Ultimate X-Men's new Cyclops is given a tragic reminder of how dangerous her powers are.
Cyclops is the consummate X-Man, and his popularity has skyrocketed since his star turn in X-Men '97. The show was able to take everything great about Cyclops and showcase it, helping him shed the "uncool" label he's gotten in previous years. From the beginning of the first episode, when Cyclops used his optic blasts as retrorockets, to the last few episodes when he, Jean, and Cable fought against tremendous odds and triumphed, Cyclops is finally getting the respect he deserves; he never has it easy, but he always comes out on top.
Marvel's new Ultimate Universe is making a lot of waves, giving fans new versions of familiar tales. Ultimate X-Men is easily the most unique of the new books, taking the X-Men mythos and filtering them through a horror manga prism, following a group of teenage Japanese mutants. Ultimate X-Men #10, by writer/artist Peach Momoko, shows this group's version of "Cyclops" learn how deadly losing control of her powers can be, and it's heart-wrenching.
Ultimate X-Men's cast consists of young Japanese girls trying to deal with their powers as well as "the Children of the Atom," a Japanese mutant cult that believes mutants are superior. The new Ultimate Cylcops is a girl named Natsu Tsukishima - Natsu means "summer" in Japanese, paying homage to Cyclops's last name - and unlike the original Cyclops, her optic blasts only come from one of her eyes. Up until now, she's been able to control her powers, but Ultimate X-Men #10 sees her lose control during a conversation with her mother.
After a statement from the Children of the Atom's leader the Maester, Natsu's mother tries to talk her into joining the Children of the Atom and Natsu rebuffs her. Her mother keeps pressing the issue and Natsu's frustration causes her to lash out with her powers, firing a blast through her bedroom door. The argument escalates and Natsu fires again, and hears her mother hit the floor. When she goes to check on her mother, she makes a terrible discovery - her optic blast went right through her mother's eye, killing her. Natsu's sadness causes her to lose control of her powers completely, blasting more holes through her mother's corpse.
Compared to the classic version of Cyclops, Natsu's powers seemed kind of tame. She didn't have to wear a ruby-quartz visor 24/7, with images of her usually showing her wearing an eyepatch over one eye. Ultimate X-Men #10 shows that her powers are more like the original Cyclops than they first seemed. The accidental murder of her mom is going to change everything for her and bring the conflict between mutants and humans to the next level.
Ultimate X-Men has been building the conflict between mutants and humans slowly. The general public believes that the Children of the Atom have been experimenting on humans, and the Maester's speech in the new issue claiming that mutants are superior isn't going to help matters. Once the death of Natsu's mother is revealed, it's plain to see that the general public is going to explode with rage against mutants - and her in particular. So far, the X-Men of this universe have been able to stay low-key, battling against this universe's version of the Shadow King as the conflict between them and the Children of the Atom grows. Natsu's actions are not only going to devastate her in every way but make mutants' lives that much more dangerous.