Phoenix (partially found unreleased Marvel Comics miniseries; 1987)
Interior splash page pencils by artist Rick Leonardi.
Status: Partially Found
Phoenix was a planned Marvel Comics miniseries starring Rachel Summers set for release in 1987, to be written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Rick Leonardi and inked by Dan Green.[1]
It was to take place immediately after Uncanny X-Men #209 (where Rachel is injured by Wolverine and lured into the Body Shoppe by Spiral, the former assassin of Mojo). Phoenix would've filled in the gap between her last appearance in UXM #209 (June 1986) and her reappearance in the Excalibur Special (December 1987) that launched the ongoing UK-based Excalibur series in 1988.
The limited series was announced in Marvel Age Annual #2, and was also mentioned in letters section of UXM #208, #213, and #215.
As described by Chris Claremont:
“It is basically Phoenix discovering who she is, what she is and why she is and discovering her origin,” Chris Claremont said. “It is a much more psychologically oriented series than most.” The Limited Series begins with the results of what happens in X-Men #209. Power Pack and Franklin Richards are among the guest-stars. And the featured villain will be Spiral."
Cancellation
However, the miniseries was quietly scrapped during development with little fanfare. For many years, it was unknown why Phoenix had been canceled. Fans often felt that without anything to fill in the gaps, Rachel's sudden return in Excalibur with a different characterization was rather jarring.
Finally, it was explained by Rick Leonardi in 2009 that the story got too complicated with past, present and future continuity and was subsequently shelved with less than a whole issue penciled.
A few pages have been made available, but the remaining pages that were drawn by Leonardi as well as any other concepts have not been made public.