The Dark Phoenix Saga: Difference between revisions

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A 1980 [[X-Men]] story by [[Chris Claremont]] and [[John Byrne]], taking place from Uncanny X-Men #129 to #137, and one of [[Marvel Comics]]' most iconic storylines.

The corruption takes her over swiftly, and she transforms from Phoenix to Dark Phoenix a thousand feet over Central Park, destroying the X-Men's aircraft [[Running Gag|for about the dozenth time.]]<ref>Technically, it wasn't even really ''their'' jet, but an Avengers Quinjet that then-Avenger Beast had "borrowed" in an attempt to come aid his old team, but Quinjets get blown up even more often than the Blackbird anyway.</ref> After a fight with those she loved, which can only be described as a [[Curb Stomp Battle]], Dark Phoenix leaves Earth altogether, triggering the [[My Significance Sense Is Tingling|Significance Sense]] of everyone from [[Doctor Strange]] to [[Spider-Man]] to the [[Silver Surfer]]. Zipping through the universe on a cosmic joyride, she finds herself getting hungry...and the nearest source of food is [[Apocalypse How|a star]] in the Shi'Ar Galaxy.

 

 

* [[Apocalypse How]]: Dark Phoenix eating the D'bari sun causes a Class X-2. It's suggested in issues of What If? that if she hadn't died, she would eventually have reached anything from a Class X-4 to a Class Z in time.

* [[Apocalypse Maiden]]: Phoenix / Dark Phoenix.

* [[Bullying a Dragon]]: The Imperial Guard fight the X-Men in a trial by combat, leaving Jean the last X-Man standing. When Cyclops is knocked out before her eyes, she snaps and becomes Phoenix again, taking them all out in the space of seconds.

* [[The Bus Came Back]]: Beast and Angel, who had been serving on other teams, returned for the latter half of the story.

'''Nightcrawler''' (in the first panel of #134): Cyclops is alive! }}

* [[Comic Book Fantasy Casting]]: John Byrne based the original designs for all the Hellfire Club characters on famous actors, and Kitty Pryde on an adolescent Sigourney Weaver.

* [[Fad Super]]: [[Trope Codifier|Dazzler]] is introduced in this arc, in all her disco-riffic glory.

* [[Fastball Special]]: Reversed from the norm -- in the lighter gravity of the Moon, ''Wolverine'' does this with ''Colossus''.

* [[Gone Horribly Right]]: Mastermind wanted to turn Jean to the dark side...and boy, did he.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: Alas, poor Jean.

* [[Mindlink Mates]]: This is the story that establishes Cyclops and Jean Grey's psychic rapport.

* [[More Than Mind Control]]: Mastermind again. On her way down the slippery slope, Jean even calls him on it.

* [[Mind Rape]]: The White Queen does this to Storm while she's holding her hostage.

* [[Mundane Utility]]: Phoenix uses her [[Reality Warper|Reality-Warping powers]] for simple things like changing her costume into civvies or creating a picnic spread. Briefly, Cyclops wonders why this bothers him. "Why '''shouldn't''' Jean use her powers to make her life easier?"

* [[Myth Arc]]: Part of what makes this story so remarkable. It was the climax of a massive [[Myth Arc]] that Claremont had been building up to since issue #97 in 1975, when Professor X got his first look at the Shi'ar. Over the course of 41 issues (almost ''five years''), Jean Grey died, was resurrected, took on an alien empire, saved the galaxy from imploding, turned to the dark side, took on an alien empire (again), and [[Killed Off for Real|died]].

* [[Say My Name]]: As Jean dies, she and Scott call each other's names.

* [[Start of Darkness]]: To stop a carload of mutant-hunters from running down Kitty Pryde, Phoenix erects a psychic brick wall in front of it, killing the occupants. When Cyclops goes [[What the Hell, Hero?]], she basically slaps him down.

'''Cyclops:''' Wow. I thought I'd seen Jean in every conceivable mood, but this is ''new''. }}

* [[Superman Stays Out of Gotham]]: Subtly lampshaded, as Marvel heroes from all over the universe pick up on Dark Phoenix's manifestation, but the whole story happens too quickly for anyone to respond to it.

* [[Super-Powered Evil Side]]: The original intent of this story was that Dark Phoenix was Jean Grey, corrupted by her power and Wyngarde's machinations. Later interpretations of the story are...[[Your Mileage May Vary|a mixed bag.]] The Phoenix was [[Retcon|retconned]] as a [[Cosmic Being]] of its own who had replaced Jean (and forgot about it) so the real Jean could turn up alive later.

* [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill]]: When the Dark Phoenix suddenly reemerges at the climax of the saga, Empress Lilandra desperately invokes Plan Omega: destroy the entire solar system and pray they can kill Dark Phoenix in the process. At that point, Xavier has no choice but to order his X-Men to kill Jean themselves to preempt this measure.

* [[What Have I Done]]: When Jean is restored to herself for the final chapter, she's consumed with guilt at the atrocities Dark Phoenix has committed.

* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: Dark Phoenix is the ''poster child'' for this trope.

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[[Category:Marvel Comics Series]]

[[Category:The Eighties]]