As the leader of the X-Men, Avengers. Having been trained to lead mutantkind since he was a child, there are few threats that Scott Summers is ill-equipped to handle. And while it may not be well-known to Earth’s superhero community, one of his most stunning victories was against a foe so powerful that even the Avengers have repeatedly failed to contain it.
One of Scott’s greatest skills as a leader is his ironclad will. If Cyclops sets his mind to something, there’s very little chance of it not coming to , and it’s this determination that has saved the X-Men and the entire world on more than one occasion. When the all-powerful evil entity known as the Void attempts to take over Scott’s mind in Uncanny X-Men #518-519, fans get to see just how determined Cyclops really is.
The Void first comes into conflict with the X-Men during Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men Exodus #1 by Matt Fraction, Mike Deodato, and Terry Dodson, after Norman Osborn’s titular team comes to blows with the X-Men. While the telepathic powerhouse Emma Frost manages to temporarily separate the Dark Avenger the tyranny of the Void, sending Cyclops into the mind of the woman he loves. While Scott’s mission is successful in freeing Emma, he offers the Void a doorway into his mind and places the entire Earth under threat from the Void.
In Uncanny X-Men #519 (Fraction & Dodson), the Void attempts to overwhelm Scott by preying on his various insecurities built up over a lifetime of leadership. Happily, the Void finds that, unlike the Sentry, Scott Summers mind is not so easily broken. Using his years of psychic training and defenses built by his love Jean Grey, Cyclops cordons off the Void into a portion of his mind and locks it within a mental prison. And when even Professor Xavier is surprised by how easily Scott has managed to contain the malevolent entity, he simply responds, “What can I say? I’m an expert at repression.”
Cyclops’ response to his defeat of the Void is relatively lighthearted, but that shouldn’t take away from this incredible feat of willpower. The Sentry is one of the most powerful heroes to ever the ranks of the Avengers, as well as one of the most dangerous threats that the Marvel Universe has ever faced thanks to the nature of the Void. All that power combined with the Void’s dark influences as well as Bob Reynolds’ various psychoses makes for a cataclysmic combination that the Avengers were only able to finally defeat in Siege because Sentry wanted Thor to destroy him, leaving his other form vulnerable. Meanwhile, the moment Cyclops comes toe-to-toe with the Void, he manages to shut it down almost single-handedly over the course of an afternoon.
Cyclops' victory actually speaks to a greater dichotomy between the X-Men and the Avengers. Both groups have a history of dealing with all-powerful, yet highly unstable, . But while the X-Men learned from their experience after Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix transformation, the Avengers haven't adjusted in the same way, repeatedly letting down the Sentry, the Scarlet Witch, and even the various Hulks they’ve counted among their ranks. A big part of this difference is Scott Summers pushing his team to always be better and learn from their losses - indeed, it's likely Cassandra Nova's earlier attack on Scott's mind prompted him to be so ready for the Void. Cyclops has proved time and again that he's an Avengers-class hero, and besting the Void all by himself is evidence beyond any doubt.
