The 5 Worst Deaths Written for Great Characters (And Why)

Taken from here.

#4. Scott Summers (aka Cyclops of the X-Men)

Wolverine gets all the attention, but Cyclops is the X-Men's field leader and second in command. Also, he can destroy a city block by taking his sunglasses off. That should count for something, right?


The Death:

He dies in X-Men: The Last Stand. Well, that makes sense. It is the last stand, after all. You see that on a poster and picture him and the rest of his comrades going down in some kind of universe-saving blaze of glory.

Then you watch and find out he dies in the first half hour.

He gets roughly five minutes of screen time, and never even suits up as Cyclops (even though the promotional posters clearly show him suited up X-Men style). Still depressed over the loss of his wife (Jean Grey, who died in the second film), Cyclops goes to Alkali Lake, Canada, where she died, despite Professor X's warnings.

At the lake, he finds a very much alive Jean Grey standing there. After asking the obvious question of "how are you alive?" they kiss and Cyclops just explodes. Well, we assume. Cyclops wasn't even granted an on-screen death.

Then, back at the mansion, the X-Men hold a funeral for their fallen friend and lead-

Oh, wait, no. Actually, he's never mentioned again until the end of the movie, where you see a brief glance of his tombstone.

What Really Happened:

Marsden was being unfaithful. He was cheating on the X-Men with another comic book franchise, Superman. He didn't have much time on the set of X-Men: The Last Stand because he was cast in Superman Returns, which was shooting at the same time.

How could this go wrong?

Rumors floated around the Internet that Cyclops' death was intentionally bad, as Fox was upset over Marsden's choice (Superman Returns was owned by another studio and helmed by X-Men 1 and 2 director Bryan Singer). While we are not ones to indulge in unconfirmed Internet rumors, yeah, that's what probably happened.

The bigger question is, why would Marsden do it? Keep in mind, he didn't leave to play Superman, or Lex Luthor (possibly the only two characters in the Superman universe worth playing). No, he bailed on being Cyclops just to play the guy who bones Superman's girlfriend when Supe's is out of town. There can't be much job security in stealing Superman's girlfriend.

You have no idea how disappointed I was when they killed of Cyclops so soon! He's my favorite mutant!! Plus, James Marsden is so damn hot!!!

Oh, and the #1 is Kutner's death from House season 5.