Line #54 ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga


1	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x_men_vol_1_135.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[LogoJoke This]] may or may not be a metaphor for [[ContinuitySnarl what she did to the franchise.]][[note]][[http://clzimages.com/comic/large/b6/b6_94511_0_UncannyXMen56WhatIsThePower.jpg She wasn't even the first to do this trick]].[[/note]]]]
3	%%
4	A 1980 ''ComicBook/XMen'' story by Creator/ChrisClaremont and Creator/JohnByrne, taking place from ''[[ComicBook/UncannyXMen X-Men]]'' #129 to #137. A sequel to ''ComicBook/ThePhoenixSaga'' and one of Creator/MarvelComics' most iconic storylines.
5
6	Fresh off a battle with [[RealityWarper Proteus]], the X-Men are plunged into a battle with the mysterious [[Characters/XMenHellfireClub Hellfire Club]], while [[ComicBook/JeanGrey Phoenix]], just back from a vacation in Greece and Scotland, finds herself psychically shifting in time to a Revolutionary War-era ancestor, who's engaged to a mysterious, roguishly handsome man named [[RealNameAsAnAlias Jason Wyngarde]].
7
8	In between Jean's "timeslips," she helps the X-Men rescue new mutants [[NaiveNewcomer Kitty Pryde]] and [[FadSuper Dazzler]] from the Hellfire Club: White Queen [[ManipulativeBitch Emma Frost]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Black King]] [[EnergyAbsorption Sebastian Shaw]], White Bishop [[HollywoodCyborg Donald]] [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Pierce]], Black Rook [[FatBastard Harry]] [[GravityMaster Leland]], and probationary member Wyngarde. However, when the time comes for the final showdown with them, she mysteriously [[FaceHeelTurn switches sides]], fighting alongside Wyngarde and Hellfire against the team. As a result, the X-Men are soundly trounced, and Phoenix is named Hellfire's Black Queen.
9
10	Thanks to a [[MindlinkMates psychic rapport]] he forged with her before the attack, Cyclops manages to get through to Jean and reveal the truth to her: that Jason Wyngarde is really the X-Men's old enemy [[MasterOfIllusion Mastermind]] operating under his real name, and that he's just making her ''believe'' she's time-shifting, the better to [[MoreThanMindControl gain control of her]] through her DarkSide.
11
12	Once Wyngarde's treachery is exposed, the X-Men get their [[HeroicSecondWind second wind]], defeating Hellfire and escaping into the night. But the damage to Jean's mind is done... even though she's free of Wyngarde's mind control, there's something inside her that's been broken.
13
14	[[UnstablePoweredWoman The corruption takes her over swiftly, and she transforms from Phoenix to Dark Phoenix]] a thousand feet over Central Park, destroying the X-Men's aircraft [[RunningGag for about the dozenth time]]. [[note]]Technically, it wasn't even really ''their'' jet, but an Avengers Quinjet that then-Avenger Beast had "borrowed" in an attempt to come aid his old team, but Quinjets get blown up even more often than the Blackbird anyway.[[/note]] After a fight with those she loved, which can only be described as a CurbStompBattle, Dark Phoenix leaves Earth altogether, triggering the [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling Significance Sense]] of everyone from Comicbook/DoctorStrange to ComicBook/SpiderMan to the ComicBook/SilverSurfer. Zipping through the universe on a cosmic joyride, she finds herself getting hungry... and the nearest source of food is [[ApocalypseHow a star]] in the Shi'Ar Galaxy.
15
16	At that, even as the X-Men desperately attempts to stop her, Empress Lilandra of the Shi'Ar Empire, seeing the Phoenix has an interstellar menace greater than even TheDreaded ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the consumer of worlds, leads a coalition to do the same, whatever the cost.
