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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
Specifically, she opened a portal to a dimension of pure concussive force. This was actually the original explanation for Cyclops' eye-beams — his eyes were effectively portals that allowed energy from another dimension into our world.
Given my fixation on the Marvel cosmic horror Shuma Gorath, it occurs to me that America Chavez's power to open portals in the multiverse is exactly the sort of thing Shuma Gorath would want for itself. Its main limitation is that it cannot easily access other dimensions, and her power would allow it to circumvent that.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 7:48:37 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedOf note is in the leaked audition script
for America Chavez she claims a demon tried to kidnap her.
A scarily high number of Marvel demons and other horrors are only held back from attacking Earth by not being able to easily leave their own dimensions. America Chavez's power would make her very valuable to them. Fortunately, her power also allows her to escape them.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 8:08:19 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedThis was actually the original explanation for Cyclops' eye-beams — his eyes were effectively portals that allowed energy from another dimension into our world.
Original? I thought that was the current, canon explanation. I wasn't aware there was an alternate explanation for where Cyclops' eye beams came from.
The current explanation is that his body absorbs ambient energy like solar radiation and that energy is released through his eyes as concussive force.
This makes his powers fit more with those of his siblings, Havoc and Vulcan.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 8:51:07 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedI thought that was the original explanation and then they went to punch beams from the punch dimension? Have they circled back?
Forever liveblogging the AvengersIt would take longer than that. His body absorbs so much energy on a regular basis without him even trying that he has to fire blasts frequently.
And he doesn't just absorb solar radiation either. He absorbs all ambient energies. So it's possible that he may even absorb geothermal energy from the Earth itself. So hiding in the basement probably wouldn't be helpful.
Hiding out in space wouldn't work either since he'd just absorb cosmic rays.
Like his brothers, Cyclops is a walking energy sponge.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 9:12:44 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedBut you just said that the ambient energy is used for the portals, not the beams. The beams ARE constantly firing out of his eyes, but they're being nullified by those ruby glasses he usually wears, which means the portals are constantly open regardless of whether he's wearing the glasses or not.
Does he really absorb heat energy? If so, that's a completely different beast from solar energy. If that's the case, there's basically no way for him to run out of portal energy short of putting him in cryo-stasis. Though, you'd think that it would take a LOT of absorbed energy to keep portals to the punch dimension open, maybe there's a lower limit of ambient energy he can be exposed to where he's not absorbing enough energy to open the portals.
The idea is that if the energy builds up too much, the portals get to the point that even his ruby quartz glasses can't hold them back anymore, I think.
His brother Havoc actually has similar issues with energy absorption and needing to release it, and has to wear a special suit to help regulate his powers. No, the movie didn't make that up.
Vulcan's the only Summers child who doesn't have any issues with this, and as a result he's one of the heaviest hitters among Marvel Mutants.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 9:23:36 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedHuh, you'd think the amount of punch dimension energy shooting out of his eyes would be constant and unchanging, unaffected by how much ambient energy he's absorbed for the portals. It doesn't really make sense for it to "build up".
I guess the portals might change size based on how much ambient energy he's absorbed, changing the focus of his punch dimension beams.
Cyclops' beams aren't at a constant level of strength. When he decides to really cut loose with them, he can vaporize a Sentinel with one look. The problem is that doing that also takes out a good chunk of the surrounding environment.
While Vulcan's usually the strongest due to not having the same drawbacks as his brothers, all three siblings can be a Person of Mass Destruction. Havoc for example was able to overpower Vulcan when he got thrown into a sun and absorbed the sun's energy.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 9:26:29 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedI always thought they were at a constant strength, and he used his visor to focus and weaken the beam. Something like this:
- Tiny beam from visor: 10%
- Wider beam from visor: 20%
- Big beam from visor: 30%
- He takes off the visor, shooting a gigantic beam as one of the strongest things in the Marvel 'verse: 100%
It doesn't really make sense that he can "try harder" to shoot a stronger beam of punches from the punch dimension. The punch dimension is gonna shoot its energy out of his eyes at a constant rate. It makes more sense to me that his entire fighting style is based on using small percentages of his full power, unless he takes off his visor in which case he vaporizes everything within his sightline.
I see it kind of like Black Bolt whispering instead of screaming.
Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Jun 5th 2021 at 6:32:09 AM
The power of the beams depends on the size of the portals in his eyes. The more "open" they are, the stronger they get. Cyclops not holding back is when he decides to let them be completely open, ie taking off his visor or glasses.
He has to regularly use up the energy his body absorbs because otherwise, the portals in his eyes would just get bigger and bigger and harder to control even with the visor and his glasses.
Disgusted, but not surprisedDo Cyclops and Black Bolt ever hang out?
I feel like they actually have a lot in common and would enjoy quietly doing their own thing while in the same room
Forever liveblogging the Avengers![]()
He can't control the size of the portals themselves. If they get too big thanks to absorbing too much ambient energy, the only way he'd be able to control them is by shutting his eyes tightly.
There actually was a brief period of time when after he became the Phoenix his power was so out of control that even his visor and glasses couldn't contain them, and only his eyelids could.
Too bad Death of X soured things between them or would have if Cyclops wasn't actually already dead at the time.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 10:11:35 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedOkay, but why does taking off his glasses "release" the energy building up in his eye portals? Whether the beams actually go anywhere shouldn't have any effect on the portals themselves.
Honestly, this all sounds like it makes more sense if the energy being built up is for his eye lasers, and not the portals for his eye lasers. Making the ambient energy be for the portals just introduces a lot of logistical problems.
Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Jun 5th 2021 at 7:14:15 AM
The ambient energy powers the dimensional apertures themselves. They're always open, but the eyebeams do get weaker if Cyclops fires them off constantly for about fifteen or so minutes. This isn't a reliable way to keep Cyclops depowered though, since it only takes him about fifteen more minutes to recover.
Edited by M84 on Jun 5th 2021 at 10:16:53 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised

She actually did that in The Ultimates once.
She also once opened a portal to
◊ the Shrimp Dimension.
Edited by Tuckerscreator on Jun 5th 2021 at 4:33:09 AM