Phoenix Force | |
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The Phoenix entity. From the back cover to Classic X-Men #8. Art by John Bolton |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #101 (October 1976) |
Created by | Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum |
In-story information | |
Team affiliations | X-Men Hellfire Club Galactic Guardians Phoenix Corps |
Notable aliases | Phoenix, Jean Grey, White Phoenix of the Crown, Star-Child, Chaos-Bringer, Black Queen, Dark Phoenix, Child of the M'Kraan Crystal |
Abilities | Virtual Omnipotence
Prescience Cosmic Awareness Indeterminable Cosmic and Psionic Powers Life force Manipulation Complete control over all forms of energy and matter |
Cosmic Marvel |
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Major Characters |
Adam Warlock |
Captain Marvel |
Nova · Quasar |
Rom the Spaceknight |
Silver Surfer |
Star-Lord · Thanos |
Groups |
Cosmic entities |
Elders of the Universe |
Guardians of the Galaxy |
Imperial Guard |
Inhumans |
Major species |
Badoon · Brood |
Celestials · Kree · Shi'ar · |
Skrulls · Watchers |
The Phoenix Force is a fictional entity in Marvel Comics which has bonded with other characters, who often used the alias Phoenix. It first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #101 (October 1976) and was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.
The Phoenix Force is famous for its central role in one of the most influential storylines in American superhero comics, the Dark Phoenix Saga, and is usually linked to Jean Grey. In 2009, Jean Grey as the Dark Phoenix was ranked as IGN's 9th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[1] Wizard Magazine's list of Top 100 villains ranked the Dark Phoenix as #38th.
Contents |
Fictional character biography
The Phoenix Force is an immortal and mutable manifestation of the prime universal force of life and passion. Born of the void between states of being, the Phoenix Force is a child of the universe. It is the nexus of all psionic energy which does, has, and ever will exist in all realities of the omniverse, the Guardian of Creation, and of the dangerously powerful M'Kraan Crystal.
The Phoenix is among the most feared beings in the entire existence — having the power to cut and re-grow any part of the universe, as well as destroy it entirely, which is part of the Phoenix's purpose: "The Judgment of the Phoenix", to burn away the obsolete. The Phoenix Force is described as being "the embodiment of the very passion of Creation – the spark that gave life to the Universe, the flame that will ultimately consume it."
During its time as a sentient and nameless entity, it traveled the cosmos just like other cosmic beings. At first, the Phoenix Force was a formless mass of energy, but thousands of years ago, it came to Earth, and met a magician named Feron (who worshipped the legendary Phoenix), whose daydream-like visions prompted the Phoenix to adopt the firebird form it has today. He asked the Phoenix to help him by lending its energy to project a stone pillar (which resembled a lighthouse) across the multiverse. The pillar became the lighthouse base for the British super-team Excalibur (a team its future host Rachel Summers herself would join). Afterwards, Feron was attacked by Necrom in an attempt to steal the power of the Phoenix. Feron, strengthened by the Phoenix Force, was able to fight back but Necrom was able to steal a fraction of the Phoenix Force's essence forcing it to flee back to space in agonized confusion. The Phoenix Force returned to Earth when it felt the mind of a human transcend the physical realm, a mind that resonated with the Phoenix Force's energy. A young Jean Grey had telepathically linked her mind to her dying friend, Annie Richards, to keep Annie's soul from moving to the afterlife. In doing so, Jean's mind was being dragged along to the "other side" with Annie. Phoenix lent its energy to break the connection, and kept close watch on young Jean, as it felt a kinship with the young mutant. Years later when Jean was dying on a space shuttle, her mind called out for help and the Phoenix Force answered and saved her, transforming Jean into Phoenix.[2]
