The Dark Phoenix Saga is arguably the most recognised and referenced stories in the X-Men catalogue. It has served as the inspiration for much of the original X-Men animated series, as well as the X-Men live action movies. The Dark Phoenix saga is featured in X-Men Vol. 1 #129-138 during 1980, and now collected in trade paper back X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga.

When talking about the Dark Phoenix Saga, it's important to know that originally the Phoenix actually was Jean Grey, at the height of her powers, and was not simply a cosmic entity linked to her, as is the case since the character was retconned by Marvel in later issues.

In an earlier arc, Jean Grey was exposed to radiation from a solar flare, which unlocked her powers so she achieved all her telepathic and telekinetic potential. She turned into a 'being of pure thought', and upon reforming herself once she returned to Earth, took on a new costume, identity and wielded the power of the "Phoenix". After repairing the damaged M'Kraan Crystal, she saw the danger her powers posed on voluntarily kept them under control. These events led into the Dark Phoenix saga...

Recognising her immense power, Jean Grey became the target of Mastermind, as he attempted to gain the favour of the Hellfire Club. With the help of the White Queen, an evil Emma Frost, Mastermind (aka. Jason Wyngarde) projected his illusions directly into Jean Grey's mind, making her believe that she was actually living in period times as Lady Grey, Wyngarde's lover. Through Mastermind's manipulations, Jean Grey joined the Hellfire Club as the Black Queen, a role that lead to the breaking of the barriers she had created to keep the Phoenix under control.

When the X-Men came to her rescue, her love for Cyclops broke the psychic hold Mastermind had over her. At the same time though, the last of the psychic barriers keeping the Phoenix in check was also broken. Jean Grey's mind and body was taken over, and she called herself the "Dark Phoenix".

After a brief battle in which the Dark Phoenix hand the X-Men their asses on a silver platter, Dark Phoenix grew hungry, created a wormhole, and disappeared, transporting herself to another galaxy, devouring the power of a star, which in turn went nova, causing the deals of billions of innocent aliens in the process. A passing Shi'ar space craft spotted the carnage, and attacked the Dark Phoenix, in an effort to stop any further destruction. Before they were destroyed, the Shi'ar were able to transmit a message to their Empress Lilandra, warning her of the threat. Lilandra gathered a posse of intergalactic butt kickers, including the Kree and Skrull empires, who all came to the same conclusion. The Dark Phoenix was bad news, a bigger threat than Galactus, and needed to be stopped immediately.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the X-Men and Beast (who was a member of the Avengers at the time), devised a plan that would nullify the powers of the Dark Phoenix long enough for them to defeat her. Lucky for them, because before they could say 'Magneto's hairy nipple', the Dark Phoenix had returned to earth. Their plan worked and Professor X was able to rebuild some psychic circuit breakers, in order to keep the Dark Phoenix's powers at a more manageable level.

Bad luck comes in threes, so the Shi'ar arrive, abducting the X-Men, informing them that the Dark Phoenix had killed billions and had been sentenced to death. Professor X, who was tapping Lilandra at the time, challenged the Shi'ar to a duel of honour. If the Shi'ar won, the Dark Phoenix would be killed, if the X-Men won, she would be granted mercy.

The battle took place on the Blue Area of the moon, and the Shi'ar quickly took the upper hand. With Cyclops and Phoenix the only X-Men remaining, Jean Grey went into a state of panic/shock when Cyclops was felled by an energy bolt. The shock caused the Professor X circuit breakers to disappear, and the Dark Phoenix was free once again. With the poo hitting the rotating device, Lilandra hit the panic button, ordering "Plan Omega", which basically involved destroying the solar system, in the hope that the Dark Phoenix would also be destroyed in the process.

With the X-Men now fighting the Dark Phoenix in order to prevent the destruction of the solar system. Temporarily taking control, Jean Grey, said her emotional good-bye to Cyclops before turning a Kree weapon on herself, ending in her disintegration.

The Dark Phoenix story ends with Uatu the Watcher, a character I've never really liked nor understood, waxing lyrical, “Jean Grey could have lived to become a god, but it was more important to her that she died as a human.”

When you read the Dark Phoenix saga, you can get an understanding of why Marvel decided to retcon the Phoenix. In creating the Phoenix as a separate entity, Marvel, allowed Jean Grey to resurface, without the baggage that comes with killing billions of innocent beings. Jean didn't do it, it was the Dark Phoenix. Still, I think that baggage may have made her character more interesting.

The Dark Phoenix saga is also memorable as it is features the first appearance of Kitty Pride, Shadowcat, and lesser known character, Dazzler.

Picking up the Dark Phoenix saga trade paper back, the first thing I noticed was the art. Yes, it's dated, but it gives it a classic feel, and the story itself, is definitely a classic. The other thing I noticed was that the characters, particularly Wolverine, are fallible. In the last decade or so, Wolverine has become almost unstoppable. I couldn't help but think had the Wolverine featured in the Dark Phoenix saga, been written in the same way as he is today, he would have kicked the Dark Phoenix's butt before lunch time, and then had the Shi'ar for a snack. Personally, I think he's a more interesting character when he has something to lose, and is capable of failing.

The Dark Phoenix saga is core reading for any X-Men fan. If X-Men were a college/university subject, the Dark Phoenix saga would be the first book listed on the syllabus. Overall, I'd give this a solid 8 out of 10, I'm deducting a point or two because I don't really like it when the X-Men get sci-fi and go into space.