A mutant, Cyclops produces powerful "optic blasts" from his eyes, forcing him to wear specialized glasses at all times and a specialized visor in combat. His powers may have led to his inhibited, meticulous character. These same qualities, however, make him an ideal leader for the X-Men and even teammates such as Wolverine, who has deemed him an 'overgrown Boy Scout', admire his leadership skills.
When Scott was a boy, his father took the family for a flight in an aircraft. It comes under attack and the plane goes down in flames. Scott's parents fasten him and his younger brother Alex into a parachute and push them off the plane, in hopes that they would survive. Unfortunately, the parachute catches fire and Scott strikes his head upon landing. This causes brain damage to Scott, which is supposedly responsible for his inability to control his optic blasts, as well as prolonged amnesia about his childhood. After living in an orphanage, he is found by Charles Xavier at the age of 16 and becomes one of the Professor's students and the first official X-Man.
Cyclops is capable of projecting powerful beams of ruby red coloured concussive force from his eyes. The beams derive their power from the absorption of ambient energy. Cyclops' cells are constantly absorbing energy and transferring it to his eyes, which in turn project particles in beam form. Scott's optic beam generates pressure which can pummel and subsequently, if desired, destroy objects. These beams have also been demonstrated to reflect or bounce off certain surfaces, such as highly reflective metal.
Possibly because of a head injury suffered in an unorthodox landing, Scott was left unable to consciously control his powers - his optic beams are now constantly "on," and will project indefinitely when his eyes are open. Scott is immune to the harmful effects of his own powers - he is able to block the beams simply by closing his eyes. To allow him to function in day-to-day life, Scott wears a set of eyeglasses made of ruby quartz, a material which blocks his beams. In combat, Cyclops uses a specialized ruby quartz visor (built with a single, long lens, hence Summers' alias "Cyclops") housing adjustable apertures that allow him to control the size and intensity of the beams.
The maximum force of Cyclops' optic blasts are unknown, but a commonly given description is that he can "punch holes through mountains". During a particular battle, Scott says that he hit the Juggernaut with enough power to split a small planet.
Moves
X-Men: Children of the Atom
X-Men: Children of the Atom/Cyclops
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
X-Men vs. Street Fighter/Cyclops
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter/Cyclops