So to finish off this Theme Week,
it felt appropriate to go with the absolute queen of Birds, The Phoenix Force.
Before we get started, I feel the need to point out that, to my understanding,
the Phoenix Force is a genderless entity. Which makes sense, if something doesn’t
breed, gender would be as useless an extra toe. But, because the Phoenix seems
to have an affinity for Jean Grey, I’ve always thought of it as a her. Sounds
much better than calling her It all the time. Also, less confusing with “It’s”
vs. “Its.” Oh the woes of a former English Major. Let’s get to it.
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| We may die, but this would be a heck of a final image. |
The birth of the Marvel Universe was
certainly a popular party. They had creatures like Galactus and the
personifications of Eternity and Death leaping from the big bang, the
traditional gods like Gaea, Uranus, Borr (father of Odin), and the beings that would
become Demons, Like Mephisto being created. Of all the beings created at the
beginning, one of the most powerful was the being that would become the
Phoenix. In her earliest days, she was a formless being. She is described as the
manifestation of life and passion. She is a nexus of mental energy from across
the universe. Life itself, all that is, was, and what one day may be feed her
power. She is one of the most feared beings in the Universe. Not because she’s malevolent
or cruel, but because by her very nature she must destroy. She’s like a
wildfire, burning away what is old, diseased, or weak, which isn’t great, but
ultimately makes room for new things. Not evil, not good, just destructive.
After a few millennia of existing
in deep space, occasionally purging sections of the universe, she was drawn to
Earth. As cosmic beings tend to, not sure why. Of all the tiny worlds in the Universe,
I don’t really see what’s so great about our little world. Anyway, she was
drawn to a magician named Feron. Feron worshipped a Phoenix. The Entity liked
the image of the colossal fire bird, and adopted it as her usual form. Feron
asked the Phoenix to project a stone pillar across the multiverse, which would
one day become the base of operations for the British superhero team,
Excalibur. It was part of plan he devised with a Sorcerer Supreme from a
parallel world, Necrom. Apparently projecting the same object across all
possible realities generates a huge amount of mystical energy. Necrom then
double crossed Feron, and tried to steal the power of the Phoenix Force. Feron
tapped into the Phoenix’s immense power, and was able to fight Necrom off.
Necrom was able to steal a piece of the Phoenix, which drove it back into deep
space, confused and in great pain.
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| She's fighting Galactus, and winning I'l let that sink in. |
She returned to space, went back to
her normal routine. Flying across space, and laying waste to sections of space.
As celestial beings tend to do. Her attention was drawn to Earth again
centuries later. A young woman named Jean Grey had used her own telepathic
powers to connect her mind to her friend Annie Richards. Annie was dying, and
Jean was doing her best to keep Annie’s mind/soul on this plane of existence.
Such a thing is pretty much impossible to accomplish, so all Jean was doing was
pulling her own mind/soul into the “other side.” The Phoenix took pity on Jean,
and lent her power to allow Jean to break the connection between herself and
Annie. This also forged a powerful bond with the Phoenix, who decided to keep
an eye on Jean. A few years later, Jean and her team, the X-Men, were on a
mission in space. The space shuttle they were on needed to make an emergency
landing. Jean used her powers to protect her team, and tried to pilot the
shuttle back to Earth. While doing so, she was exposed to lethal doses of
Radiation. Dying and in immense pain, she called out to the cosmos for help. The
Phoenix answered. She put Jean in a protective cocoon, and reshaped herself
into a Jean look alike, intending to let Jean use her body as a loaner while
her real body healed. But, the Phoenix was overwhelmed by the sensations she
was experiencing for the first time. Jean remained in the cocoon in Jamaica
Bay, and the Phoenix took her place. Kind of a bizarre “Invasion of the Body
Snatchers” moment, isn’t it?
The Phoenix as Jean remained with
the X-Men for a bit. She did things like saving the universe from annihilation
by repairing the powerful M’Kraan Crystal. The M’Kraan Crystal is essentially a
universe incased in a gem, so yeah, it breaking would be bad. After a mission
where the X-Men were separated, and each in the group thought the others dead,
Phoenix was approached by a mysterious man in Greece. He introduced himself as
Nikos, but was really Mastermind, a powerful psychic who sensed the Phoenix’s
power and wanted to bend her to his will. He compared the Phoenix to a god, and
encouraged her to use her powers as she saw fit.
Mastermind eventually had the
Phoenix join the Hellfire Club, a social club for the most powerful people in
the world. Its inner circle named themselves after chess pieces, The Phoenix
taking the place of the Black Queen. She eventually broke free, but was fundamentally
altered. The Dark Phoenix, as she called herself now, flew off into space,
destroying a star and killing billions to feed her new found addiction to
sensation. She also destroyed an observatory spaceship of the Shi’ar Empire.
She returned to Earth, and was drawn into psychic combat with Charles Xavier.
Xavier, being a bad ass, defeated the Dark Phoenix and reverted her back to her
pre-insane form. She and the X-Men were then taken to the Shi’ar Empire, and
forced into a trial by combat. They were rather upset because of the star
killing and ship destroying. When the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar Empire
looked like they were going to win, The Phoenix snapped, when Dark again, and destroyed
herself in an apparent suicide. Much to Cyclops’ horror. Remember, he thought
she was the real Jean.
