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92-690: Launched in April 1995, Sovereign Seven was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dwayne Turner , and was Claremont's first professional regular series work since his departure from Marvel Comics and the X-Men franchise in 1991. It was the first creator-owned title set in the DC Universe. The title met with middling success and was cancelled after 36 issues (three years), in June 1998, after which Claremont returned to Marvel. The Sovereign Seven are

184-525: A supernova which kills the entire population of the only civilized planet orbiting the star. A Shi'ar vessel attacks to prevent her from destroying other stars. Dark Phoenix easily destroys the vessel, but not before they alert the Shi'ar Empress Lilandra . A council of intergalactic associates is gathered, including the Kree and Skrull empires, and concludes that Dark Phoenix is an even more serious threat than

276-489: A being who had committed genocide. Byrne and Salicrup explained that they had no problem with this resolution because they had always thought of Dark Phoenix as a separate entity who had possessed Jean Grey, with Salicrup drawing an analogy to the film adaptation of The Exorcist : "In the movie there's this little girl who's taken over and several people get killed, but by the end, when the demon's gone no one thinks, 'Let's kill that murderous little girl.'" However, on reading

368-475: A cameo appearance as a Congressional committee member alongside fellow comic book writer Len Wein in an early scene in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past . In December 2010 Claremont appeared at a book signing at Borders Books at Penn Plaza in Manhattan as part of a series of events nationwide to commemorate World AIDS Day , with 25% of the proceeds of books sold at the event donated to Lifebeat,

460-572: A compromise, and Claremont responded that such a scenario was unfeasible since in his opinion, the X-Men would want to continually try to rescue Jean from imprisonment. According to Shooter, Claremont out of frustration suggested that they kill off Jean completely. Although Shooter suggests that the proposed plot point was a bluff by Claremont, playing on the unwritten rule that main characters were not to be killed permanently, he accepted it, even over later objections by both Claremont and Byrne. Ultimately, it

552-624: A decadent role that allows her to relish the extremes of human emotion and begins to break down the barriers that she had erected. She helps the Hellfire Club capture the X-Men , and Jean's true love Cyclops faces Mastermind in a psychic duel. When Mastermind kills Cyclops' psychic image, it breaks his hold over Jean's psyche and shatters the final barriers on her power. Experiencing this power in its totality overwhelms Jean, and she renames herself "Dark Phoenix". Enraged at Mastermind, she uses

644-623: A full-time position. One of the first new characters created by Claremont was Madrox the Multiple Man in Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb. 1975). Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time, Len Wein , who recognized Claremont's enthusiasm for the new X-Men that Wein and Dave Cockrum had created in 1975, hired Claremont, a relatively young writer, to take over the series as of issue #94 (May 1975), reasoning that doing so would not draw opposition from other writers, given

736-457: A group of seven members of royal families from planets that were destroyed by a Rapture. Each was saved by the leader of the team - Cascade. The original group consists of Cascade, Finale, Rampart, Reflex, Indigo, Network and Cruiser. Rampart is killed and replaced by the DC character Power Girl in #31. For a time, the group operates out of a mysterious coffee house (the "Crossroads Coffee Bar") which

828-554: A long shadow; later milestone sagas would have to look in a new direction—inward—to examine the meaning of the medium and the inner nature of heroes and villains themselves." Chase Magnett of ComicBook.com wrote, "The reason why the characters and subplots surrounding "The Dark Phoenix Saga" remain so flexible is that the core themes of the story are what continue to resonate after almost four decades. [...] We understand that corruption, power, and monstrosity are truly evergreen themes in literature, not just superhero comics. They serve as

920-492: A need for its use, with a Finding Aid being made available online. Claremont's longtime editor Louise Simonson said, "his papers will provide many clues, not only to the evolving way comic books are created and presented, but also how they are perceived, licensed, bought and sold in America and around the world." A symposium called Comic New York was held March 24–25, 2012 at Columbia University's Low Memorial Library to mark

1012-455: A new series that would reunite the original X-Men into a new team called X-Factor , to be written by longtime freelancer Bob Layton . Hearing of this, Byrne called Layton and suggested Busiek's idea as a means of raising Jean Grey from the dead while satisfying Shooter's demands for total absolution for Jean. A three-part crossover was planned to launch X-Factor , involving the Avengers ,

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1104-503: A nonprofit organization that educates young people on HIV /AIDS prevention. In July 2011 Claremont signed a deed of gift to Columbia University 's Rare Book & Manuscript Library , donating his archives of all his major writing projects over the previous 40 years to the Library's nascent comics archives collection, forming the foundation of a research collection focusing on New York City-based cartoonists and comics writers. Following

