The Phoenix Saga (not to be confused with its sequel, The Dark Phoenix Saga) was a X-Men storyline running through the pages of (Uncanny) X-Men #97-108 through 1976 to 1977. It was written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum.
After the adventure concerning the living island Krakoa in which the new X-Men team of Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird, Colossus, Banshee, and Sunfire is formed, the X-Men have little time to breathe — most of the original members except for Cyclops leave, Sunfire quits in a huff and Thunderbird dies when dealing with Count Neferia. However, things get weird when Xavier starts getting strange visions of a mysterious suited figure and a mysterious man wearing the "Erik the Red" costume Cyclops once used to fool Magneto takes control of Havok and Polaris. This would be the start of a series of adventures that would flip the X-Men around, including that of one Jean Grey.
This story would introduce numerous additions to the X-Men mythos, expanding it into outer space including the Shi'ar Empire, the Starjammers and the Phoenix. As well, this storyline would introduce numerous revelations, including Wolverine's real name and the identity of Cyclops' father.
Tropes used in this storyline:
- Action Dress Rip: Jean tries to do this to the evening gown she was captured in in issue #98 while she, Banshee, and Wolverine are trying to escape Steven Lang's Project Armageddon headquarters. Wolverine ends up doing it for her, though it's shorter than she'd like.
- Alien Princess: Lilandra, younger sister to D'Ken, the ruler of the Shi'ar Empire.
- Aliens Speaking English: The Starjammers... mostly. Raza speaks in mangled faux-Elizabethan english not unlike Thor and Hepizbah speaks in fragmented English. Ch'od, who looks almost exactly like the Abomination, speaks fluent English.Ch'od: Doesn't everyone?
- Amazon Chaser: It might not be a coincidence that Wolverine's interest in Jean Grey starts the issue after she gives him a blistering chewing out.
- Another Story for Another Time: Magneto's battle with the X-Men at the Muir Isle facility causes a containment cell titled "Mutant X" to be breached. A caption notes this trope (the "Another Time" will be in Uncanny X-Men #125-128).
- Arc Villain: Steven Lang and his Project Armageddon Sentinel program has nothing to do with the Shi'ar plot and is only there to get the X-Men into space in order for Jean to perform her Heroic Sacrifice and subsequent transformation into Phoenix.
- Behind the Black: In issue #100, Wolverine's being zapped by "Marvel Girl" and "Professor X" when he senses something amiss. He lunges, and back in his lair Steven Lang's cameras catch an appalled Banshee asking what he's done. Cue the Robotic Reveal... which, if Sean's been looking in Wolverine's direction, he should really have seen.
- Big Bad: The Mad Emperor D'Ken, who seeks to gain control of the powerful M'Kraan Crystal.
- Big Damn Heroes: In a fight between the X-Men and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, the guard's sheer number threatens to overwhelm the heroes, until the Starjammers turn up.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Early in the story, Havok and Polaris are put into this situation by Erik the Red. Havok nearly breaks out, but Storm blasting Polaris pulls him back in.
- Call-Back: Xavier's mental bond with Lilandra was formed when he mentally used the collective will of humanity to drive the Z'Nox away from Earth in the second-to-last issue of the comic's original run before its cancellation.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Steven Lang, the head of Project Armageddon, is seemingly killed near the end of issue #100, but would eventually resurface in the 90's as a major character during the Phalanx Covenant event.
- Cliffhanger Copout: Issue #100 ends with Jean piloting a space shuttle through a deadly cosmic radiation storm which we have been told several times now will kill her, just as the radiation's breaking through. The cover of issue #101 shows she's just fine and dandy. Better than fine, actually.
- Colony Drop: During the fight with Jahf, Jean grabs a passing comet and drops it on him. When the smoke clears, it hasn't done a thing.
- Covers Always Lie: Issue #100 promises a showdown between the All-New X-Men and the Original X-Men. This is a filthy stinking lie in every respect. But it does make for a pretty sweet cover image.
- Creator Cameo:
- Issue #98 sees a pair of gentlemen walking in on Scott and Jean making out with each other:
- Issue #105 has Chris and Dave showing up as two people discussing the very story going on in the comic when Firelord hits the ground due to Phoenix's attack.Chris: Anyway, Dave, he hits the ground with this incredible...[gets distracted by Firelord crashing into the Washington Square Arch] ...sound effect...[next panel consists of a giant explosion with a "FOOM" sound effect]
- Damsel in Distress: Princess Lilandra, seeing as she is being chased by D'Ken and her (currently former) subjects and she's trying to get to Earth for help. Storm and Jean also get moments like this.
- A Darker Me: This story features the first time — but not the last — that Professor Xavier's dark side takes on a life of its own and attacks the X-Men, after Xavier's negative feelings form a split personality due to the strain of dealing with his dreams about Lilandra.
- Disney Villain Death: Black Tom's fight with his cousin ends with him taking a tumble over the wall of Cassidy Keep in the water below, filled with lots of obligatory sharp rocks, aided by the storm Storm's been casting. A distraught Juggernaut leaps after him. Of course, they turn up again eventually.
