Dark Phoenix Saga
The Dark Phoenix Saga is the story of Jean Grey (Phoenix) as she wrestled with the Phoenix Force, ending in Jean Grey's death.
Writer Chris Claremont; art by John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, and Terry Austin.
Summary: After exposure to solar radiation, Jean Grey's psychic powers reached new levels; she renamed herself "Phoenix" (from Marvel Girl or whatever lame identity she had previously). She was manipulated into joining the Hellfire Club, losing her sanity and becoming Dark Phoenix. As Dark Phoenix she destroyed a star system, killing billions of its denizens. The X-Men struggled to subdue her and solve the problem, but in the end it was she who gained a last moment of control over herself, and sacrificed herself in order to avoid doing more evil.
The story was later retconned to have Phoenix be a separate entity, the Phoenix Force, which was responsible for Dark Phoenix's crimes. Thus, Jean Grey was brought back as a blameless innocent. The story was then retold numerous times, with many other complicating factors, alternating timelines, and so on. Because of the numerous cross-overs, alternate timelines, and so on, there is no one clear linear storyline for Jean Grey. See [Wikipedia Dark Phoenix Saga] entry for more detail.
Jean Grey-related characters include:
- Jean Grey (the original)
- Jean Grey as Dark Phoenix (the non-retconned version)
- Jean Grey as Dark Phoenix Avatar (retconned version #1)
- Jean Grey as the innocent human Jean Grey (the retconned version #1)
- Jean Grey as the Phoenix Avatar (retconned version #2)
- Madelyne Pryor, a mysteriously identical woman who looked just like Jean Grey
- Rachel Summers, an alternate timeline daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers
Publications
- X-Men #101-#108 (1976-1977) and #129-#139 (1980)
- Omnibus, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Marvel Comics, ISBN 0-939766-96-5