Vers le milieu des années 80, Claremont et Leonardi commencent à travailler sur une mini-série Phoenix, centrée sur le personnage de Rachel Summers, en vue d’explorer son passé tortueux (donc le futur potentiel de Days of Future Past) et de développer sa relation avec le Franklin Richards adulte du futur.
L’histoire devait également inclure Power Pack et Spirale et faire le lien entre son départ des X-Men et son arrivée chez Excalibur (finalement dans ce laps de temps elle fera juste un séjour prolongé dans le Mojoworld).
La sortie imminente est alors annoncée dans Marvel Age 43 :
[quote]Coming Soon: PHOENIX Limited Series
She’s from a future that may or may not be ours. She’s living in a past that isn’t quite the way she remembers it. She’s Rachel Summers, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey, Cyclops and Marvel Girl of X-FACTOR! But her mother was Phoenix, and in the Marvel Universe Scott and Jean aren’t married. In fact, Scott has a son by his wife Madelyne! These are definitely not the average problems that face most young women. But then, Rachel isn’t exactly average.
This is the background for THE PHOENIX Limited Series, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Rick Leonardi and Dan Green. Rachel having retreated to current time to escape from a grim anti-mutant future, has joined the X-Men and is using her telepathic powers as the new Phoenix. But since she adopted her mother’s name in the battle against the Beyonder, nothing has gone right.
The plot of the Limited Series deals with the dread villainess Spiral (remember her from LONGSHOT and, more recently, the Freedom Force?) and lots of psychological ramifications and complications. It examines how Rachel is coping with being in a past that resembles - but isn’t quite - the one that proceeded her world. She will meet Power Pack in the first issue and see little Franklin Richards. In her time, Rachel is in love with a grown Franklin! Here he is a child, and she is much older than him, and this situation will cause her to do some serious soul searching.
There will also be lots of cameos and guest appearances, lots of flash-forwards, and lots of fantastic visuals by Leonardi and Green. We’ll have more information on the Limited Series as its publication approaches, so stay tuned.[/quote]
la série est néanmoins repoussée, prévue ensuite pour 1987.
Cependant l’éditeur trouve que cette histoire temporelle commence à devenir beaucoup trop alambiquée, et le projet est définitivement abandonné.
Claremont réutilisera finalement le personnage lors de son run sur Excalibur tandis que l’histoire de Franklin sera reléguée au crossover Days of Future Present.
En 1991, Le duo trouvera tout de même le moyen de s’occuper d’une autre histoire à propos de Phénix et Kitty Pryde.
En raison du départ du scénariste phare de la franchise, cette arc ne sortira qu’à partir de son retour à la fin des années 90 (la série X-Men: True Friends).
Et voici quelques pages de Rick Leonardi (encré par Dan Green) :
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/phoenix4.jpg
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/phoenix5.jpg
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/phoenix1.jpg
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/phoenix2.jpg
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/phoenix3.jpg
Source: marvel1980s.blogspot.fr