Marvel Plans to Revisit X-Men's "Dark Phoenix Saga"

Marvel is returning to the most iconic X-Men story of all time.Marvel has been releasing a series [...]

Marvel is returning to the most iconic X-Men story of all time.

Marvel has been releasing a series of images teasing "the destruction of the Marvel Universe." The latest teaser in that series poses the question, "Who saved Jean Grey from Dark Phoenix?"

Take a look below:

Dark Phoenix

That may seem a strange question to ask to Marvel and X-Men fans since, based on the original storyline, no one saved Jean Grey. As originally conceived of by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Jean became possessed by a cosmic force that drove her mad and murderous with power. While fighting for her own life on the moon, Jean had the realization that she couldn't control the Phoenix's power and killed herself before she could hurt anyone else.

As retconned by Marvel years later, the Phoenix Force did not possess Jean Grey. Rather it impersonated her. It was the Phoenix Force who went mad and committed the sins of the Dark Phoenix and then later destroyed itself on the moon.

Jean was hidden safely away in a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay, where the X-Men had crash-landed when the Phoenix first revealed itself. She was later found and revived and joined the other original X-Men as the original X-Factor team before they all eventually rejoined the X-Men.

No matter which version of the story you look at, it is hard to consider Jean to have been "saved" by anyone, but perhaps the teaser suggests there's more to this story than Marvel fans know.

This is the fourth such teaser about the "destruction of the Marvel Universe" that Marvel has released. Previous teasers asked "Who gave the Fantastic Four their powers?, "Who brought the amazing Spider-Man back after 'Spider-Man No More'?", and "Who found Captain America on ice before the Avengers?" The "who" in each teaser is written with the same font, so perhaps that is a hint that the same person or entity is responsible for each of these events.

"The Dark Phoenix Saga" has proven to be such a touchstone for the X-Men mythology that it has been adapted into two different movies. It was a major plot thread in X-Men: The Last Stand and will be revisited more thoroughly in the upcoming Dark Phoenix, releasing in June 2019.

What do you think of Marvel revisiting "The Dark Phoenix Saga"? Who do you think saved Jean Grey from Dark Phoenix? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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