Uncanny X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga

[sandoz_iscariot]

For protogarrett, who requested scenes from the Dark Phoenix Saga. Scans from UXM 134-137, by Claremont and Byrne. Image heavy!





Scans of the X-Men vs. the Hellfire Club, and Jean being brainwashed as the Black Queen, have already been posted, so I'll just jump straight into Jean wreaking havoc as Dark Phoenix.

UXM #134 ends with this cliffhanger, a dark mirror of Jean becoming Phoenix in UXM #101:



Then in UXM #135:



(I love this title page, how incredibly foreboding the words "Dark Phoenix" are. Great work by Byrne there.)




Dark Phoenix attacks the horrified X-Men.





Temporarily sated, Dark Phoenix returns to Earth in #136:




(I really like the scene with Jean's family. After the cosmic destruction Dark Phoenix just unleashed, it, well, brings the story back to Earth. "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is ultimately a human story. And considering that Claremont mass-murdered the Grey family in a Phoenix-related story decades later, their presence here becomes even sadder.)

Later, she faces the X-Men once more.




(Love how she just zaps Scott aside without even looking at him.)




But their happiness lasts about a second, as Jean and the X-Men are teleported onto a Shi'Ar battleship. Lilandra breaks the bad news: for her crimes against the universe, PHOENIX MUST DIE! (hey, it says so on the cover.)



They're given a night to prepare for the duel, and what follows are some wonderful introspective sequences where the X-Men ponder their love for Jean and whether they can reconcile it with the horrors Dark Phoenix committed.



Also Wolverine is naked. Sorry.







The X-Men fight bravely but are taken out one by one by the Imperial Guard. Only Cyclops and Marvel Girl are left. Then...






(Classic. One of my favorite lines here is "The choice was never yours." The Dark Phoenix Saga is problematic in that it's another "Woman can't control her incredible power and goes insane" story, but what's really crucial is that in the end, Jean has agency and ends her life on her own terms--choosing to die as a human being rather than live as a god, as it's put oh so Claremontily on the final page. X-Men 3 missed the point so completely.)

Comments

[auggie18]

This story is the main reason I got into comics. I was around ten when I found UXM 135 at a Goodwill. I was a big reader, but I never got into comics. It was the 90s and all exposures prior had been very, well 90s. Something about the book spoke to me. It was such a powerful story.

This is one of two comic book stories to make me cry and it always holds a place in my heart.

[scenesaroundjackson.wordpress.com]

even after all this time, this story still gets to me

Claremont and Byrne at their finest

[halloweenjack]

I loved this arc, particularly because Jean has a different scary face in each of her close-ups in her full-bore DP phase.

Another fun thing about the night-before-the-big-fight scene is when Hank is brooding when an alien masseuse comes in; from his expression, you can tell that Beast is looking forward to a happy ending.

[sandoz_iscariot]

"Oh my stars and garters!"

[selke]

Thirty years and this holds up so well. Thanks for posting this. :)

[protogarrett]

One of the best X-Stories ever. Thank you so much for posting this. God, classic X-Men and Jean at her most amazing.

[foxhack]

It's a shame the power of this storyline has been diluted by countless, unnecessary resurrections and sequels.

[sandoz_iscariot]

I do think Phoenix is one character entitled to resurrections (it's right there in her name) so I don't necessarily mind that they brought her back. (Though my first encounter with the Dark Phoenix Saga was the 90s animated series where she didn't die, and when I got into comics Jean had already been back for several years, so I don't have the perspective of someone who read this when it first came out.) But in all the years since Marvel has really mucked up the whole Phoenix mythos, from random Shi'Ar guy having a Phoenix Sword to a Stepford Cuckoo having a piece of the Phoenix Force in her heart....oy.

[persoconchii]

I like that one comic, where she herself comments on wanting to stay dead already...

[sir_razorback]

I'm actually going to defend X3 in one respect. If they really wanted to do the Dark Phoenix saga justice, it probably would have required at least 2 movies to explain it in a way that makes sense to folks that haven't read the books.

[wizardru]

I don't agree. They could easily have done it one movie, if they had decided to actually DO that. Instead they killed Cyclops almost without thinking about it because they wanted to capitalize on Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I LOVE Jackman as Wolverine, but the story was changed to make him the central character, not Jean or Scott.

If X3 had focused JUST on Jean Grey and not on the poorly-executed 'mutant cure' subplot, they could have done it. They could even have had it with Wolverine as the central character...IF they had focused on just that story. They didn't, instead wasting time with mutant rebellions and cures and blah blah blah.