- The Dragon: Erik the Red, who's doing all in his power to kill Xavier so he doesn't help Lilandra.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Logan's powers and backstory haven't been nailed down yet. So when the X-Men need someone to fly through a deadly radiation storm, Wolverine's a no-go, where most later stories would have him front and center, thanks to his healing factor making chances of horrible death less likely for him.
- Entitled to Have You: Wolverine's initial approach to wooing Jean Grey is less seeing her as a person, but a thing to get. "And whatever the Wolverine wants, he gets." The fact Jean is already quite happily in a relationship with another man is just so much details to him.
- The Exile: Thanks to a bit of legal problems, Lilandra just can't return to the Shi'ar Empire just yet despite everyone agreeing everything she did was right.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Cyclops realizes that Xavier is the target once he starts to realize that all of their foes up to this point had been laying out traps to kill Xavier in some manner.
- Fainting: Jean's introduction as Phoenix is followed immediately by her fainting.
- Fastball Special: Wolverine and Colossus perform what will become their trademark tag-team maneuver for the first time in issue #100.
- Foreshadowing:
- During his Motive Rant in #100, Steven Lang mentions receiving the funding for Project Armageddon from a group called "The Council of the Chosen". This group would eventually be revealed to be the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle.
- Proteus is hinted at during Magneto's return using the name "Mutant X".
- Jean's fight with Firelord has her enjoying the fight just a bit too much, and wondering where it's all going to lead. This would turn out to be an entirely pertinent fear...
- Freak Out:
- Colossus has one on the space shuttle in issue #99, since his brother Mikhail (supposedly) died in a space shuttle explosion. In the process, he armors up, shredding his space suit.
- Ororo has a trauma induced one when Black Tom and Juggernaut trap the X-Men, rendering her largely helpless.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Jean all but accepts this in deciding to pilot the space shuttle the team is using. She points out that even Colossus and his armored hide would be ineffective against the radiation and this is the only way.
- He's Back!: This story brings back the Sentinels, Juggernaut and Magneto, the latter having been reduced to infancy in the pages of The Defenders.
- Hot-Blooded: Firelord's bad temper is exploited by Erik the Red, who has a brainwashed Havok and Polaris attack him, counting on Firelord not caring to check before attacking them, and then points him in Charles's direction.
- I Am the Noun: In an attempt to stop the X-Men and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard going for Round 2, Lilandra intervenes, declaring "I AM the Empire." Then Chancellor Araki steps in to point out that, between that whole "civil war" mess and technical legalities, she isn't.
- Internal Reveal: Jean finds out Corsair is Scott's dad via her telepathy. Scott himself won't find out for quite a long while yet.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Faced with a newly rejuvenated Magneto, who's been mopping the floor with the team, who are totally unprepared to fight him, Cyclops makes the only sensible decision - leg it.
- Meaningful Rename: In addition to Jean Grey's transformation from Marvel Girl to Phoenix from which the saga gets its name, it's during her time Brainwashed under Erik the Red that Lorna Dane adopts the "Polaris" codename she continues to use in the comics to this day.
- Megaton Punch: The X-Men and the Starjammers encounter Jahf, the first guardian of the M'Kraan Crystal and Wolverine decides to taunt the small runt. For his troubles, Wolverine is knocked off-planet by its punch.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: Jean snarks at Steven Lang that the only thing he's missing is his little Nazi armband. Seeing as his "Project Armageddon" is centered around eradicating mutants, she's not too far off.
- Nebulous Evil Organization: Steven Lang works for a mysterious group called The Council of the Chosen. This group is not referred to again after this storyline. However, Chris Claremont would retcon this group as being secretly the Hellfire Club, which was under a predominantly human authority at the time of “Project Armageddon” but would be taken over by its mutant members around the time the Sentinels kidnapping took place.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Magneto's entirely one-sided fight against the X-Men has him pulling out a few cheats, such as deflecting Storm's lightning bolts, or being able to use magnetism to predict where Nightcrawler will appear.
- No One Could Survive That!: Jean pilots a space shuttle through a solar flare in a damaged space shuttle. The ship crash lands, and only the X-Men and Doctor Corbeau in the rear compartment get out. Then Jean bursts out of the water, not only alive, but far stronger than ever.
- No, You: When Jahf first appears, Cyclops advises Wolverine to be careful. Wolverine shoots back "You be careful." Failing to notice Jahf is grinning and winding up for a punch...
- Oh, Crap!:
- When the Shi'ar ship chasing Lilandra nears Earth, things doesn't seem too amiss... until one of the crew points out that this insignificant blue ball has somehow pushed back the mighty Galactus four times, leading the captain to let out a Big "WHAT?!" and abandon the chase, fearing Earth might have more power than the Shi'ar empire.
- The Avengers and the Fantastic Four are warned of the M'Kraan Crystal, but are unable to do anything. Wasp chews out Black Panther when it seems all they're going to do is sit on their hands, though Yellowjacket points out that this is way too big and too far away for them to do anything.