The Phoenix remained with the X-Men for only a short time. She prevented the complete destruction of the universe by repairing the damaged energy matrix at the core of the M'Krann Crystal.[3] During a skirmish with the X-Men's first and most deadly foe, Magneto, Phoenix and Beast were separated from the other X-Men, with each group believing the other to have perished.[4] Phoenix went on a European vacation to gather herself in this new, lonely world. In Greece, Phoenix meets a young and handsome man named Nikos, who she spends several days with. He is revealed to be Mastermind, a mutant with the powers of illusion. He begins to plant the seeds of dissent within her fragile psyche by comparing her to a god and insisting she can do whatever she wants.[5] She would later encounter him again in Scotland, under the guise of Jason Wynguarde, a handsome 18th Century loyalist, believing him to be both the work of the reality-warping mutant Proteus, and the lover to one of her ancestors.[6]
After an encounter with the Hellfire Club and manipulation by Mastermind and the White Queen, the Phoenix was transformed into their Black Queen.[7] She broke free of Mastermind's control, but had been transformed into Dark Phoenix. She battled the X-Men and fled to the stars, devoured the energies of the D'Bari star system to satisfy her "hunger" as Dark Phoenix, annihilating the five billion inhabitants of its fourth planet, and destroyed a nearby Shi'Ar observatory vessel which opened fire on her before returning to Earth. There, she was defeated in psionic combat by Professor Xavier, and regained control. The group was then teleported to space by the Shi'Ar and given a trial by combat. Just as victory seemed certain for the Imperial Guard, she once again became Dark Phoenix, and ultimately committed apparent suicide on Earth's moon before the eyes of a horrified Cyclops.[8]
As originally written, the Jean Grey incarnation of the Phoenix was Jean herself, having attained her ultimate potential as a psi, becoming a being of pure energy and reforming herself as Phoenix[9], only to become slowly corrupted by the manipulation of such foes as Mastermind and Emma Frost; unable to adapt to her enormous power, Jean was driven mad.
In order to return Jean to the fold several years later, this storyline was retconned to reveal the existence of the cosmic Phoenix Force entity, which had created a duplicate body of Jean, believed itself to be Jean, and acted in her place while the real Jean lay in a coma in the ocean, where the Avengers and Fantastic Four would later discovered her.[10] This allowed Jean to be revived as a member of X-Factor. The extent to which the duplicate and Jean are separate entities depends on who is writing the character(s) at the time, some instances portraying them as inherently separate, while others demonstrate a shared consciousness.
Part of the Phoenix Force encountered a manifestation of Death after committing suicide, and then returned itself to Jean in the cocoon. Horrified by what it had done, Jean rejected it and it went on to join with Jean's clone, Madelyne Pryor.[11] This portion of the Phoenix remained with Madelyne until she also committed suicide and the Phoenix consciousness rejoined with the awakened Jean.
Another possessor of the Phoenix Force is Rachel Summers, Jean's daughter from the Days of Future Past alternate future. The Phoenix Force accepted her as a host, allowing her to use limited amounts of its immense powers to enhance her own.
During an encounter with Galactus, Rachel Summers—at the time completely overtaken by the Phoenix Force—battled Galactus in an effort to save a planet he was preparing to devour.[12] The Phoenix Force disrupted Galactus' feeding process and thus was able to eventually defeat the depleted world devourer in battle. Galactus accused the Phoenix Force of hypocrisy and revealed to it that every time it exercised its powers on such vast scales, it robbed energy used to birth future generations. Realizing this to be true, the Phoenix vowed never again to use its powers to such an extent.
