Anyway, as soon as we get to the past, the depiction of Scott changes sharply.

Six issues and one day later (All-New X-Men #007), Scott looks profoundly different:

He looks younger, softer, and that furrow in his brow is not going to be going away any time soon. Understandable. This poor kid has been through the wringer and life is not done with him yet.

Dauterman's Cyclops in...Cyclops #2 is pretty consistent with this portrayal:

He looks young, adolescent. A bit softer in the face. Perpetual furrow is still there. Well, not actually in this particular shot, but trust me, there's lots of furrowing in this series.

See? (Cyclops #03) Corsair can really bring out the furrow in a kid.

Actually, I hate to say it, but Corsair actually seems to have done this kid some good. The Cyclops that we see in the SECOND run of All-New X-Men actually seems almost confident again.

Bagley's Scott still got his issues, but aside from the scrawniness, he looks damn near adult. But also mostly content. This road trip that the team is on, away from the adults and the pressure, seems to be good for him.

Even injured, he seems to be doing pretty well (from All-New X-Men #12):

This is notable to me, because this issue came out in August 2016. Fast forward to late 2016 (specifically Champions #3), and we get:

Ramos's Scott is completely recognizable of course, but he is, very clearly, a CHILD, in a way that none of the previous versions really get to be.

And it works. It makes perfect sense. Because this is the first time since the plane crash where Scott has been able to actually be a CHILD. He's not leading the group, he doesn't have to set an example. He can just play too. He can, as he tells Ms. Marvel much later, actually relax.

But all sweet things must come to an end, and the Scott in X-Men Blue #01 is back to form:

Jean's actually leading the team, which is nice. And there's some very nice banter. But Molina's Scott is very much back to proto-adult here. (And while Jean is leading and starts the scene in front, Scott's positioning makes complete sense when the next page reveals who they're actually reporting to - Magneto).

Children of the Atom - Chapter 1

May 5, 1987

Bobby remembers the first time he did something wrong. He was only ten years old, or had just turned.

Mom and Dad had let him spend the whole day in the pool! It was so cool, he spent hours diving, climbing the trampoline or hanging from the tire tied to the tree in the backyard, swinging back and forth before jumping into the water again.

It was a warm day, almost late spring, but still warm. Bobby always hated hot days. Not that they weren't pleasant, but there was something that made him hate them. The pool had been a lovely idea. His father was in charge of making hamburgers for them, while his mother prepared the cake.

And Bobby had been left alone in the pool. Floating in the water, arms and legs spread, blond hair sticking to his face and mouth, he saw his hands crinkle and laughed softly. He wasn't ready to get out of the water yet, even though the sun above him was threatening to fry him alive.

He laughed and defied the heat. He wasn't going to leave.

Mom was singing in the kitchen, calling him to come in and get the burgers that would soon get cold. He didn't want to leave. The sun seemed to get hotter and even in the water, he knew he would get burns. If only it were cold, he thought. Just a little.

He hates the heat, he misses winter. He wishes, he thinks, that it would be nice to be able to have winter.

When Mom calls once more, he stands, his fingers barely touching the bottom of the pool and he huffs, covering his face with his arm as he fights the physics of the water to get to the edge. But he can't.

Before he can get to the edge, Bobby feels the heat disappear, the water begins to cool frighteningly fast. He looks down and almost screams in amazement. Ice, he knows it is ice, appears around his waist, his hands, the transparent and icy layer grows and grows, taking over all the water.

He doesn't want to scream, doesn't want to scare his parents, so he starts moving to get out of the water, mind in panic, moving his arms to get rid of the ice that sticks to his skin. He tries and tries, but the next thing he knows, he's trapped, completely encased in ice.

Strangely, he doesn't feel cold.

"Mommy!" He calls. His mother is standing in the doorway, looking at him with big eyes and a face as white as a ghost. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"

When Mom and Dad get over the shock and manage to get it out of the pool - using a hammer and a pick, in a hurry so no one can see - the ice doesn't disappear, even in the hot sun. However, when Bobby looks out the window at night, the water is normal.

Mom wraps him in sheets and hugs him, but he doesn't feel cold.

"The first thing you have to understand is that you did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing." His father speaks, hands on his hips, his back turned to his son. "It was just an accident."

Bobby doesn't respond. He is more concerned about the tone of disappointment coming from William. Mom runs her fingers through his blonde hair and he still doesn't look at her.

None of them seem as shocked or scared as he expected. Bobby sane knows exactly what he expected, but it certainly wasn't that... the melancholic way his mother looks at him, and the way his father continues to face the window.

"We heard in the news about people like you, son."

"Like me?" He asks with his eyes on the carpet.

"People that can do... different things. They're special." Madeline says carefully, sounding almost as disappointed as her husband. Bobby slowly turns to face her.

"Is something wrong with me?" He asks, and his father finally turns to sit next to him, on the edge of the bed, still a little too far away. "Say, Daddy. Is something wrong with me?"

