As the Cyclops often plays second fiddle to more volatile of the team. However, there have been occasions where he's the star of the show. In fact, here are eight times that Cyclops received a god-tier upgrade in X-Men lore.

We're covering eight times when an outside force vastly increased Scott Summers' power level, giving him new abilities or turning the dials of his mutant powers up to 11.

Cyclops and Bishop's combined powers unleashed literal gigawatts of energy - more than a standard nuclear power plant.

8 Cyclops Is Powered-Up by Bishop

As Seen in X-Men: Civil War by David Hine and Yanick Paquette

One of the biggest ways the X-Men increase their power is by creating a "mutant circuit" - a connection between two or more mutants where their powers work in unison for a result more impressive than its constituent parts. During the events of Civil War, Bishop signed up to work with Iron Man's Pro-Registration heroes, believing that ing superpowered beings could prevent his own post-apocalyptic future. Cyclops wasn't happy with Bishop for dragging mutantkind into the conflict, and set out to stop him.

Little did the X-Men know that Cyclops was actually being controlled by the hypnotic mutant Johnny Dee, who forced Cyclops to push his powers to their absolute limit. Because of Bishop's ability to absorb and redirect energy, the two created an accidental circuit that drew more and more power out of Cyclops, unleashing literal gigawatts of energy - more than a standard nuclear power plant. Cyclops was outputting so much energy that his body glowed red hot.

Thankfully, the mutant Leech was able to turn off Scott's powers before he suffered neurological damage, but by pushing past all Scott's limits, John Dee exposed his full potential.

7 Cyclops Gets His Own Symbiote

As Seen in Venom #162 by Cullen Bunn and Edgar Salazar, Ario Anindito

At a time when the original teenage X-Men time-traveled to Marvel's present day, they ended up teaming-up with Venom and several imprisoned symbiotes. In the adventure, each of the young mutants get their own symbiotes, enhancing their powers in unexpected ways. The most impressive of the group is Cyclops, whose symbiote is able to absorb his ruby quartz visor, allowing him to manifest his powers from anywhere on his body. At the same time, Cyclops finally gained control of his powers, allowing him to decide the direction and intensity of each blast.

Following a head injury during his traumatic childhood, Cyclops has been unable to actively control his optic blasts, causing them to be unleashed whenever his eyes are open. However, thanks to the symbiote, Cyclops gained more control than ever, using the shapeshifting alien to manifest countless 'eyes' that turned him into a 360° engine of destruction. Sadly, the symbiote also dialed up Scott's aggression, leading to a stand-off with Venom, and the two soon parted ways.

The Endless Summers army turned Cyclops' mutant abilities into a weapon of war.

6 Cyclops Merges with Green Lantern

As Seen in DC/Marvel: All Access #4

When Marvel and DC's realities crashed together, several beings gained the ability to merge iconic characters from these very different worlds. One such being was Doctor Strangefate, who - while facing off with Marvel and DC's heroes - created several new amalgams, including a fusion of Cyclops and Green Lantern. This character had Green Lantern's ability to create energy constructs and Cyclops' ability to generate the requisite energy by absorbing solar energy, effectively making for the best version of each hero.

While this 'Green Cyclops' was short-lived, it's hopefully a concept that Marvel and DC's crossover will return to. Cyclops is one of the most strong-willed heroes in comics and has a love of space adventures, partly due to his cosmic pirate father Corsair. Plus, given his history of being unable to control his powers, making it so Cyclops is able to forge a car, mech suit or shield out of his mutant powers would be incredibly cathartic.

Marvel and DC's Amalgam comics also turned Cyclops into Apollo, merging Marvel's Scott Summers with DC's the Ray. The hero had energy manipulation powers, and could even assume a pure-energy form.

5 Cyclops Is Cloned into an Army

As Seen in Siege Volume 2, by Kieron Gillen and a Variety of Artists

In Marvel's Siege, fans are introduced to a wall that keeps various threats - including mutated insects, a zombie horde and Ultron's robot legions - from being unleashed on the rest of reality. The wall is staffed by various hero and villain variants, including Major Summers and the Endless Summers Legion. The Legion are an army of Cyclops clones created by Mister Sinister who are trained to fight as a combat unit, and the wall even included gigantic panes of ruby quartz to allow them to unleash their optic blasts as a combined superweapon.

The wall was essentially a death sentence, leading to the Endless Summers being gradually cut down over the months and years, much to the misery of their leader Major Summers. Despite this, and their poor treatment as both mutants and clones, the Endless Summers remained heroes, unleashing Cyclops' powers on the scale of an army.

