MBTI: Cyclops- ISTJ
Of all the leaders in all of comics, Cyclops is not only one the most well-known, he’s also…an ISTJ?!
No…no…no, something can’t be right here? There must be some mistake… How can the leader of one of the most popular teams in comics be such a simpleton?
Cyclops has conquered possession! Death! He’s had to live to see his wife die multiple times after fighting evil versions of her only to have people judge him when he’s finally moved on to Emma Frost!
Yep, he’s ISTJ.
Loyalty and discipline are two things that may define ISTJ better than any other words and Cyclops has these written all over him. He’s the first X-Man and lives up to the title of leader like no other.
There’s no appointed leader of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards is just smarter than everyone else. Superman is the most powerful in the Justice League, but everybody’s got their major strength and they’re all at the top of their game.
And the Avengers fight each other as much as they do villains.
It seems Cyclops is the only one to get a job and stick it out until he’s dead. And then come back, and lead again.
It seems Cyclops is most known by 90s kids from his incarnation on the Fox cartoon. Here, he had a voice that belonged on a time traveler from the 50s, was always giving out orders like others couldn’t think for themselves, and had to constantly put up with Wolverine’s nagging about Jean. And while all the room to be cool was taken up by Wolverine and Gambit, it left little room for Cyclops to be more than the “leader” type.
This was all too much for my 7 year old brain to handle.
But still, he kept on truckin’.
ISTJs are known for their steadfastness and iron resolve. While others types are busy being the critic of plans they didn’t come up with or splitting off from the group to do their own thing, Cyclops carries on. He’s rarely written complaining, his major emotional changes come through events that would rape a person’s mind and leave them curled up in a corner or as a vegetable.
But Cyclops carries on.
If loyalty and discipline are two words to describe the ISTJ, a third word to be added is “rigid.”
In a survey, ISTJs were the most likely to be unhappy with promotions. If this is because they expected better from the upgrade isn’t mentioned but chances are, it was the change in routine and upheaval of the life they’ve known from their previous job. Routine is something ISTJs care about like their own family. It is not to be tampered with, moved around and certainly not changed.
This could be why Cyclops has been around for so long and why he’s so reliable. Cool guys like Gambit and Wolverine might be able to run off, teaming up in terrible movies together and just be amazing to toy stores and cartoons alike, but Cyclops is always a king in the realm of X-Men.
Seriously- hire an ISTJ to do something. Set up a very specific place and time to get a job done, preferably manual labor, and watch the ISTJ get to work and do it in the very particular time frame (that he probably set up for himself). ISTJs are also known to be the most disciplined type which may be why they’re overrepresented in the military. They get to have their fun, sure, but in a timely manner in which they must be up at 5 am the next day.
He’s serious about his Twilight screenings.
Over time, the ISTJ can learn anything it sets it mind to, though those things are going usually involve factual activities based on logic and and a near-immediate result. Cyclops has actually developed an immunity after having been around telepaths for so long, able to keep anything from even the most skilled telepathic intruder. This is something that usually requires a power to keep someone out, yet Cyclops just trained himself over time.
Yo Professor- shut up!
In the more recent stories, Cyclops has taken a much more active role in the Marvel U. than X-Men leader. After fighting the Avengers, he was taken over by the Phoenix force, which led to the killing of Professor X (after Cyclops declared himself leader over Charles to save their mutant race, mind you) and is now considered a militant mutant terrorist by SHIELD. Also, he’s working with Magneto.
Talk about a rough couple years.
While many of the tasks Cyclops takes on may lead some to believe there’s more going on in his mind than an ISTJ would be able to deal with, the process in which he’s always dealt with his issues remains the ISTJ way. There’s no master plan going on in his multidimensional head, there’s nothing so vastly complex that mind-readers keel over after figuring out his grand secrets- he’s just a dude.
Storm even bested him as leader at one point.
It wasn’t exactly one-sided though.
So the guy running the X-Men isn’t even the greatest leader and he knows it? Then how does he do this? How does he keep fighting “all-powerful” mutants and aliens that are Superman-level strength? How does he deal with his wife turning evil and dying all the time?
It’s just what ISTJs do, man.
Zombies Ruin Everything 
08/12/2017 at 1:28 pm
And are you sure he’s not an ESTJ? I would’ve typed him as one.
08/20/2017 at 1:30 am
I would have too originally but Summers isn’t a born leader like ESTJs are, he was just put in that position and does what he can with it. ISTJs are the jerks unwilling to move, ESTJs are the jerks that make YOU move, Summers fits the former.