The Dark Phoenix Saga

"The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men storyline in the fictional Marvel Comics Universe, focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. It was written by Chris Claremont with art by Dave Cockrum and John Byrne.

It is sometimes divided into two parts, with the "Phoenix Saga" (The X-Men #101-108, 1976–1977) referring to Grey's seeming assumption of the Phoenix power and the repair of the M'Kraan Crystal, and the "Dark Phoenix Saga" (The X-Men #129-138, 1980) referring to her corruption and fall. It is one of the most well-known and heavily referenced stories in mainstream American superhero comics, and widely considered a classic.

It was adapted for the X-Men animated series, and alluded to in the movie X2: X-Men United. A third movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, released in 2006, contains some elements from the saga. Wolverine and the X-Men adapted the "Dark Phoenix Saga" at the end of its first season, though it changed many elements of the story.

Plot summary

Returning from a mission in space, Jean Grey is exposed to the deadly radiation of a solar flare, and briefly attains her ultimate potential as a telepath and telekinetic. Jean becomes a being of pure thought, and then reforms herself upon return to Earth with the new costume, identity and power of "Phoenix". It is with this incredible power that Jean repairs the fractured M'Kraan Crystal, but voluntarily restrains her powers afterward in order to keep them under control.

List of X-Men (TV series) episodes

The first X-Men animated series debuted on October 31, 1992 on the Fox Network as part of the "Fox Kids" Saturday morning lineup. The plot was loosely adapted from famous storylines and events in the X-Men comics, such as the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, the Phalanx Covenant, and the Legacy Virus. The show features a team line-up similar to that of the early 1990s X-Men comic books: the lineup largely resembles that of Cyclops' Blue Team, established in the early issues of the second X-Men comic series.

The series' first 13 episodes were notable for being possibly the first time ever that an American animated series had a full season of episodes flow one into the next, creating a single continuing narrative, something the series producers fought heavily for. However, starting with season three, most episodes (except for multi-part stories) were shown in random order.

Each episode was assigned two different numbers internally. One is for Script Order, which indicates the number assigned by the production company. The other is for Production Order, which are the official episode numbers assigned by Fox Children's Network, indicating the order in which they received the episodes. These both vary from the order in which the series actually aired after season three. According to series writer Steven Melching, the Script Order is the "best guide in terms of overall series continuity, as this is how the stories were originally envisioned to flow together."