New X-Men Schwartzchild Is Cyclops' Perfect Foil

Close up of comics Cyclops shooting an optic blast

Published Oct 4, 2025, 1:05 PM EDT

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Warning! Warning! Spoilers forX-Men: Age of Revelation Overture#1 ahead!

X-Menhas fast-tracked a new villain to redemption, turning him into the perfect rival, and perhaps successor, forCyclops. Waking in a world ravaged by war, pestilence, famine, and death, Scott Summers knows things are dire immediately when he recognizes Schwarzschild among the X-Men's ranks, considering he was just thoroughly defeated by the X-Men in the past.

X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture#1 is written by Jed MacKay, with art by Ryan Stegman. One of the story's major threads involves Cyclops and Beasts' minds being brought ten years into the future to help fix a world gone horribly wrong.

X-Men Age of Revelation Overture #1, Cyclops realizes the future is bad because Schwartzchild is a member of the X-Men

That world includes heroes-turned-villains, and villains-turned-heroes, with Schwarzschild given the opportunity to prove his X-Men credentials.

A New Mutant Villain Has Already Been Redeemed, As Cyclops Finds His Counterpart Is A Future Hero

X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture#1, Written By Jed MacKay; Art By Ryan Stegman; Available Now From Marvel Comics

Schwarzschild is a practically brand-new character, introduced in last year'sX-Men#1, the debut of Jed MacKay's relaunched flagship series. According to his backstory, Schwarzschild is a former low-level member of theanti-mutant organization Orchis. After their fall, he agreed to be experimented on by mutant surpremacist organization 3K, who gave him artificially-induced mutant powers.

Schwarzschild was installed as theleader of 3K's own "X-Men" team, meaning his main role in the franchise so far has been as a direct rival to Cyclops. While his villainous potential is still fresh,X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture#1 introduces a novel twist on Schwarzschild, turning him into one of the few surviving X-Men.

Already, this has yielded some tension with Cyclops, who isn't pleased to find this former antagonist has become an ally, though Scott recognizes he needs every ally he can get. Notably, inOverture, Schwarzschild proves himself to be level-headed. He demonstrates legitimate leadership capabilities, both in and out of combat, suggesting he's a more worthy counterpart to Cyclops than expected.

Schwarzschild Has Potential To Be A Legitimate X-Men Member, But It's Not A Sure Thing

Schwarzschild And Cyclops Need To Survive The Future First

In itself, turningX-villains into heroes is a staple of the franchise's forays into dystopian futures, and there's precedent for doing it quickly. Grant Morrison introduced Cassandra Nova as a major antagonist in hisdebutNew X-Menstory, but by the time of his final arc, he also introduced a future, heroic version of the character.

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Schwarzschild is the latest example. This doesn't mean he won't revert to villainy, but it shows that he at least has the capacity to be a genuine member of the X-Men. If Cyclops survivesAge of Revelation and returns to theX-Menof his own time, he will certainly look at Schwarzschild differently, perhaps evenoffering him a shot at redemption.

X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture#1is available now from Marvel Comics.

X-Men

Movie(s): X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019),The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
First Film: X-Men (2000)
TV Show(s): X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men '97 (2024)
Video Game(s): X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
Character(s): Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
Comic Release Date: 213035,212968