After the…mixed reception to X-Men: The Last Stand, which had easily avoidable problems, the studio wanted a do-over, and this time, was set to get it right. Several elements from the acclaimed comic book story were removed from the 2006 movie in favour of more mainstream movie elements, with the biggest removal being the alien element of the Phoenix force which corrupted Jean Grey in the first place. This new movie promised to include it and have it be just as it was in the comics: the extraterrestrial force that corrupted Jean and had her do all the dark things that she would end up doing, rather than have it be a manifestation of a suppressed alternate personality that is a result of her powers growing beyond her control. The result was a movie that did the impossible: it was worse than The Last Stand, even when it came to adapting the source material. This article will explore the differences Dark Phoenix had with the source material.
1. The Rosters
Let’s face it. In any team superhero movie that’s adapting a specific storyline, you will never see a comic accurate roster other than in Fantastic Four movies. They’re the only team that’s really just been together for what seems like ever. They may have rotations (that never really last very long) but they always come back to being the same core members. The X-Men are just about the most interchangeable team in Marvel Comics. In fact, the producers of the MCU debut of the famed team will have a lot of trouble finding out who they can include in the team, because there are just so many options and so many fans have pointed out and will most likely riot if their choices aren’t put on screen in favour of other characters that they are less enthusiastic about seeing. The X-Men roster in the story in the source material is as follows: Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Beast, Polaris, Dazzler, Charles Xavier, Angel, Proteus, Havok, Kitty Pryde, Multiple Man and Banshee. The Hellfire Club roster in the source material is as follows: Emma Frost, Salvatore, Donald Pierce, Sebastian Shaw, Harry Leland and Sage. They were not the only teams in the battles. There was also the Shi’ar Empire, led by Lilandra, love interest of the founder of the X-Men, Charles Xavier. Her team included: Gladiator and Starbolt, with Gladiator being the one to leave the biggest impression on readers in this story. The movie, on the other hand, had a completely different roster for all parties. In fact, the Hellfire Club and the Shi’ar Empire didn’t take part in the movie at all. Instead, we got Magneto and his team fighting the X-Men, who consisted of Charles, Cyclops, Storm and Nightcrawler. Mystique was killed, and allied with the X-Men in this one. Quicksilver was with the X-Men but was injured for the whole movie. Magneto’s team consisted of himself, Selene, Match, and an unnamed mutant who could use his hair for attacks and defence. The extraterrestrial team was a species called the D’Bari, led by Vuk.
2. Character Ages
This usually isn’t an issue that’s brought up when it comes to these adaptations, as it is almost impossible to get the same ages as the source material, as in real life, people age, and their characters must age as well, for progression. However, in the case of the X-Men movies, the ages are inconsistent even within themselves, not to mention the ages at which the events take place in the source material and the movies. The comics have the characters be fully fledged adults by the time this is happening. In fact, they are well into their superhero careers and are a solid team by the time the Dark Phoenix saga starts. However, in the movie, they are not a fully-fledged team just yet, as they are still figuring things out. They have their powers under control, and they work cohesively enough to guarantee success, and it is clear that they have been doing this for a while, but they are not quite there yet. The main issue, being the characters’ ages, comes up because we, the audience, were told that mutants manifest their powers during puberty. However, those in the same age group as Cyclops are about 17 years old in 1983, meaning that they are about 27 years old in Dark Phoenix, as it is set 10 years after Apocalypse. The characters not changing their appearance at all is a good indication, but the most interesting part is that Mystique refers to them as children when she’s speaking to Charles about the kinds of missions he is sending them on. One could argue that she calls them that because of how much older she is than them, but calling them children makes it seem like they are still in their teens or younger. We don’t think anybody would refer to a 27 year old as a child. Their ages are unclear, as even their behaviour isn’t that of people who are nearing their 30s. They still act like teenagers, but they are all around 27 years old.
3. Passive Cyclops
Although at some point he was the most hated character in Marvel, Cyclops is still a very important figure in the X-Men mythos. He is Charles’ handpicked successor; the first X-Man. He is Charles’ son in a sense. He was raised, being prepared to lead a team that would stand for mutant rights and protect the world from the dangers that their kind could bring about not only to the rest of humanity, but to mutants as well, all this with the dream of human-mutant coexistence in mind. Being as such, Cyclops grew up to be an exceptionally gifted leader. In fact, his whole family is just comprised of leaders. His father is the captain of a space pirate crew. His younger brother Havok has led X-Factor. His other younger brother became an Emperor of an intergalactic Empire. His son leads X-Force. The Summers family is very special, and it is no surprise that the most powerful telepath in the world found this potential and chose him to lead the prime mutant team he would create. However, the movies omit pretty much everything interesting about Cyclops, including the reason he can’t control his powers. In the comics, it is because of brain damage he suffered the day his powers manifested. In the movies, it’s because he’s incompetent. He only ever serves as a foil to Wolverine, stopping him from finally being with Jean Grey. This storyline has Cyclops at the heart of it, because he is fighting for the love of his life against aliens, against all odds, and doesn’t give up. It isn’t the best example of his great leadership, because the X-Men lose their grand fight against the might of the Shi’ar, but it is a testament to his strong will and his tactical mind, that he ended up challenging extraterrestrials in the first place. The movie could have finally had him step up to fight for Jean the same way Wolverine did in The Last Stand, but he was very passive and barely participated in the fights that were happening. There was even a point where he went to Charles, mid battle, and said that he doesn’t know what to do, that Charles should tell him what to do. It is important to note that one of the things about Cyclops that stands out with him is that even when under pressure, he always finds a solution to the problem. It's why he is so respected as a leader. In the movie, he isn’t even present at all for any of the conversations regarding Jean or what should happen to her. He never argues against Charles about what his role was in all of this. He is just there as her concerned boyfriend, but doesn’t really do anything more than just show concern. In the source material, he is relentless, and even when all hope is lost, he doesn't lose any of it and insists on continuing the fight.
4. The final fight
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