History Trivia / TheDarkPhoenixSaga

* ReferencedBy:
** ''[[VideoGame/PinballFX Pinball FX's]]'' version of the X-Men table. One of the modes available to play is the battle against Dark Phoenix. WordOfGod from the developers, Zen Studios, [[https://twitter.com/PinballFX/status/1136671087607947271 confirms this.]]

** Jim Shooter, in fact, would not allow Jean to come back unless there was some way to separate her from the actions of the Phoenix altogether. That's why Marvel eventually {{Retcon retconned}} Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her return in X-Factor possible.

* ExecutiveMeddling: One of the better-received examples. Initially Jean was simply going to be cured, but EIC Shooter insisted that committing genocide of an inhabited planet and getting off with a slap on the wrist was ludicrous, not only for her but also for her teammates to not hold that against her.
** Jim Shooter, in fact, would not allow Jean to come back (X-Factor vol. 1 was on the way, and the writers sought to reunite the five day-one X-Men) unless there was some way to separate her from the actions of Phoenix altogether. That's why the original retcon, as seen when Jean returns in X-Factor, was a simple case of the Phoenix impersonating her so well it forgot it wasn't her -- we're talking an ActuallyADoombot case that's not even an itty bitty teeny tiny bit Jean and if you want to really, ''really'' piss Jean off, let her think ''one cell of your brain'' wonders if Phoenix ''might'' have anything to do with her in any way, shape, or form. The current state of things, with Jean as the Phoenix's one, true perfect host and they're always part of each other and such was the opposite of what they were going for then -- though with the Phoenix Force in control and under Mastermind's MoreThanMindControl at the time, the main aim of the original retcon - that Jean is not guilty of the deliberate destruction of an inhabited planet -- remains. [[InspectorJavert Try telling that to the Shi'ar, though]].
*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her return possible. Later, the retcon [[AuthorsSavingThrow was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).

* ExecutiveMeddling: One of the better-received examples. Initially Jean was simply going to be cured, but EIC Shooter insisted that committing genocide of an inhabited planet and getting off with a slap on the wrist was ludicrous, not only for her but also for her team-mates to not hold that against her.
** Jim Shooter, in fact, would not allow Jean to come back (X-Factor vol. 1 was on the way, and the writers sought to reunite the five day-one X-Men) unless there was some way to separate her from the actions of Phoenix altogether. That's why the original retcon, as seen when Jean returns in X-Factor, was a simple case of the Phoenix impersonating her so well it forgot it wasn't her - we're talking an ActuallyADoombot case that's not even an itty bitty teeny tiny bit Jean and if you want to really, ''really'' piss Jean off, let her think ''one cell of your brain'' wonders if Phoenix ''might'' have anything to do with her in any way, shape, or form. The current state of things, with Jean as the Phoenix's one, true perfect host and they're always part of each other and such was the opposite of what they were going for then - though with the Phoenix Force in control and under Mastermind's MoreThanMindControl at the time, the main aim of the original retcon - that Jean is not guilty of the deliberate destruction of an inhabited planet - remains. [[InspectorJavert Try telling that to the Shi'ar, though]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to Shooter in his blog, the original idea for what became the Dark Phoenix Saga came from a pitch he made to Claremont and others about doing a story about a hero gone bad and staying bad. In his view, Phoenix was supposed to be a FallenHero but full-time permanent villain and recurring foe. He only started objecting when he read the make-readies (a term for comics in production) that hinted at Jean becoming redeemed after killing a planet, pointing out the ridiculous ethics of letting her off for that. Shooter also claimed that he didn't ask for Jean to die initially. He merely suggested that Jean be imprisoned in maximum security under Shi'ar law and/or otherwise be a full-time villain, but he was against the idea of Jean being redeemed and pardoned which Claremont wanted. Claremont then suggested killing off Jean as a dare, only for Shooter to okay it much to the former's shock and surprise. Claremont saw Jean as essentially decent and heroic but Shooter saw her as a permanent villain, and in his eyes, the heroic Jean was dead the minute she annihilated the planet.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to Shooter in his blog, the original idea for what became the Dark Phoenix Saga came from a pitch he made to Claremont and others about doing a story about a hero gone bad and staying bad. In his view, Phoenix was supposed to be a FallenHero but full-time permanent villain and recurring foe. He only started objecting when he read the make-readies (a term for comics in production) that hinted at Jean becoming redeemed after killing a planet, pointing out the ridiculous ethics of letting her off for that. Shooter also claimed that he didn't ask for Jean to die initially. He merely suggested that Jean be imprisoned in maximum security under Shi'ar law and/or otherwise be a full-time villain, but he was against the idea of Jean being redeemed and pardoned which Claremont wanted. Claremont then suggested killing off Jean as a dare, only for Shooter to okay it much to the former's shock and surprise.

