The X-Men comics are celebrating Jean Grey's Black Queen in a variant cover by Mark Brooks. The Dark Phoenix Saga is rightly considered one of the key moments in the history of the comics book industry. Writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne brought an end to the story of Jean Grey's Phoenix in epic style, with Jean going insane and transforming into Dark Phoenix.
The arc is also well-remembered for the countless additions it made to X-Men lore. It introduced iconic characters such as Kitty Pryde and Dazzler, as well as a ruthless group of new enemies known as the Hellfire Club. Loosely inspired by a British TV series, the Hellfire Club were a group of wealthy mutants who valued their own power and influence above anything else. They looked on Jean Grey with possessive eyes, and one of their number - a psychic named Mastermind - tampered with her mind. As a result, Jean briefly became the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, adopting a distinctive black leather look.
CBR has exclusively revealed that artist Mark Brooks' variant cover of X-Men #6 will be a homage to the Dark Phoenix Saga, and specifically to the Black Queen herself. It's part of Marvel's 40th anniversary celebration of the Dark Phoenix Saga, and it's certainly a stunning image.
The main issue, written by Jonathan Hickman and with art by Matteo Buffagni, will be a completely separate plot starring Mystique. Solicits suggest that she will go to extraordinary lengths to secure a promise Xavier has given her, the resurrection of her lover Destiny; Xavier has absolutely no intention of keeping that promise, because he believes a precog like Destiny would sabotage his longer-term plans. It seems Mystique has decided she no longer trusts him.
That doesn't necessarily mean the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Dark Phoenix Saga won't ripple into the comics themselves, of course. The cover of Gerry Duggan's Cable #2 appears to allude to the Phoenix Force, suggesting that it's just a matter of time before the cosmic firebird visits the new mutant nation of Krakoa. Meanwhile, it's interesting to speculate whether or not Charles Xavier himself could unwittingly unleash the Phoenix. Hickman has revealed that Xavier has secretly been recording mental engrams of mutants for decades, and he's now using them to resurrect the dead. He most likely has a copy of Jean's records from her time as Phoenix - and Xavier has never really minded playing with (Phoenix) fire.
Source: CBR
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