History: Scott Summers was born in Anchorage Alaska to Katherine and Christopher Summers. The latest in a long line of soliders, Scott and his younger brother Alex grew up around the ridged military environment of Elmendorf Air Force Base. His father, Christopher, was a decorated fighter pilot who also routinely tested the most advanced and secret aircrafts of the day. His mother, Katherine, was an equally decorated army doctor who was also part of advanced medical research in the military community. Growing up in this environment, Scott was immersed in the disciplened environement of the military and developed an early fascination with planes. His father often nurtured his curiosity while telling him stories about the long tradition the Summers family had as soldiers, instilling in him an early desire to be as decorated and honored as those that came before him.

However, this ambition was abruptly sidetracked by a terrible tragedy. While on a two-week leave, an eight-year-old Scott and his brother flew with their parents on a vacation to New York to see an old family friend. Along the way, there was a mysterious accident and the plane crashed. Scott and Alex managed to escape via parachute, but Christopher and Katherine did not make it. They were declared dead and the boys were officially orphaned. After recovering from their injuries, the traumatized young boys were shipped to an orphange in New York City. Christopher Summers's former superiors pulled strings to ensure they were kept in one of the nicer group homes. Here they could still get some decent schooling and their chances at being adopted into a good home would be better. However, such chances were quickly stifled when their mutant powers manifested.

Because of the physical and mental trauma Scott suffered, his powers manifested at an early age. At age ten he started showing flashing red eyes to prospective parents. By age twelve he was blowing holes through walls. His brother Alex, who was only three years younger, showed similar symptoms. The development of their powers not only scared off prospective foster parents, it left them isolated from the other children at the orphange. It wasn't long before Scott and Alex were routinely picked on. It led to confrontations that often resulted in their powers flaring up. After repeated abuse and a few failed foster families, the two boys struck out on their own and for a time lived on the streets. It was a harsh world, but Scott's disciplined nature helped him survive and protect his brother. Eventually, though, his powers got to a point where they were unmangable. By age 14, he was fully blinded and had to cover his eyes at all time. This not only hindered his ability to survive, it hindered his ability to protect Alex.

Eventually, Professor Charles Xavier discovered him. He was given a chance to join a new school for mutants. It was a chance to get off the streets and into a better life. While Xavier offered the position to both Scott and Alex, only Scott accepted and he became one of the first students of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. There he would later embrace his role with the X-men, working hard in the classroom and in training to manage his powers. He eventually became the field leader of the X-men and is one of Xavier's most trusted and loyal students.

Character Breakdown: The mental makeup of Scott Summers has many major influences. Being born into a family of soldiers already pre-disposes him to someone who can fight, strategize, and lead. It also pre-disposes him to favor discipline and loyalty more strongly. It has the effect of giving him a ridged, often stoic personality. Having looked up to his parents and ancestors as soldiers, he too strives for those kinds of qualities and is more likely to gravitate towards solider-like tendencies.

Going along with this is the important role that control has in his psyche. Scott Summers is plagued both physically and emotionally by a lack of control. In a purely physical sense he is at the mercy of his powers, which he cannot turn off. If he is unable to control these powers, the people around him get hurt. Having already lost so many of his loved ones, he is very cautious about protecting what family he has left. This leaves him vulnerable to punishing himself for his failures and being overprotective at times. But beyond the physical aspects of control, the emotional control is often just as serious. Growing up he was already influenced by the military to restrain and discipline emotions, but seeing his parents die in a plane crash pushed those emotions to limits his young mind couldn't handle. So growing up he has to deal with chaotic emotions that he doesn't always understand and has difficulty expressing. So normal acts like showing affection to someone he cares about and seeking intimate relationships are much more difficult.

In the end, what guides Scott the most is his extraordinary discipline. Even though he struggles with control, his sense of duty and discipline hold him together personality wise. This along with the military influences in his early life make him a perfect fit for the types of duties the X-men carry out. Working as a unit and going on missions is just like being a soldier to him and the cause he's fighting for is a cause he truly believes in. Between discipline and control, Scott Summers has a psyche that is ordered and structured. Sometimes it is ordered to a fault, but he is able to make up for these faults with the morals and guidance instilled in him by Professor Charles Xavier and the X-men.