1196-573: A number of trade paperbacks: The story is also included in Essential X-Men, Volume 2 (584 pages, October 1997, Panini Comics , ISBN   978-0-7851-0298-4 ), part of Marvel's Essential series of black-and-white trade paperbacks. The volume collects The X-Men #120–144 and The X-Men Annual #3–4. The story is included in the hardcover Marvel Masterworks : Uncanny X-Men, Volume 4 ( The X-Men #122–131, Annual #3) and Volume 5 ( The X-Men #132–140, Annual #4) The opening of

1288-541: A subplot which culminated with the apparent reincarnation of Dark Phoenix in Uncanny X-Men #174–175 (October–November 1983). These issues were later collected in trade paperback form under the title From the Ashes . The story revolves around Cyclops and the newly introduced Madelyne Pryor , a commercial airline pilot who is not only physically identical to Jean Grey, but survived a traumatic airliner crash at exactly

1380-400: A telepathic illusion to make him experience godhood, driving him insane. To break her ties with her less powerful identity as Jean Grey, she strikes down the X-Men and departs for a distant galaxy. However, her power proves to be far more limited than she thought; the intergalactic trip leaves her almost completely drained. To recharge, she devours the energy of the nearby D'Bari star, causing

1472-533: A transcript of a round table discussion between Claremont, Byrne, Simonson, Salicrup, Shooter, and inker Terry Austin , discussing the story behind the original ending and why it was changed. Shortly before the publication of Uncanny X-Men #137, future freelance writer Kurt Busiek , then still a college student, heard about the upcoming events through the fan grapevine, as did fellow future comics pros Carol Kalish (who would go on to head up Marvel's Direct Sales Department for years) and Richard Howell (artist of

1564-404: A two-year run starting in 2004, while teaming up with his former Excalibur collaborator and artist, Alan Davis . In 2004, Claremont was co-writer on JLA issues #94–99, the "Tenth Circle" story arc for DC Comics , which reunited him with his former Uncanny X-Men artist John Byrne , with Jerry Ordway as inker. In 2007, Claremont returned to New Excalibur , writing a story arc in which

1656-427: A vicious psychic duel, he creates a new set of psychic "circuit-breakers" which reduce her to only her original Marvel Girl powers. This allows Jean's normal personality to reassert control. The Shi'ar abduct the X-Men, tell them of Dark Phoenix's casual genocide , and declare that she must be put to death. Xavier challenges Lilandra to Arin'n Haelar, a Shi'ar duel of honor that cannot be refused. After conferring with

1748-485: A villain to solve the issue, and eventually it seemed like the best solution to get the book back on track. The segment of the saga set at the Hellfire Club ( Uncanny X-Men #132–134) was heavily inspired by the Avengers television episode " A Touch of Brimstone ", and some of the characters' appearances were modeled after the cast of "A Touch of Brimstone" as a subtle acknowledgment of the inspiration. The ending of

1840-457: Is a masterpiece of comic book storytelling that has influenced countless writers and artists in the years since its publication." Pierce Lydon of Newsarama ranked "The Dark Phoenix Saga" 1st in their "Best X-Men Stories" list, asserting, "If there's one story that defines the X-Men above all others, it's 'The Dark Phoenix Saga,' in which Chris Claremont and John Byrne's somewhat tumultuous creative relationship begins to come to an end with one of

1932-469: Is an extended X-Men comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne , the storyline first appeared in X-Men #129 (January 1980). It focuses on the superhero Jean Grey and the cosmic entity Phoenix Force . The storyline commonly refers to the story in Uncanny X-Men #129–138 (January – October 1980) of Jean Grey's corruption by

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2024-524: Is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Time portals open inside doorways to areas unfamiliar or well-known to the Sovereigns, who work as employees to earn their keep. The coffee house is run by supporting characters Violet Smith and Pansy Jones, comic-book counterparts of the musical alter-egos of Emma Bull and Lorraine Garland — The Flash Girls —of whom Claremont is a fan. The Sovereign Seven battle villains including Darkseid, Maitresse, and

2116-608: Is not part of DC or Marvel canon) has the cosmic villain Darkseid resurrect Jean Grey in her Dark Phoenix persona as part of his quest to discover the secret of the Anti-Life Equation . In the end, Dark Phoenix is betrayed by Darkseid and sacrifices her life yet again to stop Darkseid. Also in 1983, shortly after beginning a freelance writing career, Kurt Busiek attended a comics convention in Ithaca, New York , staying at