Jean Grey would begin to manifest Phoenix firebirds and tap into its cosmic reserves shortly before her death at the hands of Xorn.[13]
Endsong and Warsong
The Phoenix Force would return to Earth during the mini-series X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong, where it resurrected Jean Grey from her grave. It is not long before she remembers what she has come for — Scott Summers (a.k.a. Cyclops). She needs to feed from the energy from his optic blasts, and confused by Jean's emotions thinks she's in love with Scott. When she realizes Scott is in love with Emma Frost (former White Queen of the Hellfire Club and headmistress of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning). Through a number of incidents, including Jean having Wolverine kill her a number of times, Jean trapping herself in a glacier, the Phoenix Force jumping into Emma Frost, and parts of the X-Men being trapped in a Shi'Ar-generated event horizon, Jean Grey managed to assert herself and gain control of the Phoenix Force, with emotional support of all the X-Men. Jean then declares that she and the Phoenix force are truly one entity now, have transcended into the White Phoenix of the Crown. This is signified by a new white and gold costume.[volume & issue needed]
As a result of a Shi'Ar attack on the Phoenix Force, it is currently in an incomplete state and Jean must now search out the remaining parts of the Phoenix Force. The consequences of this were partially addressed in X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong in which a small part of the Phoenix Force joined with the Stepford Cuckoos. After nearly losing control to the Phoenix power, the Stepford Cuckoos developed a secondary mutation, in which their hearts turned to diamond and they were able to imprison the piece of the Phoenix Force.[volume & issue needed]
End of Greys
With the failed attack on the Phoenix Force which ended with Jean Grey escaping their suicide bomb attack and returned to the White Hot Room to restore herself, the Shi'ar still wanted to permanently kill the Phoenix Force and Jean Grey. In hopes of eliminating the possibility of a new Omega-level mutant becoming a host for the Phoenix Force, the Shi'ar sent to Earth a commando unit with the purpose to wipe out the Grey genome and kill Quentin Quire. These Death Comandos arrived at Rachel's family reunion site and killed all the members of the Grey family besides Rachel and Cable who wasn't present. Afterward, at the graves of the Grey family, Rachel vowed a terrible vengeance on the Shi'ar and was quoted as saying: "I'm not my mom. I'm not the Phoenix. I'm my own woman. And by the time I'm done... they'll wish I was the Phoenix."[volume & issue needed]
Kingbreaker & The Sisterhood
During the last issue of Kingbreaker, the Phoenix mysteriously abandons Rachel and Korvus during battle with Vulcan's new guard, leaving them both without its power. As it leaves Rachel mutters "Please, not now… Mom." implying that Jean is calling back the missing pieces of the Phoenix Force, and perhaps planning another resurrection. Rachel later says that it was almost like the phoenix was never with her for she "Can't feel it... I can't hear it...It's like it was never there.". This incident will be examined after the conclusion of War of Kings storyline.[volume & issue needed]
Roughly around the same time, back on Earth in San Francisco the Red Queen and her Sisterhood attack the X-Men; first trapping Emma in a psychic barricade by Lady Mastermind. Inside what appears to be the White Hot Room or possibly just Emma's own mind, a woman resembling Jean Grey appears to Emma and helps her break free of Regan's influence with what appears to be the Phoenix energy raptor, thus letting her assist Logan, who has been robbed of a lock of Jean's hair that was in his possession. Madelyne uses the hair sample to locate Jean's gravesite, and then attempts to repeat the ritual with her corpse but Cyclops had ordered Domino to substitute the body for someone elses and it somehow causes Madelyne to either discorporate or become absorbed into the fake.[14]
Utopia
During a conflict with several Predators X (genetically engineered mutant hunters), the Stepford Cuckoos are overwhelmed and knocked unconscious as the three fragments of the Phoenix they captured, forcefully escape from the girl's diamond Hearts, much to the horror of Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men.[15]
List of hosts
- Jean Grey: The Phoenix's longest host and possessor of the Phoenix Force. Together they have become the White Phoenix of the Crown, marking them the most powerful and complete Phoenix Force and Host combination. Death has stated that Jean is the rightful owner of the Phoenix Force, and that she is not just a host, but she is the Phoenix and the Phoenix is her.
- Rook'shir: A Shi'ar that wielded the Phoenix Force through a giant blade, called the Blade of the Phoenix. He almost decimated the Shi'ar Empire.
- Feron: Ancestor of the modern day Feron whose daydream-like visions prompted the Phoenix to adopt the firebird form it has today.
- Necrom: Possessed a fraction of the Phoenix Force that would be later become known as the Anti-Phoenix.
- Madelyne Pryor: A clone of Jean Grey that was brought to life by a fraction of the Phoenix Force.
- Rachel Summers: Jean Grey's daughter from an alternate timeline, she was the second longest host to wield the Phoenix Force. She lost her connection to the Phoenix Force.
- Professor X: Charles Xavier briefly possessed a fraction of the Phoenix Force during his time with the Starjammers.
- Diamanda Nero: She briefly became the host of the Phoenix after her fight with Rachel. However, she was not truly able to contain the Phoenix.
- Emma Frost: Emma briefly became the host for Phoenix during the Force's latest visit to Earth. However, she was not truly able to contain the Phoenix due to not having Omega-level power. See X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong. She herself doesn't considers herself a true avatar like Jean but rather a substitute for the wounded entity.