17
18	The Dark Phoenix Saga is one of the most controversial ''X-Men'' stories of all time, though more due to the subsequent {{Retcon}}s and rewrites than the story itself; originally it was actually one of the most beloved tales in the franchise's history. It catapulted the already-well-liked Claremont/Byrne creative team to superstardom, even as it also sowed the seeds for what would eventually be their breakup.
19
20	(It should be noted however that killing off Jean Grey wasn't their idea; editor Creator/JimShooter forced them to do it, feeling that allowing her to live after killing billions of people would not be fair. Claremont later admitted that it made for a better ending, and most fans agreed.[[note]]On the other hand...: another telling of the story is this -- that the original intent of the Dark Phoenix Saga was for Jean to become a recurring villain on the order of ComicBook/{{Galactus}} or ComicBook/DoctorDoom, and it was the understanding of Shooter that she would escape to plague the X-Men and the universe later on. That, he was apparently perfectly fine with. When he learned how the ending was actually going to occur, with Jean being psychically lobotomized and released to the custody of the X-Men, Shooter deemed it a weak ending and morally unsatisfying and called Claremont out on it. (He later recalled it as being on the order of "taking the German Army away from Hitler after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and letting him go back to governing Germany.") Shooter first suggested that Jean!Phoenix be imprisoned permanently, but Claremont asserted that Cyclops would lead the X-Men on rescue mission after rescue mission to get her back. Shooter still demanded a just punishment for Phoenix. Out of frustration, Claremont suggested, tongue-in-cheek, that perhaps they should just kill her, believing that Shooter would not go along with it, as killing main characters permanently was just not done at that time. To his shock, Shooter endorsed the plan, leading to the death of Dark Phoenix.[[/note]])
21
22	Since its original publication, this story has been extremely loosely adapted several times:
23	* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' adapted the storyline as a four-episode arc in its third season. The arc had LighterAndSofter edits to make it more family-friendly and to allow Jean to be SparedByTheAdaptation.
24	* Two films of the ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' film series: 2006's ''[[Film/XMenTheLastStand The Last Stand]]'', and 2019's ''Film/DarkPhoenix''. Both are textbook InNameOnly adaptations.
25	* To mark the release of the 2019 movie, the story was also adapted as a full-length novel by writer Stuart Moore in May 2019.
26	----
27	!!The Dark Phoenix Saga contain examples of:
28
29	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The issue that introduces Dazzler is titled "The '''D'''ramatic '''D'''ebut of the '''D'''azzler".
30	* AllAccordingToPlan: After Jean blasts herself to death, Scott wonders if she'd ''planned'' everything, including the fight with the Imperial Guard, simply so she could figure out a way to kill herself.
31	* AndYouWereThere: As Jean's "timeslips" progress, she gradually begins imagining all of her teammates as 18th-century versions of themselves--imagining Ororo as a rebellious slave called "Beauty", Piotr as a farmhand on her plantation, and Scott as a dashing Colonial Minuteman.
32	* ApocalypseHow: Dark Phoenix eating the D'bari sun causes a ApocalypseHow/ClassX2. It's suggested in issues of What If? that if she hadn't died, she would eventually have reached anything from a ApocalypseHow/ClassX4 to a ApocalypseHow/ClassZ in time.
33	* ApocalypseMaiden: Dark Phoenix commits genocide on a galactic scale by consuming a sun. Once Jean's original personality resurfaces, she is overwhelmed by guilt.
34	* AscendedExtra: The black-haired serving girl taking the robe off Shaw while he gloats over the Hellfire Club's victory turns out to be a quite important aide to him, Sage. (And even later, a spy for Professor Xavier.)
35	* AuthorAppeal: Several tropes in this storyline (the brainwashing, the ladies in skimpy underthings, the "enjoys feeling evil" moments) are all personal favourites of Chris Claremont, and this is their big introduction to the world of X-Men.
36	* AuthorCatchphrase: Mastermind continually refers to how he has ensnared Jean "body and soul", a common phrase in Claremont works.
