Warning: Spoilers for X-Men #3! perfect insult to their anti-mutant enemies. That origin story is dark in its own right, but there are even darker implications beneath the surface.

In X-Men #3 by Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Livesay, Marte Gracia, and VC's Clayton Cowles, Cyclops has a sit-down conversation with O.N.E. Agent Lundviqst, during which it is revealed that Cyclops won the former Orchis Sentinel factory as part of a bargaining deal with the government. The base was granted to him as compensation for the torture and trial he endured during the final days of the Krakoa Era.

Not only does this add another dark layer to the X-Men living in a home base built by their oppressors, but a dark layer to Cyclops, who says that he "could have won so much more."

Cyclops Won the Orchis Factory for the X-Men

But He Could've Won Much, Much More

In the final days of Krakoa, dating back to the 203 Hellfire Gala, Cyclops was captured by Orchis and tortured him, he almost received the death penalty. He narrowly avoided that fate, but it appears as though, as compensation for unlawful punishment, he was gifted the factory, which he uses for X-Men operations.

The X-Men turning the home base of their rivals into their home was already dark in itself, but knowing that it's the scraps - the reparations, if you will - they receive for the torment they endured makes it all the darker. On some level, the fact that a rundown factory that was used to create weapons against mutantkind is what the government deemed suitable to gift the mutants is almost inhumane. Nonetheless, it explains why the X-Men hold it so near to them already, as they're literally trying to make the most out of the little they were given.

Cyclops Accepted The Base as a Gift Out of Kindness

What Happens When Scott Summers Stops Being Kind?

As much as it offers a dark layer to the X-Men's relationship with the factory, it also exposes the dark layers that Cyclops hides underneath his usual demeanor. In the same breath, Cyclops implies that he accepted the gift as a compromise, maybe even a kindness, because he could have gotten so much more from the United States, if he so pleased. This is Cyclops at his most kind. Whereas later, he implies that if he decided not to keep his X-Men busy, he could prime them into more of a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Readers have seen Cyclops when he isn't nice. It's led to some unfortunate results, such as launching a war against the Avengers and murdering Professor Xavier. In his worst moments, he's outright confirmed himself to be a villain. Not a misunderstood hero, but a full-blown supervillain, a part that Cyclops has shown that he has no problem playing if he feels he has to. Considering the fact that he compares himself to Magneto in his worst moments, Cyclops will not hesitate to follow suit if he decides that he wants more from this world than just accepting an Orchis factory. When the day comes that Cyclops decides to stop being nice, everyone should run from the X-Men.

This Wouldn't Be the First Time Cyclops Went Bad

A Revolutionary Retrospective

As said earlier, while this moment hints at Cyclops' villain potential, readers have seen how dangerous Cyclops can be when he becomes an actual villain. One prime example readers would be quick to point to is his revolutionary era, seen in the 2013-15 Uncanny X-Men title by Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo. At this time in his life, Scott s forces with the likes of Magneto (ironically enough) and Emma Frost under the impression that Professor X's dream is dead. The only way they see to fight back against mutant oppression is to actually fight back against those who oppose mutants.

Being a revolutionary is largely rooted in Cyclops' character and, in many ways, his more anxious portrayal is just the latest update of that facet. However, knowing how blindly driven by his mission statement he can be, Scott Summers truly could drive his X-Men to becoming his Brotherhood, without that even being his intention. And if it is in his intention, and he demands a path of destruction that a government-approved factory isn't going to cover, then Cyclops' new team of X-Men could rebrand as a group of Marvel's next terrifying antagonists.

X-Men #3 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.