Dark Phoenix Plot Summary
Dark Phoenix is the 12th instalment of the X-Men franchise and the second attempt at adapting the famous comic story by the same name. During a mission in space, Jean Grey merges with the Phoenix Force. Now, more powerful than ever, she destroys the psychic walls Professor Xavier put in her mind when she was younger. Furious, Jean transforms into Dark Phoenix and publicly kills Mystique.
The mutants divide into factions; some, like Cyclops, want to save Jean. While others, like Magneto and Beast, want to kill her. Vuk, a shapeshifting alien, manipulates the girl to get her power. Her objective is to use them to turn Earth into her species’ new world.
How does Dark Phoenix end?
The X-Men and Magneto are captured by the military while fighting. However, they escape soon to face off against Vuk and the other aliens. Jean, back in control, flies away with Vuk and kills the shapeshifter to save her friends, seemingly sacrificing herself in the process.
Xavier’s guilty conscience makes him leave the school and the X-Men. Even so, Magneto finds him in Paris, offering him a community. However, we don’t get to see if he accepts it.
The school, now named Jean Grey School for Higher Learning (a reference to the comics), is under new management. Beast is the new headmaster, and a few older X-Men, like Storm and Quicksilver, become teachers.
However, that still isn’t the ending of the movie. The last shot shows us a massive phoenix in the sky, an indication that Jean is still alive somehow.
How does the Dark Phoenix movie differ from the comics?
Even though the movie differs greatly from the comics, Jean gets her powers in a space mission in both media. However, after that, most things will be new for readers.
One of the most remarkable aspects is the lack of Wolverine in the movie. He is very important in the arc, and the story is one of the reasons he became so popular. But, he isn’t part of the X-Men team in the movie, making it impossible to fit him into the plot.
Instead of the alien Vuk, the ones responsible for Jean’s manipulation in the comics are the Hellfire Club. Mastermind, one of its members, tries to seduce Jean Grey with illusions, which causes her transformation into the Dark Phoenix. We see other members of the evil team, Shaw and Emma Frost, in X-Men: First Class.
The final fight also isn’t on Earth. After Dark Phoenix goes on a rampage and kills millions of aliens, the Shi’ar Empire (also not present in the movie) decides she’s too dangerous. So, the X-Men battle the Imperial Guard on the moon to help Jean Grey. However, their efforts weren’t enough to save her. When the girl gets back to her senses she chooses to activate an ancient weapon, sacrificing herself to save her friends and the universe.
Her sacrifice has different implications for the universe too. Professor Xavier stays at the school as headmaster, and the one who quits the team is Cyclops. Also, neither Storm nor any of the present X-Men become teachers. Even though Quicksilver is very popular in the movies, he isn’t part of the group.
The comic also differs from the movie in other aspects, like having the presence of different aliens and not changing the name of the school, but those are the most relevant ones.