Image: Disclosure/Disney+
Introduced as a founding member of the X-Men in 1963, Cyclops has always been shown as a character capable of firing blasts from his eyes. Power is considered both a blessing and a curse by the character. who, due to his lack of control, always needs to wear glasses or a special fourth ruby visor to avoid hurting others.
In X-Men ’97, these characteristics once again mark the character, who needs to assume a new leadership role with Professor Xavier’s departure. This also forces him to use his powers a little differently, which makes them a little more faithful to their origins.
Cyclops gets a prominent role in the new animationSource: Disclosure/Disney+
Although the visual representation of the hero’s powers suggests that he shoots lasers from his eyes, That’s not exactly what happens. Since it was created, Marvel has always made it clear that what happens is the firing of concussive blasts, which cause a violent blow to the target.
Cyclops is more skilled in X-Men ’97
Since his first appearance, Cyclops has always been very efficient in fending off enemies, although he was not always able to destroy what he hit. In X-Men ’97this concept is explored on a deeper level: in one of the first scenes of the animation, the character shows that, thanks to his power, he can jump from great heights without major difficulties.
To do this, he uses gusts of different intensities towards the ground, reducing his fall speed. This is possible both because of the way he masters his powers and because, canonically, Marvel has established that All mutants have a certain resistance to their own abilities.
This (combined with a good dose of fiction) helps explain how the hero’s neck muscles resist his actions. In the new animation, he uses his expanded abilities to quickly move through environmentstargeting walls and the ground as a way to boost your movements and dodge enemy attacks.
Many of these resources had already been used in comics and games, but ended up being ignored in the films in which Cyclops appeared. Likewise, animation in the 1990s also ended up somewhat ignoring these skills, which can also be explained by the restricted budget available at the time.
Although X-Men ’97 is a direct continuation of the previous cartoon, it does not ignore many of the recent developments in the mutant universe. The production is now available in the Disney+ catalog and should receive its third official episode this week.
