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Quote1 If I didn't know better, I'd say those thoughts I just picked up sounded like a proposal. Quote2
Jean Grey

Appearing in "Child of Light and Darkness!"

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  • Angel's private jet

Synopsis for "Child of Light and Darkness!"

Continued from last issue.

Following the Dark Phoenix's destruction of the D'Bari system, Empress Lilandra of the Shi'ar meets with a galactic council to discuss the threat that the Phoenix poses to the universe. The decision is unanimous in light of the evidence: the Phoenix must be destroyed.

On Earth, the Phoenix's presence has not gone unnoticed. Having received a warning from Dr. Peter Corbeau, the President of the Untied States attempts to contact the Avengers only to find that just their butler, Edwin Jarvis, is present. When Jarvis terminates the call with the President, he notes that it was the Beast's turn to stay behind on monitor duty and wonders where he could have gone.

The Beast is with the X-Men, preparing for the Dark Phoenix's return by building a synaptic scrambler device to prevent Jean from using her powers. As Cyclops struggles to come to terms with what's become of Jean, Storm tries to console him.

Down below in the Danger Room, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus attempt to blow off some steam in a combat training session. They all agree that they will act to destroy Jean if they must, but their foremost duty will be to try and save her if they can.

Dark Phoenix returns to her parents' home in Annadale-On-Hudson. Her entrance awakens her parents and younger sister Sarah. She's dismayed when she instinctively reads their minds and realizes they are all afraid of her. Finding their thoughts impossible to keep out of her head, Jean attempts to keep her anger in check. However, she cannot and shows her family her powers by changing a houseplant into crystal. Her family recoils and her father rejects her outright.

Noticing a fog outside, Dark Phoenix realizes that the X-Men have found her and rushes out to confront them. Nightcrawler teleports above her and jams the synaptic scrambler on her head. Although this causes her great pain and limits her abilities, she's still able to hold her own against their combined assault. When Wolverine gets close enough to her, she begs him to kill her with his claws, but he falters long enough for Phoenix's dark side to reassert control and fling him away. Having overheated the scrambler, Dark Phoenix removes it and locks the X-Men in stasis.

She taunts them and intends to torture them mentally until she is confronted by Cyclops. He tries appealing to her humanity to convince her to stop fighting; he almost has her won over when Professor X arrives and attacks her mentally. This causes her to flip back to her evil persona and attack Charles directly.

The two lock in mental combat and after a match of wits, Charles Xavier uses his mental powers to force the Dark Phoenix persona deep into Jean's mind, restoring her sanity in the process. Silently, the Professor notes to himself that he would have lost that battle if not for the fact that he sensed Jean's human personae aiding him in suppressing her dark self.

Cyclops gathers up Jean and while doing so thinks of proposing to her. Jean, restored to "normal", admits she read his mind and accepts his proposal. The X-Men have a moment's relief now that Jean is back. The Angel (who evidently transported Prof. X here) joins the team. When John Grey and his family approaches Xavier to demand answers, they are shocked when the X-Men are all suddenly teleported away.

This story is continued next issue.

Notes

  • President James Carter's appearance is a topical reference based on the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
    • The President calls the Avengers often enough (such as in X-Men #108) that he has a special signal at Avengers Mansion that only he can use. The President also knows Jarvis's name.
    • No one at Avengers Mansion answered the White House's earlier communications about Phoenix because Beast left monitor duty in X-Men #134-135.
  • Among the things Professor X most emphasized to Jean when training her as an X-Man is the importance of not invading other minds without good reason. Phoenix's inability to filter out others' thoughts also happened in Classic X-Men #21, and is another indication that she is losing self-control.
  • Sara learned about her sister's powers in Bizarre Adventures #27, but Jean put a temporary block on the knowledge. In both issues, Sara worries about her children being mutants.
  • Phoenix and Jean's conflicting thoughts, acts, and speech as dual personalities are consistent with the revelation in Avengers #263 and Fantastic Four #286.
  • Phoenix says that Storm is closer than her own sister. As Classic X-Men #2 depicts, they have been close friends since Storm joined the X-Men as the only other female member.
  • Jean's father, out of anger and fright, rejects his daughter. Although Rachel Summers had believed that the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly was the divergence point between Earth-616 and the Days of Future Past, by Uncanny X-Men #199 she realizes that Jean's rejection did not occur in her history, apparently helping her mother to regain control over Dark Phoenix.
  • Wolverine's willingness to use full force against Phoenix when others are not—his belief that it must be permanently stopped no matter the cost—is consistent with later encounters with the Phoenix Force, such as during Avengers vs. X-Men.
  • Scott again proposes to Jean in X-Factor #53.

Trivia

  • The X-Men front cover logo is still cracked from the last issue.
  • The cover of this issue is partially shown on Young Sheldon season 1 episode 4 ("A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage") and is the comic that gets him interested in comics.

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