37	* BadBoss: Emma Frost's introductory issue has her blowing up some goons for failing to beat the X-Men. She justifies her actions by remarking that the Hellfire Club pays good money on their goons, thus they expect ''results''.
38	* BerserkButton: During the fight on the Moon, the Kree observer Bel-Dann saves the Skrull observer Raksor from the X-Men, which just results in the Skrull attacking him. Admittedly, Kree and Skrull ''despise'' one another even on a good day.
39	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Even before her final FreakOut, Jean shows Emma Frost why it's not a good idea to make a mutant with cosmic powers mad at you. Mastermind learns a similar lesson, though by then Jean isn't so 'nice' anymore.
40	* BittersweetEnding: Jean sacrifices herself and a saddened Cyclops leaves the team as a result, but Storm becomes the new leader of the X-Men and Kitty officially joins the team after Jean's funeral.
41	* BrainwashedBride: Jean Grey is hypnotized by Jason Wyngarde (aka Mastermind) into believing that she is actually living back in the age of sail and that he rescued her. Mastermind may be good at mind control, but he wants to manipulate Jean's wider range of powers for his own gain. Part of that is tricking her into marrying him (while she's still in the world of hundreds of years ago and thinks that he's a romantic hero).
42	* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: The Prydes are initially furious at the thought of Kitty going to the Xavier Institute after the Hellfire Club's attack. Then Phoenix gives them a "little nudge" and they become a ''lot'' more agreeable. It serves as a sign of Jean's encroaching corruption.
43	* BullyingADragon: The Imperial Guard fight the X-Men in a trial by combat, leaving Jean the last X-Man standing. When Cyclops is knocked out before her eyes, she snaps and becomes Dark Phoenix again, taking them all out in the space of seconds.
44	* TheBusCameBack: Beast and Angel, who had been serving on other teams (Comicbook/TheAvengers and the Comicbook/{{Champions\|1975}}, respectively), returned for the latter half of the story.
45	* CallBack:
46	** Jean exclaiming that she is fire and life incarnate upon transforming into Dark Phoenix is the same quote she gave upon first transforming into the Phoenix.
47	** For the final fight on the Moon, Jean dons her old Marvel Girl outfit, symbolizing her rejection of everything relating to the Phoenix.
48	* TheCameo: [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Mr. Fantastic, the Thing]], ComicBook/SpiderMan, ComicBook/DoctorStrange and ComicBook/SilverSurfer pop up in ''Uncanny'' #135 as the Dark Phoenix awakens.
49	* CeilingCling: In issue #133, Wolverine clings to the underbasement's ceiling when facing the Hellfire Club.
50	* ChessMotifs: Hellfire ranks its members like this, with White Queen Emma Frost replaced by Black Queen Jean Grey after the former's [[FakingTheDead apparent demise.]] Sebastian Shaw is the Black King, but the other members' ranks aren't revealed until later.
51	* CliffhangerCopout:
52	-->'''Nightcrawler''' (in the last panel of #133): Cyclops is dead!
53	-->'''Nightcrawler''' (in the first panel of #134): Cyclops is alive!
54	* ComicBookFantasyCasting: John Byrne based the original designs for all the Hellfire Club characters on famous actors (most of whom they're partly named after), and Kitty Pryde on an adolescent Creator/SigourneyWeaver.
55	* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover of #136 shows [[PietaPlagiarism a crying Cyclops cradling Dark Phoenix's lifeless body in his arms while Jean's parents and the rest of the X-Men are shown mourning]]. Jean's death wouldn't occur until the following issue.
56	* CurbStompBattle:
57	** Phoenix's psychic duel against Emma Frost. Emma's able to hold out for a while, but it's quickly made clear that she has no chance of winning against Phoenix, who was only testing her to learn her strengths and weaknesses - it's over almost immediately once she ''really'' begins to attack.
