10 Movie Sequels That Totally Insulted Great Characters
5. Cyclops - X-Men: The Last Stand
Cyclops was the closest thing the early X-Men comics had to a main character, and was a staple in the first two films of the X-Men franchise. Played by James Marsden, he was a fun foil to Wolverine, and seeing his optic blasts on screen was a treat for long time X-Fans.
However, in the third film of the franchise, X-Men: The Last Stand, the writers had too many characters to juggle, and needed to write some out quickly. Unfortunately, Cyclops didn't make the cut due to Marsden's scheduling conflicts with Superman Returns, so Jean Grey's Phoenix persona dispatches him early in the film.
Cyclops led the team for many years in the comics, and he was an important part of the first two films. Writing him out so early and so pathetically makes him feel like just another background character in the franchise, rather than one of its leads.