16 most disappointing X-Men movie characters

10. Cyclops

They disrespected the heck out of Cyclops, and it’s not James Marsden’s fault. He was perfectly cast in a role that saw him get turned to ash.

I get it, in the comics, he was a Boy Scout, a do-gooder who did everything Professor X said. But that changed; he became more hardnosed, a tweener between Professor X and Magneto. He wasn’t the same guy who had his roof cut off by Wolverine – Cyclops was a new man.

Even with all that, one thing was clear in the comics: Cyclops was the leader of Wolverine’s star. Unfortunately, in the Fox franchise, he was more like a dwindling flashlight to Wolverine’s supernova. I mean, come on, the guy had optic blasts that could level mountains, and he was relegated to the background while Wolverine did his claw thing.

Cyclops deserved better – he was the field leader, the tactical genius, the guy who held the X-Men together with his laser-focused leadership. Yet, Fox’s movies treated him like a sidekick in his own story.

The X-Men universe without Cyclops leading the charge is like a burger without the beef – it’s just not right. Here’s hoping that with the next round of adaptations, the MCU finally gives Cyclops the spotlight he deserved.