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X-Men’s Dark Phoenix was an iconic story, but in trying to avoid its fallout, Marvel created issues it’s only now addressing.
This article contains spoilers for Dark Web: X-Men #3!Marvel Comics has finally fixed one of its biggest X-Men mistakes, centered around Jean Grey‘s (first) resurrection. Death has always been something of a revolving door in comics, and that’s particularly true for the X-Men franchise – even before the mutants learned to synergize their powers with Cerebro technology to create ‘Mutant Resurrection.’ Jean Grey was the trend-setter, sacrificing her life in the classic ‘Dark Phoenix Saga’ but resurrected and later reunited with the original X-Men as a member of X-Factor. While Jean’s return was surely inevitable, Marvel didn’t exactly handle it well.
The problem came from an editorial decision. Marvel wanted the original five X-Men back together again, including the resurrected Jean – but Cyclops had retired, and started a family with a woman named Madelyne Pryor. Legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont intended Madelyne to be Cyclops’ “Happily Ever After,” but that was now impossible. He began work on a major retcon, revealing Madelyne Pryor was a Jean Grey clone created by the villainous Mr. Sinister. It was an outlandish attempt to justify Cyclops’ unjustifiable decision, allowing him to leave his ‘clone’ wife and child to reunite with his old flame.
Marvel Has Finally Fixed The Problems Caused By Jean Grey’s Resurrection
In Dark Web: X-Men #3, by Gerry Duggan, Rod Reis, and Phil Noto, Marvel finally confronts these problems head-on. The X-Man Magik recently made Madelyne Pryor ruler of the Hell Dimension of Limbo. Unfortunately, Madelyne immediately launched an invasion of New York – one that’s really just a front to let her steal memories of her son’s childhood from Jean Grey. This inevitably leads to a confrontation between Jean and Madelyne, but it comes to a surprising resolution; Jean chooses to surrender, instead offering her memories to Madelyne. It’s a beautiful moment, one in which Jean essentially insists Madelyne be treated as a person in her own right (for pretty much the first time since the late 1980s.) It also feels like a direct shot at past editorial decisions, as though Marvel’s writers are acknowledging Madelyne has always deserved better.
Madelyne Prior Gets What She Always Deserved
Modern readers have forgotten Madelyne Pryor wasn’t originally a villain; she was Cyclops’ wife, a friend of the X-Men, and she even became a member of the team. Her turn to evil only came once she became a hindrance to Marvel’s new direction for the franchise. Jean chooses to honor this forgotten part of Madelyne’s history, giving her the opportunity to take command of the X-Men at long last. It’s hard not to feel as though Madelyne Pryor has finally found her home with the X-Men, the home she was so cruelly denied because of editorial mandate. What’s more, this beautiful moment of redemption is carried out by Jean Grey herself, drawing the narrative threads together in a truly effective way.
Decades ago, Marvel editorial essentially decided its universe wasn’t big enough for both Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor. Now, though, that is no longer the case; Madelyne is queen of Limbo and Jean Grey is the X-Men’s compassionate powerhouse. Both can exist in their own corners of the Marvel Universe, standing for the richness and diversity of X-Men comics.
Dark Web: X-Men #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
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