- Stepford Cuckoos: Possessed a fraction of the Phoenix Force that they had to imprison inside of their diamond hearts. See X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong The Cuckoos lose their conection to the Phoenix fragment(as of Uncanny X-Men 517) as it escapes their diamond hearts, leaving for parts unknown.
- Korvus: Descendant of Rook'shir. Wielder of the Blade of the Phoenix. Currently the Blade is powerless after the connection to the Phoenix fragment was somehow lost.
- Giruad: Possesses the Phoenix Force in the 31st century, as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic.
- Other characters were only possessed by the Phoenix Force during out-of-continuity tales. This includes Nightcrawler, Storm and Gabriel Summers in separate What If... stories, as well as Cyclops in the X-Men / Teen Titans inter-company crossover. Prime was briefly possessed by the Phoenix Force while it was in the Malibu Universe as well as Amber Hunt. Quentin Quire was revealed to be a host in the Here Comes Tomorrow storyline and in the timeline of Nocturne, the Phoenix Force possessed Colossus' soulless body and reshaped it into female form.
Powers and abilities
The Phoenix Force has the ability to manipulate cosmic energies and to tap into the life-force reserved for future generations, thus denying them existence. It can wield this energy to project beams of immense destructive force. It can transmigrate throughout time and space by folding its energy back into itself, causing it to collapse akin to a black hole and then reform itself upon reaching its destination. It can directly absorb energy such as Cyclops' optic blasts or even the entire energy of a sun. It is also capable of absorbing the energy and life-force from a foe. As it is the nexus of all psionic energy, it has mental abilities of cosmic scope, including telepathy and telekinesis.
The extent of the Phoenix Force's abilities has not been fully clarified. Jean Grey as The White Phoenix of the Crown was able to change the future of a universe by reaching back in time and pushing her husband Cyclops to move on with his life and held a universe in the palm of her hands.
Often the Phoenix seeks out hosts who have strong inherent psionic abilities so they can withstand its power. When the Phoenix Force enters a host, a small fragment of its power is left behind when it leaves. Even a small fragment can be stronger than an inexperienced host using the Phoenix Force's powers, as seen by Rachel Summers, who had full access to the Force, but her opponent threw moons at her with only a fragment. When bonded with a host, the Phoenix Force amplifies their abilities to incalculable levels. It can manipulate matter on a sub-atomic level and transmute elements (e.g., turning wood to gold, stone to crystal, etc). It can teleport others across space and can also open inter-dimensional portals to instantaneously access distant locales of the Universe. If an avatar of the Phoenix Force is harmed or killed, it will form an "egg" of cosmic power, incubate in the White Hot Room, and hatch out completely healed. Also, as one of the oldest cosmic beings the Phoenix Force possesses a high level of cosmic awareness and prescience.
Other versions
31st century
In the 31st century in the Guardians of the Galaxy comics series, ordinary human Giraud of New Haven becomes host to the Phoenix Force. As Phoenix, Giraud is a rarity for a Phoenix host; since he is an ordinary human with no magic or psionic abilities — only those powers granted him directly by the Phoenix Force.[volume & issue needed]
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse reality, after Jean Grey's death at the hands of Havok, nuclear bombs set to destroy America were suddenly destroyed by a bird-like display of fiery psionic power. It was Jean, awakened as the Phoenix (known as "Mutant Alpha", the legendary ultimate mutant). Sinister captured Phoenix, and brainwashed her into becoming one of his Sinister Six. He then turned Phoenix against the X-Men, displaying the personality of Dark Phoenix. Phoenix generated so much heat that even Sunfire was nearly burned to death, but Psylocke used her psychic knife to bring her to her senses. Jean used the Phoenix Force to incinerate her former "master", and became leader of the X-Men in Magneto's absence.
