Warning: Spoilers ahead for A.X.E.: Judgment Day #2!
Among the plethora of players at work in Marvel's Judgment Day event, Cyclops has proven himself to be the superior superhero leader in one surprising way. During his tenure as Krakoa's Captain Commander, Scott developed the Summers Protocols: a strategic resource for tactical responses to potential non-political threats to the fledgling nation of mutant sovereignty. In the heat of the battle raging throughout A.X.E.: Judgment Day #2 from Kieron Gillen, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia, VC's Clayton Cowles, and Tom Brevoort, some of Cyclops' comrades disregard the Summers Protocols, indirectly leading to an innocent casualty.
Judgment Day is firmly underway as Act 1 of the event draws to a close. By the end of A.X.E. Judgment Day #2, the brief yet devastating war between the X-Men and the Eternals has been put on hold by the birth of a new Celestial. Bringing a new space god into being may seem like a rash response, but the threat posed by an Eternal/Krakoan conflict to the rest of the Earth calls for drastic measures. For perspective, the Eternals' offensive assets include terrifying Eternals the size of skyscrapers known as the Hex. While both mutants and the Eternals have functional immortality, both sides can still die, if only briefly. Cyclops has a Summers Protocol combating beings similar to the Hex, and Exodus' failure to heed Scott's advice comes at the cost of innocent life.
While combating Syne the Memotaur of the Hex, Exodus shares a brief moment of telepathic with her before they slaughter each other. Syne warns, or perhaps begs Exodus before the killing blow is made, "Please don't." Like the rest of Eternal society, Syne knows that her resurrection will come at the cost of a random human life. Her short plea to Exodus proves that the Hex are sentient, rational beings like their fellow Eternals despite their Kaiju-esque scope. Coincidentally, Cyclops dedicated a Summers Protocol specifically for dealing with Kaiju. Detailed in Immortal X-Men #2 by Kieron Gillen, Lucas Werneck, David Curiel, VC's Clayton Cowles, and Jordan D. White, Scott's strategy warns against trying to kill a Kaiju since many are misunderstood or manipulated despite being rational. Rather than follow Scott's lead, Exodus kills Syne.
Both are resurrected, but an innocent human by the name of Arjun is killed to spark Syne's rebirth. Exodus is unaware of indirectly murdering Arjun nor would Bennet Du Paris likely care all that much about a human death. However, had Exodus taken had the caution that Cyclops' protocols advise for, this individual tragedy could have been avoided. Cyclops' years of experience as a leader amongst superheroes has equipped him with a superior mind for battle tactics alongside moral and empathetic considerations to achieve the most good with the smallest collateral damage. If only folks like Exodus would heed his advice when facing the Hex.
The new Celestial has led to a halt in the Hex's attack on Krakoa for now, but only time will tell if the Kaiju will resume hostilities towards the mutants in the future. If they do, they had better follow Scott's Summers Protocols, because his ideas aren't half bad. In fact, Cyclops may just be one of the best superhero leaders the Marvel Universe has ever seen. Marvel seems bent on putting such a claim to the test, as Cyclops' most dysfunctional X-Men squad debuted on the eve of Judgment Day.
A.X.E.: Judgment Day #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
