Name

Philip Summers was born inAnchorage,Alaska where he met his future wifeDeborah.^[2]

At some point Philip joined theUS Air Force and eventually became captain. He fought inWorld War II and piloted a P-51 Mustang.^[2]

After the war he returned toAnchorage, married Deborah and together they operated a cargo airline company.^[2][4] Later on they had a son,Christopher.

Like his father, Christopher joined theU.S. Air Force. He married and had two sons -Scott andAlex. Christopher with family often visited his parents on vacation.^[5][6]

One day, when Christopher and his family were returning from vacation, their plane was destroyed and the entire family was believed to be dead. In truth, however, Christopher was kidnaped and spent subsequent years as space pirate Corsair, while Scott and Alex suffered traumatic amnesia and were separated from each other after the incident.^[6][7]

Only many years later did Philip and Deborah learn that their son and grandsons were still alive. Christopher had reunited with his now adult sons and reintroduced them to their grandparents. Unfortunately, they came at the busiest season, so Philip and Deborah could not meet them personally and sent their new employee -Madelyne Pryor - instead. Madelyne and Scott soon fell in love and got engaged.^[4]

Philip and Deborah attended Scott's wedding withMadelyne.^[1] When Scott left the X-Men he, Madelyne and their newborn sonNathan settled down in Anchorage with Philip and Deborah.^[8][9]

After Scott left to joinX-Factor, Madelyne and Nathan stayed in Anchorage.^[9] She continued to work in Philip's company until he sold it toNathaniel Essex.^[10]

Several months later Scott visited his grandparents to tell them that happened with Madelyne and their son.^[11]

Philip and Deborah attended Scott's wedding withJean Grey.^[12]

In more recent years Philip started to lose his eyesight. Realizing that soon he would no longer be able to fly a plane, he decided to fly for one last time. Unfortunately, he couldn't control the plane and it crashed. Incidentally,Adam-X was passing by that area and rescued Philip from the downed plane.^[2]

Adam helped the injured Philip and made a shelter for them. They talked about their past, and Adam eventually revealed his identity as an alien from another planet. Philip was fascinated about how amazing it should be to travel among the stars, and if he was going to die that night, and it can't be in the arms of his Deborah, then nothing would make more sense to him than passing on in the company of someone who had flown where he had only dreamed of going. With his last phrase, Philip lost consciousness due to hypothermia. Adam realized that despite his best efforts Philip would die, so he used his powers to warm Philip body for the entire night.^[2]

• According toX-Men: The Exterminated #1Nathan Summers was named "Nathan" in his honor. While it is possible that Nathan is Philip's second name, it is more likely a continuity error. As explained inX-Factor #37, Madelyne named her son "Nathan", because as a childCyclops was bullied by a boy named Nathan and hated this name ever since.

• Fantasy
• Sci-fi
• Marvel