Amalgam Comics
The Phoenix is combined with DC Comics character Kinetix to make Phoenetix in Spider-Boy Team-Up #1.[16]
Legacy of Fire
In a reality similar to the Marvel Mangaverse, the Phoenix Force is not just an entity, but a weapon. The Phoenix Sword as it was called was guarded and wielded by the sorceress Madelyne Pyre, who inherited the sword from her mother. When Madelyne's time as wielder of the sword was nearly up, she trained little sister Jena in the arts of fighting and magic. When their reality's version of Shadow King stole the Phoenix Sword, Jena tried to get it back, and Shadow King stabbed her with the sword. But in doing so, he inadvertently passed the powers of the Phoenix Sword to the dying Jena, who became the Phoenix Force's first host. She used the powers of Phoenix to vanquish Shadow King, and is now the guardian of her dimension.[volume & issue needed]
Marvel Zombies
Phoenix appears in the second Marvel Zombies mini-series. The zombie survivors of the first series, who now possess the powers of Galactus, have been joined by other "cosmic level" zombies including an unnamed Dark Phoenix who appears to be Jean Grey. She is responsible, along with the others for eating most of the sentient life in the universe. A long trip back to earth and a delaying action fought by the last human colony leads to Jean and the others regaining their sense of morality and control over their own hunger. In fighting to defend the colony, Jean is destroyed by the hunger crazed Hulk.[17]
Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate X-Men: Date Night arc, Majestrix Lilandra of the Church of Shi'Ar Enlightenment, claims that a Phoenix god is the force that created life itself. First the Phoenix created the stars, planets, as well as everything else in the universe. Many millennia later, the Phoenix created life-forms on those planets and watched them grow and prosper. However, as time went by, the civilizations grew more advanced and sophisticated, and soon became jealous of the Phoenix. They wanted its raw, unimaginable, and limitless power for themselves. Soon after, the inhabitants of the planets waged war upon the Phoenix, trying to control it, as well as its power. They amassed a great army, bringing together a hundred civilizations. But the Phoenix fought strongly for thousands of years until the life-forms found a way to imprison it since it couldn't be killed. But as conventional methods could not imprison it, they created vortex to suck in the asteroids and planets around it, creating a spherical cage, but at a cost—the Phoenix would be trapped in it forever. As the millennia went by, the Phoenix Force's cage began to evolve; oceans formed, mountains rose, plants grew and life-forms began to sprout upon it. Soon those life-forms evolved into humans and the cage in which the Phoenix resided became Earth. The Shi'Ar Church believed that the Phoenix was the very core of the Earth.
Jean Grey was placed in a mental institute after she began hearing voices and seeing visions of an omnipotent Phoenix god. After her release, she later thought she had contacted a celestial god-entity which destroyed worlds.
As a result, the Hellfire Club believed that it would be in their best interests to summon the Phoenix and merge it with Jean Grey via a ritual. With Jean acting as the Phoenix Force's human avatar, she would be worshipped in a greater world. While the ritual was successful, the Phoenix had different plans and promptly slew the Hellfire Club. In the Ultimate X-Men: Hellfire and Brimstone arc, the Phoenix Force makes its first appearance as the entity/personality within Jean's body.
Subsequently, Jean managed to gain some control over Phoenix, though not without using dangerous amounts of its power and causing extreme destruction. In the process, she telekinetically lifted a mass of land and atomized it, destroyed a helicopter and ten men within, created a giant Phoenix Raptor, and subdued a woman named Spiral.
Recently, Charles Xavier was confronted by Lilandra Neramani, the leader of a religious group known as the Shi'Ar, who worship a god known as the Phoenix. As a result of their meeting, Lilandra asks for permission to study Jean Grey to determine whether or not she truly is the embodiment of the Phoenix Force. During the examination, the Phoenix entity apparently asserts itself in an evil form but is seemingly suppressed by Professor Xavier's more experienced psychic powers and his emotional outreach to Jean Grey's normal personality.
After the suppression of what seems to be the Phoenix Force, Lilandra and Charles are informed by Gerald, Lilandra's assistant, that Jean's test has proven to be negative. Gerald also reveals that Jean Grey's parents have a connection to the Shi'Ar Church and postulates that Jean's subconscious has manifested a false Phoenix persona after being subjected to Phoenix Force stories in her youth. Feeling that she has lost her mind Jean slips into a depressed state and begins seeing green creatures latched on to her body. However, it is then revealed to the reader that Jean has actually tested positive as the carrier of the Phoenix Force and Gerald has covered it up under orders from his actual superiors: the Hellfire Club.