X3 was simply a terribly wasted opportunity.

[tacobob]

Yeah, I hope the "Third Movie" curse (Ala Spider-Man 3, X-Men 3) doesn't hit Iron Man! :( Is it me, or were the X-Men bad guys in that movie? They slaughtered scared and confused homeless mutants! They didn't bonk 'em on the head, they killed 'em! Boo!

[sandoz_iscariot]

I LOVE Jackman as Wolverine, but the story was changed to make him the central character, not Jean or Scott.

Yeah, I hated that. Wolverine Has to Be the Hero Syndrome. James Marsden bailed for Superman Returns, but I can't imagine his role would have been expanded had he stayed. His role in The Dark Phoenix Saga is sad and significant because in any other X-Men story the brave team leader would have saved the day and the woman he loved, but here he's a helpless observer. Making Wolverine's Manpain the focal point of the story rather than Jean's struggle to maintain humanity really ripped the heart out of the story. And Jean being so without agency that she can only beg Wolverine to kill her was just...no. X(

[chipsnopotatoes]

Yeah. I wasn't happy at all with XMen 3 for the reasons you stated. I also thought they weren't ambitious enough in highlighting her capabilities. Here was a woman who ate planets in the comics and you just have her decimating San Francisco (or was it Alcatraz?). She could do that with her fingernail.

I would have loved to see the Shiar in this movie too.

[jaybee3]

At the least the following X film made no pretensions on what i was about and had Wolverine in the title! I like to pretend X-Men 3 never existed. They could not have screwed over the characters of Cyclops or Jean more if they tried.

[sandoz_iscariot]

I agree with wizardru that telling a good version of the Dark Phoenix Saga in one movie would have been possible, but like Spider-Man 3 they just tried to cram too much in. The Dark Phoenix Saga has enough plot for a movie, they didn't need to wedge in "The Cure" story from Astonishing or the Morlocks. (So many bad, pointless cameos in that movie. So many...) The Dark Phoenix Saga would have had to be reworked no matter what--the X-Men fighting aliens on the moon just wouldn't work in the movies--but they fumbled it badly.

[falseaesop]

Those poor poor brocolli headed people.

[palabradot]

This story right here was my gateway drug into comics, but I didn't read it till 1989 or so, shortly before I took off for college. So many memories.

I don't think it was the original printing - maybe it was in the XMen Classic line?

[perletwo]

I miss Terry Austin's inking so so so much. Look at those big splodey panels! The detail on the moon scenes!

[palabradot]

And I dunno.

I always read the story differently. It wasn't 'woman gets ultimate power, naturally goes insane -' They always made it very clear that the Phoenix entity and Jean were separate beings, as the Phoenix takes over (she never refers to the Phoenix as herself, when she finds out no, that entity's separate from her)

That makes the story even more tragic for me: Jean loses her sense of self, the entity drives her around like a truck using her power kicked up to awesome levels and does horrendous things with it...and when the dust clears and things are back to 'normal' Jean has to admit part of her LIKED that.

She finds that abhorrent, so she chooses to end it.

And yes, I was *very* happy that no one else killed her; she had the strength and will to do it herself.

[wizardru]

I'm with you, though I thought it was never actually presented that Dark Phoenix was actually another entity so much as another personality...one created and cultivated by the Hellfire Club's (and specifically Mastermind's) manipulations. And Mastermind implied that it was far easier than he expected...that he'd merely unlocked Jean's dark side that was already there, hiding in the corners of her mind.

[wizardru]

See, you know what makes this work so well, 30 years after the fact?

The characters CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. Oh sure, they have their drama...but they are a family. We saw this time and again with the X-men. From radically different backgrounds and different viewpoints...but at the end of the day, they'd give their lives for each other.

We see classic Wolverine here (fresh off one of his biggest FUCK YEAH moments ever, btw) reminiscing about how he, the consumate Loner, will chose Jean and the X-men over anything. He's prepared to die for them...a radical change for a guy who never cared about anyone before.

And really, I can't say enough about the combination of classic Byrne-Austen art, here. This truly was one of Marvel's finest hours...showing how Claremont and Byrne's story and Byrne and Austen's artwork turned a bunch of minor characters, unable to hold a regular title for years, into the biggest money maker Marvel has.

[jkcarrier]

I know they're out of fashion these days, but I kinda miss those long, melodramatic narrative captions. Here, they really highlight the intensity and urgency of the situation. And on a practical level, they serve to slow the reader down a bit, so you can really take in the artwork and action.

