The Dark Phoenix Saga (1980)
The Dark Phoenix Saga Review
The Dark Phoenix Saga is an X-Men comic book storyline published by Marvel in 1980. It was written by Chris Claremont and penciled by John Byrne.
It follows Jean Grey’s corruption by the power of the Phoenix and the Hellfire Club, the destruction she causes, and ultimately her death. This is usually regarded as one of the best and most iconic X-Men storylines and for many valid reasons. It’s an epic tale of redemption, corruption and the the huge burden of power that is still emotionally resonant to this day. It’s a great story, but with some caveats I have to say.
I prefer DC comics over Marvel ones, so this chirpy and comedic style did not quite work for me. I disliked the references to The Avengers as those felt shoehorned in for no legitimate reason. I also did not care for all of these characters as some of them were quite rushed. Jason Wyngarde is a very intriguing villain at first and I loved those mastermind scenes set in the past. Those were quite stylish and moody. But how easily he was killed off was disappointing.
Emma Frost is also a very cool villain in her powers and visually, but she was underdeveloped. The Hellfire Club overall felt rather rushed in their development, though I genuinely found them to be memorable and interesting. But the heroes were all very well realized. Charles Xavier got some great moments for himself and I really liked Cyclops, Storm and of course Wolverine, who was badass in a couple of sequences. Dazzler is also pretty interesting and I loved Kitty Pride as this new addition to the team. How she was introduced to us was so cool and she was among the brightest spots in this story.
But of course this is all about Jean Grey and her corruption. I continue to find this character underdeveloped as she was in the movies too, but there is no doubt about it – her arc is exceptional. They touched upon the idea of the divine versus the human so well through her story. I adored the SF elements that were sporadic, but impactful. The final battle was unrealistic, but a lot of fun. The action in this comic is consistently entertaining, though the dialogue accompanying it was quite immature at times.
This is a wonderful comic in its art. I loved the lettering and I adored the background work as it was consistently detailed and stylish. The characters were very well depicted and the action was also well drawn. Some panels featured a lot of things happening all at once and those were my favorites. The story was at its best when tackling its moral dilemmas and strong character moments and at its worst when doing silly fights and dialogue.
