Uncanny X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: John Byrne
Behold the power of darkness and destruction that is, the Dark Phoenix!
Rating: 5 stars
Besides the ultimately sensational Spider-Man, and the tragic dark figure known as Batman, the X-Men have been a key focal point in my interest in the universe of comics. From the moment I viewed the widely underrated film, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, I had unknowingly begun a journey into pursuing their adventures in the comics. Out of all the X-Men comics I’ve read, Chris Claremont’s run became not only my favorite (as well as thousands of X-fans), but also a major defining moment in the history of the team. Not only did Claremont help bring the new X-Men members (Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler) to light, but he also introduced the racism towards mutants as a prominent theme, and wrote the series on the basis of character development. In the eyes of nearly all X-Men fans, no story of Claremont’s has seen greater character development than the classic DARK PHOENIX SAGA.
In MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE UNCANNY X-MEN VOL. 2, the X-Man Jean Grey was supposedly killed by the intense radiation of a solar storm while piloting a shuttle back to Earth, but instead Jean underwent a different fate. When the shuttle crashed into the Hudson River, both her and her teammates were astonished to see her rise out of the water with her mutant powers increased tenfold, declaring herself reborn as a being known as the Phoenix. As the X-Men series continued, so did the growth of Jean’s new persona. Not only were her telepathic and telekinetic abilities enhanced, but also her personality gradually grew more dark and merciless. The development of the Phoenix’s power reaches its peak in THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA.
After the X-Men defeat Moira Mactaggert’s mutant son Proteus on Muir Island, Jean Grey begins to suffer from strange hallucinations. Some how seeing herself in the 18th century, Jean and the X-Men are unaware Jason Wyngarde of the mysterious Hellfire Club is manipulating her mind with illusions. After several close encounters with the Hellfire club, the group’s leaders, known as the Inner Circle, capture the X-Men at one of its annual parties. The mutant leaders of the Inner Circle plan to warp Jean into the Black Queen of their hierarchy, but their attempts to brainwash her only unleash the dark side of her powers. The manipulation of Jean’s mind causes her god-like abilities to corrupt her into the insane Dark Phoenix. Now an omnipotent entity with an insatiable hunger for destruction; the Dark Phoenix begins to wreak havoc across the universe. Once she returns to Earth, the X-Men know that in order to save all of existence from Armageddon, they will be forced to fight the one they once called a comrade. And even if they figure out a way to save Jean from corruption, will they be able to protect her from the rest of the universe, who sees her as a galactic threat that must be eliminated?
Although Chris Claremont’s writing can feel cheesy and out of date at some points (keep in mind that this was written in 1980), this was with out a doubt, one of the most heart-pounding and emotional X-Men story arc I’ve ever read! One of the key components of an excellent book is being able to allow the reader to understand the emotions characters experience or struggle with, and feel for them. THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA makes no errors in allowing its readers to feel sympathy for Jean and the rest of the X-Men, as Claremont deeply explores the pain humans (or mutants) feel when forced to fight the ones they care about the most. Jean Grey was not only one of the founding members of the team, but also one of their most passionate, and devoted members to their cause. But Jean is no longer the woman she once was. Instead, she has become a devastator of worlds that kills without mercy. But to the rest of the X-Men, they still view Jean as the benevolent woman they once knew; obscuring them to the fact that she has become a threat to all of existence. The depth of internal struggle Claremont portrays within the X-Men is extremely intense, and allows the reader to feel sympathy for both the X-Men, and for Jean Grey, who is cursed with a power beyond her control.
I didn’t know much about the Hellfire Club before reading this, but their role as antagonists is well executed. To the public eye, the Hellfire Club is a social group of the world’s most successful industrialists, but behind the curtain, a circle of evil mutants who plan to use their political and economic power to dominate humanity leads the group. But it’s Jean Grey who gets the center stage, here, as her transformation into the Dark Phoenix shows how even a virtuous soul as hers can fall into darkness when tempted by power. Claremont displays the almost limitless, and merciless power of the Phoenix when she consumes an entire star (feat even the world-eater Galactus could not achieve), destroying an inhabited system of planets in the process, and later defeats the X-Men with relative ease. The development of her character from a caring agent of peace, to an entity of destruction is not only a work of creative writing, but it’s an astounding portrayal of the corruption of a noble soul as well.
Other high points of praise in this story arc include the first appearances of Kitty Pryde, Dazzler, and Emma Frost, as well as the expansion of the romance between Cyclops and Jean. My only criticism is that the battle between the X-Men and alien Shi’ar Imperial Guard in the final chapter was a bit tedious, as it felt too many individual fights were going on at once, but it was still an intriguing one. One thing I should mention is that the famous ending to the story (which I dare not spoil to those who have not read it), was not originally planned by Chris Claremont, but was inserted due to a dispute between him and the editor. Although I prefer Dave Cockrum for the classic X-Men stories, the illustrations John Bryne provides here are the best of his run overall, providing an excellent visual depiction of Claremont’s tragic story arc.
A must read for any X-Men fan, THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA is not only a pivotal turning point for Jean Grey’s character and the X-Men in general, but also a timeless classic that explores the basic truth of how power can easily corrupt even the most benevolent individual.
“The corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst.”
-David Hume
