Alex Summers, also known as Havok, is a mutant character from Marvel Comics. Primarily appearing in various X-Men titles, he has been an on/off-again member of the X-Men and other mutant teams. He has even been a temporary member of the Avengers.
Alex is the older brother of Scott Summers (younger brother in the comics) and has appeared throughout the revised X-Men film series. His mutant power is to generate and project destructive energy blasts which he can cast from his hands or even his chest. He is portrayed by Lucas Till in each of his film appearances.
Film history[]
X-Men: First Class[]
Alex Summers is first shown to be in solitary confinement in a government prison, preferring it due to the uncontrollable nature of his powers. In 1962 his release was arranged by Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr in order for him to join their team of mutant peacekeepers they were forming for the CIA. The warden cautioned them about putting him with others in a group, as Alex was the only prisoner he'd known to actually prefer solitary confinement. Alex reluctantly joins them.
While bonding with Xavier's other recruits (except for Hank McCoy as they initially had a more antagonistic relationship), the secret CIA facility where they were staying was attacked by the Hellfire Club. Their leader, Sebastian Shaw, encouraged them to join him in overthrowing humanity, saying that they should be with their fellow mutants, not guarding the humans. Angel Salvadore accepted the offer, and when Alex attempted to hit Shaw with his energy waves, Shaw absorbed the blast and used the energy to murder the mutant Darwin, who was trying to rescue Angel.
Afterwards, Alex and the others relocated to Xavier's Mansion where they began training to defeat Shaw. Xavier had turned an underground bomb shelter into a training room for Alex, setting up mannequins for him to use as targets. Alex on his own is unable to focus and control his energy beams. Hank McCoy constructed a containment unit for him, allowing Alex to focus his energy blasts. After a successful test, he had one built into his X-Men uniform. However, some tension still existed between him and Hank as he mocked McCoy's large mutant feet, comparing them to clown shoes.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the team assembled to finally confront the Hellfire Club. Shaw was attempting to get America and Russia to engage in a nuclear war. Despite their initial friction, Summers was impressed with Hank McCoy's ferocity, accompanying his beastial transformation and dubbed him "Beast". He and Hank fought the mutant Azazel and he also faced Angel alongside Banshee. Although his containment unit was damaged in battle, he was able to focus his ability enough to project a beam that sliced off one of Angels wings, causing her to crash.
After the battle, Alex stayed with Xavier at his new school for a short period, until he was drafted into the Vietnam War.
X-Men: Days of Future Past[]
Havok only makes a brief appearance during this film. In 1973, Havok was present in a military camp in Saigon along with his comrades Toad and Ink, waiting to be taken in for testing at Trask Industries by William Stryker. However, they are interrupted by the arrival of an Army Colonel (a disguised Mystique), who questions the legality of Stryker's actions in taking Havok and the others away, when they are due to be returned home. Mystique reveals her true nature and attacks Stryker's soldiers, as the other mutants attack in suit. When Mystique has Stryker pinned by the throat, Havok fires off an energy blast, sending him hurtling across a table, Mystique tells him that she had it under control and Havok said he knew, meaning that he did it to protect her. Havok asks Mystique of the whereabouts of Magneto, to which she replies that she is on her own now. Havok then boards a military plane with his comrades to return to America, as Mystique remains. A disgruntled Stryker emerges and tries to stop the plane from taking off, but ultimately fails.
X-Men: Apocalypse[]
After his younger brother begins to manifest his own mutant power, Alex takes Scott to the X-Mansion and reunites with Hank McCoy and Professor Xavier once again. He later accompanied Xavier to visit Moira MacTaggert. Later, when Xavier uses Cerebro to reach Magneto, Apocalypse takes control of the professor and uses his telepathy to get every nuclear weapon across the globe launched into space. In an attempt to stop him, Xavier orders Alex to "wreak havoc" and Alex destroys Cerebro.
Upon exiting Cerebro, Apocalypse and his Horsemen arrive at the X-Mansion to kidnap a weakened Xavier. In an attempt to stop them, Havok fires an energy blast intended for Archangel, but they teleport, causing the projectile to strike a generator. The resulting explosion destroys the X-Mansion, with Quicksilver managing to arrive and save everyone else inside except for Alex, who was killed since he was the closest to the blast.
Alex's death struck Scott with grief. When Scott, Jean, and Kurt sneak into the helicopter to Alkali Lake, Scott tells Jean that he should have died instead of Alex, since Alex was the one who was actually going to do something with his life. Jean consoles him, telling him that she had read his mind before and that Alex believed that Scott would do something great with his life.
His death had a lasting effect on Scott, causing him to become a hero and an X-Men, to live up to his brother's legacy.