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| After accepting her role as the Phoenix, and purging her eviler emotions, Jean became the White Phoenix of the Crown. All the Phoenix power, with none of the Dark Phoenix tude. |
The Phoenix, being a Phoenix and
essence of life itself, would constantly return. Hard to kill life itself. She
often returned to bond with Jean, who was her favored host. The Phoenix’s
biggest role occurred a few years ago. 90% of Mutants had lost their powers,
and things were pretty awful for the de-powered Mutants. But, when a space
bound hero named Nova crash landed on Earth and told the world the Phoenix was
coming, Cyclops saw it as a means to save his species. Captain America and the
Avengers saw this as a doomsday scenario. The two fought over what to do with Hope
Summers, the Mutant Messiah that was the Phoenix’s target for a host. Iron-Man
and Hank Pym create a disruptor that they hoped would destroy the Phoenix.
Instead, it weakened the Phoenix and broke it into fragments. These fragments
bonded with Cyclops, Colossus, Magik, Emma Frost, and oddly enough, Namor the
Sub-Mariner. One of these things is not like the others. They used their cosmic
power to conquer the world, and quickly became drunk with power. The Avengers,
and other heroes fought against them, and as the Phoenix Five were defeated,
the fragments were absorbed by the remaining members. Following Highlander
Logic, you know, there can only be one, Cyclops became the main host, and the
new Dark Phoenix. Driven insane by the power, he murdered Charles Xavier, and
started destroying the world. Through the combined efforts of Hope Summers,
Scarlet Witch, and the spirit of Jean Gray, they were able to separate Cyclops
from the Phoenix, seemingly destroy the creature, and use the cosmic power it
held to reignite the force of Mutation in humans. But, as we all know, you can’t
keep a cosmic being down.
The Phoenix is a cosmic being, with
power over creation. She draws her power from life itself, from what is, was,
and could be. In that regard, her power is literally limitless. It can wield
massive amounts of energy, bend space and time, move massive objects, and
connect her mind with countless beings. She can manipulate matter on a
sub-atomic level, changing lead to gold, that sort of thing. She often seeks
out hosts with psychic potential. For reasons. Her hosts gain her immense
powers, telepathy, telekinesis, and pyrokinetic abilities. Her hosts also gain
a certain level of immortality. If a host is severely wounded, they’re incased
in a cocoon of energy known as the Phoenix Egg, to regenerate. When combined
with a host like Jean Gray, who is often called her perfect host, her power
seems to skyrocket. Unfortunately, her immense power has a tendency to corrupt anyone
she’s bonded with. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” as the saying goes.
She’s appeared a number of times
outside the comics. Most versions stay true to the comics, with the Phoenix
Force being introduced as a neutral force, or ally of the X-Men, that is often
times corrupted by a truly malevolent force.
You want the most perfect
adaptation of the Phoenix story? Watch the five part “Phoenix Saga” and the
four part “Dark Phoenix Saga” of X-Men:
The Animated Series. Episodes 29-33 and 40-44, specifically. It covers
everything, Jean bonding with the cosmic being, using its power for good, being
corrupted by the “Inner Circle” Club, breaking free of the Club but then going
on a rampage, and her ultimate redemption. I don’t want to ruin it by
describing it, just watch and enjoy.
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| To be a host, one doesn't necessarily need Psychic Powers They're a bonus, not a prerequisite. |
She cameoed in the end of X-Men: Evolution. When describing the
future that he’d seen while connected to Apocalypse, Xavier claims that “With a
heavy heart, I saw the dearest of friends become the most terrible of enemies.” As
he says it, we’re shown an image of Jean Gray being consumed by the Phoenix.
Show runners have confirmed that The Phoenix would have been the antagonist if
they’d gotten another season. The Phoenix being a baddie for X-Men: Evolution? Darn, that would have
been soooo perfect. Alas, it’ll never be.
We see parts of the Phoenix
throughout the original three X-Men movies. Glimpses of her are seen whenever
Jean pushes her powers to the limit, like when hurling Wolverine in X-Men or when she simultaneously lifts
the X-Men’s ship The Blackbird, while
holding back a torrent of water in X-2.
She is one of two antagonists in X-Men:
The Last Stand. This movie follows the Phoenix how she was initially
portrayed in the comics, as Jean Gray reaching the peak of her power and losing
control along the way. She destroys Cyclops and Xavier, before being drawn into
Magneto’s cause. She’s ultimately set free by Wolverine, who stabs her. Not a
huge fan of Last Stand, as it kind of
dropped the ball with the Phoenix story for me, and killed off some of my
favorite characters. And for taking guys like Angel and barely using them.
Fools.
The Phoenix Force is one of those
characters that is integrally tied into the X-Men mythos. Like Apocalypse,
Magneto, and Charles Xavier, it seems that if a series lasts long enough, the
Phoenix Force will appear in some form or another. What makes the character
interesting is her ties to Jean Gray. Transforming a character that is a good
natured, and at times rather timid, and then unleashing the beast. The
corruption of Jean, and her eventual redemption is usually pretty interesting.
I disbar X-Men: The Last Stand, as I
feel that its Jean Gray/Phoenix combination left a lot to be desired. I wish I
could have seen the X-Men: Evolution version,
as I feel it would have been one of the best incarnations of the character.
But, alas, it shall never be. Next time, let’s get back on the Arrow train, with Episode 3.
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