Erik the Red (comics)

Erik the Red
Erik the Red Appearance of 2nd Erik the Red, art by Dave Cockrum
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(I) X-Men #51 (as Eric the Red), (II) X-Men #97 (1975)
Created by	Arnold Drake Jim Steranko Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum
In-story information
Alter ego	Scott Summers Davan Shakari Erik Magnus Lehnsherr
Team affiliations	X-Men Shi'ar Empire
Abilities	Superhuman strength and agility, Hollow bones, Mind control, Force blasts

Erik the Red is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The name has been used as cover identity in the Marvel Universe which has been used by three characters: Scott Summers (Cyclops), Davan Shakari, a Shi'ar agent, and Erik Magnus Lehnsherr (Magneto). The identity is named for the Norse colonizer of Greenland, Erik the Red, and all three characters assumed it as a disguise; Shakari is the character that used this identity the longest and is the one most commonly associated with it.

The identity of Eric the Red [sic] was actually first used by Cyclops in X-Men #51 by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko. Cyclops pretended to be a mutant supervillain to infiltrate a group of mutants led by Mesmero and a robot pretending to be Magneto, who had captured the rest of the X-Men. Cyclops' Eric the Red costume included a mask and gloves that redirected his optic blasts so that they were fired from his hands.

The second Erik the Red is Davan Shakari, an alien from the Shi'ar Empire. This version of the character was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum in X-Men #97 (1975) as a precursor to the original Phoenix Saga storyline.