58	** The Hellfire Club's ambush of the X-Men, and in turn, the X-Men's retaliatory strike against Hellfire. Of particular note is the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Wolverine delivers to the ''entire Hellfire Club'' after having been smashed through several stories and into the sewers.
59	** Dark Phoenix's first fight against the X-Men ends with her effortlessly countering all of their attacks and laying waste to all of them.
60	** The X-Men's beatdown at the hands of the Imperial Guard. They were badly outnumbered, but when Colossus finally falls in a one-on-one fight with Gladiator, it becomes clear to Professor X that they have no hope of victory.
61	** A few pages later, the Imperial Guard itself at the hands of Dark Phoenix. It happens so quickly that it's not shown on the page and we only see their unconscious bodies.
62	* DecadentCourt: The Hellfire Club's Inner Circle was based on a RealLife 18th century secret club for decadent rich people.
63	* DeathIsCheap: Originally meant to be explicitly averted by all involved -- Jean Grey was to stay dead. Madelyne Pryor was intended to be just what she presented herself as -- a normal human who just happened to have an uncanny resemblance to Jean. Unfortunately, it was decided about six years later that the original five X-Men should have their own book, and there had to be a way to bring Jean back. This led to the continuity trainwreck that was ''ComicBook/Inferno1988'', and opened the door for the "Jean Grey Memorial Revolving Pearly Gates" jokes.
64	* DidntThinkThisThrough:
65	** Leland has the ability to manipulate gravity. In his rematch with Wolverine, he uses it again on instinct as Wolverine is lunging towards him from above.
66	** The fight with the Shi'ar takes place in the Blue Area of the Moon, a city built by the ancient Kree millions of years ago, so the X-Men can breath, but the gravity's still much lower. Angel takes off for a test flight and nearly kills himself.
67	* DirtyMindReading: One of the early signs of Jean's corruption occurs when she reads the repulsive thoughts of the attendees at Dazzler's concert…and finds that part of herself finds these thoughts attractive. Though it's a fairly subtle one, since bits like this are one of the [[SignatureStyle recurring elements]] in Claremont's writing.
68	* DressedLikeADominatrix: Jean's Black Queen outfit, which is her in a corset, underwear, gloves and a spiked collar, while carrying a whip (which goes unused for whipping, but she does slap Storm in the face with it)
69	* DyingAsYourself: Jean chooses to commit suicide rather than become Dark Phoenix again.
70	* EvilCostumeSwitch: Jean Grey's Black Queen and Dark Phoenix outfits are worn while she is acting against the X-Men. The former manifests while she is under Mastermind's control, while the latter is formed after she has succumbed to the Phoenix's influence.
71	* FaceFramedInShadow: Mastermind finds himself face to face with a very angry and now cosmically powered Jean Grey, her face entirely blacked out, except for her eyes, which are glowing.
72	* FaceHeelTurn: One of the most famous in comics history. Jean Grey, one of the founding members of the heroic X-Men, loses her sanity due to Mastermind's machinations and becomes the murderous Dark Phoenix.
73	* FadSuper: [[TropeCodifier Dazzler]] is introduced in this arc, in all her disco-riffic glory.
74	* {{Fanservice}}:
75	** Emma has Storm, Wolverine and Colossus stripped to their underwear to confiscate anything they could have used to escape their prison. Many panels are dedicated to showcasing the three heroes' well-toned bodies.
76	** Jean briefly winds up naked in issue #136 after her clothes are destroyed during Professor Xavier's battle with the Dark Phoenix.
77	* FastballSpecial: Reversed from the norm -- in the lighter gravity of the Moon, ''Wolverine'' does this with ''Colossus''.
78	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Senator Robert Kelly makes his first appearance in this arc as a Club guest who witnesses the X-Men's escape from the Hellfire Club, which cements his fear of mutants. Sebastian Shaw gets him to fund a new Sentinels program, setting up both the ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'' storyline several issues later and [[spoiler: the creation of Nimrod]].
