Hey everybody, welcome to another great character spotlight right here in Marvel Snapshot! This week, we’ll be checking out the Summers brother that gets no respect – Havok! He’s my personal favorite Summers brother for many reasons, but mostly because he isn’t the jerk that Scott is. Alex Summers was created by Arnold Drake, Don Heck, and Neal Adams in 1969 (Uncanny X-Men #54).
Alex was born to Christopher Summers (Corsair) and his wife, Katherine, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was in the Air Force, so being in airplanes was second nature to Alex. One day in his youth, while in an airplane with his family, Alex experienced a traumatic experience when their plane was shot down by a Shi’Ar ship. Alex’s father strapped a parachute to him and Scott, and pushed them out of the plane. The boys were placed in an orphanage, but soon after, Alex was adopted. The family that adopted him had a son that was killed in an accident, so they tried to make Alex mimic their son as much as they could. One day, the person that caused the death of their first son kidnapped Alex and his sister. Alex then manifested his powers for the first time, and watching closely on the Summers family was Mr. Sinister. He then used psi-blocks on them both, so they’d forget.
Later on Alex went to college, and then met the X-Men. He then found out that Cyclops was his brother, Scott. He was later captured by the Living Pharaoh, who harnessed his power for cosmic absorption to augment his own power, and turned himself into the Living Monolith. He was virtually unstoppable, but Alex eventually freed himself, and the X-Men defeated him. Alex had trouble controlling his powers, but then Larry Trask made a suit for him, and he and the Sentinels program were going to use Havok as a weapon. The X-Men came to the rescue, but Havok lost control of his powers, and the evil Sauron absorbed the power, leaving Alex less powerful, but now in control of his powers. He then joined the X-Men and started a romantic relationship with Polaris. After the incident on Krakoa, both he and Polaris quit the X-Men and tried to live a life of normalcy. Both eventually settled on Muir Island and assisted Moira McTaggert in her studies.
After an adventure with the Siege Perilous, Havoc wound up with amnesia on Genosha. The X-Men’s old foe Cameron Hodge used this to manipulate him into being his General for his Magistrates. After battling his own brother in the X-Tinction Agenda, his memory returned. He then helped to destroy the insane Hodge, and set Genosha free of his control. He and Rahne decided to stay behind to help rebuild. Not too much later, Havok was put in charge of a government sponsored group called X-Factor. Along with Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, Polaris, and Multiple Man, Havok fought everything and everyone imaginable. Eventually the team broke apart for all sorts of reasons, but this didn’t stop Havok from doing what he wanted to do. He was abducted and brainwashed by Dark Beast, but broke free and defeated him.
The next (and best) chapter in his life was not on Earth, but in deep space. “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire” was a most epic and grand adventure that you could ever read, and Havok was a part of it. The fallout was even bigger for him, though, as he decided to stay in space after the X-Men left. He took control over his father’s group, the Starjammers (as Corsair had been killed by Havok’s brother, Vulcan). Havok, along with Polaris, Rachel Summers, Ch’od, Raza, and Korvus, formed the new roster, and they wouldn’t stop until they avenged the death of their former leader, and stopped Vulcan. They eventually were captured by the Shi’Ar and endured torture and imprisonment for quite sometime. During “War of Kings” and “X-Men: Kingbreaker,” we’d see the escape of the Starjammers, but it would be quite some time until their return to Earth. This story in space is the defining moment for Alex Summers, no question about it.
It has been revealed that in the upcoming “Marvel Now,” Havok will be leading the team of “Uncanny Avengers.” Where this will take the greatest Summers brother, we’ll have to wait and see! As usual, check out my recommended reading list along with some great covers featuring Havok, below! See you next time!
Recommended Reading
Essential Classic X-Men vol. 3 – Tpb
X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda – Tpb
X-Men: Inferno – Tpb
X-Factor: Visionaries vol. 1 – Tpb
X-Men: Rise & Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire – HC
X-Men: Kingbreaker – Tpb
War of Kings – Tpb
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
I didn’t like this guy until they shot him into space to deal with his brother Vulcan and then the Shi’Ar. He just didn’t do much until then in my eyes but whine about being Scott’s little brother and do a lot of stupid things to overcompensate which usually ended up blowing up in his face.
Speech, I agree wholeheartedly. He was just Scott’s little brother until the space epic. Now, he’s his better. 🙂
He was such a whiny baby during Inferno that it was laughable and just reinforced why he sucked. Then he was still laughable in X-Tinction Agenda which didn’t do much for him. So glad the writers decided to make him interesting and not just stick with the status quo