the same direction when in the field. That can't be easy. However, even Wolverine listens to him in the field. So he has got to have some major charisma and smarts.
2)He's in a steady, monogomous relationship. (Oh, yeah--but is Jean Grey?? She keeps being attracted to Wolverine--that doesn't help Scott's rep...He's not oblivious, though. Plus there was that whole thing with Madelyn Pryor (Jean's clone)--it's complicated.)
3) He doesn't go around shooting/hacking/slashing or just plain killing people. Why? Well, he's got a strong morale code, and a pretty deep common sense streak. In most cases, you can get more information from a live hostage than a dead foe. And in a lot of cases, the people they fight aren't evil--usually they believe that they're on the side of law and order, or are unenlightened, or are such minor bad guys that killing them would be a serious reputation killer. For those times when killing is necessary, he has several people on his team who are chomping at the bit for the chance--but he still takes the guilt (very angsty, our boy is :smile: ) He doesn't always delegate though. He does a lot of the dirty work himself. It's part of his moral code. And really, it's harder to protect than it is to revenge.
4) Even though he's a man of few words, and you can't see his eyes (the windows of the soul)--you trust him. You believe he is a good guy and that he will always be there to back you up. His inability to control his power has made him reserved and unable to just let loose and relax. Which is a shame--those few times when he does have been REAL fun!
5) Have you seen the comic since he came back from being dead? Very liberating experience for him apparently!
As I've matured I've found that, while the characters I loved are still very close to my heart (Gambit, Wolverine, Rahne Sinclair), some of these other characters who seemed "goodie goodie" when I was younger have depth and detail that I now find fascinating. Cyclops--I'm liking him more and more these days....
My 3 cents worth :smile:
RQ
