Controlled or controller? This is the question that comes so quick to my mind in regards to poor Alexander Summers... the man more often known as Havok. It seems so much of his life has been spent in this endless pursuit of trying to determine if he truly is the master of his own destiny. Sadly, it seems to be a war, which no matter the outcome, he seems destined to lose.
Alex Summers is the younger brother of Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops [See Files: Cyclops, X-Men I]. Despite Scott's best efforts to the contrary, Alex has always felt a deep-seated inadequacy when comparing himself to his brother. This was evident the first time Alex manifested his powers in the conflict with the man known as the Living Pharaoh and it has remained to this day.
At first Havok was a member of the X-Men and trained by the side of his brother. Then after falling for Lorna Dane [See File: Polaris] the two eventually decided that they had no desire to live the heroic lifestyle. Time passed, and soon Havok and Polaris became enthralled by the alien being named Eric the Red. It was then that the pattern of "controlled or controller" began as Havok found himself battling the X-Men.
After being set free from Eric the Red's influence, Alex and Lorna again tried to retire into seclusion. Once more circumstances thrust Havok into the heroic spotlight and he eventually rejoined the X-Men. Time passed and as things so often tend to happen, he fell out of control again as he was forced to pass through the Siege Perilous [See File: Roma]. When he emerged he found himself a member of the Press Gang of Genosha [See File: Genosha], once again fighting against his brother and former teammates. He eventually regained his memory, but for some time still held on to the world his fractured mind had created by remaining in Genosha for a while.
Eventually Havok once again returned to the fold, only this time as the team leader of a new government-sanctioned branch of X-Factor. For the first time, the mantle of leadership had been passed down from his brother to him, and the pressure produced a heavy weight.
Tragedy struck with the death of Jaime Madrox [See File: Multiple Man] from the Legacy Virus. Once again Havok found himself under the influence of someone other than himself, Malice. Oddly, Mister Sinister helped Polaris to eradicate this presence from Havok, and he was soon back with his team once more. A short time ago, however, it appears my counterpart, the so-called Dark Beast [See File: Dark Beast, Age of Apocalypse] abducted poor Alex and performed some more personality alterations on him. Whatever my shadow self did to him, however, may this time be irreversible. Only time will tell the extent of the damage done, or if Alex will ever be back to his own true self. If indeed that is even a possibility, one can only hope that the end result would be a full and healthy mind. But I fear the worst.
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Havok has the ability to channel and store massive amounts of ambient cosmic radiation and focus these into bolts of pure plasma through his hands. The sheer force and power which are his to command have been said to be enough to level a mountain. While this has not ever been fully tested, a close enough approximation was seen when he brought his immense powers to bear on the man-mountain known as the Hulk [See File: Hulk]. An interesting side benefit seems to be that his powers are ineffective against his brother Cyclops and vice versa. Small comfort indeed if we should happen to find ourselves crossing paths with him, but perhaps this advantage, no matter how slim, may be enough.
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