One of the most beloved comic book movies of all time. One of the most reviled comic book movies of all time. One of the most beloved comic book story arcs of all time. If you have not already seen both Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, or read the Dark Phoenix Saga, I suggest you see/read all three immediately, if not for their quality, then for their overall influence on comic book movies.
In case you do not know the story of Jean Grey and Dark Phoenix, I will provide a recap. Jean was just an ordinary woman, the only thing that made her special was the fact that she was a mutant, with telepathic and telekinetic powers. However, she became extraordinary when she bonded with a cosmic entity known as the Phoenix force, which made her extremely powerful.
Even though she was significantly more powerful, she was still basically the same woman. That changed when she came under the influence of Jason Wyngarde, AKA Mastermind. Using a machine that was given to him by Emma Frost, he telepathically brainwashed her into thinking she was re-living the life of one of her ancestors from the eighteen-hundreds. He tricked her into joining the Hellfire Club and betraying the X-Men.
Eventually, she was able to overcome Wyngarde’s brainwashing, and helped the X-Men defeat the Hellfire Club. Unfortunately, it was too late, the damage had been done. Jean went insane because of her anger, and turned on the X-Men. She was no longer a hero, but an extremely powerful, psychopathic monster. She was Dark Phoenix.
Jean Grey was a compassionate human being who deeply cared for others. The Dark Phoenix did not care about other life forms- as made clear when she devoured a star that an inhabited planet orbited, killing millions instantly.
The only thing that could keep Dark Phoenix’s power in check was Jean, who still had a presence in her mind. Jean prevented Dark Phoenix from killing the X-Men- in fact, during a telepathic battle with Professor X, Jean helped the Professor win. He was able to return Jean to normal.
However, this victory was short-lived. The Shiar empire declared Jean worthy of death for her crimes. The X-Men were forced to fight the Shiar Imperial Guard on the moon in a contest for Jean’s life (just go with it). Unfortunately, the X-Men were losing. Jean was on the moon with her teammates, and their imminent defeat caused her to lose her mind once more.
Once again, the X-Men were forced to fight Dark Phoenix. Only this time, they were able to defeat her- at least, they managed to get Jean in control once more.
This is the most important part of the story. Jean was in control of the Phoenix force for the moment, but she knew that would not last long. She tells Cyclops that she would have to be on her guard every minute of every day to keep Dark Phoenix in check, and if she fails, it could mean the death of millions, or perhaps everyone in the universe. She realized that the only way to keep this power in check and save all those people was to destroy the Dark Phoenix. The only way to do that is to kill herself, and she does, using a Shiar weapon, as Cyclops screams.
Shortly afterward, the Watcher (who lived on the moon at the time) said, "Jean Grey could have lived to become a god, but it was more important to her that she died as a human." I would argue that she chose to die a hero, instead of living as a monster.
I am sure I do not need to tell you that X-Men: The Last Stand completely botched this story. X-2: X-Men United did a decent job setting up the story, with Jean heroically sacrificing herself to save the rest of the team. Jean appeared to have died, but we knew she would return in the sequel as Phoenix.
In Phoenix’s very first scene in X-Men: The Last Stand, the filmmakers butcher the story. Dark Phoenix kills Cyclops, which dramatically injures the story in two ways. The first way is that it changes Dark Phoenix’s character. In the comics it is made quite clear that Dark Phoenix has the power to kill all of the X-Men at any time she pleases. However, Jean still has a presence in her mind, and she will not let Dark Phoenix murder them.
The second, and more significant reason, is that Cyclops is the most important character in the Dark Phoenix saga aside from Jean herself. The other X-Men are merely losing a teammate and a friend. Cyclops is losing the love of his life.
Only a few scenes later, we learn that the Phoenix force is not a cosmic entity, but an alternate personality buried deep inside her subconscious that she has had since childhood. I can understand why they would not want to have a cosmic entity involved in the film adaption, but come on, this is supposed to be X-Men, not a Sigmund Freud fan fiction.
It turns out the reason Dark Phoenix was able to kill Cyclops is because Jean has been completely locked out, allowing Dark Phoenix to do whatever she pleases. In fact, Jean is only able to reclaim her mind twice in the movie. The first time is after Wolverine and Storm have brought Jean back to the mansion, and she begs Wolverine to kill her before she goes crazy again- and I have to hand it to the filmmakers, because she does the exact same thing in the comics.
The other time is at the end of the movie, when she is fighting Wolverine on Alcatraz island, after she has already joined the Brotherhood of Mutants. Why an infinitely powerful mutant would even bother with the Brotherhood, I do not know, but the filmmakers needed to find a way to cram her into the final battle. Anyway, after Wolverine has already said he is willing to die for her, Jean reclaims her mind and asks him to save her. So Wolverine stabs her.