79	* ForTheEvulz: Dark Phoenix attacks the X-Men as they're fleeing the mess of the Hellfire Club for no reason other than she just ''wants'' to.
80	* GoneHorriblyRight: Mastermind wanted Jean to embrace her dark impulses. He succeeds, but fails to assert control over her mind and is driven insane when she turns against him and overwhelms his subconscious.
81	* HeroicSacrifice: The story reaches its climax with Jean committing suicide to prevent the Dark Phoenix from emerging again.
82	* HeroWithBadPublicity: Mastermind's powers and the general respectability of the Hellfire Club make the X-Men look like menaces during their battle there.
83	* HopeSpot: Charles Xavier uses his powers to [[RestrainingBolt seal the Phoenix away inside Jean's mind]], and Scott proposes marriage to her. They share a relieved kiss...and then get beamed onto a Shi'Ar Imperial cruiser, where they find out Jean is to be executed for the actions she committed as the Dark Phoenix.
84	* {{Homage}}: The LogoJoke seen in the page image was based on the [[http://clzimages.com/comic/large/b6/b6_94511_0_UncannyXMen56WhatIsThePower.jpg cover to the first issue of the Roy Thomas / Neal Adams run]].
85	* HowDoIShootWeb: Kitty Pryde's powers are just emerging when she first appears, and she's no idea how they work. The first time she tries using them, it leaves her exhausted -- although that quickly fades as she uses them more and more.
86	* IHaveNoSon: John Grey does not take his daughter's raging god complex very well, angrily (and hammily) denouncing her.
87	* InterruptedCooldownHug: Near the climax, Scott is talking Dark Phoenix down, trying to appeal to Jean's better nature with ThePowerOfLove, with her face getting noticeably less inhuman and softer...until Professor Xavier mind-blasts her from behind, and she returns to full-fledged psychosis.
88	* JerkassBall: The Professor puts the X-Men through harsh training and treats them like children, even though by this point they have proven to be a formidable team. Scott tries pointing out to the Professor that what he's doing just won't work, but Xavier retorts that this is Scott's ''fault'', and he'll need to "correct" it. Later issues explore this behaviour when Charles admits that he's fully aware the X-Men have grown without him, and Scott's become the leader he's always wanted him to be, but this left the older man unsure of where his place in the team is, and his lashing out is just an expression of his frustration and uncertainty.
89	* LightEmUp: This story arc introduces Dazzler, a mutant with the power to convert sound waves into luminous energy. Though she mainly uses her power to create special effects for her concerts, she can also generate intense bursts of light to either blind her enemies or overwhelm their senses, plunging them into a coma.
90	* LightIsNotGood: The Phoenix Force is the embodiment of life, light, and fire, but also a rampaging, chaotic force with the potential to destroy entire planets if its power gets out of control.
91	* LogoJoke: As seen in the page image: the cover of issue #135 memorably features the Dark Phoenix [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou grabbing the X-Men logo and crushing it in her hands]]. More subtly: in the cover of the very next issue, the letters in the logo [[ContinuityNod are still cracked and broken]].
92	* MaleGaze: The panel in which Phoenix shows up to confront Emma Frost prominently displays the former's buttocks. In conjunction with the following panel, which depicts the protagonist's wicked expression, this highlights how Jean is no longer the reserved and modest superheroine she used to be.
93	%%* ManipulativeBastard: Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, and ''especially'' Mastermind.
94	* MassOhCrap: The X-Men stare horrified when Jean Grey becomes Dark Phoenix for the first time.
95	* MindlinkMates: This is the story that establishes Cyclops and Jean Grey's psychic rapport.
96	* MoodSwinger: Another problem with Dark Phoenix is she can go from calm to psychotically violent on a dime. Even Jean's family nearly get fried when she makes a brief return home.
97	* MoreThanMindControl: On her way down the slippery slope, Jean furiously tells Mastermind that he made her trust and perhaps even ''love'' him, even though he was just trying to take control of her.
