WATCH: John Byrne reacts to Dark Phoenix and looks back at his X-Men run

"I try to get it right the first time. If you don't, get it right the next time. So I try not to erase." - John Byrne

In 1977, John Byrne took over the Uncanny X-Men series as the new penciler and made comic book history with writer Chris Claremont. Together, they transformed the X-Men into one of Marvel’s most popular books, while collaborating on The Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, and other timeless classics. But it wasn’t always a smooth collaboration. In the second part of SYFY WIRE’s Behind the Panel interview with Byrne, he recalled “constantly being at loggerheads” with Claremont. And yet their run together is still considered to be peak X-Men.

“Chris and I would talk on the phone coming up with these intricate, intricate plots,” said Byrne. “And then I would draw what I remembered. Because I figured the stuff I remembered was the important stuff."

The legendary artist also elaborated on his decision to leave the X-Men title, before explaining why he never considered his Canadian superhero team, Alpha Flight, to be “real.” Additionally, Byrne shared his opinion about the upcoming live-action Dark Phoenix movie, which will adapt his iconic story.

“I don’t know how they can even pretend to take a story that took us four years to tell and do it in two hours,” said Byrne. “None of the setup is going to be there. All of the stuff with Mastermind ... it’s just not there. The movies always feel like Hollywood is trying to show us how to do it right ... and not succeeding.”

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