2208-475: Is to Claremont and Byrne what the ' Galactus Trilogy ' is to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators' work at the height of their abilities." Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "The controversial story created a sensation and The X-Men became the comic book to watch." In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrne's run on The X-Men second on its list of

2300-428: Is widely considered to be a classic storyline by critics. Many of its characters who debuted in this story arc, such as Kitty Pryde , Dazzler , and Emma Frost , would later go on to become some of the most popular comic book characters of all time. Since its introduction in comics, the storyline has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products. It was adapted for X-Men: The Animated Series (1992). It

2392-605: The Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas , which continued the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow . Claremont was a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series. Claremont made a cameo appearance in the opening scene of the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand , for which he is credited as "Lawnmower man". He made

2484-465: The Batman and Superman comics of the 1950s and early 1960s. He read works by science fiction writers such as Robert Heinlein , as well as writers of other genres such as Rudyard Kipling and C. S. Forester . Claremont initially did not view the comic book industry as the place where he would make his career, as he believed the dwindling readership to be a sign that the industry was dying, and found

2576-466: The Vision and The Scarlet Witch 12-issue limited series , among others). The three of them also heard that Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter had declared that Jean Grey could not be revived unless it was done in such a way as to render her guiltless of Dark Phoenix's crimes. Taking this as a creative challenge, all three then-fans decided to come up with their own resurrection scenario. Busiek's involved

2668-543: The "Top 10 1970s Marvels". Claremont and artist Frank Miller crafted a Wolverine limited series in 1982. With artist Walt Simonson , Claremont produced The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans in 1982, an intercompany crossover between the top-selling Marvel and DC titles. The New Mutants were introduced by Claremont and Bob McLeod in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (Dec. 1982) and received their own ongoing series soon after. The second X-Men film

2760-408: The 2010 San Diego Comic-Con . The sales figures were generated in part by publishing the issue with four different variant covers which showed different characters from the book (and later a fifth gatefold cover that combined all four), large numbers of which were purchased by retailers, who anticipated fans and speculators who would buy multiple copies in order to acquire a complete collection of

2852-520: The Big Two publishers, Marvel and DC. Signings and panel discussions with other creators, scholars and academics of the comics medium were held during the two-day event. Among the other creators in attendance were Paul Levitz , Al Jaffee , Peter Kuper , Denis Kitchen , Molly Crabapple , John Romita , John Romita Jr. , Irwin Hasen , Miss Lasko-Gross and Dean Haspiel . In the mid-1970s, Claremont

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2944-532: The Dark Phoenix Saga depicts a pessimistic conclusion that retreats into traditional humanist ideas of self-sacrifice. David Caballero of Screen Rant included the cover of Uncanny X-Men #136 (August 1980) in their "X-Men: The 10 Most Iconic Covers Of All Time" list. Anthony Orlando of BuzzFeed ranked the cover of Uncanny X-Men #135 (July 1980) 8th in their "15 Greatest Covers In All Of Comics" list. Uncanny X-Men #168 (April 1983) began

3036-509: The Fantastic Four, and the debut issue of X-Factor , thus involving Avengers writer Stern, Fantastic Four writer/artist Byrne and X-Factor writer Layton. Busiek, by that time, was working at Marvel as a freelance assistant editor on Marvel Age Magazine . He was paid and credited for the idea, and edited a series of interviews for Marvel Age promoting the new series. Everything in the interviews pertaining to Jean's resurrection

3128-531: The Female Furies. Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont ( / ˈ k l ɛər m ɒ n t / ; born November 25, 1950) is an American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on Uncanny X-Men from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters as well as introducing complex literary themes into superhero narratives, turning

3220-714: The Kree and Skrulls, Lilandra agrees to Xavier's demand. The next day, the X-Men and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard are teleported to the Blue Area of the Moon to do battle, with the victors deciding the fate of Phoenix. The Imperial Guard defeat most of the X-Men, leaving Cyclops and Phoenix alone to make a final stand. When Cyclops is seemingly killed, Jean's panic overrides Xavier's psychic restraints and restores her to Dark Phoenix. Lilandra initiates Plan Omega, which would consist of destroying

3312-485: The United States from England, he was beaten up "because I looked like a geek." His emphasis on the theme of prejudice resonated with readers as the X-Men series rose in popularity. In 1987 Claremont began writing genre novels. His first was a science fiction trilogy about female USAF pilot/astronaut Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont co-wrote

