Cyclops, on his motorcycle, rides on the Trans-Canada Highway towards Anchorage, Alaska. On the way, however, Cyclops is met by a blizzard and is forced to pull over to a motel for a place to stay. The motel attendant begins to flirt with Scott, but before the conversation can go very far, they are interrupted as Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut burst through the door.

Scott asks to take the upcoming conflict outside, so Juggernaut obliges by throwing Cyclops through the window, and into the snow. Black Tom and Juggernaut, advancing towards Cyclops, tell him that they’re employed as mercenaries for a man who is paying them to capture, or even kill Scott Summers. Scott responds by shooting a full force blast at Cain Marko (Juggernaut), who literally laughs it off. Cyclops then switches his eye-gear from ruby quartz glasses to battle visor. The switch helps Cyclops control his blasts better, a fact he takes of advantage of by blowing up a nearby truck through the gas tank.

This injures Black Tom, and sends the Juggernaut into a mad rage. Cyclops, knowing he can’t beat the Juggernaut by brute force, turns ands runs across a frozen pond. He draws Cain close to him, and Cain attacks with a handclap shockwave, knocking Cyclops to the ice. Scott’s plan has worked, and he shoots a blast into the ice to prove it. Cain, heavy in his armor, falls into the icy cold water, and Cyclops leaves to find Black Tom. Tom tries to reach for a wooden staff, through which he could channel his power. Cyclops keeps him from getting it and, picking him up, demands to know whom his employer is.

Juggernaut, out from the pond, has taken the motel attendant hostage, and threatens to harm her unless Scott gives in. Cyclops lightly zaps Tom in the head, and tells Cain that he has ten seconds to drop the girl or else he’ll kill Black Tom Cassidy. Juggernaut, never the best or the brightest, gives in and releases the girl. Before he releases Tom, Scott demands to know then name of their employer. He learns that a man named Ulysses, who has a strong grudge held against the first X-Man, Scott Summers, employs the two. The Juggernaut and Tom leave, blind to the fact that Cyclops planted a tracking device of Black Tom. Cyclops heads off to his bike and rides away, in pursuit of he who pursues him.

Review: A pretty impressive beginning for Cyclops’ first solo limited series. The story is looking very promising, and it’s nice to see some established villains, at least at the introduction. The danger room scene at the beginning, though irrelevant to the story itself, was incredibly cool, as was the exchange between Xavier and Scott in the Professor’s study. The battle between Cyclops and Juggernaut/Black Tom basically owned. The whole book portrayed Cyclops’ character perfectly. It showed how since he’s been back, Scott has tried to focus his efforts on the team and not with what happened to him with Apocalypse. I was thrilled that the writer approached Scott in this way, but still wrote him with his newly acquired edge. Ever since Eve of Destruction, I’ve hoped that his new, sharp attitude wouldn’t wear off, and I’m pleased to see that it remains.

The book was written, in my humble opinion, excellently. The dialogue was clever, and realistic. These were words that people actually say; in ways that people actually say them. Cyclops narrated a lot of the book himself, with his ideas and his thoughts. The combination of narration and dialogue was done to perfection; for this reason I chose not to give much of it away in my summary, you’ve got to read it yourself. What I didn’t like: Cyclops is on leave form the X-Men, so why can’t he wear civilian clothes, and take the uniform off? I also think that the Juggernaut was drawn too skinny, with not enough bulk. He looks muscular enough, and tall enough, but he isn’t as wide as I’m used to seeing him. Besides that, the artwork was pretty darn good. Marvel said that we’d be learning a lot about Cyclops the person, the man away from the team, and they’re following through on that promise. Get this book.