[icon_uk]

I've never understood the modern eras apparent loathing of judicious narrative boxes and thought bubbles. When overdone, yes they're distracting, but so are many storytelling techniques, in moderation however, they enhance the storytelling greatly.

[goblinthebamf]

first comic arc I ever read, the Dark Phoenix Saga trade from my local library. still one of my favorites.

[protogarrett]

I think people were initially upset at the retcon so that Phoenix was actually impersonating Jean Grey, but in the end it all worked out fine. Jean was brought back and given a prominent role and great stories and it brought in Rachel Summers who, I think, has been an interesting character.

[icon_uk]

Ummmm, no. Rachel existed long before they brought back Jean, and arguably bringing her back relegated Rachel to a far less interesting role in the MU.

[jaybee3]

Isn't Claremont's X-Men Forever *ugh* a continuation of this timeline (albeit the one after Jean returned from the dead and Scott dumped Maddy et al)? Because I can't see how the Claremont Jean from this story who will "always be with Scott" becomes the Claremont Jean from X-Men Forever (which is what he said he WOULD have done) that declares Logan the "love of her life" in the very 1st issue and never tells Scott and then after Logan dies within a few issues is hooking up with Beast of all people and seems to feel nothing for Scott at all? Never mind if they are different Jeans, which one is the real Claremont?

[sandoz_iscariot]

Well, his original ending for the Dark Phoenix Saga would have been Jean living but losing her mutant powers, and she and Scott would eventually retire from the X-Men to get married and raise a family (which he later tried to do, still ultimately unsuccessfully, with Madelyne and Scott) so I have no idea why/when Claremont decided that she and Wolverine were soulmates.

I've never found 616 Jean having romantic love for Wolverine remotely convincing. A passing curiosity/infatuation that appeals to her darker instincts? Maybe. Love of her life? Oh hell no.

[jaybee3]

I agree. I've always loathed Jean/Wolverine and I kinda think the reason they never got together for real in the 616-verse (although they did in the Ultimate X-Men and she dumped him for good by issue 6) was because I think even Marvel realizes Jean/Logan is dullsville as a long term couple. People who thought Jean/Scott was boring and welcomed the whole Emma thing would probably fall asleep if they had to read non-stop Jean/Wolvie as a couple instead of just attraction.

[stolisomancer.insanejournal.com]

The thing about X-Men Forever is that in many ways, it's a "take that" to what happened on the X-books after Claremont left. It's not an accident, for example, that Cyclops is a devoted dad but also a bit of a cock to everyone, because Claremont would've broken them up if he'd stayed on the books.

To his way of thinking - and this comes from a surprisingly angry exit interview I read years ago in, I think, Wizard - Scott abandoning Madelyne to run off after Jean was basically character assassination. It's evidence of a fundamental character flaw of Scott's that would eventually drive a wedge between him and Jean, because neither of them are the same people now as they were then.

Keep in mind that we're still talking about ten years of continuity between the Dark Phoenix Saga and the Forever era, too. Characters change in that time period.

[northstarfan]

I'm mostly picking up the X-Men: Forever trades for the trainwreck factor, but Cyclops as a conflicted father is the most I've liked the character in years. I don't think I'd like the development as much if Jean had choosen/been allowed to step in and take Madelyne's place as wee!Nathan's mom, but Cyke essentially being a single dad -- not mention being responsible enough to keep his son the hell away from the X-Men, potential mutant powers or no -- works for me. And Scott Summers giving tummy buzzes? Too frickin' adorable for words.

[angelophile]

Because this isn't Jean? It's Phoenix.

oi-flipping-vey

[sianmink]

Really, Kurt? Really?

[proteus_lives]

Still glorious and flawless after all these years.

It's one of the stories that made me an X-Fanatic.

[chipsnopotatoes]

This is such a great story. Now I have to pull out the other issues from the attic and re-read them all over again.

Scott & Jean. Sob.

[persoconchii]

this story arc never gets old!

[wasabi.livejournal.com]

"People of d'Bari! Your hollandaise are over!"

Yeah, I went there the first time around, too. Good times.

[ar_feiniel]

I really like The Watcher's line at the end of this story: "Jean Grey could have lived to become a god. But it was more important to her that she die...a human."

[kingrockwell]

You know, as lapsed an X-fan as I am, I still find it weird how this was the only trade of the franchise I had until recently.

[sandoz_iscariot]

Well if you have only one X-Men trade, this should be the one..