3404-522: The White Phoenix of the Crown. Jay Edidin of Polygon included "The Dark Phoenix Saga" in their "9 Greatest X-Men Stories of All Time" list, writing, "Ask any fan to pinpoint the classic, iconic X-Men story, and most will send you straight to Uncanny X-Men #129-138: the issues that chronicle the corruption and fall of the cosmically empowered Jean Grey. It’s also the story that has seen by far

3496-561: The basis for the critical darling Immortal Hulk today. Few superhero stories, if any, have addressed these ideas as well as "The Dark Phoenix Saga" though." Literary scholar Ramzi Fawaz interprets the story as an indictment of the fall of feminist liberation into a narcissistic personality. While he reads the earlier stories of the Phoenix force as presenting a potential alliance between projects of liberation for white women (represented by Jean Grey) and for Black women (represented by Storm),

3588-446: The book's poor standing. Claremont approached the job as a method actor , developing the characters by examining their motives, desires and individual personalities. This approach drew immediate positive reaction. According to former Marvel editor-in-chief Bob Harras , "He lived it and breathed it. He would write whole paragraphs about what people were wearing. He really got into these people's thoughts, hopes, dreams." Claremont's take on

3680-413: The character Nocturne has a stroke. He has completed his first arc on Exiles, adding Betsy Braddock to the team. In 2008 Claremont wrote the miniseries GeNEXT , followed by its 2009 sequel, GeNext: United . He was the writer of an X-Men Forever series which was set in an alternate universe , and focuses on the present day lives of the X-Men in a reality where Magneto never returned following

3772-554: The character of Wolverine into a fan favorite. X-Men #1, the 1991 spinoff series premiere that Claremont co-wrote with Jim Lee , remains the bestselling comic book of all time, according to Guinness World Records . In 2015, Claremont and his X-Men collaborator John Byrne were entered into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame. Claremont was born in London , England. His father was an internist and his mother

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3864-475: The cheeks as he or she delivers a self-loathing monologue, or a character with head thrown back and mouth open in a shout of rage, shaking tiny fists at heaven and vowing that the whole world will soon learn about his or her feelings." However, the article goes to state that "the genius of Chris Claremont was that he made mutants a generic stand-in for all minorities". "I'm an immigrant," said Claremont in 2014, describing his affinity with outsiders. After arriving in

3956-459: The comics industry had become dominated by artists and editors. In 1994, he wrote issues #10–13 of Jim Lee and Brandon Choi 's series, WildC.A.T.s at Image Comics, in which he finally introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman. In 1995, Claremont began writing his creator-owned series, Sovereign Seven , which was published by DC Comics , running for 36 issues until 1998. In 1998, Claremont returned to Marvel as editorial director and

4048-442: The covers. Claremont left the series after the first three-issue story arc, due to clashes with editor Bob Harras. The 1990s saw Claremont diversify his comics work, as he wrote for other publishers, and wrote his own creator-owned properties. In December 1991, he sent artist Whilce Portacio a proposal to illustrate Claremont's project, The Huntsman , as a creator-owned project, and when the then-new comics publisher Image Comics

4140-475: The destruction of Asteroid M in X-Men #3 (December 1991). In 2010, Claremont collaborated with Italian comics artist Milo Manara on X-Women . As of 2014 Claremont was under an exclusive contract for Marvel. In April of that year, Marvel launched a Nightcrawler series with Claremont as writer, which he finished in March 2015. He re-united with his former New Mutants -artist artist Bill Sienkiewicz for

4232-598: The discovery that Jean Grey was still on the bottom of Jamaica Bay in suspended animation following the original shuttle crash and that the Phoenix entity had used her body and mind as a lens, creating an immensely powerful duplicate of Jean, but one which grew more corrupted and distorted the longer it remained separate from the true Jean. In 1982, Dark Phoenix resurfaced in the DC /Marvel intercompany crossover one-shot The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans , written by regular X-Men writer Chris Claremont . The story (which

4324-513: The entire franchise, The Dark Phoenix Saga remains a watershed moment in pop culture." Will Friedwald of Vanity Fair called "The Dark Phoenix Saga" one of the "classic comic book story arcs that everybody has heard of, even if they haven’t read it," saying, "It’s no wonder the Dark Saga has inspired so many imitators. It took the big issues of cosmic narrative—even the very nature of existence—and stretched them as far as they would go. It cast

4416-533: The examination and processing of the materials, which include notebooks, correspondence, early story drafts, plays, novels, comic books and materials from Claremont's early training in the theater and his career as an actor, Claremont's archive will be housed at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library in Butler Library , separate from the graphic novels collection, and will be open to anyone who demonstrates

