Cyclops #4: Weapons of Mutant & Man

Cyclops #4 is the second to last in a strong 5-issue limited series. On its own, the issue has a swagger like it’s taking one last lap before ending the story. As part of the story, it’s more transitional and works to clear the board of the remaining Reavers.

Warning: Spoilers for Cyclops #4.

Scott is a terror on the Reavers in this issue. Aided by the cybernetics he looted off of Tearjerker at the end of last issue, he is a commando unleashed against Coldcut and Sockeye. The action in this issue centers entirely on Cyclops save for a few short pages that follow Mei’s ill-advised second escape attempt.

Tearjerker and Cyclops’ back and forth is sharp and witty until it’s not. Cyclops humors Tearjerker until the latter pushes too far and we’re reminded of the kind of person Cyclops is. Scott is a soldier and a leader, and for his enemies that’s terrifying.

As for those enemies, the reavers are well captured in issue #4. They are characterized as being corrupt by their very nature, and their bigotry drives them to treat everything as beneath them, even each other. So when Coldcut sends Sockeye into an obvious trap, it’s the characters revealing themselves in an unflattering and honest way.

There is a brutalist aesthetic to the art. The line art is clean, and each scene is clear with motion that shakes up the panel layouts, which sets up page turns nicely. Rogê Antônio’s art and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo’s colors do all they can to depict the savagery of the forest, with lighting casting shadows over two characters brawling back and forth.