If you watched the original X-Men movie and were paying close attention you would have noted something kind of interesting that comic book fans have known for quite some time now. Cyclops was the actual team leader of the X-Men, with Storm his close second and the other filling their own spots as they were needed. In fact this has always been the case in the history of the X-Men, even back to the original team when it was Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel. The benefactor of the team of course was and still is Charles Xavier, but Cyclops was the one that ended up taking the leadership role, and according to Scott Campbell of We Got This Covered it sounds like this could be what happens in the MCU when the X-Men finally get to make their debut. If you remember the first three movies then you know that James Marsden as Cyclops wasn’t really pushed as hard when it came to the leadership role, though he was obviously the head guy and took point quite often. Most of the focus however was on Wolverine since he’s been an extremely popular character for years, even if he’s not quite leadership material at all times. He has taken on leadership of the X-Men in the comics a couple of times, but the ol’ canucklehead is usually more comfortable being the resident berserker or the guy that gets things done. In a leadership or teaching role Wolverine has often shown that he doesn’t have a lot of patience and sometimes doesn’t play well with others. It could be that Cyclops has always been seen as too rigid and stodgy in his ways to be that popular with a lot of people, but it could be that the MCU will give him the big push he’ll need to stay out in front, or at least take more notice than usual.
Even Tye Sheridan of the most recent X-Men movies hasn’t really been given the push that he needed since there were plenty of other mutants around for people to pay attention to. If you look at it, even Storm hasn’t really been all that prominent, and she did become a leader at one point as she has the knack for it and is able to take on authority fairly well. The leadership qualities that are needed for any group of heroes that possess a great amount of ego and power is monumental since it’s the strength of character that keeps them in their position, as well as the ability to make people believe in them. Captain America was able to do this since he was both a symbol and he had the level-headed manner that allowed him to make the hard decisions when it came to various situations. Iron Man has never been much of a leader even if he’s tried, since his impulsive nature has managed to get him into trouble too often, whereas Thor just doesn’t care for the position, while many other Avengers simply don’t have what Cap has. That’s the same with the X-Men, as Cyclops might be a bit uptight, okay a lot uptight, but he tends to be that way so that he doesn’t make decisions based solely on emotion instead of reason. In fact the only time he ever really gets emotional is when someone he really cares for is about to be hurt. In the Dark Phoenix saga he became extremely emotional since it involved Jean in such a big way.
Storm doesn’t really have that emotional issue since she does care for her teammates and she does get angry and sad when they’re hurt, but she usually thinks in a more practical manner, which could be why both she and Cyclops are perfect for their leadership roles. Wolverine is insanely popular of course, and it’s a big hope that the MCU will make use of him in an interesting way, but he’s not the whole team, and he’s always been more of a loner than a team player. While he does work well with a lot of his teammates, Cyclops has rarely ever been one of them since Scott and Logan can’t really stand each other. Once the X-Men reach the MCU however it would be great to see this dynamic, though it’s already been mentioned that those in charge might want to do something that will push Cyclops to the forefront, though it’s hopeful that Wolverine won’t be lost entirely, while Storm is also pushed forward. It would also be great to see the entire team at some point, perhaps through a trilogy or series of movies, as there’s a wealth of material on the X-Men that could be used for at least two or three movies that could be absolutely phenomenal. w
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