4508-478: The four-part Dark Phoenix would have been adapted. The live-action X-Men film Dark Phoenix (2019) is an adaptation of the Hellfire arc of the story. 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 re-forms herself upon return to Earth with

4600-424: The greatest superhero stories ever told," while Chris Arrant ranked it 2nd in their "Best Marvel Comics Stories of All Time" list. David Harth of Comic Book Resources ranked "The Dark Phoenix Saga" 1st in their "X-Men: 10 Story Arcs Every Fan Should Read" list, stating, " The Dark Phoenix Saga introduces so many things to X-Men lore, like the Hellfire Club and Kitty Pryde, concepts that would pay dividends over

4692-591: The help of a mind-tap device created by the Club's White Queen, Emma Frost , Mastermind projects his illusions directly into Phoenix's mind. These illusions cause her to believe that she is reliving the memories of an ancestor, Lady Grey , who in Mastermind's illusions was the Hellfire Club's Black Queen and the lover of one of Wyngarde's ancestors. Phoenix eventually accepts the Black Queen as her actual identity,

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4784-494: The heroes' commitment to doing the right thing even when the world (or galaxy, in this case) hates and fears you." Jesse Schedeen of IGN ranked "The Dark Phoenix Saga" 2nd in their "25 Greatest X-Men Stories" list and called it "one of the most iconic Marvel stories of all time," saying, "The sheer variety of this story sets it apart, but not as much as the raw emotion and the satisfaction of seeing Claremont wrap up so many loose ends at once. John Byrne delivered his finest work on

4876-423: The home of Marvel writer Roger Stern . In conversation, both writers' longtime interest in the X-Men came up, and Stern expressed regret that there was no way to bring Jean back, not while satisfying Shooter's edict. Busiek told Stern his idea, not expecting it to amount to more than idle conversation. Later, Stern told the idea to John Byrne , then writer/artist of Fantastic Four . In 1985, Jim Shooter greenlit

4968-1044: The introduction of Karma , a character that later joined the New Mutants , in #100 (Dec. 1980). Claremont helped launch the Marvel Fanfare title in March 1982. Claremont co-created numerous other important female X-Men characters, including Rogue , Betsy Braddock , Mariko Yashida , Kitty Pryde /Shadowcat, Phoenix , Mystique , Lady Mastermind , Emma Frost , Siryn , Rachel Summers , Madelyne Pryor , and Jubilee . He co-created such notable male characters as Sabretooth , Pyro , Avalanche , Strong Guy , Captain Britain , Forge , Mister Sinister , and Gambit . Claremont launched various X-Men spin-offs, beginning with The New Mutants in 1982. The spinoffs Excalibur and Wolverine , initially written by Claremont, followed in 1987 and 1988, respectively. X-Men crossover stories written by Claremont during

5060-492: The introduction of the Starjammers as well as the departure of artist Dave Cockrum. Claremont began his collaboration with artist John Byrne in the following issue. During his 17 years as X-Men writer, Claremont wrote or co-wrote many classic X-Men stories, such as " The Dark Phoenix Saga " and " Days of Future Past ". Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that "'The Dark Phoenix Saga'

5152-403: The issues over they agreed with Shooter that from the reader's perspective, she did not seem to be possessed, and Claremont admitted that while writing the Dark Phoenix Saga he was never clear in his own mind whether Jean Grey was possessed or her actions as Dark Phoenix were her own. Shooter, during a conversation with Claremont, suggested a scenario where Jean would be permanently imprisoned as

5244-692: The largest number of (attempted) adaptations over the years, including the upcoming Dark Phoenix . All of that is because The Dark Phoenix Saga is the X-Men at their best: fighting as and for their found family and the fate of the world, backs to the wall, in the face of impossible odds. It’s got pretty much everything that makes the X-Men great: not just high-stakes superpowered fights, but also high drama, found family, and some pretty spectacular science fiction." Anubhav Chaudhry of Sportskeeda ranked "The Dark Phoenix Saga" 1st in their "10 Best Comic Book Storylines of Marvel Comics" list, saying, "With stunning artwork and gripping storytelling, The Dark Phoenix Saga

5336-513: The latter half of his tenure on the series include " Mutant Massacre ", " Fall of the Mutants ", and " X-Tinction Agenda ". In 1991, Marvel launched a second X-Men title simply called X-Men with Claremont and penciler Jim Lee as co-writers. X-Men #1 is still the bestselling comic book of all-time, with sales of over 8.1 million copies (and nearly $ 7 million), according to Guinness World Records , which presented honors to Claremont at

