The X-Men Typo That Turned Cyclops Into A ‘Furry’

Being a mutant in Marvel’s X-Men means that you don’t always fit in with other people. It means that you participate in a unique subculture full of shared experiences that your loved ones or coworkers might not understand. It also means that you might identify with an animal, such as a wolverine or a toad, a mythological creature, like a cyclops, or even an event, like a storm or an apocalypse. You might dress up like your chosen representation in a big, fluffy costume. And in rare instances, you might not have intended to join that group, but a slip-up from a writer added you there. This is mutant life, but it’s also life for furries. Just ask X-Men team leader Cyclops; thanks to a script error in X-Men: Regenesis #1, he belongs to both crowds.

X-Men: Regenesis #1 was a 2011 one-shot, written by Kieron Gillen with art by Billy Tan and color from Andres Mossa, that kicked off the line-wide storyline of the same name. It was set just after the Schism event, in which Cyclops’s and Wolverine’s leadership disagreements split the X-Men into two factions. Cyclops’s side was more hardline about isolating on an island and focusing on mutant survival; Wolverine left to reopen the old-fashioned school for mutants, wanting to give kids a more normal and carefree life.

The one-shot depicts the process of Cyclops and Wolverine approaching the other X-Men one by one in order to recruit to their side and away from their rival’s. While they present this as a civil disagreement, the framing device shows it as a bloody fight between two prehistoric cavemen, each one trying to defeat the other and earn the favor of their peers. Every mutant who comes to Wolverine’s side is a slash to Cyclops’ face; every mutant who stays at Utopia is a jab in Wolverine’s side. The other mutants, dressed in tattered furs, walk to one side of the arena or the other. Wolverine wears face paint; Cyclops a lion’s head. But according to issue writer Kieron Gillen, the costume design was an accident. In 2015, the author tweeted, “My worst error ever. Remember this in X-MEN REGENESIS? I meant to write ’Cyclops is wearing a *Loin* cloth.’” The tweet is unavailable, but Gillen posted a screenshot to his Tumblr account.

If the costume choice really was an accident, it’s a happy one. The two X-Men don’t have their powers in this dreamlike sequence, for the sake of it making sense, but it would be visually jarring to see Cyclops without something covering his eyes. The red eyes of the lion evoke his actual eyes, and the lion itself makes a strong symbol of Cyclops’ perceived role: a protector of a pack, teaching the younger members to hunt and fight to survive in the ruthless wilderness.

Did Cyclops ever dress as his furry alternate persona in real life? Not in a comic book so far, anyway. If he’s so inclined, he would have a lot to learn from Beast. In X-Men: Regenesis #1, the fuzzy blue scientist of the X-Men literally phoned in his part of the conflict, hanging up quickly to resume an amorous evening with his girlfriend Abigail Brand. For all of Beast’s huge mistakes, Cyclops might benefit from learning to walk on the furry side of life.

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