X-Men Apocalypse: 36 Easter Eggs, In-Jokes & References You Need To See

By Simon Gallagher / May 19, 2016

6. Dark Phoenix

In case you were wondering where the main X-Men franchise will be going next, Singer starts early in Apocalypse teasing the Dark Phoenix Saga.

First he has Jean Grey suffering nightmares heavily featuring flames and has her talk about the dark power within her, and then her power (and lack of full control) is used as a plot device at two points in the finale.

Mystique first tells her it's a good thing that the young X-Men can't fully control their powers and should embrace it in the field, and then Professor X tells her to unleash everything within her to defeat Apocalypse. The result is a moment of full Phoenix, complete with a fiery bird symbol around Jean.

Both of those moments are going to come back to haunt everyone. Idiots.