As two of while Wolverine has found himself in a leadership position on more than one occasion, it’s never quite panned out for him the way it does for Cyclops.
Despite their differences, Cyclops and Wolverine usually make for a terrific team. But it’s these same differences that drastically affect the two heroes’ leadership styles. An example of this can be seen in the 2011 event Age of X, which depicts an alternate reality where mutants have been hunted to near extinction by the U.S. government. The altered history of the Age of X timeline perfectly encapsulate why Cyclops is that much more efficient as a leader than Wolverine.
Cyclops’ True Nature Unleashed
The short story “Basilisk” by Mike Carey and Gabriel Hernandez Walta in Age of X: Alpha provides readers with the backstory of Scott Summers’ Basilisk persona within the titular dystopian timeline. Held captive within Alcatraz by the villainous Arcade, this iteration of Cyclops is used as a human weapon, a literal execution device used to murder countless dissidents, mutants, and mutant sympathizers. With his eyelids involuntarily removed, the Basilisk ultimately breaks free of his confines, devastating Alcatraz, executing his captor Arcade, and freeing dozens of prisoners in the process. He carries this out with a detached and cold proficiency in a sequence not unlike Wolverine’s famed escape from the Weapon X facilities that similarly turned him into a living weapon.
In their respective situations, both Cyclops and Wolverine are dehumanized and turned into tools of destruction, but both handle it differently. Logan essentially leans into that dehumanization in a more feral, bestial way even when he reclaims his sense of identity as Wolverine. His berserker rage and more animalistic tendencies act as very literal signifiers of that lost humanity. Meanwhile, Scott—naturally more analytical than Logan to the point where many of his fellow X-Men consider him cold—leans into that dehumanization in a more detached way. This leaves his Basilisk persona similarly emotionally stunted but in an almost robotic manner to counteract Wolverine’s bestial tendencies.
Cyclops and Wolverine Process Trauma Very Differently
In this way, Wolverine and Cyclops’ similar traumas highlight just how far apart their personalities are on an emotional spectrum. And it’s this colder, more analytic nature that highlights why Scott is by and large a more successful leader than Logan. After all, Wolverine is so attached to his lone samurai persona that he too frequently seeks to handle each situation himself, whereas the more calculating Cyclops is more than willing to play off his teammates’ strengths–often too much so.
Cyclops may not be the perfect leader, but his history as Basilisk reinforces just how much more effective he is than his clawed counterpart, Wolverine. Ultimately, Scott and Logan work best when the two are able to keep each other in check. But at the end of the day, when it comes to the true leader of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, Wolverine can’t hold a candle to Cyclops.