- Old Guard Versus New Blood: In-Universe, Cyclops has a rougher time controlling the new X-Men. It takes their first encounter with Magneto to understand this.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Jahf, the first guardian of the M'Kraan Crystal, stands at a mere two feet tall, but is powerful enough to send Wolverine into orbit with a single punch and No-Sell a comet attack directed at him from Phoenix.
- Rage Breaking Point: Jean, toward the end of issue #100, finally gets fed up of Wolverine's everything and lets loose a rant about how she's tried to like him, awful and unpleasant man that he is, but now she's had enough, he's going to shut up and go away and damn well like it, or she's really going to lose her temper.
- Recycled Plot: Twice during this saga, the new X-Men find themselves going up against copies of the original team in order to prove their worth. The first time it's against robot duplicates wearing the newer costumes and Havok, Lorna Dane, and Cyclops are among the numbers, the second time it's mental hallucinations of only the original five members minus Cyclops and they're wearing the blue and yellow uniforms.
- The Reveal:
- Certain aspects of the X-Men would be revealed throughout the storyline - Nightcrawler's blending into the shadows ability; Storm's claustrophobia and her origin as well as her last name "Munroe"; Colossus' (supposedly) dead astronaut brother Mikhail; Wolverine's real name, his face underneath his mask, and the fact his claws are a part of his body; and the identity of Cyclops' father, the last of which Cyclops wouldn't learn of until later.
- Charles Xavier is plagued by recurring dreams of an alien. When they finally appears in front of him, they unmask to reveal... she's actually pretty good looking.
- Revenge Before Reason: A just-rejuvenated Magneto attacks the X-Men. He doesn't particularly care that they weren't responsible for his de-aging (that was Alpha), or that this new team is comprised entirely of people he's never met.
- Ridiculously Human Robot:
- Lang's X-Sentinels are, physically, a nigh-perfect recreation of the previous X-Men team, just mercilessly cruel and arrogant.
- For whatever reason, Lang's Sentinels are programmed to scream in fear and pain, much to Storm's upset.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: The Shi'ar gunship chasing Lilandra to Earth decides to make a strategic retreat upon learning that the Insignificant Blue Planet they're heading for has previously fended off Galactus on multiple occasions.
- Shout-Out: The design of the Shi'ar ship chasing Lilandra is a blatant homage to the Enterprise from Star Trek, right down to the crew (supposedly) having a Prime Directive.
- Split Personality: As noted under "A Darker Me", Xavier's nightmares about Lilandra's conflict with her brother ultimately lead to his repressed dark thoughts taking on a life of their own for the first — but not the last — time.
- Spotting the Thread:
- When the new X-Men are seemingly battling the old X-Men, Nightcrawler realizes Beast isn't hairy and should be with the Avengers. As well, he takes notice of the fact that Cyclops' visor being designed differently. It isn't until Wolverine's senses realizes "Marvel Girl" is all wrong and takes a swipe at her that they find out they're fighting robots.
- During the fight with Jahf, Banshee notes a few things he says and figures the little guy is a robot, then uses that to defeat him.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Before the Entity took over the Microverse and Onslaught, there was issue 106, where a split personality of Xavier's, made of every dark thought and feeling he's repressed, attacked the X-Men.
- Took a Level in Badass: When the story took place, Jean's transformation into the Phoenix was a massive power boost to Jean's powerset, shown to be able to battle Firelord in single combat with ease and fixes the M'Kraan Crystal with a little bit of help from Storm and Corsair's life force. Later retcons would establish that this was just the power of the Phoenix Force and not Jean herself.
- Villainous Friendship: Issues #101-103 establishes the good friendship between Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy that would last in the comics until the early 2000's.
- Villains Want Mercy: Despite having just tried to kill the X-Men, Steve Lang still begs them to save him when Jean sends him flying into his own computer banks.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: While D'Ken is mentioned to have been permanently driven mad by the power of the M'Kraan Crystal he sought to obtain, the fate of Shi'ar agent Davan Shakari AKA Erik the Red, who served as The Heavy throughout the saga, is left unaddressed.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Professor X tears into Cyclops for his refusal to aid the X-Men to instead be by Jean's side while she recovers. He's only stopped by a Freak Out.
- Wasp chews out the Avengers when they refuse to do anything when it seems the universe is just randomly blinking.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Issue #106 has Xavier flashback to early on in the saga, when the stress caused by his dreams caused the dark side of his persona break free from Charles' mental control and attack the new X-Men with hallucinations of the original team.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Storm's claustrophobia first comes into play here when the Juggernaut buries her in rubble. It isn't until a disguised Nightcrawler gets Juggernaut to bust a hole through where they're being captured that Storm's able to shake off her paralysis and free her teammates.
- The Worf Effect: Firelord is a former herald of Galactus imbued with the Power Cosmic like the Silver Surfer, and yet his appearance here is mostly to demonstrate how much more powerful Jean's become as Phoenix than she was as Marvel Girl.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: All over the place in issue #106. The All-New team are just facing projections created by Professor X's sleep-deprived mind, but that's still enough to hurt and kill them.
