One of the most iconic stories in X-Men history is "The Dark Phoenix Saga," so celebrated that it was adapted twice for the big screen in Fox's X-Men film series in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand and last year's Dark Phoenix. The storyline was radically reimagined relatively early on in the Ultimate Marvel Universe during Mark Millar's run that kicked off the title in 2001. And while retaining Jean Grey's connection to the Phoenix Force and her more fiery persona, the Ultimate iteration brought the action more down to Earth while informing Jean's course for the remainder of her time in the Ultimate Universe.
The original "Dark Phoenix Saga" ran in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #101-108, written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum and John Byrne. The initial eight issues of the 1976 storyline detailed how Jean managed to bond with the cosmic Phoenix Force after being exposed to a solar flare while on a mission in outer space, with the sudden power boost allowing her to repair the M'Kraan Crystal before telepathically restraining the destructive potential in her mind. Claremont and Byrne revisited this development in Uncanny X-Men #129-138, with the Hellfire Club causing Jean to lose control of the Phoenix Force leading her to kill herself after killing billions across the cosmos.
Millar launched Ultimate X-Men in 2001 with Adam Kubert as part of the newly created Ultimate Universe, providing readers with a fresh jumping-on point as it modernized Marvel's most iconic superheroes for a new generation. With most of the X-Men now teenagers or in their early 20s, the title was initially more action-oriented out the gate as it reimagined classic storylines, including the team's battle against Magneto and a showdown with the nefarious Weapon X Program. Running from Ultimate X-Men #21-25, Millar teamed with Kaare Andrews and Adam Kubert to provide their own twist on "The Dark Phoenix Saga" while paying off on the longstanding rivalry between Cyclops and Wolverine.
Titled "Hellfire & Brimstone," the Ultimate storyline had the team largely split up as Cyclops, Wolverine and Shadowcat go on a mission to the Savage Land. In the meantime, Charles Xavier and his students have been enjoying the adulation of the public, finally accepted after saving the world on multiple occasions. This leads to Xavier and Jean being invited by the Hellfire Club to an elaborate banquet only to discover it is an occult ceremony to revive the Phoenix God with Jean as its new host. Their plan backfires when Phoenix kills the majority of the assembled villains before setting out to reshape the world in her image before Xavier manages to calm Jean down and repress the destructive force awakened inside of her.
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The Ultimate version of "The Dark Phoenix Saga" separated its team and kept the actual Phoenix portion of the storyline largely focused on Xavier and Jean Grey rather than expanding to cosmic proportions. Initially presented as an uninhibited, murderous aspect of Jean's psyche rather than a separate, cosmic entity until much later in the series' run, long after Millar had left. And rather than end on a tragic note with Jean presumably dead to stop the Phoenix Force's rampage through her, "Hellfire & Brimstone" concluded with the shocking revelation that Cyclops had seemingly perished, betrayed by Wolverine in the Savage Land and left for dead. The loss would shape the X-Men for the remainder of Millar's run and establish Jean as perhaps the most powerful superhero in the Ultimate Universe for a time.
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