Jean soon learned to control the powers of the Phoenix more and more. When Apocalypse prepared to kill Xavier, Jean accepts the Phoenix, creating a humanoid fiery entity whose power was able to bring down the ancient being. She alters reality completely and resets time to undue the damage done by Apocalypse and supposedly by Professor Xavier.
In Ultimate X-Men\Fantastic Four Annual #1, a teenage Franklin Richards is shown to be host to the Phoenix, and a member of that timeline's X-Men.
What If?
The timeline shown in What If v2, #79 diverged from the main reality on the fateful day when the X-Men's shuttle passed through cosmic radiation during re-entry to Earth.
Jean Grey had been knocked out and could no longer pilot anymore. So it was Storm who volunteered to steer the capsule with her elemental powers. However, she was not as successful as Jean, and all of the X-Men, except for Wolverine, died during the crash. Storm seemingly survived and emerged from the wreckage as Stormphoenix, now displaying absolute control over all aspects of the weather.
She erected a benevolent dictatorship on Earth, drawing young mutants to her side and freezing the super-beings who opposed her in the atmosphere. As she grew more cruel and detached from humanity, the remaining heroes—as well as her acolyte, Kitty, and her mentor, Ahadi—hatched a plan to get rid of her. They examined the space capsule and found the real Storm, who had been placed in a healing cocoon and submerged in the Hudson Bay.
Kitty took over her body and they confronted Stormphoenix as the fake she was. Shocked back to its senses, the Phoenix left Earth, but the real Storm died in the process.
The What If Special for X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire looks at what would have happened if Vulcan had inherited the powers of Phoenix via the M'Kraan Crystal.
In this reality it was Vulcan who ended up inside the M'Kraan Crystal, instead of Professor X. Through the M'Kraan Crystal, Vulcan ascends to the White Hot Room where he meets the Phoenix Corps, one of them being Kid Omega, who says that Vulcan doesn't belong there. Vulcan takes Kid Omega's powers. He slays all the Phoenix Corps taking all their powers along. He goes out of the Crystal and takes the pieces of the Phoenix Force out of Rachel and Korvus. Wielding supposedly the full Phoenix Force, he soon destroys the Shi'Ar Empire, Xavier, Nightcrawler, Polaris, Warpath, Darwin, the Starjammers, Gladiator and Lilandra.
Only Rachel and Havok survive, because they escape through a teleportation portal that mysteriously appears next to them. They are not sure who or what caused a stargate to seemingly open. Then Vulcan destroys 1/3 of the Annihilation Wave along with Annhilius himself. Nova pleas to Ronan the Accuser to escape. However, like he did to the Shi'Ar Empire, Vulcan destroys the Kree Empire. The Watchers comment, that the Phoenix "consumed" a galaxy, it was the 7th galaxy to fall. Rachel and Havok arrived at Earth and with Cyclops and Cable engage Vulcan. The match takes place in the island that was torn to pieces, Krakoa, however, apparently wielding the Phoenix Force holds no limits to what it can do as Krakoa is now alive and intact. However, as the battle erupts Vulcan begins to lose control. Rachel warns Gabriel, that the Phoenix Force reacts poorly to negative emotions. The consequences of losing total control will not only consume himself but the entire reality.
Finally letting go of the rage and hate he holds, he proceeds to halt his rampage, and accept his death. Then all the actions are revealed. It is none other than Jean Grey who is the White Phoenix of the Crown. It was Jean that opened the teleportation portal so Rachel and Havok could escape to Earth; she also shows Gabriel that wielding the ultimate power won't give him what he truly wanted, being loved. After his death, Vulcan is shown as a child once again, and he goes to the White Hot Room where he's comforted by Jean. She jokingly tells him that she always had a soft spot for Summers men.
Note: All the actions are narrated by the M'Kraan Crystal's guardian Jhaf.
