This is the start of the final 100 regular entries in this series.
The X-Men started a trend for superhero movies that has lasted twenty years. It was always likely to be Spiderman – Marvel’s powerhouse title from the sixties to the eighties – or the X-Men that took its place as the sales juggernaut powering the House of Ideas from the late 70s.
It was not always that way. In the sixties the X-Men title wobbled along and was not one of Stan Lee’s favourites. It was most notable for early Neal Adams artwork that was stunning at the time. The team had limited powers and had to work together to defeat foes.
(The original team – Angel, Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Iceman and Beast at the front).
After a period when the book was cancelled Len Wein and Dave Cockrum brought the All New X-Men back in 1975. Wein was immediately replaced by Chris Claremont on the regular title that was relaunched after the initial special. The new team were flashier, more cosmopolitan and had greater powers.
(Mark 2 – Back row: Sunfire from Japan, Thunderbird a native American, Banshee from Ireland, Cyclops, Colossus from Russia, Wolverine from Canada; front row Nightcrawler from Germany and Storm from Kenya).
Claremont built his story arcs over long periods (made even longer by the fact that the book only came out once every two months for a couple of years after its relaunch. The first issue that I read I borrowed from Paul Ashby and it was also the first issue illustrated by John Byrne (a titan of the field), issue 108 – Armageddon Now. In this Jean Grey (formerly Marvel Girl, now the Phoenix) saves reality from collapsing.
Jean had become the Phoenix when the X-Men returned from the Starcore space station in the middle of a solar storm. Jean used her powers to gain the knowledge of how to fly the shuttle from the pilot and locked the team in a radiation proof capsule. Knocking out her lover, Cyclops, as he tried to stop her.
The next issues starts with the shuttle diving through the atmosphere and the team assuming that Jean is dead. Then it pulls up and crashes in the water off New York. The X-Men surface and there is no sign of Jean until she bursts from the water proclaiming that she is now the Phoenix.
After issue 108 Jean’s powers appear to fade and then she is separated from the X-Men who she assumes are dead. Several months pass until they are reunited in which time Jean has been influenced by the villain Mastermind and the safety triggers in her mind she put theresubconsciously after issue 108 have been removed. She is drawn into The Hellfire Club and things spiralled out of control as the X-Men try to rescue her and it appears Cyclops is dead.
He isn’t of course, but when they escape the Hellfire Club she transforms into the Dark Phoenix and flees Earth, destroying an alien star system (and civilisation) to gain power and then returns to Earth.
After a fight where technology is used to damp her power temporarily, her love of Cyclops enables Professor X to mentally block her powers and return her to her Marvel Girl levels.
Happy ending? No. The alien Shi’Ar, who are led by Professor X’s lover, Lilandra, arrive to ensure that the Dark Phoenix can never emerge again. TheX-Men engage in trial by combat on the Moon against Lilandra’s Imperial Guard for Jean’s life.
(The Imperial Guard- a Marvel version of the Legion of Superheroes (https://fivemilesout.home.blog/2020/07/03/you-used-and-made-my-life-so-sweet/ ).
The X-Men lost, and Jean overcame the mental blocks to become Phoenix again when she sees Cyclops taken down. Realising that she will always be a threat if she lives, she takes her own life.
This plays out over about 4 years and is one of the seminal stories in the history of comics. They have tried to make films out of it twice and failed so badly it is painful. In the film X-Men Last Stand the story is not remotely similar and the film is awful – almost franchise killing. Only the popularity of Wolverine saves the franchise and they have another go with the film Dark Phoenix, the explanation being that history was changed by Wolverine’s time travel in Days of Future Past. This was based on the other classic Claremont/ Byrne X-Men story. The biggest mistake is that it is all compressed into less than two hours. If the opening sequence when Jean got her powers had been shown at the start of the previous film, Apocalypse, with her greater powers leading her to defeat the titular threat but worrying Xavier there would have at least been some tension.
After Byrne left the comic so that he could have total creative freedom on his own books Marvel started exploiting the brand. First with The New Mutants – at least this was by Claremont and could dovetail with the main book. There were also assorted “mini-series” to raise revenue.
When they added X-Factor (ripping off Ghostbusters for the concept) and resurrected Jean just for the gimmick of reuniting the original team, plus wiping away all Cyclops’ character development in the intervening period, I was on my way out. Poor art, crossovers with terrible books to boost their sales and stupid storylines drove me away.
It is a shame – even teenage me could see the X-Men’s outcast status made them a metaphor for other groups in society. In the 80s it was the LGBTQ+ community, in the 60s it had been the Civil Rights struggle.
I finally read the book again when Grant Morrison took over following the release of the first X-Men film. This was primarily at the urging of writer Lance Parkin.
(From the back: The White Queen, Wolverine, Beast, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Professor X).
At the end of Morrison’s run Marvel seemed to rush to overturn his changes and return to the status quo. Now Jonathan Hickman is writing it I am going to try it again.
The Chemical Brothers had already released two albums (and their debut Exit Planet Dust is a classic, as well as having a great title) before this single.
Hey Boy Hey Girl
Five Miles Out 