5428-476: The material being published to be uninteresting. Instead, when he began at Bard College , he did so as a political theorist, studying acting and political theory, and writing novels with the hope of becoming a director. His first professional sale was a prose story. He graduated in 1972. Claremont's career began in 1969, as a college undergraduate, when he was hired as a gofer /editorial assistant at Marvel Comics . His first professional scripting assignment

5520-475: The moment they had landed on the Moon. The story ends with Uatu the Watcher commenting that "Jean Grey could have lived to become a god. But it was more important to her that she die...a human." According to Byrne, it had become a problem storywise that Claremont kept writing Phoenix stronger and stronger, making her the dominating element of the X-Men book. Steven Grant then suggested they should make her

5612-515: 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. Her vast potential makes her a target for Mastermind , who is attempting to prove himself in order to join the prestigious Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club . Under the identity of Jason Wyngarde, he begins to seduce Jean. With

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5704-407: The occasion, which was organized by Graphic Novels Librarian Karen Green, Professor Jeremy Dauber, and editor Danny Fingeroth . A discussion between Claremont and Simonson held in recognition of Claremont's gift was the keynote event of the symposium, which focused on the intertwined histories of American comics and New York City, which has served both as a breeding ground for creators and the home of

5796-1096: The once underachieving comic into one of Marvel 's most popular series. During his tenure, X-Men was the best-selling comic book in the world. During his tenure at Marvel, Claremont co-created numerous X-Men characters, such as Rogue , Psylocke (Betsy Braddock) , Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat , Phoenix , the Brood , Lockheed , Shi'ar , Shi'ar Imperial Guard , Mystique , Destiny , Selene , Reverend William Stryker , Lady Mastermind , Emma Frost , Tessa , Siryn , Jubilee , Rachel Summers , Madelyne Pryor , Moira MacTaggert , Lilandra , Shadow King , Cannonball , Warpath , Mirage , Wolfsbane , Karma , Cypher , Sabretooth , Empath , Sebastian Shaw , Donald Pierce , Avalanche , Pyro , Legion , Nimrod , Gateway , Strong Guy , Proteus , Mister Sinister , Marauders , Purifiers , Captain Britain , Sunspot , Forge , and Gambit . Claremont wrote many classic stories, including " The Dark Phoenix Saga " and " Days of Future Past ", on which he collaborated with John Byrne . He developed

5888-477: The oneshot New Mutants: War Children in 2019. According to writer/editor Paul Levitz , Claremont's complex story structures "played a pivotal role in assembling the audience that enabled American comics to move to more mature and sophisticated storytelling, and the graphic novel." Claremont's editor on the series, Louise Simonson , attributes the X-Men's success to his approach to the characters: "Chris took them very seriously. They were real people to him." As

5980-412: The planet-consuming Galactus and must be destroyed. On Earth, the X-Men are greeted by Avengers member (and former X-Man) Beast . Dark Phoenix returns to Earth, to her family's home, and finds herself conflicted between her normal feelings for her loved ones and her new destructive impulses as Dark Phoenix. The X-Men attack her but are again defeated. Her mentor, Charles Xavier , arrives, and through

6072-403: The power of the Phoenix and the Hellfire Club , the destruction she causes, and ultimately her death. Sometimes included is Jean Grey's assumption of the Phoenix power and the repair of the M'Kraan Crystal in Uncanny X-Men #101–108 (October 1976 – December 1977). "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is one of the most well-known and heavily referenced stories in mainstream American superhero comics, and

6164-417: The proofs for the issue and noticed that the story included the destruction of an inhabited solar system, with an explicit mention of billions of lives lost. Louise Simonson feels it was Shooter's outrage over this plot element which led to him taking editor Jim Salicrup off the series several issues earlier than he had been scheduled to. Upon questioning Salicrup about where the plot went from there, he

6256-428: The regular writer of Fantastic Four , where he created Valeria Richards . The book was pencilled by artist Salvador Larrocca and inked by Art Thibert for the entirety of his duration on the series. Claremont's run on Fantastic Four would last for 29 issues and 2 annuals, making it his longest tenure on a title outside of the X-Men. Despite outselling books such as Amazing Spider-Man and Batman , Claremont

6348-444: The same moment that Jean died. Pryor's transformation into Dark Phoenix is revealed to be an illusion by Mastermind , seeking revenge for what Jean Grey did to him during the Dark Phoenix Saga. In issue #175, Cyclops and Madelyne repeat the dialogue he exchanged with Jean Grey after Professor X locked away her Dark Phoenix powers, marking the parallel with the dissolving of Mastermind's Dark Phoenix illusion. The story (issues #129–137)