Crossovers
Phoenix has appeared in the following intercompany crossovers:
- Dark Phoenix teamed up with Darkseid in the Teen Titans/X-Men crossover between DC and Marvel Comics' respective teams. The story was made by Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson and Terry Austin in 1983. The story follows Darkseid conversing with Metron for the Anti-Life Equation at the edge of the Universe. Metron and Darkseid make a deal, and Dark Phoenix becomes part of that equation. The Teen Titans try to stop Darkseid, with the help of the X-Men, who later go head to head with Deathstroke the Terminator. The Dark Phoenix breaks free from Darkseid's grasp, is briefly hosted by Cyclops, and eventually dies again. The team-up is generally considered non-canonical by fans. With good reason, as unless stated otherwise by the companies themselves, inter-company crossovers generally take place outside of the normal continuity.[volume & issue needed]
- The Phoenix Force was transported to the Ultraverse where it possessed the pyrokinetic ultra Amber Hunt. The X-Men, Ultraforce, Exiles, and numerous other characters team-up to stop the Phoenix from destroying the world.[18]
In other media
Television
- The entire saga of the Phoenix is retold and adapted in the third season of the X-Men animated series, subdivided into the five-part "Phoenix Saga," in which Jean acquires the power of the Phoenix and the battle for the M'Kraan Crystal occurs, and the "Dark Phoenix Saga," showcasing the battle with the Hellfire Club, the Phoenix Force's transformation into Dark Phoenix, and the battle to decide her fate. These particular episodes are as close as the cartoon came to directly duplicating the comic book storylines — the "Dark Phoenix Saga" is so accurate to the original stories that the episodes have the additional credit, "Based on stories by Chris Claremont." Notably, however, as the Phoenix Force retcon had occurred before the creation of the series, the episodes were made with this change in mind — rather than having Jean develop her powers independently (as was the original intent of the comics), or be replaced by the cosmic Phoenix Force entity (as events were later retconned), the two concepts were merged, into Jean's actual body being possessed by the Phoenix Force, leading to a true struggle between two independent entities. Jean is shown piloting a shuttle, and when her telekenetic shield fails Phoenix enters her body. Rather than destroying an inhabited system — which was the cause for the decision to kill off the character in the comics — the animated story had her destroy a deserted system and only disable the attacking Shi'Ar cruiser. These changes made it possible for aspects of the original ending of Uncanny X-Men #137, in which Jean survives, to be used. Jean does still commit suicide (taking control of the Shi'Ar's laser beam to fire on herself, rather than finding an ancient weapon), but with her death, the Phoenix Force is purified, and then uses its powers to resurrect Jean, drawing on the combined life-force of the assembled X-Men to bring her back to life. Jean retained her original basic powers, whereas in the aborted comic book ending, she would have been lobotomized by the Shi'Ar and lost them entirely. She was voiced by Catherine Disher.[citation needed]
- The Phoenix Force makes a cameo in the last episode of X-Men: Evolution. During a confrontation with Professor X, now a Horsemen of Apocalypse, the Phoenix briefly forms from the shield Jean made during their psychic battle. Following Apocalypse's defeat, her other cameo is part of Professor Xavier's glimpse of the future, and shows Jean Grey screaming out as she becomes the Phoenix.[19]
- The Phoenix makes an appearance in Wolverine and the X-Men. In this series, the Phoenix Force is an entity that has afflicted psychic mutants since the Homo Superior race first appeared. It enters the host at birth, growing with it. Once it reaches maturity, the Phoenix Force takes over its host, going on to cause mass destruction.[20] It is revealed that it is Jean who causes the explosion as she transforms into The Phoenix and that the Hellfire Club is intent on taking the power from her for themselves. With the help of the Stepford Cuckoos, Emma Frost and the Hellfire Club take Jean away and makes the Stepford Cuckoos the host. Emma, Jean and Cyclops fight the Phoenix and Emma seemingly sacrifices herself to stop it. In this version, Jean Grey never wears the costume of the Phoenix Force. However, when the Stepford Cuckoos are in possessions of the force, they are revealed to wearing matching Dark Phoenix costumes. Whether the Phoenix created these outfits or the girls were already wearing them under their robes, is never explained.
Films
- Famke Janssen plays Jean Grey in three movies, beginning with X-Men. During the film, Jean uses Cerebro for the first time, which causes strain on her mind and abilities. Later, she is affected by Magneto's machine which enhances the mutant gene in humans.
- In the second film, X2: X-Men United, Jean Grey's powers have been evolving since the Liberty Island incident in the first movie. As Jean Grey uses her powers, a fiery aura appears in her eyes. In the climax of the movie, she is engulfed in a fiery aura as she holds back a tsunami of water from a burst dam to save the other X-Men. In the final scene, a giant flying fiery bird can be seen reflected in the water.
