Scan barcode
A review by desiree_mcl
The Uncanny X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga by Chris Claremont
4.0
4.25 stars.
This is a difficult bind up for me to rate for a few reasons.
First off, I can't stand the character of Jean Grey, in the 90's cartoon I couldn't stand her, in the movies (even though Famke Janssen is one of my favorite actresses), I still couldn't stand her. So the fact that this comic focuses on Jean made it difficult to look passed my view of the character here.
Second, I hit a huge no comic book mood right in the middle of reading this. Even though I only had 3-4 issues left and less than 100 pgs to go I just didn't want to finish it.
However, I was enjoying the story and I wanted to find out what happened, how everything happened, etc. So I pushed myself to finish it which may or may not have been a great idea. Normally when I push to finish a book it lowers the rating a bit.
Let's get into the detail stuff.
Jean Grey/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix: As I mentioned I don't like Jean, but I was actually enjoying her character especially in the first few issues. There were moments here and there when something would happen that would remind me of why I dislike Jean but for the most part I didn't hate her in this bind up. We saw her love of Scott and we saw bits of their relationship that really brought out parts of her personality that I liked. One of the main problems I have with Jean's character (in the cartoon and movies) is that it seems like everyone wants her and I have no idea why. Yes, she has powerful mutant abilities but her personality leaves me feeling very blah. In this collection though I can see why some of the characters want her so much. With Jason Wyngarde he wanted that power for his own purposes, Scott obviously loved her, it made sense. The only moment I didn't understand or like was when Angel kissed her but I think he was doing it to bug Scott or his girlfriend.
Kitty: We're introduced to Kitty in this bind up. I had no idea she was going to be in it but it was great. Not a fan of movie Kitty but I've been really enjoying her character in the comics. Loved that she thought Colossus was cute.
Charles/Professor X: Never thought I'd say this about Charles Xavier but he was a dick in this collection. Since this is the earliest set of comics I've read in the X-men universe I have no idea what happened to him previously but when he came back from wherever he was and was talking to Scott the way he was and then in the last issue when he just volunteered the X-men to fight w/o consulting them, just made me dislike him a little bit more. On the other hand, I didn't mind seeing a different, albeit dicky, side to Charles. It gives him a little more depth then the strong, tried and true leader with no flaws.
The story itself was great. I really liked the evolution of Jason seducing Jean to his side and then the fall out from that. I'm glad I read this collection and I hope when I read it again I'll be more in the mood to read it straight through.
This is a difficult bind up for me to rate for a few reasons.
First off, I can't stand the character of Jean Grey, in the 90's cartoon I couldn't stand her, in the movies (even though Famke Janssen is one of my favorite actresses), I still couldn't stand her. So the fact that this comic focuses on Jean made it difficult to look passed my view of the character here.
Second, I hit a huge no comic book mood right in the middle of reading this. Even though I only had 3-4 issues left and less than 100 pgs to go I just didn't want to finish it.
However, I was enjoying the story and I wanted to find out what happened, how everything happened, etc. So I pushed myself to finish it which may or may not have been a great idea. Normally when I push to finish a book it lowers the rating a bit.
Let's get into the detail stuff.
Jean Grey/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix: As I mentioned I don't like Jean, but I was actually enjoying her character especially in the first few issues. There were moments here and there when something would happen that would remind me of why I dislike Jean but for the most part I didn't hate her in this bind up. We saw her love of Scott and we saw bits of their relationship that really brought out parts of her personality that I liked. One of the main problems I have with Jean's character (in the cartoon and movies) is that it seems like everyone wants her and I have no idea why. Yes, she has powerful mutant abilities but her personality leaves me feeling very blah. In this collection though I can see why some of the characters want her so much. With Jason Wyngarde he wanted that power for his own purposes, Scott obviously loved her, it made sense. The only moment I didn't understand or like was when Angel kissed her but I think he was doing it to bug Scott or his girlfriend.
Kitty: We're introduced to Kitty in this bind up. I had no idea she was going to be in it but it was great. Not a fan of movie Kitty but I've been really enjoying her character in the comics. Loved that she thought Colossus was cute.
Charles/Professor X: Never thought I'd say this about Charles Xavier but he was a dick in this collection. Since this is the earliest set of comics I've read in the X-men universe I have no idea what happened to him previously but when he came back from wherever he was and was talking to Scott the way he was and then in the last issue when he just volunteered the X-men to fight w/o consulting them, just made me dislike him a little bit more. On the other hand, I didn't mind seeing a different, albeit dicky, side to Charles. It gives him a little more depth then the strong, tried and true leader with no flaws.
The story itself was great. I really liked the evolution of Jason seducing Jean to his side and then the fall out from that. I'm glad I read this collection and I hope when I read it again I'll be more in the mood to read it straight through.