When Cyclops stole the Hulk's powers, he received not just bigger muscles, but more explosive powers.

4 Cyclops Hulks Out

As Seen in Hulk #21 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness

As part of the World War Hulks crossover, various Marvel heroes were exposed to gamma energy, unlocking their full Hulk potential - including the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine and more. Scott Summers was among them, transforming into a gigantic Hulk with multiple eyes all over his head. Like most Hulks, Cyclops lost a lot of his intelligence but gained immense physical strength and durability.

However, the most powerful aspect of the Cyclops Hulk was his optic blasts. Cyclops was able to channel optic blasts from all his eyes into a massive energy blast that could even send other Hulks flying. Thankfully, Scott was eventually transformed back, but not before a fight with Iceman straightened out some of the tension that existed between the two friends.

3 Cyclops Is Transformed by the Black Vortex

As Seen in Cyclops #12 by John Layman and Javier Garrón

In Marvel lore, the Black Vortex is a cosmic mirror which can unlock the full potential of anyone who gazes into it. Such changes can be large or small, and are defined according to the subject's own subconscious desires and potential. When heroes including Angel, Gamora and the Beast were turned into dangerous villains, the Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men united against them, with heroes including Cyclops using the Black Vortex to become equal to their opponents.

Fresh off touring the galaxy with his dad, the time-lost teen Cyclops was transformed into a cosmic hero capable of flying through space under his own power. Thanks to the Black Vortex, Cyclops became stronger and more durable, with his optic blasts also increasing in power. As with the symbiote, Cyclops also gained total control of his powers, along with cool new space armor that seemed to draw power from his abilities and allow him to target them more precisely.

One issue of the story seems to imply that Black Vortex Cyclops can form his optic blast energy into constructs similar to a Green Lantern, however this wasn't fully explored.

It's hard to believe Cyclops has wielded two Phoenix-tier upgrades.

2 Cyclops Takes the Mutant Drug Banshee

As Seen in Ultimate X-Men #95 by Aaron Coleite, Mark Brooks and Brandon Peterson

Over in the Ultimate Universe, the X-Men discovered a drug called 'Banshee' which used Wolverine's DNA. Banshee could temporarily grant humans superpowers and push the existing powers of mutants to wild new heights. The existence of Banshee caused a schism between the X-Men, as some heroes like Dazzler and Angel wanted to experiment with their potential. Cyclops ed the breakaway group to keep an eye on them, but once he used Banshee himself, he became a mutant god.

Banshee allowed Cyclops to infuse his entire body with the energy from his optic blasts. This granted him superstrength and flight, as well as enhancing his body to fly unaided in space, survive without sustenance, and communicate telepathically. Cyclops' optic beams were enhanced to the point where he believed he could hurt the Phoenix, and again he gained the ability to precisely control his powers.

Sadly, Banshee was incredibly addictive, and Cyclops was forced to give up this upgrade, despite it revealing that his powers could turn him into a mutant god.

1 Cyclops Becomes the Dark Phoenix

As Seen in Avengers vs. X-Men #5 by Matt Fraction and John Romita Jr.

During the tragic events of Avengers vs X-Men, the Phoenix Force returned to Earth. Intercepted by Iron Man, the Phoenix Force was broken up between Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik. Like many people before them, each of the new 'Phoenix Five' were gradually corrupted, ultimately going to war to claim the full portion of the Phoenix's power. Cyclops was the unlucky winner of the contest, ending up with the ability to transform reality to his liking.

Cyclops' consciousness expanded beyond space and time, giving him the power to fight off the entire Avengers roster and tragically kill his mentor, Professor Xavier. As one of the Phoenix Five, Cyclops had limitless offensive power and could change the nature of reality, transmuting matter, resurrecting the dead and altering the timestream. Hope and Scarlet Witch managed to strip Cyclops of the Phoenix Force, using it to kickstart mutant births after the near-extinction of the species, but the Force still has a connection to Scott, later resurrecting him from death.

Those are the eight biggest power upgrades that turned X-Men's Cyclops from vigilante hero to mutant god - let us know which other Scott Summers upgrades belong on this list, and which of these entries should be higher or lower in our ranking.

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  X-Men

  The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.

• Cyclops

  Cyclops, a.k.a. Scott Summers, is the X-Men's core team leader and one of the first characters to appear in the franchise. As a human/mutant hybrid, Cyclops has the power to launch massive bursts of energy from his eyes that are regulated through the use of a specially designed visor. Despite his calm and collected demeanor, he tends to lose it when in the presence of a fellow team member, Wolverine.