98	* MindRape:
99	** After Storm succeeds in calling the other X-Men for help, the White Queen uses her telepathic powers to torture the heroine into submission.
100	** Jean punishes Mastermind by granting him omniscience [[GoMadFromTheRevelation to drive him insane.]]
101	* MundaneUtility: Phoenix uses her [[RealityWarper Reality-Warping powers]] for simple things like changing her costume into civvies or creating a picnic spread. Briefly, Cyclops wonders why this bothers him. "Why '''shouldn't''' Jean use her powers to make her life easier?"
102	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Jean is restored to herself for the final chapter, she's consumed with guilt at the atrocities Dark Phoenix has committed. Scott comes to realize her HeroicSacrifice[=/=][[HeroicSuicide Suicide]] was done out of her unable to live with the fact that as the Phoenix she was responsible for genocide on a galactic scale, killing billions of sentient aliens when she feasted on its sun.
103	* MythArc: Part of what makes this story so remarkable. It was the climax of a massive MythArc that Claremont had been building up to since issue #97 in 1975, when Professor X got his first look at the Shi'ar. Over the course of 41 issues (almost ''five years''), Jean Grey died, was resurrected, took on an alien empire, saved the galaxy from imploding, turned to the dark side, took on an alien empire (again), and [[KilledOffForReal died]].
104	* NaiveNewcomer: This storyline introduces [[IntangibleMan Intangible Girl]] Kitty Pryde this way, and ''still'' lets her help save the day.
105	* NarratingTheObvious: The narrator frequently and meticulously describes the characters' actions, regardless of how obvious they may be to the reader. For example, one panel shows Dark Phoenix laughing maniacally while extending her arms upwards to conjure a lightning bolt, and is accompanied by the narrator explaining that "she reaches for the sky, summoning lightning, laughing as the awesome bolts of energy caress her body like a lover".
106	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: After Wolverine's sent plummeting through the floors of the Hellfire Club, they send a few henchmen to find him. As they're exploring, one guard remarks that he must certainly have drowned. Then he notices the drips falling off the ceiling...
107	* NowItsMyTurn: Wolverine says this after everyone's gotten their asses kicked by the Hellfire Club, and he's been launched straight into their basement sewer.
108	-->'''Wolverine''': [[http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/uncanny-x-men-132-pic1-wolverine.jpg Okay, suckers -- you've taken yer best shot!]] ''Now it's my turn!''
109	* OhCrap: The Dark Phoenix's awakening triggers a ''lot'' of warnings within the other heroes of the Marvel Universe - Reed Richards' devices detect her appearance and notes it can rival ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, it sets off Spider-Man's SpiderSense, frightens Dr. Strange and forces the Silver Surfer to try to race to the Phoenix's aid, hoping that he can curb her power.
110	* ParentsAsPeople: When Jean/Phoenix makes a visit to her parents' house, she is able to sense that while they do love her completely, they also are afraid of her and her destructive powers.
111	* PlatonicKissing: Played with. Jean greets her former teammate Angel with a friendly kiss on the lips, though by this point Mastermind's influence has corrupted her mind to the point she feels the urge to prolong the kiss, making him feel uncomfortable.
112	--> '''Jean:''' You're looking good, blondie.\
113	'''Angel:''' We keep this up, Jean, and we are liable to make Scott jealous.
114	* PowerIncontinence: By the time she's Dark Phoenix, Jean's psychic powers are so strong she can't turn them off at all, and is therefore picking up the deepest thoughts of everyone around her.
115	* PowerLimiter: The X-Men ''try'' to make one of these to contain Jean. It doesn't work; even when it's on and working, it just slows her down from "RealityWarper" to "PhysicalGod". And then it ''melts''.
116	* PutOnABus: Banshee elects to stay in Scotland when the team returns home at the beginning of the story, due to injuries he received several issues prior from [[HeroicRROD overexerting his mutant scream]], leaving him [[BroughtDownToNormal powerless]].
