Scott Summers has already led an X-Men team. That turns out to be useful preparation and a source of trouble, because these X-Men have very little interest in becoming copies of…

Scott Summers has already led an X-Men team. That turns out to be useful preparation and a source of trouble, because these X-Men have very little interest in becoming copies of his first classmates. Wolverine pushes back openly. Storm has a confidence and experience that don't depend on Xavier's approval. Banshee is an older man with a life behind him. Even the younger recruits bring things Scott cannot understand by treating the Danger Room like a classroom with stricter rules. His conversation with Kurt in #109 gets at the problem from an unexpectedly gentle direction. Nightcrawler wants Scott to see people beneath the codenames and to allow something besides responsibility into his life. The advice matters because Scott can be considerate and still make himself difficult to reach. Being dependable has become so close to being his identity that relaxing feels like neglecting a duty. The Proteus fight shows another side of that attention. In #127, he notices how badly the encounter has shaken his teammates and deliberately provokes a rough, improvised training exchange. It's an aggressive solution, and the scene gives it an edge, but Scott has recognized that the team needs its confidence back before another confrontation. When Xavier returns, Scott also argues that these people have become a functioning team and deserve to be treated as individuals. He has learned something the Professor hasn't caught up with yet. Jean makes all of this more personal. Scott is trying to lead through changes that are also happening to the woman he loves. His difficulty expressing himself doesn't make that love smaller. It makes the distance between what he feels and what he can actually say one of the period's most persistent tensions.