"X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga" Prose/Graphic Novel Comparison

 

Hello, one and all, and welcome to From the Mind of One Tim Cubbin! I’m your guy, Tim Cubbin!

As some of you may know, I recently wrote a review for the Marvel Epic Collection “X-Men: The Fate of the Phoenix” graphic novel by Chris Claremont. I also posted a review for the “X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga” prose novel by Stuart Moore several hours ago. I am here now to compare the prose adaptation from 2019 to the original comic storyline from 1980. In this essay, I will provide a synopsis of the story in general to start with. Then I will point out several of what I found to be the biggest differences between the graphic novel/prose novel. I’ll then talk to you about my personal preference of which version I liked better.

Jean Grey, a founding member of the X-Men, has been imbued with the Phoenix Force, a cosmic power of immense proportions. Jean had been using those powers benevolently. The X-Men learn of young Kitty Pryde, a newly manifested mutant with the power to pass her molecules through other solid molecules and visit her house in Illinois to invite her to join their school and train to be an X-Men. However, the X-Men are not the only ones aware of Kitty’s ability. Emma Frost, the White Queen of the nefarious Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club (pardon my language) had discovered Kitty and attempted to recruit Kitty to study at the Massachusetts Academy, Frost’s school to train young mutants for villainous purposes. Frost abducts the recruiting party from Xavier’s. Kitty contacts the other X-Men, who are able to rescue their teammates and Jean “convinces” Kitty’s parents to allow Kitty to study at Xavier’s. Jason Wyngarde, who wishes to ascend to the high seat of the Inner Circle has been seducing Jean with his illusion casting abilities, causing what Jean believes to be “time slips” to a romance between one of her ancestor’s and one of Wyngarde’s. The X-Men clash with the Inner Circle, but in the process, the seduction to evil the Inner Circle instills leads to Jean losing control of the Phoenix Force, and Jean is now corrupted into the evil Dark Phoenix. Dark Phoenix defeats the X-Men in battle and travels into space. The Phoenix is hungry, and feeds on the star of an inhabited solar system and obliterates it. The alien Empire of the Shi’ar, who thus far had been allies to the X-Men decide that the Phoenix must be destroyed. The X-Men are able to subdue the Dark Phoenix, but are abducted by the Shi’ar. The X-Men are then forced into battle with the Shi’ar Imperial Guard to decide the fate of Jean Grey.

Alright, now I’m going to explain some points of difference between the two adaptations of “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” When the prose novel starts, in the year following Jean’s transformation into the Phoenix, the X-Men are believed dead, Charles Xavier is in space as the royal consort to Shi’ar Empress Lilandra Nerimani, and Jean has been living in Kirinos, Greece. In the graphic novel, the X-Men are a team and Charles Xavier, on Earth, is the one who discovers Kitty Pryde. In the prose novel, the X-Men find Kitty on their own. At the start of the graphic novel, Xavier actually finds two mutants, one being Kitty Pryde, the other Alison Blair/Dazzler. Dazzler was completely excluded in the prose novel. The prose novel also has Emma Frost featured with the Inner Circle, but in the graphic novel, Frost was believed dead after her first battle with the Phoenix. In the graphic novel, when the X-Men stay with Warren Worthington III/Angel in New Mexico, Xavier is with the X-Men. Xavier stays behind with Angel when the X-Men battle the Inner Circle, but right before the Shi’ar abduct the X-Men, the two arrive and are taken with the rest of the X-Men. After Dark Phoenix defeats the X-Men in the graphic novel, former X-Man/current Avenger Hank McCoy/Beast develops a device to scramble Jean’s powers so she can be subdued and is with the X-Men when they are abducted by the Shi’ar. In the prose novel, several of the X-Men develop the device. Xavier’s part in the prose novel mostly featured him in space, returning to earth shortly before the X-Men are abducted by the Shi’ar, and Angel and Beast are not involved in the final battle with the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, while they were in the graphic novel. Also cut from the prose novel is Uatu the Watcher, whom Wolverine encounters in the final battle with the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. Most of the rest of both narratives are pretty much similar and honestly don’t warrant any further attention.

So, as to my preference. In my review, I scored the prose novel at a nine out of ten. I gave the graphic novel “X-Men: The Fate of the Phoenix” an eight… BUT! Take into consideration that this book features several other stories, which detracted to my score of the book as a whole. Were the graphic novel to just have been “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” I honestly would give it a ten. I felt the graphic novel to be better than the prose novel. And in all seriousness, I’ve literally read “The Dark Phoenix Saga” graphic novel dozens of time, and I am NOT exaggerating and in a few years I will probably read the prose novel again, but my preference goes to the graphic novel. I still feel Stuart Moore wrote an exceptional narrative and am glad that this was written as a prose novel and glad that Stuart Moore wrote this prose novel. Stuart Moore also wrote the prose novel adaptation of “Civil War” which I reviewed early on in the existence of this blog and gave it a nine out of ten, so I feel like Moore has good consistency.

As a note here, I am currently reading the comic event “Civil War” on Marvel Unlimited and you can expect both a lengthy review of the event as a whole AND a comparison piece of the prose/graphic novels, so keep a look out for that. Also, “X-Men: The Fate of the Phoenix also features “Days of Future Past” which has also been made into a prose novel, and this also warrants a review and comparison piece, so keep your eyes out for these over the next couple of months. (Yeah, I’m going to be busy.) This blog has plenty of other reviews of things I’ve read, as well as short fiction and nonfiction, free verse poetry, essays, editorials, and more, so feel free to check them out. If you’re still here, you are THE BEST! For now, I release you from the bonds of this post. So, yeah, feel free to go about your day, keep coming back, I need the support, share, like, follow, retweet, whatever you can do on the site you found the link on, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!