6440-483: The script with no connection to the ending; for instance, in the original version of the day of rest, the individual X-Men are each thinking of their own personal issues, while the published version shows them reflecting on their decision to protect Jean. The original ending ultimately saw print in 1984 in Phoenix: The Untold Story . Besides the original version of Uncanny X-Men #137, it featured

6532-510: The series has been likened to writing "the Great American Novel about complex characters who just happened to fly", incorporating surprise character developments and emotional nuances amid the operatic battles that otherwise typified American superhero comics. By his own admission, Claremont acquired a reputation for taking a long time to resolve plot threads, and longtime X-Men editor Louise Simonson recounted that whenever she

6624-541: The series with this long arc, culminating in the battle royale against the Imperial Guard and the tragic sacrifice of the Phoenix." David Caballero of Screen Rant asserted, "The storyline remains influential and is one of the most referenced in American superhero comics. Thanks to excellent writing, compelling and flawed characters, inspired and often-imitated artwork, and consequences so extreme they reshaped

6716-536: The story is in the final pages of Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, Volume 1 , which includes Giant-Size Uncanny X-Men #1, The X-Men Annual #3, and The X-Men #94–131; it concludes in Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Volume 2 , which continues through issue #153 and also includes Annual #4–5, Avengers Annual #10, Marvel Fanfare #1–4, Marvel Treasury Edition #26–27, Marvel Team-Up #100, Bizarre Adventures #27, and Phoenix: The Untold Story . The saga

6808-498: The story was a matter of intense controversy with the editorial staff. Jim Shooter's recollections are that the intent of the Dark Phoenix storyline was to introduce Dark Phoenix as a cosmic nemesis for the X-Men. This was what had been discussed amongst the creative team and Shooter, and this was the story development that had been approved. When Uncanny X-Men issue 135 was in the final artwork stages, Shooter happened to look at

6900-565: The two, the White Hot Room, in which both entities reside between resurrections. At the conclusion of the Inferno event, Jean absorbs all the memories of Phoenix's experiences from its first appearance as Jean through the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga. Writer Grant Morrison would ultimately establish that only by merging with Jean at her most powerful as the "One True Phoenix" could the Phoenix realize its full potential in physical form as

6992-487: The whole Solar System in hopes of eliminating Dark Phoenix in the process. Xavier orders the X-Men to subdue Jean to preempt Lilandra's emergency measure. They battle her until she regains her senses. Running inside one of the Blue Area's ruins, Jean, struggling to keep control, activates an ancient Kree weapon that disintegrates her after an emotional good-bye to Cyclops. He deduces that Jean had planned her sacrifice from

7084-435: The writer of X-Men , Claremont became known for certain characteristic phrases, such as Wolverine's saying, "I'm the best there is at what I do. And what I do...isn't very nice", which became closely associated with the character. A 2009 Slate article called Claremont the " soapiest writer in comic books.... The classic Claremont pose is either a character, head hung in shame with two enormous rivers of tears running down

7176-411: The years. Claremont and Byrne kill it in this one, presenting a tale that is not only considered the best X-Men story of all time but one of the best comics of all time in general." Joe Garza of /Film ranked "The Dark Phoenix Saga" 1st in their "15 Best X-Men Comics You Need To Read" list, writing, "The "Dark Phoenix Saga" is quite possibly THE signature X-Men storyline, the one that perfectly embodies

7268-616: Was Daredevil #102 (Aug. 1973). As an entry into regular comics writing, Claremont was given the fledgling feature " Iron Fist " in Marvel Premiere as of issue #23 (Aug. 1975). He was joined two issues later by artist John Byrne . The Claremont/Byrne team continued to work together when the character received its own self-titled series in November 1975. This title lasted 15 issues. Though his acting career did not yield great success, he functioned well at Marvel, where he obtained

7360-487: Was a pilot and caterer. Claremont is Jewish on his mother's side, and lived in a kibbutz in Israel during his youth. His family moved to the United States when he was three years old, and he was raised primarily on Long Island . Alienated by the sports-oriented suburbs, his grandmother purchased for him a subscription to Eagle when he was a child, and he grew up reading Dan Dare , finding them more exciting than

7452-437: Was announced in 1992, Claremont was named as one of its founders. However, the project was canceled when Portacio decided instead to do Wetworks . Claremont attempted to find other artist for the series, but all those in whom he was interested were either drawing X-Men or had their own projects with Image, and thus he did not become one of Image's founders. In 1992 he wrote the graphic novel Star Trek : Debt of Honor , which

