The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #5, available now from Marvel.
The world of Marvel 2099 has reimagined some of the most iconic superheroes of all time, and the X-Men are no exception. Now that the mutant heroes of the future have joined forces with Spider-Man and his allies, they seem to actually have a chance of thwarting Norman Osborn's plan to claim the powers of the Cosmic Garden for himself. Of course, there are more threats to contend with than just Osborn himself, including his Sentinel army. Thankfully, the X-Men have their own secret weapon to unleash, and the Cyclops of 2099 may have just proven himself to be the most volatile mutant of all time.
When the titular hero of Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #5 (by Steve Orlando, Kim Jacinto, Jay David Ramos, and VC's Clayton Cowles) arrived at the Cosmic Garden, he and his allies found that it and those within it are already under siege by Osborn's forces. This includes the X-Men, who were attacked by a new breed of Sentinels almost as soon as they discovered the Garden's secrets. With the heroes losing ground faster than they can fight back, it falls on their version of Cyclops to take action. Far from his predecessor, this Cyclops avoids using his powers at every turn, and once he uses them to turn the advancing Sentinels into a literal ocean, the reason for his hesitance is made perfectly clear.
While the details surrounding the powers of Scott Summers, the original Cyclops, were already somewhat convoluted, his successor's are even more so. While Scott hid his eyes behind specialized lenses capable of containing his abilities, the Cyclops of 2099 keeps his powers at an even greater distance. In the case of Cyclops 2099, he keeps his one remaining eye in a pouch on his belt, while his empty eye sockets are protected by a simple bandana. It may seem drastic, but it is a necessary precaution if it prevents him from accidentally looking upon anyone who doesn't deserve it.
Upon retrieving and inserting his eye, Cyclops is able to transmute anything within his line of sight, such as the Sentinels he reduces to water. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any control over what his powers actually do at any given time, nor does he have any control over who steps into his vision. Because of this, Cyclops refuses to use his powers for anything less than a life or death situation. As commendable as that may be, Cyclops is quickly approaching the point where he won't be able to hold back any longer if he's going to save the world. Then again, his best attempts to do that could reduce what little is left of it to nothing at all.
It would be easy enough to put Cyclops at the front of the line and unleash his powers on whatever lies before him, yet that course of action would be wildly unhinged at best. The potential for Cyclops to turn the tide of every single battle before it begins is undoubtedly astounding, but only in the best case scenario is there no fallout from his powers being used. Turning the Sentinels to water was one of those best case scenarios, especially when he could have just as easily transformed them into a volatile, radioactive, or lethal substance.
Considering there is no way of mitigating Cyclops' abilities besides stowing them away, he stands as both the X-Men's greatest weapon and their best example of mutant kind's continued evolution. Powerful mutants are as old as the X-gene itself, yet Cyclops 2099 is a testament to the fact that the relative power of mutants in general will always have new heights to reach. He also happens to be their last best chance at changing the course of history for the better -- assuming he doesn't end the world in the process of saving it.