William Drake shakes his head with a sigh. Exchanging a look with his wife, he puts his hand on his son's shoulder.

"The news calls them different things. Lately there's been news about different people appearing. They call them mutants."

"Mutants." Bobby repeats, as if testing the word. He thinks for a while.

He's certainly heard about these people, about these fascinating stories that have been unfolding over the last few years, most of them seeming too impossible to be real, some old, some not. About creatures that change shape and take the place of people, about giant green creatures, monsters.

He closes his eyes and thinks. What does this mean for him. Why him?

Mom and Dad are very calm, almost sad, he can't tell. But the way Mom looks at him is very different from the way she looked at him that morning when she wished him a happy birthday, the way she hugs him, as if... as if she's keeping him close for fear of losing him.

Bobby is ten years old, he never did anything strange or out of the ordinary, he was a good child, the best you could ask for. And suddenly, sitting between his parents on his ruined birthday, he feels out of place. An intruder.

He turns to William with sad, pleading eyes and asks in a whisper. "Is that a bad thing?"

It's Mom who responds, a little desperate. She puts her hands on his shoulders and pulls him closer.

"No, no! But if you are – a mutant, I mean – there's nothing wrong. We love you." She smiles and kisses his forehead.

Bobby doesn't know why, but he wishes she would stop doing this. He doesn't want her to act like he's leaving, like she's losing him. Why does she keep talking like that?

"But..." Dad continues, still holding his shoulder firmly. Looking more serious now. "That means you'll have to be careful, son. For the rest of your life."

***********

Strange things continued to occur over the next few months after Bobby's mutation emerged. That's what he is. He began to understand. He is a mutant.

Mom and Dad knew, they always knew. They didn't want him to know more, they didn't want him to use his abilities, talk or ask about it.

They wanted their son to forget about the pool accident and pretend everything was normal. But Bobby wouldn't. Why would he do that?

Things started to change very quickly. The first sign of this would be just a few weeks after Bobby's birthday. If the appearance of green monsters wasn't enough of a sign, this would be. Bobby had heard the news, he kept an eye out after his birthday, looking for any sign of anything "weird" or out of the ordinary, as Dad called it.

They called him Iron Man. The media had gone crazy after his first appearance, and so had Bobby. It was such an incredible thing. For weeks, he followed every report, every newspaper, radio or gossip. Of course, it was everywhere.

First was Stark's kidnapping at the beginning of the year. He left everyone worried. Of course, a super rich and famous guy being unexpectedly kidnapped during another one of his business trips would catch everyone's attention. The world seemed to stop while Stark was missing.

Bobby didn't really care. There were more important things going on in the world and he had no interest in waiting for Stark to be rescued or found. His parents, at least, were as engaged in the news as everyone in his town.

Bobby couldn't help but roll his eyes at his mother's worried sighs during the three months Stark was missing. Then he returned, and Bobby still couldn't care about it. Not even a little.

He thought the world would continue in its normal cycle from then on. Back to the boring and ordinary it always was. Until the news began to change, no one could keep it hidden for long. First it was the Hulk, then it was Iron Man.

It was yet another sign to Bobby that things were going to change. The inner world was watching them, these wonderful new things happening.

At least, that's what Bobby believed they were.

He started training. Every night when Mom and Dad went to bed, he would jump out the window, hang from the tree next to his room, and run into the yard. It took a while, but little by little he learned how his mutation worked. It was harder when it was hot and there wasn't enough moisture for him.

So he trained near the pool. At night, hiding under the high fence so that none of the neighbors would see him. He doesn't know what's worse: that they could see him using his mutation and report him, or how his parents would react if someone found out.

Things were escalating. Not only was Stark in the newspapers, flying over buildings and saving lives in his red and yellow armor. There was also other news about those the public came to call "superhumans". The Hawkeye guy showing on the local newspaper, images of the "Hulk" leaking around, the Wasp and Ant-Man duo changing size, news of people with special abilities.

Mom and Dad got worse every day too. Bobby saw the looks of astonishment on their faces as he sat in front of the TV. Not exactly hate, but fear and despair. He didn't understand how they could be afraid of this, of these new "heroes" emerging. They were not the first.

Bobby had heard the stories of the first heroes, all those years ago, before all these mutants even started showing in the news. Torch, Toro, Captain America, Blue Marvel and everyone else. Why did things have to be different now? What changes? Were they not amazing, just like Bobby is? Why is it different with him?

When the Fantastic Four faced Doom in New York, it felt like the world had entered a new era and couldn't stop now. Not all "supers" are good. Like Doom, there were those who caused chaos out there. Bobby's parents were afraid of them, and consequently of everyone.

He knew it was stupid, but what could he do?

Fort Washington is a nice and safe place. However, even there, Bobby feels that things are becoming more tense, more dangerous. As if the time for small gestures was running out.

He wonders about other “special” people like him. The others called mutants. How many of them are there. And where? Living lives of fear and silent desperation?