117	* RestrainingBolt: Xavier creates a series of mental "circuit breakers" to permanently suppress the power of Phoenix, returning Jean to her "Marvel Girl" stats. But when she sees Cyclops wounded in battle, the Bolt breaks.
118	* {{Retcon}}: Happens mid-story, no less. Since ''X-Men'' issue #101, the characters and narration have been very explicit about how Phoenix is Jean, just using the fullest extent of her powers. At the eleventh hour, in issue #136, everyone starts treating ''the'' Phoenix and Jean as separate beings who have wound up sharing a body. And so the ContinuitySnarl begins...
119	* TheReveal: Throughout the preceding Proteus storyline, Jean had been suffering flashes where she thought she was living in the 18th century, which was put down to Proteus's reality warping powers... except Proteus is killed, and the flashes keep coming. As it turns out, it's because of Jason Wynguarde messing with her mind.
120	* RiggedSpectacleFight: Professor X and Lilandra agree to settle Jean Grey's fate through a formal duel between their respective teams, which they watch aboard the Empire's space ship. As the battle progresses, it becomes clear that it was blatantly rigged against the X-Men:
121	** Cyclops points out at the beginning of the duel that they have no idea what their opponents are capable of. However, the aliens outright state that they know exactly what the heroes' powers are and how to counter them.
122	** The chosen arena is the Blue Area of the Moon, whose low gravity and lack of atmosphere severely disrupt Angel and Storm's powers, respectively.
123	** One of the Imperial Guards is revealed to actually be two separate aliens who can combine and disassemble at will, thus turning the 8v8 match into a 9v8.
124	** The Imperial Guard's knowledge of the battlefield enables them to trick a Watcher into assisting them, as the enraged entity psychically assaults Wolverine when the latter is hurled into its home.
125	** The two "impartial observers" who are sent to supervise the duel turn out to be fully supportive of Lilandra's cause and attack Wolverine. The galactic powers who sent them gave their support to Lilandra of the duel only if it was not permitted for the X-Men to win.
126	* RunningGag: Even in the midst of the heavy stuff, the gag of various vehicles being trashed when the X-Men go near them still happens, a fact Nightcrawler even calls out as it happens.
127	* SayMyName: As Jean dies, she and Scott call each other's names.
128	* ScrewYourUltimatum: In the fight on the Moon, some of the team meet Warstar, who offers them a choice between honorable surrender or honorable ''death''. Wolverine speaks for the team when he tells them to stuff their offer.
129	* SeriesContinuityError: In the final issue, when performing their reverse FastballSpecial mentioned above, Wolverine basically tells Colossus to kill Phoenix, which Colossus thinks is "something I have '''never''' done." This despite the climax of the arc immediately preceding this one having Piotr being forced to be the one to put down Moira [=MacTaggert=]'s son Proteus[[note]]Though Proteus later turned out to have survived, neither Moira nor any of the X-Men had any reason to believe otherwise at the time[[/note]].
130	* SexyDiscretionShot: Phoenix and Scott get hot and heavy atop a mesa just as the scene cuts away to the other X-Men.
131	* TheShadowKnows: After escaping from the nightclub in a stolen car, the X-Men drive past Jason Wyngarde, who casts a shadow on the wall that was not his own. Cyclops half-noticed it, but had too many things on his mind to pay it much heed.
132	* ShoutOut:
133	** A lot of the Hellfire Club is a reference to the ''Avengers'' (the 60s British TV series) episode "Touch of Brimstone". Jean's outfit as the Black Queen is a direct transplant of Emma Peel's 'Queen of Sin' outfit from that episode, while Emma Frost is drawn by John Byrne after Creator/DianaRigg.
134	** Gladiator has always been a CaptainErsatz of Superboy, just as the rest of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard have been of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the fact's given a not-even-remotely subtle nod when the narration calls him "a man of steel".
