From the pages of "REACHING OUT TO YESTERDAY - a story of memory and family" in X-Factor #115 comes this art page featuring the two Summers brothers (Alex, aka HAVOK, the wounded leader of X-Factor and his bigger brother Scott, aka CYCLOPS, the current leader of the X-Men Blue Team).
There are so many points on drama to enjoy in X-Men and their related stories; failed relationships, almost marriages, familial revelations, team members quitting or dying, then coming back from the dead or a gallant return to previous office after a few years of retreat, and one thing that always remains constant is the tension between the SUMMERS BROTHERS. Like most family, it's complicated; but in their case they were thrown out of an airplane at a young age when their parent's plane was shot down by the Shi'ar and abandoned and left for dead in the wilds of Alaska. This issue features the return to the location of this abandonment. Alex has rebuilt a cabin on this property and is looking for some peace and healing. His brother Scott senses Alex's pain and goes to find him their. Previously, Alex (Havok) lost control of his power and can't contain his cosmic energy absorbtion and plasma blasts without a special outfitted suit; as former leader of X-Factor he feels impotent and at a loss to control his breaking team. Scott, who almost always seems in control, finds him and comforts him as they let loose in a bar fight and come to terms with the past anguish and abandonment. This page showcases the moment after Havok lets loose and they reflect and hug it out.
I get the brother anguish, love/hate relationship very well. I am the youngest of 4 boys, my poor mom. I have always been fond of the Summers brothers and their familial story as it's atypical but honest and full of brothers being brothers, with lots of bickering and issues that only a brother can understand. Yes we fight, often, but we are family and always come back together. My brothers mean the world to me and their respect and pride, always seems to be a thing this youngest brother (me) is always in search of. Similar enough to the strife that Alex has for his (on the surface) perfect older brother, Scott.
It's great to get a page of the place where it all started with Alex and Scott, and their first return back (together) to this area to reflect and check in with each other. It's not just a "how are you?", but a "how are you really?" The upper left panel still shows the smoke from Havok's release. Then you get a few talking headshots of them coming to some terms with what happened to them. Alex feeling the guilt and shame of his current loss of control mixed with how it was when they crashed and burned in their fall to abandonment. Scott reiterating that this event ultimately made them who they are and they will always have each other to lean on. A theme I absolutely love, especially in regards to my own family. And finishes on the bottom right with a panel of them hugging it out; that section I most enjoy as it's very rare to see them at peace with each other or not in midst of a fight or annoyed. Kind of like life with my brothers, love you lots Joe, Jerry and Jed.
