The Dark Phoenix Saga
Plot Summary and Credits
When Jean Grey is possessed by the all-powerful Phoenix Force, her newfound powers attract the attention of a group of socialites called the Hellfire Club. Using the young mutant Kitty Pryde as bait, the Club lure the X-Men into a trap and one of their members, the telepath Mastermind, takes control of Jean. With help from Kitty, the X-Men escape from the Hellfire Club, but the battle causes Jean to lose control of her powers and become the Dark Phoenix. Her celestial rampage causes her to destroy an inhabited planet under the control of the Shi’ar Empire, who place their finest warriors in a trial by combat against the X-Men for Jean’s life. When the rest of the team are defeated, Jean sacrifices her own life to banish the Phoenix Force and save her friends.
Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (penciller, co-plotter and cover artist), Terry Austin (inker and cover artist), Glynis Wein, Bob Sharen (colourists), Tom Orezchowski (letterer), Jim Salicrup, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson (editors), Thomas Mason (cover artist), Andy Troy (cover artist)
Collects X-Men (1963) #129-137
My Copy
I was going through a bit of an X-Men phase when I got this book. I’d just read House of X / Powers of X and rewatched X-Men ‘97 for the third time, so I thought it was time to head down to the comic shop and have a look at the classics.
Before Reading
This comic was my first foray into the classic era, so as a vacuous zoomer who had barely read any comics older than Civil War, I was eager to expand my comic education. Not gonna lie, I expected this comic to feel outdated compared to the majority of my collection, and was hoping to be proven wrong.
After Reading
I went into the Saga expecting two things: bright colours and theatrical dialogue. The comic delivers exactly these things, with John Byrne’s classic artwork making every character stand out, even when the panels seem a little more static than what I’d normally be used to. The dialogue is a little cheesy in places, but I found that this added more of a sense of nostalgic charm.
While I enjoyed the comic, it definitely feels like a product of its time, with some aspects that haven’t aged all that well. A huge chunk of the dialogue is just a recap of what happened in the previous issue, which gets tedious pretty fast if you binge-read them. I suppose these old comics weren’t designed to be binge-read, since they were intended as weekly issues that would have been left open to keep readers buying them. This structure does comes with some humorous side effects, like when one issue ends with a dramatic “Cyclops… is DEAD!” and the very first page of the next opens with “Cyclops is alive!”
The X-Men themselves are great, as always having to navigate moral dilemmas in a world that’s afraid of them. Similar to Spider-Man, it’s a testament to the team that they’re able to keep on fighting, even when the people they’re protecting can be just as dangerous as the villains, and this series does a good job of showcasing this side of them, as well as how well they work together as a team. Also, it’s kind of funny seeing Wolverine referred to as one of the “young mutants” of the team after learning about his backstory.
Kitty Pryde is probably my favourite part of the series. Her storyline is what makes this series a good entry point in my view, as we see her discover her powers, hide them from her parents, and step up to rescue her new team. Unlike a lot of teenage characters, she doesn’t come across as annoying or get things done too easily, making it difficult not to root for her. The only other series I’ve read where she takes a (literal) leading role is All-New X-Men, where she becomes a mentor for the time-displaced original X-Men of the past, including some that she worked with here, so it was nice to see her tale come full circle in that way.
Closing Thoughts
It’s easy to see why the Dark Phoenix Saga is so iconic. It takes the X-Men on a mission across the world and then the universe to save their teammate, who in turn gives up a chance at ultimate power and her very existence to save them. As an introduction to the classics, I’d say it was a good choice.
Next week I’ll be going from a classic story to something from the last couple of years, that I’ve been absolutely dying to review since I read it.
