While Cyclops has certainly made a name for himself as one of the greatest mutant heroes on the X-Men, it seems as though he also proved to be one of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe–or, at least one of the strongest, as one Avengers comic shows Cyclops defeating an entire roster of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes when he was just a teenager.
Scott Summers aka Cyclops made his first appearance in X-Men #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as a wide-eyed teen who was ready to use his mutant powers for the good of all human and mutant kinds. Cyclops’ inherent mutant ability is the power to shoot concussive blasts from his eyes–blasts that had enough strength to cut a hole in the side of a mountain. The only problem with that power, however, was that he couldn't control it. Anytime his eyes were open, they were emitting that powerful energy. Thankfully, the X-Men were more than prepared to help Scott with this problem by making him a visor that could not only allow him to see without shooting blasts from his eyes (as the visor kept them contained), but with the added benefit of allowing Cyclops to control the level of strength he wanted to use for each blast–and by the time he faced off against the Avengers, he was an expert at using it, even at such a young age.
In Avengers #53 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, the Avengers are called to action as they hear that their former partners, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, have aligned themselves with Magneto once more, and now the Avengers have their exact location. However, once they got to Magneto’s hideout in an effort to convince their one-time fellow Avengers to come back to the team, they were met with the full might of Cyclops, who was there on a completely separate X-Men mission.
Cyclops Defeats an Entire Avengers Team All By Himself
Since Cyclops didn’t immediately recognize the Avengers, he believed them to be Magneto’s lackeys that had come to finish him off. At this time, the Avengers consisted of Giant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, and Black Panther, so while it wasn’t the most powerful team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fans have ever seen, they were in no way pushovers. Despite that, however, Cyclops takes them all down with ease–utilizing his tactical mind just as much as his amazing power.
While it is impressive that Cyclops takes down an entire Avengers roster, it is even more so when considering that he was just a kid at this point in his superhero career. In the modern era of Marvel Comics, Cyclops is a seasoned warrior who has battled all manner of threats, both cosmic and earthbound. The Cyclops in this issue, however, has really only gone up against Magneto and a few other notably bad guys like Sentinels and the Blob. Yet, because of his dedicated training, tactical intelligence, and proficiency with his powers and tech, Cyclops proves that he is stronger than all the Avengers–and he did so when he was just a teenager.