* ExecutiveMeddling: One of the better-received examples. Initially Jean was simply going to be cured, but the higher-ups at Marvel insisted she'd done far too much damage for such a slap on the wrist. Her HeroicSacrifice was much more dramatic in the end.

*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her return possible. Later, the retcon [[AuthorsSavingThrow was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).

*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her return possible. Later, the retcon [[AuthorsSavingThrow was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).
*** Actually, it's a much bigger ContinuitySnarl than that. Quoth TheOtherWiki:
- The relationship between Jean Grey and the Phoenix (and the nature of the powers she has) is portrayed in a variety of ways throughout the character's history. In the initial plotline of the Phoenix being a manifestation of Jean's true potential, these powers are considered her own,as part of Claremont and Byrne's desire to create "the first cosmic superheroine". However, since the retcon of the Phoenix as a separate entity from Jean Grey, depictions of these powers vary; these include Jean being one of many hosts to the Phoenix and "borrowing" its "Phoenix powers" during this time, being a unique host to the Phoenix, and being one with the Phoenix. She is later described as one of the few to hold the title of "White Phoenix of the Crown" among the many past, present, and future hosts of the Phoenix.

*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her return possible. Later, the retcon [[AuthorsSavingThrow was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).

** Jim Shooter, in fact, would not allow Jean to come back (X-Factor vol. 1 was on the way, and the writers sought to reunite the five day-one X-Men) unless there was some way to separate her from the actions of Phoenix altogether. That's why the original retcon, as seen when Jean returns in X-Factor, was a simple case of the Phoenix impersonating her so well it forgot it wasn't her - we're talking an OnlyADoombot case that's not even an itty bitty teeny tiny bit Jean and if you want to really, ''really'' piss Jean off, let her think ''one cell of your brain'' wonders if Phoenix ''might'' have anything to do with her in any way, shape, or form. The current state of things, with Jean as the Phoenix's one, true perfect host and they're always part of each other and such was the opposite of what they were going for then - though with the Phoenix Force in control and under Mastermind's MoreThanMindControl at the time, the main aim of the original retcon - that Jean is not guilty of the deliberate destruction of an inhabited planet - remains. [[InspectorJavert Try telling that to the Shi'ar, though]].

*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her Jean's return possible. Later, the retcon [[AuthorsSavingThrow was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).

*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her Jean's return possible. Later, the retcon [[Author'sSavingThrow was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).

*** If you had trouble understanding that paragraph, here's a simplified version. A few years after the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'' Marvel retconned Jean's actions in that story, and the 27 issues preceding that story, to be the work of the Phoenix Force impersonating Jean. This was done to absolve Jean of genocide, making her Jean's return possible. Later, the retcon [[Author'sSavingThrow: was itself retconned]], making it so that Jean and the Phoenix Force were "always part of each other." This retcon of the retcon restored some of the intent of the '' Dark Phoenix Saga'' itself (i.e. that the Jean seen in that story really was Jean).

** Jim Shooter, in fact, would not allow Jean to come back (X-Factor vol. 1 was on the way, and the writers sought to reunite the five day-one X-Men) unless there was some way to separate her from the actions of Phoenix altogether. That's why the original retcon, as seen when Jean returns in X-Factor, was a simple case of the Phoenix impersonating her so well it forgot it wasn't her - we're talking an OnlyADoombot case that's not even an itty bitty teeny tiny bit Jean and if you want to really, ''really'' piss Jean off, let her think ''one cell of your brain'' wonders if Phoenix ''might'' have anything to do with her in any way, shape, or form. The current state of things, with Jean as the Phoenix's one, true perfect host and they're always part of each other and such was the opposite of what they were going for then - though with the Phoenix Force in control and under Mastermind's MoreThanMindControl at the time, the main aim of the original retcon - that Jean is not guilty of the deliberate destruction of an inhabited planet - remains. [[InspectorJavert Try telling that to the Shi'ar, though]].

* ExecutiveMeddling: One of the better-received examples. Initially Jean was simply going to be cured, but the higher-ups at Marvel insisted she'd done far too much damage for such a slap on the wrist. Jim Shooter, in fact, would not allow Jean to come back unless there was some way to separate her from the actions of Phoenix altogether.