Comic Book Questions Answered - where I answer whatever questions you folks might have about comic books (feel free to e-mail questions to me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com). Here is a link to an archive of all the past questions that have been answered so far.
Recently, I joked in a column about Cyclops being a sociopath. A few readers then wrote in to me to ask if I thought he was ACTUALLY a sociopath, all joking aside. Off the top of my head, I would say no, but then I thought, hey, why not run Cyclops through the Sociopath checklist and see what we find? So let's do that!
Edited to Add: I addressed some people's concerns about whether we SHOULD have done this in the first place here.
Here are the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The idea is to grade a person on each checklist item on a scale from 0 (the item does not apply) to 2 (the item very much applies).
1. Glib and superficial charm
I initially thought that this was a definite 0, but I dunno, Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men does suggest that Cyclops IS the guy you would want as the "face" of the X-Men, just like this bit from Uncanny X-Men #500...
So I think a 1 is fair here.
2. Grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
Cyclops is clearly one of those guys who thinks that he is the only one who save mutantdom, so yeah, he has a very high estimation of his self.
Or what he said to Wolverine when Wolverine confronted Cyclops in prison after Cyclops was arrested following the events of Avengers vs. X-Men...
I'm going a 2 here.
3. Need for stimulation
I dunno, isn't that pretty much every superhero?
But sure, that's a good explanation for how quickly he was willing to abandon his wife and child after he retired to Alaska. He needed more stimulation...
So I'm going with a 2 here, but again, note that this particular item applies to pretty much all superheroes. They're always craving stimulation.
4. Pathological lying
This is tough. He's obviously not a HUGE liar, but he DOES seem to end up lying a lot. It's what drove Beast out of the X-Men...
So let's go with a 1.
5. Cunning and manipulativeness
Cyclops is famous for this, like this classic sequence from X-Men #125...
So a 2 for sure.
6. Lack of remorse or guilt
From X-Men #118...
From X-Factor #30...
I'm going with a 2.
7. Shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
This basically means that while generally they are cold people, they'll occasionally have dramatic outbursts that then go away right away. It's tough to determine whether such behaviors are superficial or not, but Cyclops definitely does this stuff...
So I'll go with a 1.
8. Callousness and lack of empathy
This is pretty much the #1 indictment on him in his treatment of his wife and child...
He LOSES the duel and look how sad he looks to be going back to his wife and kid!
So I'm going with a 2 here.
9. Parasitic lifestyle
I think the argument is that he does feed off of his students, right? Like forcing young mutants who are not yet ready to kill into killing...
It's a stretch, so I'll say 1.
10. Poor behavioral controls
Here I think we have to cut Cyclops a break. Dude has powers that CONSTANTLY need him to be in control, so I think he is good in that regard. We also saw him lock the Void up in his head...
So I'll go 0.
Go to the next page for the next ten!
11. Sexual promiscuity
Every time Jean Grey died, Cyclops seemed to get around. Even when she WASN'T dead (yet)...
So I'll go with a 2 here.
12. Early behavior problems
Definitely applicable here, as Cyclops had a messed up childhood.
Uncanny X-Men #144 was the first to show HOW it happened...
Classic X-Men #41 and 42 (the back-up stories) by Claremont dealt more with the concept...
So a 2.
13. Lack of realistic long-term goals
This is not really so much his own fault, but rather a response to the situation he lives with all the time, but yeah, Cyclops tends to plan just for the next crisis, not long term...
I'll go with a 2 here.
14. Impulsivity
Everything Cyclops seems to do is based on a "whatever he feels like at the moment" approach...
So I'll go with a 2.
15. Irresponsibility
I don't think Cyclops is really irresponsible. He talks about responsibility a lot. I'll give him a 0.
16. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
The writers of the X-Men help Cyclops with this, but yeah, everyone tries to absolve him of his actions, so I guess it is easy to fall for this...
So he gets a 2.
17. Many short-term marital relationships
Is two many? I think in this time frame, it probably is, so I'll say 2 here.
18. Juvenile delinquency
Cyclops was sort of involved with the criminal Jack of Diamonds before Professor Xavier took him in.
And he did some other petty stuff, but I wouldn't call him a full-fledged juvenile delinquent, so I'll go with a 1 here.
19. Revocation of conditional release
This means that you were put back into prison after initially being released. I don't think it applies to Cyclops, so let's go with a 0 here.
20. Criminal versatility
This one is what it sounds like, the more varied your crimes are, the more likely it is that you are a sociopath. I think you could make an argument for Cyclops fitting into this, but I think it'd be a stretch, so I'm going with a 0.
Final score of a 27. In the United States, a score of 30 means a classification of sociopath, so no, Cyclops is not actually a sociopath.
NOTE: This, of course, is absolutely official and should be taken deathly serious by everyone involved. This is not at all just a fun little bit and everyone should respond as though an actual person is being judged here and not a fictional character.
If anyone else has a question they'd like for me to resolve (having to do with comics, of course), drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!