135	* StakingTheLovedOne: The cold choice; kill Dark Phoenix before she kills everyone else. Wolverine tries early on, but can't bring himself to do it, and during the showdown on the Moon admits he still can't. None of the other X-Men can either, but Jean solves the problem herself.
136	* StartOfDarkness: To stop a carload of Hellfire Club goons from running down Kitty Pryde, Phoenix erects a psychic brick wall in front of it, killing or at least badly hurting the occupants. When Cyclops goes WhatTheHellHero, she basically slaps him down.
137	-->'''Phoenix:''' You didn't sense the girl's terror, nor the thoughts of the men chasing her. These... ''animals'' got no more than they deserved!\
138	'''Cyclops:''' Wow. I thought I'd seen Jean in every conceivable mood, but this is ''new''.
139	* {{Stripperiffic}}: One of the more subtle displays of Jean's growing corruption is her tendency to wear progressively more revealing clothes as the story goes on. By the time she adopts the Black Queen persona, her outfit is reduced to what can only be described as rather elaborate lingerie.
140	* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham:
141	** Subtly lampshaded, as Marvel heroes from all over the universe pick up on Dark Phoenix's manifestation, but the whole story happens too quickly for anyone to respond to it.
142	** Beast was an [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avenger]] at the time and happened to be on monitor duty when the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops [=NYPD=]]] alert about the X-Men fighting at the Hellfire Club came through. Instead of alerting his current teammates, he took a Quinjet out by himself to come to his former team's aid.
143	* SuperPoweredEvilSide: The original intent of this story was that Dark Phoenix was Jean Grey, corrupted by her power and Wyngarde's machinations. The Phoenix was [[RetCon retconned]] as a CosmicBeing of its own who had replaced Jean (and forgot about it) so the real Jean could turn up alive later.
144	* TakeAThirdOption: Tragically averted at the conclusion of the story.
145	-->'''Professor X:''' Cyclops, attack Phoenix now, while she is still relatively weak!\
146	'''Cyclops:''' Professor, there has to be some other way! Please!\
147	'''Professor X:''' If there was, lad, don't you think I'd be using it?
148	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: When the Dark Phoenix suddenly reemerges at the climax of the saga, Empress Lilandra desperately invokes Plan Omega: destroy the entire solar system and pray they can kill Dark Phoenix in the process. At that point, Xavier has no choice but to order his X-Men to kill Jean themselves to preempt this measure.
149	* TookALevelInBadass: Mastermind, previously a guy who could merely scare his opponents with fake monsters, almost destroys the X-Men all by himself. His powers are now boosted by a device made by Emma Frost, allowing him to project his illusions directly into Jean's mind and corrupt her over a period of months.
150	* UnstablePoweredWoman: Jean unlocks massive superpowers in this arc, and quickly gets corrupted into the insane Dark Phoenix.
151	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: All the members of the Hellfire Club are a band of evil mutants (and one cyborg) who "pass" as influential, wealthy humans.
152	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: During the X-Men's battle against the Imperial Guard, Wolverine indirectly instigates a battle between a Skrull named Raksor and a Kree warrior named Bel-Dann. In the original ending, the narrator would say they killed themselves off-panel, but in the released issue, their fate is unaddressed. The 1984 ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' annual would later pick up their story where it left off.
153	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Jean's Dark Phoenix persona is a result of her becoming consumed by her limitless powers. She tearfully admits that, although she is aware that she committed countless atrocities while under her SuperPoweredEvilSide's influence, a part of her enjoyed it.
154	--> '''Xavier:''' The simple explanation Warren, is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Phoenix is the ultimate expression of Jean's potential as a PSI.
155	----
156	->''"[[WebAnimation/MarvelTLDR TL;DR]]: Hell hath no fury like a woman possessed by the fire bird of ultimate destruction."''

Context ComicBook / TheDarkPhoenixSaga