That is how the Dark Phoenix saga ends in X-Men: The Last Stand. No poignant, heroic, beautiful sacrifice. Instead of Jean heroically sacrificing herself to save the universe, Wolverine kills Jean in order to save the world. The tragic, poetic way the story ended in the comics was changed so that the most marketable X-Man could become the hero. One might even argue that Wolverine murdered Jean, since she was in control of her mind at the time that he stabbed her.
Sure, it could be argued that Wolverine was making a big sacrifice, since he was sacrificing the woman he loved to save the world. To me, it just looks like domestic violence. Come to think of it, that is exactly what happened with Cyclops at the beginning of the movie.
Is there a chance we could get a more faithful retelling of the Dark Phoenix saga in another sequel? Perhaps, but I do not think one is necessary, because there has been a far better retelling of the Dark Phoenix saga in another movie from another superhero franchise.
Though it might sound bizarre at first, Doctor Octopus’ story in Spider-Man 2 is very similar to the Dark Phoenix saga. Doctor Otto Octavius was just an ordinary man, the only thing that made him special was his genius intellect, and four mechanical arms that he wore to handle dangerous materials.
Just like Jean Grey, Otto’s life changed completely during a scientific demonstration, when a model fusion reactor malfunctioned, endangered everyone in the vicinity, and killed Otto’s wife. Spider-Man intervened, and turned off the machine, but not before it destroyed the inhibitor chip that Otto had installed in his mechanical arms. The tentacles had an extremely advanced form of artificial intelligence, allowing Otto to easily manipulate them with his mind. When the chip broke, Otto was no longer in control of his own sanity, allowing the mechanical arms to take over.
Otto Octavius went from being a simple scientist who wanted to help humanity by creating a new power source, to a monster that only wanted to finish his project due to a sense of selfish pride. The selfish, psychopathic tendencies of Doctor Octopus clearly echo those of Dark Phoenix.
Not long afterward, Doc Ock has an extended conversation with his tentacles, and you can see how they are slowly warping his mind. Otto is an honorable man, a man of science, not a criminal. Despite this, the tentacles are able to convince him to rob a bank. After Spider-Man thwarts his attempt, Doc Ock turns to his former benefactor, Harry Osborn, in order to obtain the tritium that is required to build his fusion reactor.
Doc Ock makes a deal to surrender Spider-Man to Harry in exchange for the tritium, and kidnaps Mary Jane in the process. After escaping from Harry, Spidey web slings to the dock where Doc Ock is setting up his fusion reactor. Spider-Man is there to save Mary Jane, and shut down Doc Ock’s machine, which threatens to destroy New York City.
Doctor Octopus is oblivious to all of this. He is so obsessed with completely his project that he is willing to endanger everyone in the city. Spider-Man manages to defeat Doc Ock, save Mary Jane, and unplug the machine, but it is not enough. The massive ball of energy continues to grow bigger, continuously sucking up metal like a vacuum.
After much convincing from Spidey, Doctor Octopus turns back into Otto Octavius. He realizes the giant ball of energy is far too dangerous, and he tells Peter that he will destroy it himself. He does this in order to eliminate two threats. The first is the energy ball, and it is a threat that requires immediate attention, as it will destroy the city if he does not stop it. The second threat is Doc Ock himself. He knows that his tentacles have just as much a chance of controlling him as he does them, so he sacrifices himself before he can do further damage.
Otto’s final line is, “I will not die a monster,” right as the energy ball and its construct caves in on him. He choose to die a hero, instead of a monster.
It is easy to see the parallels of Jean Grey and Otto Octavius. Both are fairly ordinary people (except for their superpowers), that lose their minds and become extraordinary after a traumatizing event. After going on a rampage, killing many people, and repeatedly clashing with their respective heroes, they valiantly sacrifice their lives in order to protect others from their unstoppable abilities.
Do not get me wrong, I am in no way condoning suicide. I am merely applauding the heroic deaths of fictional characters. They chose to die in order to save other people. As someone far wiser than me once said, there is no one with greater love than a person willing to die for others.
It is not hard to see what makes Doctor Octopus one of Spider-Man’s greatest cinematic villains, if not the greatest. Elements of his character arc have been heavily borrowed from one of the greatest X-Men story arcs of all time.
Does this diminish the sting of X-Men: The Last Stand? Probably not, unfortunately. The parallels between Doc Ock and Dark Phoenix simply give us a new way to appreciate Spider-Man 2. From now on, whenever a character is so powerful that they are afraid they might threaten the world due to their insanity, it will be known as the Doc Phoenix syndrome.
That was my theory! Do you agree? Disagree? Do you love the end of X-Men: The Last Stand? (and if you do, what is wrong with you?) Let me know in the comments!