|
|
List Price $19.95
Our Price $17.95
by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, & Terry Austin
Paperback: 185 pages
Marvel Books
It's the most famous X-Men story ever as Jean Grey sacrifices herself to save the universe and the X-Men are powerless to prevent the tragedy!
Written by Chris Claremont with art by John Byrne & Terry Austin, this 192-page trade collects the "Dark Phoenix" story from X-Men 129 - 137!
The Dark Phoenix Saga by Chris Claremont and John Byrne is widely held as one of the finest storylines in the Marvel Universe. While this trade paperback contains most of it, the story really ran for about 25 issues *before* the issues reprinted in the TPB.
It started as a subplot when the mutant X-Man, Jean Grey, was possessed by the Phoenix entity, a being of great power that slowly transformed her into one of the most powerful superbeings in the universe. The story contained in this book is the climactic end to the story. As Phoenix, Grey becomes more and more powerful to the point where she can no longer fully control the urges that her godlike abilities give her. A shadowy organization called the Hellfire Club seeks to control her and manipulate her power to their ends. Meanwhile, her fellow X-Men, including her love Scott Summers (a.k.a., Cyclops), seek to infiltrate the Hellfire Club. Ultimately they end up defending Phoenix after she has unleashed her powers in ways they never dreamed imaginable.
The Dark Phoenix Saga is a story of power, love, subterfuge and tragedy. Each of the X-Men has their moment to shine in this story. Of particular note is the sequence wherein Wolverine singlehandedly rescues the entire team, one of the best single-issue stories ever, in my opinion.
Claremont and Byrne were at the peak of their abilities in this story. Neither has shone as brightly before or since. While stories like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen are often said to be the best comic story ever created, the Dark Phoenix Saga must not be overlooked.
