Since at least the fifth century, BC, the legend of the Phoenix has been known throughout the world.The mythical bird that dies in, and is resurrected from, its own fiery ashes has variations in ancient Egyptian, Indian, and Persian histories among others and the Phoenix as a symbol of rebirth has remained universal for centuries.
So if we’re going to be talking about important beginnings in the X-Universe, we’d be insane not to mention the X-Men’s own resident firebird, Jean Grey.
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Not this crazy, sure, but pretty damn close. |
One of the original class of X-Men, and the only lady in Xavier’s debut sausage fest, Jean Grey was blessed with telepathic and telekinetic powers that manifested at a young age as she witnessed her best friend struck by a car and held her as she died.
Yeah. That’s pretty jacked up.
But on the X-Men, she joined Cyclops, Angel, Iceman and Beast in fighting for Xavier’s dream of mutant-human harmony and became a super hero.
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Although it seemed her mutant power in the 60s was to stand back in awe while the men got busy… |
For years, Jean was just a pretty face in the crowd and long regarded as the weakest link of the team, but that all changed not long after Chris Claremont took over the X-Men in the mid 1970s.
Using her powers to protect her teammates from radiation as the space shuttle they were on plummeted to earth after a pitched battle with Steven Lang’s sentinels, Jean was presumed dead but emerged from New York’s Jamaica Bay reborn and calling herself Phoenix.
And, really, of all the things washing up in Jamaica Bay in the 1970s, that was probably the least alarming.
Her powers increased exponentially to the point where she managed to save all of reality from the machinations of D’Ken, the mad emperor of the Shi’ar Empire.
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Isn’t there a rule on giving yourself a nickname..? |
But Jean’s new abilities still left her susceptible to the Hellfire Club’s Jason Wyngarde and his mental manipulations were instrumental in what was definitely his greatest mistake—awakening the Dark Phoenix, a being of nigh unlimited power who, during a flip out, decided to casually consume a sun, resulting in the death of billions inhabiting a nearby planet.
Her powers alarming both her teammates and the Shi’ar Empire, Jean was taken away so she could stand trial, even though her dark side had been suppressed. Sentenced to death unless the X-Men could defeat the Imperial Guard, Jean became overwrought with guilt and sacrificed herself on the moon.
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And thus ended one of the most important comic sagas of all time. |
But it turned out Jean and Phoenix were actually separate entities, the real Jean being in a cocoon beneath Jamaica Bay and the Phoenix Force only having assumed her form and memories all those months.
The real Jean was discovered by the Avengers and joined her original team under the new auspices of X-Factor, her resurrection kept secret from everyone else.
Meanwhile, Madelyne Pryor, Cyclops’ estranged wife—who Scott just up and ditched when he found out his first love was back—was revealed as a clone built by Mr. Sinister who was brought to life by a piece of the Phoenix Force that survived its death on the moon.
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Scott Summers: Dick. |
After Madelyne went nuts and became the Goblin Queen during Inferno, Jean Grey made her presence known to the new team of X-Men and over the years she periodically manifested Phoenix powers, though never to the level of her Dark Phoenix days…until Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run.
Even though Jean was never technically the Phoenix, she remained forever bonded to the entity and during the culmination to Planet X, she fully embraced the Phoenix Force and, fittingly, was killed in battle.
Months later, the Phoenix Force tried and failed to bring Jean back in Endsong and Warsong by Greg Pak.
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Thanks to Greg Land’s art, the Phoenix Force was also extra slutty. |
With Jean’s body still dead, remnants of the Phoenix Force were scattered about the cosmos, including in the body of Rachel Summers.
But those who held any part of the Phoenix Force found themselves suddenly, and violently, losing those parts just around the time Hope Summers came onto the scene, representing the rebirth of the mutant gene thought eradicated after House of M.
During the climax of Second Coming, Hope tapped into the Phoenix Force and destroyed Bastion, the suspicion arising that she was somehow Jean reborn.
With Hope being a major focus of the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men, hints indicate that the Phoenix Force will play a prominent role in the event, with Nova seen heading towards Earth to warn of its impending arrival in Marvel Point One and with rumors that Jean Grey will finally, once again, arise from the ashes before all is said and done.
And so it appears the cycle of death and rebirth is upon the Marvel Universe once again, but what it means, and whether the Phoenix will be a force for good or evil—and whether it brings a new beginning or a final ending—will be the burning questions answered soon enough…
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Not gonna lie, it’s all I can do to NOT say, “That’s what she said,” every time I see these promos… |
