Review: Uncanny X-Men Claremont Vol. 2

In discussions about American comics, someone will often ask which is the best superhero comic ever written, and the same titles always come up: Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Sandman. And then there’s another name that not everyone puts on that list, but serious readers certainly do: the Dark Phoenix Saga. It’s in Uncanny X-Men by Claremont Omnibus Vol. 2. And it is, probably, the absolute pinnacle of mainstream superhero comics of the 20th century.

What’s the background?

When this volume begins, Chris Claremont has already been writing X-Men on his own for five years. He had taken over the title in 1975 as a reprint series, redesigned it with Dave Cockrum (introducing Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus) and turned it into a critical success. The first volume of the omnibus covers that initial phase.

In this second volume comes the key change: John Byrne joins the title as artist. Byrne was already a respected name at Marvel, but his arrival at X-Men produced a creative chemistry that neither author ever achieved again with anyone else. For three years they wrote and drew together what is considered one of the finest runs in American comics.

The Dark Phoenix Saga

The Dark Phoenix Saga spans approximately 10 issues, originally published between 1979 and 1980. It is the culmination of years of laying the groundwork regarding Jean Grey, her powers and the cosmic entity Phoenix that had possessed her in previous story arcs.

The premise is as follows: Jean Grey has absorbed the Phoenix Force and become one of the most powerful entities in the universe. A group of mutants, the Hellfire Club, attempts to manipulate her emotions to turn her into a weapon. Under psychic pressure, Jean loses control. She becomes the Dark Phoenix, destroys an entire solar system and kills 5 billion aliens.

The Shi’ar, the galactic empire ruling that part of the cosmos, put her on trial and sentenced her to death. The X-Men had to choose: fight to defend their comrade, or accept that Jean is no longer Jean and must be stopped. Jean made the decision for them. At the end of the arc, she activates a Shi’ar weapon she herself had prepared and commits suicide to protect the universe from herself.

It is one of the most emotionally harrowing scenes in superhero comics. And it is real: Jean Grey remained dead in the official continuity for years (until Marvel resurrected her in the 1980s, undermining the original impact of the sacrifice).

Days of Future Past

The other key arc in the volume is Days of Future Past (2 issues, published in 1981). The premise has been adapted for the cinema: in a dystopian future where mutants are confined to concentration camps, Kitty Pryde sends her consciousness back in time to prevent the assassination of Senator Kelly that triggered the persecution.

The story has incredible narrative impact, but it also has structural impact: it invents the genre of time travel in superhero comics. Before Days of Future Past, time travel was a science fiction gimmick. Afterwards, it became a central narrative tool of the modern superhero comic.

Claremont and Byrne resolve an epic story in two issues. Not two volumes, not ten parts: two issues. It is a lesson in narrative economy that few modern writers take to heart.

Introduction of Kitty Pryde

The volume also includes the issues in which Kitty Pryde is introduced, a Jewish teenager with the power to phase through solid objects. Claremont uses her as the reader’s point of view: Kitty is young, insecure, out of place amongst the team’s veteran adults, and her perspective allows the reader to see the X-Men through fresh eyes.

Kitty would go on to become one of the most beloved protagonists in the mutant universe. Her introduction in this volume is the main reason why.

The art of John Byrne

If Claremont’s writing is the soul of the run, Byrne’s art is the body. His pages from this period are considered the absolute peak of his career. Byrne draws with a compositional clarity that few mainstream comic artists achieve: every panel has a clear narrative purpose, every gesture is legible, every background provides information.

Byrne’s faces in this volume are particularly memorable. Jean Grey, possessed by Phoenix, has an expression that shifts subtly as her mental state deteriorates. Cyclops looks weary in every scene. The moments of silence between characters carry more weight than the fights. It is a masterclass in visual storytelling.

What the omnibus contains

The volume compiles the complete Claremont-Byrne run on Uncanny X-Men: the issues introducing Kitty, the entire Dark Phoenix Saga (including the earlier issues that lay the groundwork), Days of Future Past, and the conclusion of their collaboration when Byrne left the title to join Fantastic Four.

It comprises 912 pages of historic American comic book material. It includes original covers, publisher’s biographies, pre-production material and historical context.

Honest weaknesses

The volume includes some filler issues from the end of the run, when Byrne had already begun to leave the title. Those issues aren’t on the same level as the peak of the run. But they are in the minority.

And Claremont’s narrative style during this period is dense: lots of internal monologues, lots of explanations of powers, lots of information per panel. Sometimes the speech bubbles take up too much visual space. It is a characteristic of 1980s comics that one has to accept as such.

Verdict

It is essential reading. If you consider that superhero comics can be serious literature, this volume is probably the best proof there is. The Dark Phoenix Saga raises real ethical questions (can you blame someone for acts committed under manipulation?), Days of Future Past uses the genre to discuss totalitarianism, and the complete collection marks the moment when the X-Men went from being a minor team to becoming Marvel’s most important franchise.

If you’ve never read this arc, you’re missing out on one of the defining experiences of American comics. And if you’ve already read it in TPB format, the omnibus is the definitive edition: large format, restored artwork, complete content with no omissions.