- In the third X-Men movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, Jean "becomes" Phoenix. Jean is the only known class five mutant. At a young age, Xavier locked some of Jean's powers away as she could not control her near-infinite abilities. This causes a split in Jean's psyche—between Jean Grey and the Phoenix (what her split-personality calls itself)—and drives her to insanity. During the movie, Jean and Phoenix battle for dominance. Jean tells Wolverine she thinks she killed Scott, although this is never confirmed. Phoenix destroys Xavier and joins Magneto. Jean/Phoenix abstains from a battle on Alcatraz until the military reinforcements show up and try to shoot her; Phoenix then gains full control and demolishes the island, ripping it and everything on it apart on the molecular level. Wolverine climbs his way to Jean's side while his flesh is peeled from his Adamantium covered bones, his healing factor being the only thing keeping him alive. He calls to Jean, but there is only the Phoenix and it does not understand his actions. Logan tells Jean that he would die for her and that he loves her. His heartfelt words pull Jean to the fore; she asks him to save her. He stabs her with his claws, killing her and ending the destruction. Jean's tombstone lies on the X-Mansion ground, besides the markers of Scott and Xavier. Although in X2: X-Men United Jean demonstrates pyrokinetic powers similar to the comic book Phoenix's, such as her fiery aura and the iconic Phoenix raptor, these powers are totally disregarded in X-Men: The Last Stand for completely different powers such as dominance on a molecular level. And despite the fact that the movie draws on the Phoenix storylines of the comics Jean is never once referred to, either by herself or by others, as the Phoenix, let alone the Dark Phoenix. The only time the word Phoenix is ever stated in the film is when Xavier informs Logan that Phoenix was an alter-ego persona Jean had in their sessions but never does he, Jean, the X-Men, or even Magneto's team of Omegas, refer to her by such a title as if it were her name, contrary to the comic book.
Video games
Jean Grey appears as "Phoenix" in the X-Men: Mutant Academy games for the Sony PlayStation under the codename Phoenix and also as "Dark Phoenix" in X-Men: Next Dimension.
Jean Grey also appears as a playable character in X-Men Legends, and even wears the green and yellow/gold phoenix costume in one or more of the levels.
In X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Jean Grey, who is a playable character, has some attacks related to the Phoenix Force, such as the ability to resurrect another character during game play, and the player can also select for her both the original and Dark Phoenix costumes. In addition to Jean Grey, the PlayStation Portable version of this game also includes the Dark Phoenix separately as an unlockable bonus character. Her attacks are mainly related to the Phoenix Force itself, and is arguably the most powerful playable character in the game.
In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the Dark Phoenix made an appearance in the ending of the game if the player chooses to save Nightcrawler instead of saving Jean in Mephisto's realm. Since Jean Grey doesn't die in the Infinity Vortex, she will return to Earth in the form of the Dark Phoenix to take vengeance upon those who didn't save her.
In Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, a costume called Spider-Phoenix represents Spider-Man as host of the Phoenix Force, though Spider-Man can't use Phoenix' powers in game.
In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Jean Grey is playable, and has her Phoenix costume as her primary outfit. Two of her 4 power attacks take base from the Phoenix, resulting in fire mixing with telekinesis, and a massive fire blast.
References
- ^ Dark Phoenix is number 9 , IGN
- ^ X-Men Vol. 1 #101
- ^ X-Men Vol. 1 #108
- ^ X-Men Vol. 1 #113
- ^ Classic X-Men Vol. 1 #24
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #122
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #132
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #134-137
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #125
- ^ Avengers #263; Fantastic Four #286; Classic X-Men #8
- ^ Classic X-Men #43; X-Factor Vol. 1 #38
- ^ Excalibur #25
- ^ New X-Men Vol. 1 #120-150
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #511
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #517
- ^ Spider-Boy Team-Up #1
- ^ "Marvel Zombies 2" #1-5
- ^ The Phoenix Resurrection #1-4
- ^ X-Men: Evolution - Ascension (Part 2)
- ^ Wolverine and the X-Men - Foresight (Part 1)
External links
- Phoenix Force at the Marvel Universe
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