Previous Post Quote: While it is very true that it was the Pheonix "entity" that wiped out a whole civilization, that was not the case when the story was written. Claremont and Byrne said so in later interviews. Even Xavier....EVEN XAVIER was prepared to fight for her life even when he knew what she did. For those who don't remember, go back and read it again. The whole "trapped in a caccoon" was a retcon added on after the fact. It still doesn't change the fact that poor Jean was seen as a victim during that whole story. Yet, Cyclops is seen as a "prick" because he is doing the things that must be done. Even Wolverine, who is KILLING PEOPLE is seen as more of a hero than Cyclops. Heck, the whole X-Force team is seen as heroes. Yet, Cyclops is a prick because he won't take shit from anyone when it comes to mutants who were down to the last 198 or so. I couldn't agree with you more. I've been reading what people have been saying about cyclops ever since he started the whole x-army thing, about how he's being a jerk and what not, but if I were cyclops, most of the decisions he made, I would have made them as well (most, not all). Like I wouldn't have taken the chance that the PF wouldn't wipe out the whole planet or sanction x-force, though part of me understands that one. Come on people, he is fighting for the SURVIVAL OF HIS ENTIRE RACE, no one really knows how desperate one becomes or the lines one has to cross, and when you live in a world where the whole world is practically trying to kill off the few remaining members of your race, and the worlds heroes don't even recognize you exist unless your doing something they see as wrong, your gonna need to make some really damn difficult decisions, and Scott made them. Thats one of the MANY reasons the whole schism ark was soooo dumb. If I were him, if the teenagers can fight, then they gonna fight. Its by no means what I want, but living in a world where if you don't fight your only options is to lay down and die, then they gonna fight. I have never really look at wolverine as a hero, not even close, but Scott? My respect for him over the years have grown a lot. It'll be a million years before wolverine is half the hero he is. Scott didn't kill prof X, the Phoenix did. If Jean was the one to do it, people wouldn't even think twice whether she or the phoenix was the one that did it.

I'm going to, once again, remind everyone of how back in the late Silver Age, the Sentinels captured virtually every single known mutant on the planet, and that was well under fifty people. If "ends justifies the means" extreme tactics were unacceptable then, and the X-Men stood up and fought against the Brotherhood and their ways, then it's unacceptable now.

Here, in the real world, there are tribes and racial groups that really are hovering on the edge of being extinct within a few generations, because there aren't enough of them left, and nobody would argue that they should be allowed to run around killing their "enemies", or doing whatever else other things it may take to "re-start the race".

Basically, the X-Men stood against Magneto and his allies because their way of "saving their race" was unacceptable. And now things got a bit hard, so morality and heroism go out the window, and whatever it takes is suddenly OK, and as readers we're supposed to side with them as they take the route they once condemned? The modern-day X-books seem to have embraced the notion that Magneto was ALWAYS right, and Xavier was wrong all along, and that's a really weird and broken place for the franchise to be in.

As for the Schism, isn't it that the teenagers and children shouldn't HAVE to fight? They may not be able to stop them if they want to, because adult authority figures in comics are always inept and Just Don't Understand and are utterly incapable of controlling teenagers and keeping them in school, but they shouldn't HAVE to be fighting.

Also, Hope isn't "Cyclops' child". Of any of the X-Men, Cable is her adoptive father, and he wasn't even around in AvX to get a say on what should happen to her. Cyclops was forcing her towards a destiny she ultimately didn't even want.