7544-465: Was at a loss for story ideas, "All I'd have to do was go through all of the plot threads that he had left for the last year or two." Claremont introduced new supporting characters to the X-Men series including Moira MacTaggert in issue #96 and Lilandra Neramani in #97. Jean Grey a.k.a. Marvel Girl, one of Marvel's first female heroes, underwent a dramatic transformation into the extremely powerful Phoenix in issue #101. Issue #107 (Oct. 1977) saw

7636-475: Was decided by Byrne and Claremont to have Jean commit suicide after her Dark Phoenix persona resurfaces at the climax of the fight against the Imperial Guard. Issue 137 was left largely unchanged, but the last five pages were completely rewritten and redrawn for the new ending, and Claremont also took the opportunity to write a second draft of his script. Because of this, comparison of the original and published versions of X-Men #137 reveals numerous differences in

7728-547: Was fired by editor Bobbie Chase in early 2000, a decision that he was angered by. Claremont also wrote The Fantastic 4th Voyage of Sinbad in 2001, a one shot starring the Fantastic Four on an adventure with Sinbad the Sailor . The comic was pencilled Pascual Ferry . In 2000, as part of the company's " Revolution " event, he wrote Uncanny X-Men and X-Men until he moved to X-Treme X-Men , again working with penciller Salvador Larroca. He returned to Uncanny X-Men again for

7820-608: Was first collected as a trade paperback in 1984. The first edition featured a cover painting by Bill Sienkiewicz . To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Phoenix Saga, the storyline was reprinted in an oversized trim hardcover. The X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga hardcover (352 pages, July 2010, Marvel, ISBN   978-0-7851-4913-2 ) collects The X-Men #129–138, Classic X-Men #43, Bizarre Adventures #27, Phoenix: The Untold Story (one-shot), and What If? #27. The story ( The X-Men #129–137) has been collected into

7912-474: Was illustrated by Adam Hughes . Stan Lee interviewed Claremont for episode 7 of the 1991–92 documentary series The Comic Book Greats . In 1993, he began writing the 12-issue miniseries Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species for Dark Horse Comics , which was completed in 1995. That year saw a decline in his comics output, however, as he turned his focus to writing novels, citing frustration with how

8004-417: Was later alluded to in the live-action film X2 (2003). The live-action film X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) contains some elements from the saga. The animated series Wolverine and the X-Men (2009) adapted "The Dark Phoenix Saga" at the end of its first season, though it changed many elements of the story. Had there been a fifth season of the animated series X-Men: Evolution (2000), its own version of

8096-544: Was loosely based on his 1982 X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills . Besides his work on X-Men and its spinoffs, Claremont wrote Marvel Team-Up , Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel during this time. He and artist John Bolton created the Marada the She-Wolf character in 1981. Claremont's stories for Marvel Team-Up included the cast of NBC 's Saturday Night Live appearing in issue #74 (Oct. 1978) and

8188-437: Was marked out with black tape to create an air of mystery about the revelations that the crossover would involve, and Busiek thus found himself taping over all mention of his idea. While the retroactive depiction of Jean Grey and Phoenix as separate entities remains canon, later stories have established a middle ground regarding the unique relationship between the two. Claremont would establish an extradimensional mutual home for

8280-433: Was married to Bonnie Wilford. Following the dissolution of that marriage, he married Beth Fleisher, with whom Claremont co-authored Dragon Moon . Fleisher is the cousin (through marriage) of editor Dan Raspler , who was the editor on JLA during the six-issue "Tenth Circle" story arc Claremont and John Byrne wrote in 2004. Claremont and Fleisher have twin sons. The Dark Phoenix Saga " The Dark Phoenix Saga "

8372-729: Was printed in hardback form for issue 2 of The Official Marvel Graphic Novel Collection , a graphic novel series based in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in January 2012. Another omnibus edition, X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga Omnibus , was published in August 2018, and included Uncanny X-Men #97–105, 107–108, 125–138, Bizarre Adventures #27, Phoenix: The Untold Story , What If? #27, and material from Classic X-Men #6, 8, 13, 18, 24, 43 (688 pages, ISBN   978-1302912123 ) The "Dark Phoenix Saga"

8464-490: Was told that issue 137 ended with Jean being permanently depowered by the Shi'ar and released into the custody of the X-Men. Shooter disagreed with this development both from a storytelling standpoint as well as, secondarily, a moral standpoint, likening the ending to "taking the German army away from Hitler and letting him go back to governing Germany," and finding it out of character for the X-Men to retain friendly relations with

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